Aussie Painting Contractor April 2020

The difference between

a Quote and an Estimate

Great Leadership

when it counts (like now)

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CONTRIBUTORS • Alex Solti

From the Editor

• Angela Smith • Anthony Igra • Claire Richardson • Daniel Wurm • Jim Baker • Leo Babauta • Monroe Porter • Robert Bauman • Ross Guest • Sandra Price • Vanessa Petch

EDITOR Nigel Gorman

Hey Everyone, Welcome to the 91tst edition of the Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine.

Well what can we say?? Covid 19 has turned everything upside down. I’m not going to harp on about the good the bad or create more hysteria. I will say though everyone stay safe and contact us if you need assistance or just need someone to talk to.

We are doing a series of videos for you to do some work on your business so you can hit the ground running once you get back into the swing of fulltime work. Join our Facebook Group to get them as soon as they are released.

Lastly Stay Safe and Remember

“We are here to HELP!!”

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Caroline Miall GRAPHIC DESIGNER J. Anne Delgado

Nigel Gorman

nigel@aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

07 3555 8010

Contents 06

COVID-19 Pandemic COVID-19 Pandemic Economic Crisis

26

How to steer your business safely

10

What’s the difference between a Quote and an Estimate?

12

Dealing with the Immense Uncertainty of the World

ALONE How do you break this isolation and move forward?

30

Lambo… Lambo… #SheepToo

36

Petition Outcome The Real Cost

16

Public Liability Run-off Cover

39

20

Social distancing may be worth it, but we need to talk about economic costs

40

My employee is not performing!

What can I do?

24

Great Leadership when it counts (like now)

42

COVID-19 Infection Control Accreditation

44 48

BUSINESS PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO BUSINESS OWNERS

49

Important Contacts

You will be working 10-12 hour days, 6 days a week, just trying to make ends meet

Industry Idiots

Opinions and viewpoints expressed in the Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine do not necessarily represent those of the editor, staff or publisher or any Aussie Painters Network’s staff or related parties. The publisher, Aussie Painters Network and the Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine personnel are not liable for any mistake, misprint or omission. Information contained in the Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine is intended to inform and illustrate and should not be taken as financial, legal or accounting advice. You should seek professional advice before making business related decisions. We are not liable for any losses you may incur directly or indirectly as a result of reading Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine. Reproduction of any material or contents of the magazine without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

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How to steer your business safely through the

COVID-19 Pandemic Economic Crisis Are you one of the many business owners who are getting increasingly concerned how this unfolding Corona virus pandemic is going to affect your business? Do you have cash flow concerns? Are you worried about not being able to pay your staff?

One of the biggest problems in an ever-evolving situation like this is when you don’t have the right information to guide your decision making.

Sure, there will be tough times ahead. However, you can get help now to ensure you come out the other end with your business and sanity intact. Let’s have a look at some of the main elements of the stimulus packages the Government and banking institutions are offering to business and individuals. Help from the Australian Government 1. Support for individuals and households Income support for individuals The Government will provide significant payments to assist lower-income Australians, including pensioners, other social security and veteran income support recipients and eligible concession card holders.

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Payments to support households The Government is providing two separate $750 payments to social security, veteran and other income support recipients and eligible concession card holders. The first payment will be made from 31 March 2020 and the second payment will be made from 13 July 2020.

Temporary early release of superannuation The Government is allowing individuals affected by the Coronavirus to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation in 2019-20 and a further $10,000 in 2020-21.

Temporarily reducing superannuation minimum drawdown rates The Government is temporarily reducing superannuation minimum drawdown requirements for account-based pensions and similar products by 50 per cent for 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Reducing social security deeming rates On 12 March, the Government announced a 0.5 percentage point reduction in both the upper and lower social security deeming rates. The Government will now reduce these rates by another 0.25 percentage points.

2. Support for businesses JobKeeper Payment for Employers/Employees

to SME lenders to support new short-term unsecured loans to SMEs

The JobKeeper Payment is intended to provide wage subsidies to businesses that are significantly affected

by COVID-19. A payment of $1,500 per fortnight to employers of eligible businesses to be paid to their employees so they can keep connected with their employer. Eligibility criteria for both employers and employees apply. Business owners can register interest here to apply for the JobKeeperPayment.

