10 minute read
And the winner is
Highly responsive, agile businesses announced as finalists in Canterbury business awards
This year’s Westpac Champion Business Awards attracted a record number of entries, with the finalists demonstrating a strong focus on adapting to the ever-changing business environment as they continue to respond to Covid lockdowns, new delta alert level restrictions, along with their focus on staff wellbeing.
There are 14 Award categories, covering a range of business sizes, focus, and various stages of growth. The finalists in each of the categories represented a diverse range of sectors, including aerospace, agriculture, construction, healthcare, manufacturing, social enterprise, technology, and tourism. Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce chief executive, Leeann Watson, says “We were pleased to see the significant number of entries in this year’s Awards. “This shows that despite all of the challenges of operating in a COVID-19 environment, businesses have a real drive to share their story and celebrate their team’s success - in whatever form that may be - and reinforces the hugely important role that business has in our society. “This year, we again saw a real display of highly adaptive, responsive and innovative local organisations with an increasingly agile focus in their business operations - and aligned with that was a strong customer-centric approach; responding to the market trends, supporting customers and clients and changing tack to meet rapidly changing consumer behaviour amid a vastly different operating environment. “We have also continued to see businesses clearly seeking to focus on staff and societal wellbeing as a measurement of what success is. Over the last few years, this has become more and more a key defining characteristic of Canterbury business.” Winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, November 24. The Awards Ceremony will only take place in the current format at Alert Level 1 - if Canterbury is at Alert Level 2 or higher, this format will change. CT 2021 Westpac Champion Business Awards finalists
• Champion Customer Experience - Small Enterprise
Akaroa Dolphins, Riverside Market, Shizoku
Martial Arts
• Christchurch Casino Champion Customer
Experience - Medium/Large Enterprise
Catalyst Performance Agronomy,
Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa,
Mt Hutt Ski Area
• Champion Producer/Manufacturer - Small Enterprise
Sabelle Skin & Body Care (Produced by Sheep
Milk NZ), Totalspan North Canterbury,
Tuatara Structures
• Kordia Champion Producer/Manufacturer -
Medium/Large Enterprise
Link Engine Management, Tumblar Products
Ltd, Wyma Solutions
• New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
Champion Emerging Exporter
Banqer Ltd, Dawn Aerospace, Eagle Protect • The Press Champion Community Impact -
Medium/Large Enterprise
Aviva Charitable Trust, He Waka Tapu, The
Champion Centre
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade Champion Exporter - Medium/Large Enterprise
Natural Pet Food Group, Seequent,
Wyma Solutions
• ChristchurchNZ Champion Innovation
Dawn Aerospace, Medsalv, Natural Paint Co.
• Rata Foundation Champion Community
Impact - Small Enterprise
Foodbank Canterbury, The Hororata
Community Trust, YWCA Christchurch
• ACC Champion Workplace Injury Prevention
Active Refrigeration; GCH Aviation, HRS
Construction Ltd
• Christchurch City Council Business for Good
Foodbank Canterbury, Medsalv,
Natural Paint Co.
• 2degrees Champion Workplace
Engeo Ltd, Home, Trimble Navigation NZ Ltd • University Of Canterbury Business School
Emerging Business
Connect Chiropractic, Noopii, Spritely Ltd
• Champion Emerging Leader
Matty Lovell - Electrify and Anytime Fitness,
Rebecca Miller - Milk IQ, Renee Walker -
Alliance Group and Christchurch
Symphony Orchestra
Family-owned & operated
Specialists in asset recovery in all industries, with outstanding results
We sell ‘on behalf’ a range of equipment, including engineering, farming, construction, vehicles, tools, steel, hospitality, estates, general & more
We work closely with our clients to achieve their selling & buying needs
We provide experts assistance with the auction process for our sellers & buyers
Online auctions utilising Mainland Auctions online bidding platform and app, or traditional onsite auctions
More than 8000 registered bidders throughout New Zealand
Outstanding results at our auctions with very satisfied clients & customers
Contact us now to discuss your buying & selling needs www.mainlandauctions.nz (03) 366 8532 Mainland Auctions Christchurch Ltd are a family owned and operated business centrally located in Sydenham, Christchurch.
The team is led by Co-Director Leon Hickey who has worked in the auction industry for 14 years as a Floor Manager. He oversees the running of the Auction House with Co- Director Rachel McLachlan and a team of five staff.
Leon, Rachel and their team offer an outstanding professional service for those who wish to sell or purchase items across all industries, including construction, machinery, farm machinery, engineering, vehicles, tools, steel, hospitality, catering, estates, general and more.
Customers are provided with guidance and support throughout the buying or selling auction process ensuring a smooth journey from start to finish. auctions via the Mainland Auctions online bidding platform or free App.
They are proud of the high standards they achieve, and ensure all items set up for auction are well presented for maximum return. The team will also help you decide on the best auction platform for your sale items.
If you are wishing to buy or sell items and equipment, contact the experts at Mainland Auctions. Presentation is foremost to the team, as is their outstanding customer service, and a friendly, accommodating approach to business.