Quick and efficient access to credit for small business The Government is cutting red tape by providing a temporary exemption from responsible lending obligations for lenders providing credit to existing small business customers.

Boosting Cash Flow for Employers The Government is providing up to $100,000 to eligible small and medium-sized businesses, and not-for-profits (NFPs) that employ people, with a minimum payment of $20,000.

Temporary relief for financially distressed businesses The Government is temporarily increasing the threshold at which creditors can issue a statutory demand on a company and to initiate bankrupt proceedings against an individual as well as temporarily increasing the time companies and individuals have to respond to statutory demands they receive.

Increasing the instant asset write-off The Government is increasing the instant asset write-off threshold from $30,000 to $150,000 and expanding access to include businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $500 million (up from $50 million) until 30 June 2020.

For further details on the help available from the Australian Government visit the Treasury website.

If you are confused whether any of these assistance measures could help your business and don’t know what to do or how to access the assistance, talk to your accountant right away.

Download a copy of the Fact Sheet Cash flow Assistance for Businesses, which gives some excellent examples of real business scenarios for businesses who employ staff, apprentices and trainees. They show clearly how this assistance flows through. Help from the Queensland Government

$2.5 billion for workers and industry

Up to $500 million to assist workers who lose their job or income with retraining, job-matching and other help to transition into jobs in the industries that are vital to get Queensland through this crisis – such as health care, agriculture, food production, transport, cleaning and mining.

Backing business investment The Government is introducing a time-limited 15 month investment incentive (through to 30 June 2021) to support business investment and economic growth over the short term, by accelerating depreciation deductions.

Industry Support Package

Supporting apprentices and trainees The Government is supporting small business to retain their apprentices and trainees. Eligible employers can apply for a wage subsidy of 50 per cent of the apprentice’s or trainee’s wage for 9 months from 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020.

Other support for business

Support for Coronavirus-affected regions and communities The Government will set aside $1 billion to support regions most significantly affected by the Coronavirus outbreak.

$300 million for households

3. Supporting the flow of credit Support for immediate cash flow needs for SMEs Under the Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme, the Government will provide a guarantee of 50 per cent

The Industry Support Package will assist large businesses through this period to ensure they will be able to scale up and service the community when economic activity improves.

Relief for businesses renting government premises. $500 rebate on electricity bills for all Queensland small and medium sized businesses that consume less then 100,000 kilowatt hours. This will be automatically applied to electricity bills.

$200 rebate for all 2.1 million Queensland households (including the $50 Asset Ownership Dividend already announced) to offset the cost of water and electricity bills. Automatically applied through household electricity bills.

2020 April Issue | 7

Payroll Tax Relief

Immediate payroll tax refunds of $740 million for COVID-19 affected businesses and a payroll tax holiday and deferral until the end of 2020 for eligible businesses.

Australian banks will defer loan repayments for small businesses affected by COVID-19 for six months. For more details visit their website. What you can do NOW to steer your business through the crisis

Tighten up your Cash Flow Management Cash is King! Especially in a crisis like this.

Check all your outstanding invoices and initiate follow up to collect payments on outstanding invoices. Consider tightening credit terms or even require cash in advance.

Make it easy for customers to pay your invoices by offering several ways to pay you, ie via credit card or direct bank deposit, online payment gateways or a merchant facility. That way you increase your chances of getting paid. Remember, when you get paid, you can also pay your creditors, which will have a massive flow on effect.

Review your lines of credit for availability. If you do not have a line of credit, get one so that you have the ability to borrow if needed.

Talk to your accountant about the best options for your business, ie help that’s available from Government, reviewing your business financial health and make a plan to so you don’t drown in debt and never have the ability to repay it. Borrow for the right reasons.

Change your sales and marketing strategy

Try to continue generating sales, although it can be hard for businesses affected by the shutdown. It’s

8 | Aussie Painting Contractor

encouraging that we’ve already seen examples of businesses thinking outside the box and who are finding different ways to serve their customers. Many are introducing online communication strategies to further decrease any risk of infections through face to face meetings and reassure their customers.

Above all, communicate with your existing customers and let them know you are there for them. Tell them how you’ve changed your business practices to keep operating safely, and ask them for what they need and how they think you can serve them best. You might receive some gems of ideas that can help you offer the service they need.

Offer gift cards for future services or products. Consider discounts for these cards as well, such as “Buy $100 of service for $80”. Contact your lender or credit card provider as they may have gift card programs you can implement.

If you are seeing a lot of cancellations and requests to return deposits for services, have a plan in place to encourage your customers to keep the deposit on hand but delay the services.

If you have more questions on how you can make sure your business will survive, and what type of help you could get from the stimulus package, call my office on (07) 3399 8844. You can also visit our website at www.straighttalkat.com.au and complete your details on our Home page to request an appointment.

Copyright © 2020 Robert Bauman.

2020 April Issue | 9

What’s the difference between

a Quote and an Estimate?

10 | Aussie Painting Contractor

The nature of some types of businesses make it challenging to come up with a standard price list. For tradespeople and some freelancers, for instance, what’s required in terms of time, skill, labour, and materials frequently vary from job to job.

Offering an estimate or quote provides potential clients with a customized figure for what they can expect to pay, based on what will be required to complete a specific project.

Read on to learn the difference between estimates and quotes, and tips on how to prepare them like a pro.

Quotes A quote is a legally binding fixed price a company prepares for a client; as such, they should always be in writing. A quote should summarize the work to be performed and include a detailed breakdown of all the costs and the final total, including taxes.

Once a business offers a quote and a client signs off on it, the price cannot change even if the job ends up costing more than originally anticipated. For this reason it’s important to always quote as accurately as possible, allowing ample time to complete the job and carefully pricing out costs for materials and labour (e.g. subcontractors).

To protect your business from “scope creep”, a quote should also stipulate that additional charges for extra work beyond what the initial quote covers will apply.

Estimates Unlike a quote, an estimate isn’t legally binding and it isn’t a guarantee of what the actual work will cost. Still, it’s recommended that estimates also be provided in writing. An estimate is offered as a ballpark figure, based on the information available about a project at that moment in time. As such, it’s understood that the estimate is subject to an increase or decrease once the work begins.

Companies should take just as much care when providing an estimate as they would when drafting a quote. Ideally, an estimate should provide a number within roughly 20 per cent of the final price. It’s good practice for businesses to provide more than one estimate, to offer a range of options at different price points.

Tips for costing out jobs For Tradie’s, it’s important to appear as professional as your larger competitors whenever you communicate with clients, but especially when negotiating the details of a potential project.

Be sure when you’re preparing your quote or estimate that you include the following information: • Your ABN • Relevant Licence Details • ( QBCC # etc) • business contact info (phone, email, address) • a detailed summary of the work to be performed • a breakdown of what’s involved. Be specific. Outline who is responsible for what.

• the total cost • a timeline for the work and completion date • contract terms, including deposit and payment schedule Another important bit of information to provide your clients when the quote or estimate expires.

Many companies choose an expiry date of 30 days, to protect themselves from the possibility of rising costs for materials or other factors that may influence the cost of the job.

It’s worth repeating that you should always take care to state clearly in writing the terms of your quote or estimate, and offer a client the opportunity to ask questions before approving the work.

That way, both parties can avoid misunderstandings about expectations and project costs before the work begins.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Sandra Price

www.tradiebookkeepingsolutions.com.au Facebook : Tradie Bookkeeping Solutions

2020 April Issue | 11

Dealing with the Immense Uncertainty of the World The world is in a state of fear and uncertainty right now, and it’s stressful and overwhelming for most of us.

This kind of fear, stress, uncertain and overwhelm can have some really strong effects on our lives: • Constant fear and stress can cause anxiety problems, worsening sleep and health, depression and anxiety • In a place of fear, we can often make bad decisions • People can panic, overreact because of fear, and • cause widespread confusion and disruptions • Our relationships can deteriorate when we’re • operating from a place of fear • We become less productive, less focused, • when we’re stressed • It has an obvious impact on our happiness, • including the impacts from all of the above • These are some of the strong effects from a constant sense of fear, uncertainty, stress and overwhelm.

So how do we cope with this?

Obviously, there’s no easy answer. Let’s talk about what I’ve found to work, and what I recommend right now.

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Dealing with the Uncertainty & Fear The first thing is just to acknowledge that we’re feeling a lot of uncertainty and stress about the world situation. Bring awareness to the feelings you’re experiencing, and acknowledge their presence.

Often we want to ignore the feelings, or we’re just operating on autopilot and not really aware of it.