For a team that will go the extra mile for you, contact Mainland Auctions.
• Construction • Renovations • Custom Timber Joinery • Interiors
WE ARE PROUD TO OFFER QUALITY CONSTRUCTION CANTERBURY WIDE
Our skilled and dedicated team provide a level of service that is unmatched, and we ensure that we exceed our client’s expectations on every project by meeting deadlines and budgets.
We are proud to serve our clients in the canterbury region and would love to take the time to chat with you about your next project. Our skilled team are experienced in providing a high-end product that exceeds expectations.
• Residential New Builds • Architectural New Builds • Alterations & Renovations • Design & Planning • Project Management • Commercial Construction • Commercial Maintenance • High End Interior Fit Outs • Custom Timber Joinery • Metal Fabrication • Insurance Work • Structural Steel
No matter what you need, you can trust DGI Morgan Ltd for reliable construction & maintenance solutions. There is no job too big or too small. Contact us today for an obligation free chat about your project.
Phone: 03 423 3533 | Email: admin@dgimorgan.co.nz | www.dgimorgan.co.nz
Hiring new employees is not an easy process. You’ve got to wade through a mountain of applications, weed out the few you’re interested in and then interview all the candidates – all while still running your company.
But if you want your company to grow, you need to hire the right people.
You need people that are not only right for the now but can also help you move the business towards bigger and better things in the future.
This is especially so for smaller businesses and startups because they have fewer employees and a limited income with which to work.
For these companies every single dollar they spend on finding and hiring an employee can affect their longer term success, meaning it’s vital that they avoid making major mistakes while hiring.
But the trouble is that running a small business is hard work and there often simply isn’t the time to commit to a thorough hiring process; and as result, corners get cut.
The good news is that your competitors are probably making these mistakes whilst hiring as well. This means there’s an opportunity for you to seize; to waste less time and money by hiring right so you can get back to running your company.
Mistake 1 - Not having an interview plan
The single biggest hiring mistake small business owners make is winging it or not having an interview plan. At best they’ll have a few questions written down on a piece of paper, but little else.
You need to treat an interview like a deductive science. You’ve sorted through all the resumes and selected the best individuals to be interviewed – but now you need a better way of evaluating their suitability for the role than just having a chat and going with your gut.
You achieve this by having an interview plan.
First – decide what questions are the most important, and ask them to each candidate.
Second – know what answers you’re looking for. Then you can assess each answer objectively and place candidates in pecking order.
This doesn’t have to be an iron-clad, exactly repeatable process – but it does need to have some consistency to it so you can accurately assess candidates’ answers in relation to each other.
If you just wing each interview, the direction, tone and outcome of each conversation can vary wildly, making it more difficult to compare candidates to each other. The outcome of this can be that, despite spending all that time interviewing people, to a certain extent, you’re still none the wiser.
Then, the chances are, when it comes to deciding who to hire, you’re going to go with your gut, as you won’t reliably be able to compare one answer to another because you didn’t ask each candidate a few standard questions you can compare them by.
So, a little planning can go a long way towards helping you make an informed and considered choice of who to hire, as opposed to just sitting down with each individuals, having a completely random chat, and then hoping you get it right.
Mistake 2 - Overvaluing experience
It is risky to bet too heavily on how much experience a person has, when there are so many factors that determine whether someone will be successful in the role and a good fit for your organisation.
An applicant’s skills, knowledge, aptitude and personality all factor into the equation.
Because experience is a tangible and measurable component, it is very easy to overvalue it above less easily measurable factors such as intelligence, drive, and other components of raw talent.
Experience accumulates with time in the role and skills can be learned and acquired.
Your next great employee might be someone with limited experience, but who has fantastic aptitude and flexibility.
Placing too much stock on a heavy list of qualifications in your job description, or only considering applicants with x amount of experience and not considering other factors, means you might be turning a blindeye to someone better suited to the role and your company’s culture.
However, this is a double-edged sword and there is a flip side.
If you’re looking to hire someone without any experience in the hope of finding someone cheaper – you might be buying into a false economy.
Ignoring a candidate with what you consider to be necessary experience in the hope of saving a few thousand dollars a year by hiring an unproven person, might not actually save you anything, due to the amount of on-the-job training and potentially decreased productivity the less experienced employee will deliver.
So, as with all aspects of running your business, you need to find a balance.
But it definitely pays to consider more than just the experience a candidate comes with. You want someone with the potential to grow into the perfect for your company.
Mistake 3 - Assuming the hiring process ends once they’re hired
This is a common mistake many small business owners make.
An employee’s productivity is comprised of 50 percent ability [the reasons you hired them], and 50 percent of what happens once they’re in the workplace.
So conducting a good interview, offering that promising person the job and them saying ‘yes’ is only half the task.
Employees need to be properly induced and introduced to your company, well trained and supported.
It doesn’t matter how impressed you are with someone’s potential – poor training, insufficient access to resources, and little feedback will add up to poor job satisfaction and this will impact their performance.
So recruitment doesn’t stop at the ‘welcome aboard’ handshake – you need to make sure they are introduced, trained and supported every step of the way.