But then we’re operating from that place of fear and stress, and these emotions are driving us without us being aware of it.

This is a way of taking care of yourself. When we’re feeling fear, it’s important to nurture ourselves, take care of the feeling. Give it space, and allow it to be in your awareness.

Third, see this as an opportunity to practice. We often close ourselves off to fear and uncertainty, but they can be really powerful things to practice with.

They are incredible teachers!

2020 April Issue | 13

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Let yourself pause for a few moments to practice with this, because uncertainty and fear and stress will always be a part of your life – you won’t ever be free of them! They show up whether you want them or not, so why not get good at being with them?

This is an opportunity to practice mindfulness with your fear and uncertainty.

Open to the opportunity, instead of turning away to distraction and busyness.

Fourth, practice welcoming it and giving it unconditional friendliness. This might sound strange when it comes to fear, because for so long we’ve had an adversarial relationship to fear and uncertainty.

We don’t like them, because they feel like stress and pain. But we don’t have to relate to fear this way. We can be more open toward it, even friendly.

So start by trying to welcome it. Allow it into your experience. Even be warm towards it, as you might welcome a good friend.

Then try to give it some unconditional friendliness.

It’s an amazing practice. See if you’re able to bring the kind of warmth and friendliness towards it that you do with a loved one. You don’t need the feeling to be any certain way, you can be friendly with it no matter what.

Fifth, let yourself feel the openness of the moment.

This one is a little harder to explain, but bear with me. If you can relax and open your awareness wider than the narrowness of your thought patterns or narrative … you can experience the openness of this moment.

Let your awareness open wider than your body. Let it take in the room all around you — light, colors, shapes, sound, textures, sensations on your skin.

Feel the relaxed, open nature of the moment — fluid, changing, not fixed, unknowable, dynamic, spacious. This is the nature of our world, the root of uncertainty. It’s actually beautiful to behold. Let yourself relax into this openness.

That can take practice, don’t worry if you don’t feel it right away. Keep practicing with it!

Sixth, open to feeling connected to others through your uncertainty and fear. As you sit in stillness, as you feel the sensations in your body, as you welcome the feelings and practice friendliness with them, as you experience the openness of the moment … you can also feel a connection to others.

Think about everyone else in the world who is experiencing similar feelings of discomfort and uncertainty. Similar levels of stress, fear, overwhelm, anxiety. You are not alone — so many others feel it right now! In this way, you are all connected.

Let your heart feel this connection to others going through similar experiences. Send them compassion and love, wishing them well.

In this way, our fear and uncertainty, in these very uncertain times … become an opening for connection and compassion. This is transformative. Try it right now.

The world is in a state of intense mass uncertainty.

Don’t shut yourself off to it, ignore it or try to control, distract or exit.

Open yourself to this, because it is a powerful time to practice.

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Leo Babauta

a successful ‘simplicity’ blogger and author from California, the creator of top 25 Blog

ZEN HABITS

2020 April Issue | 15

Public Liability Run-off Cover Most trade business owners will know what public liability insurance is, but have you heard of run-off cover?

It’s a big deal, but one that doesn’t get spoken about much when it comes to tradies. It can result in a big claim being declined if you don’t get it right though…

Run-off cover is only applicable for someone cancelling or not renewing their insurance, and not replacing it with another policy.

If you’re not planning on cancelling or letting your policy expire, you can save yourself some reading as this won’t be applicable to you.

So what is it then?

To understand what run-off cover means to a trade business owner, first you need to understand how a public liability insurance policy works.

Public liability is an occurrence-based form of insurance. This means that to make a claim, you must have a current policy at the time that the incident occurs.

Many incidents will occur whilst you are working, therefore having a current policy at the time of undertaking the work is important.

16 | Aussie Painting Contractor

However not all incidents occur at the time of doing the work. If an incident occurred a few months after you undertook the work, and by then you had cancelled your policy, you would not be covered.

Run-off cover is a form of insurance that allows you to remain protected even after you’re no longer running your business.

What if I’ve closed or sold my business?

You might think that once you close or sell your business that you can wipe your hands of any liability, but that is not always the case.

The next section has been put together as a general guide, but we strongly recommend you obtain legal advice before making any decisions on risk exposure.

If you operate as a Pty Ltd company and close it down completely, going through the full deregistration process, you might remove any liability, provided that the work was undertaken whilst operating as a company.

But you must fully deregister the company. If you cease trading, but still leave the company sitting there, then the company can still be sued at any time and you’ll be left exposed.

Often your accountant will recommend that you keep the company alive, even if it’s not trading, so that you can start using the same company again if you switch back to being self-employed.

This isn’t bad advice as it will save you money in setting up a new company, but it does mean you remain exposed.

This article talks more about the issues when deregistering a Pty Ltd company and how it can affect the need for run-off cover.

Sole traders

For those operating their business as a sole trader, which our data reveals is the majority of self employed tradies, the risk is much greater.

Chart - Tradie Business Structures 2019

In the meantime, the carpenter has gone back on wages and cancelled their public liability insurance.

Because the occurrence is when the stairs failed and the injury was sustained, not when the carpenter built the stairs, there is no cover.

Even though the carpenter has deregistered their ABN, they are still the same entity and are open to legal action.

Example 2 – Electrician An electrician undertakes some rewiring work at a home, which all seems fine at the time.

A year later there is an extensive fire at the home and one of the occupants is killed. The investigation finds that faulty wiring completed by the electrician caused the fire.

Since completing the work the electrician has taken another job on wages, but left their Pty Ltd company sitting dormant in case they go back to self-employment. They let their public liability lapse after they stopped completing work under the Pty Ltd. Because the occurrence is the time of the fire, and not the time of the electrical work being completed, the electrician has no cover.

Real life example involving a fatality Even if you deregister your ABN, you (as a person) are still the same entity and could still be sued years after you’ve ceased trading.

As a sole trader there is no way around this, so without maintaining your insurance (via run-off cover) you could remain exposed for years after ceasing trading.

Examples We’ll stat off with some very simple hypotheticals, before moving onto a serious real life example.

Example 1 – Carpenter A carpenter operating as a sole trader replaces a set of stairs, and at the end of the job everyone is happy with the work and moves on.

A few months later the stairs fail as a person is using them, and suffers a serious injury.

Back in 2008 there was a well-publicised deck failure in Brisbane that resulted in multiple serious injuries, and sadly, a loss of life.

A builder who completed work on the property in 2001 was subsequently sued (along with a building inspector) for over $1 million by the family of the deceased.

Furthermore, others who suffered serious injuries in the collapse also sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars each.

The dates here are very important. The work was completed in 2001, the collapse happened in 2008 and the legal action didn’t happen until 2012.

Even if the builder had all the appropriate insurances in place in 2001 at the time of the work, the only thing that matters (when it comes to public liability) is that he had cover in 2008 when the collapse occurred.

2020 April Issue | 17

18 | Aussie Painting Contractor

That’s a seven year gap, which is quite significant. Legal action didn’t commence until 2012, but it wouldn’t matter if the builder had public liability at that time.

The date of the occurrence is all that matters.

We don’t know if the legal action was successful, or how much (if any) the builder had to pay, but the fact that it went to court means that many thousands of dollars in legal fees (at the very least) would have been incurred.

One of the great things about public liability insurance is that it covers defence costs even if you are not found to be liable.

Planned Cover have an article which also talks about this same incident and the need for run-off cover for tradies and trade businesses.

But I’ve heard you can still claim…

You can still claim on a public liability policy which has been cancelled or expired.

But… It all goes back to the occurrence-based nature of public liability. If the incident occurred whilst the policy was still current, you could claim even after the policy was no longer current.

Above all, it’s important to remember that the time you undertook the work, and the time of the incident, are two very different things.

Run-off cover

So what is public liability run-off cover? It’s a form of insurance that continues to cover you after you have ceased trading.

It can differ from one insurer to the next, and will differ depending on your own circumstances, but broadly speaking it will get less expensive each year as your risk of a claim diminishes with time.

There is no specific timeframe requirement, but seven years seems to be a figure that is commonly mentioned.

We understand that most trade business owners will scoff at continuing to pay for public liability insurance for seven years after they cease trading, but as insurance professionals it’s our job to let you know about the potential risks.

Some brokers might tell you that a tradie doesn’t need run-off cover for public liability, but this article from the highly respected Professor Alan Manning (a legend in the insurance world) argues otherwise.

But if the policy was not current at the time of the incident, then you couldn’t claim.

If you’re interested in run-off cover we’re here to help. We can answer your questions and obtain quotes for you. Contact your account manager or call our office on 1800 808 800.

This is illustrated well by the example above, where legal action wasn’t taken for four years after the occurrence, but it’s still the occurrence date that matters.

www.traderisk.com.au 1800 808 800

2020 April Issue | 19

Social distancing may be worth it, but we need to talk about economic costs Social distancing has been embraced as a key government strategy to manage the COVID-19 crisis.

The policy involves limiting contact between people to reduce viral transmission. It extends from advice to avoid shaking hands and maintain at least 1.5 metres’ distance from others to bans on “non-essential” gatherings of more than 500 people outdoors and 100 people indoors.

These measures will have significant economic impact. But how big will that impact be. Is it worth it compared to the health benefits?

Right now we don’t know the answer. Political and business leaders are deferring exclusively to public health advice about how to contain the COVID-19 virus. We have had no serious public discussion of the economic costs.

Framing the response to the coronavirus emergency as a cost-benefit analysis may seem hard-hearted.

Yet prioritising medical resources is routine in hospitals. The Australia New Zealand Intensive Care Society’s COVID-19 Guidelines specify “the likelihood of response to treatment” as a principle in accessing intensive care treatment.

We do put a value on lives lost or, conversely, lives saved. Under Australian government best practice guidelines the value of a life is A$4.2 million, with one year of life worth A$182,000 (in 2014 dollars).

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The costs of social distancing may well be worth the benefits, but we have not yet had this discussion. We need to have a frank public conversation about the full economic costs versus benefits of major socialdistancing policies.

Flattening the curve

The aim of social distancing is to “flatten the curve”.

This means slowing the rate at which the virus is spread, so we get fewer critical cases in the short term.

Slowing the spread allows our medical services to cope with the caseload at any given time. It maximises the prospect of patients getting the care they need when they need it, therefore reducing deaths.

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But the question is whether the benefits of social distancing are worth the costs. Is it better to slug businesses, workers and households over a long time under draconian social-distancing policies? Or would it be better to go for a shorter and less severe economic hit, but with more stress on the health system during that time?

Social messaging about social distancing in San Francisco, March 18 2020. John G. Mabanglo/EPA

Read more: How to flatten the curve of coronavirus, a mathematician explains

On the other hand, modelling also shows the effectiveness of social distancing depends on the infectiousness of the disease and it being done very early on in the epidemic. Do it well, the authors advise, “or not at all”.

Limited evidence

The cost-benefit evidence on social distancing is scarce. We have little hard data because there have been few actual epidemics/pandemics where social distancing has been widely adopted as public policy.

But modelling by health economists indicates some things.

One is that targeted social distancing – applied, for example, to old people – is more effective than a blunt policy applied to everyone. The reason is a blunt policy applies to recovered individuals as well as susceptible individuals. We don’t want recovered individuals to isolate or distance themselves – in fact we want them in public spaces acting as buffers between the infectious and uninfected.

Yet so far health experts have recommended blunt social distancing through cancelling large gatherings such as sport and cultural events, working from home and avoiding public places, and some school and work closures.

Read more: Australian schools are closing because of coronavirus, but should they be?

22 | Aussie Painting Contractor

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School closures are extremely costly. A 2010 study in Britain estimated a 13-week closure would reduce GDP initially by 8.1%.

This makes decisions to close schools, as Britain has done, or keep them open, as Australia is doing, highly contestable, either as too blunt a response or as not doing social distancing well. More information to weigh costs and benefits might help.

This makes decisions to close schools, as Britain has done, or keep them open, as Australia is doing, highly contestable, either as too blunt a response or as not doing social distancing well. More information to weigh costs and benefits might help.

Irreversible Consequences

Warwick McKibbin, director of the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis in the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, estimated a few weeks ago the corona virus crisis will knock 2% off global GDP. This estimate included the effects of sick workers and some effects on investment and supply networks. It did not include the effects of major social-distancing policies (such as widespread closures of schools and businesses and self-isolation), which would effectively destroy businesses and cause massive job losses.

Once we add these costs it is conceivable the total costs would be closer to those of the Great Depression, when GDP fell by 10% in 1931 and unemployment was more than 15%.

Lower-cost containment measures may more prudent right now than simply escalating social distancing in a knee-jerk way.

higher taxes or lower government spending on things like health and education. There is no “free lunch” in economic stimulus.

Government spending does not bring back international tourists or international students. It cannot save every job and business, nor compensate for the costs of restarting a failed restaurant or shop.

Economics tells us there can be a non-trivial “option value” in delaying decisions in the face of uncertainty where the decisions have irreversible consequences.

It can be better to wait for new information. If we kill off businesses and jobs now, and the virus turns out to be not so bad, those lost jobs and businesses cannot be easily re-established just by scaling back on social distancing.

The benefits of social distancing may or may not be worth it. But we don’t know, and as a society aren’t even asking the question.

Read more: Can I take the dog for a walk? Can I put the kids to bed? What you should and shouldn’t do if you’re in coronavirus self-isolation

Professor of Economics and National Senior Teaching Fellow, Griffith University

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Ross Guest

Government stimulus spending will be no silver bullet here, no matter how big. Even though it’s the appropriate time for governments to borrow and spend, future generations will have to pay the debt through

2019 December Issue | 23

Great Leadership when it counts (like now) We’ve all been thrown a curveball called COVID-19.

The world is in a spin about how to respond to this fast-changing, unprecedented situation. While there is no perfect way to navigate through it, it’s important painters flex their leadership muscles during this time.

As the current COVID-19 scenario plays out, your leadership style will influence the way your customers and employees go on this journey with you. While COVID-19 is a challenge for all of us, don’t underestimate the power of your leadership mindset.

Whether you’re a solo painter or head up a team of painters, you’ve got to show up now more than ever.

When the going gets tough, our true colours shine through. In this blog, our mates at Lifestyle Tradie share what it takes to be a great leader.

Practical leadership support

Are you a reactive or proactive leader?

Look around you. There are leaders who have stepped up to the challenge of leading through these tough times and leaders who are not coping.

Importantly, the best leaders have their eyes on the bigger picture, what’s ahead, and are not scrambling to keep up.

How would you rate your performance as a leader in this uncertain situation? Would you describe yourself as a reactive or proactive leader?

Reactive versus proactive leader A reactive leader responds to change when it happens and ‘tells’ the team how to do something. A proactive leader uses the unity of the team to solve a problem and paints a vision for the future that involves performance objectives, not quick fixes.

Reactive versus proactive mindset There’s certainly a time and place for both leadership styles. For example, if a plane is about to crash, the last thing any of us would want the captain to do is to gather his/her team around him/her and ask them what they think we should do in this situation!

24 | Aussie Painting Contractor

Tradespeople are all in this together.

That’s why the team at Lifestyle Tradie has developed a done-for-you COVID-19 toolkit you can apply immediately in your painting business. You’ll find two explainer videos, a guide on how to facilitate a COVID-19 toolbox meeting, a policy and memorandum, email, text, call script and social post that you can use and implement right now.

Get the toolkit via this link: https://www.lifestyletradie.com.au/toolkit-aussiepaintersnetwork

By taking a positive and practical approach to leadership, painters will be set up to focus on the opportunities that will inevitably present themselves on the other side of this.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Angela Smith

Co-founder – Lifestyle Tradie

“Helping Trade Business Owners Fast-Track Financial & Lifestyle Success”

Lifestyle Tradie is an award-winning education hub and community for tradies. Since 2009, we’ve taught thousands of tradies how to be better business leaders.

YOUR COVID-19 TOOLKIT We’ve all be thrown a massive curveball called COVID-19. There’s lots of stuff going on right now. The fear and panic is unsettling for our employees and our customers. As trade business owners, it’s up to us to instil calm and confidence through strong leadership, staying positive and having a rock-solid game plan.In this toolkit, we’ve created done-for-you resources you can use immediately.

You’ll fi nd two explainer videos from Andy Smith, a guide on how to facilitate a COVID-19 toolbox meeting, a policy and memorandum, email, text, call script and social post that you can use and implement right now.

HOW TO CONDUCT A TOOLBOX MEETING

CRISIS-PROOF YOUR TRADE BUSINESS IN 2020

w w w. lif es tyle tradie .co m. au

2020 April Issue | 25

ALONE George’s well-worn hands toil with an uncooperative computer terminal. Like a prisoner who’s in solitary confinement, his sad expression offers a window into his depleted energy. His wife is ringing his cell as it is almost six o’clock and his daughter’s school play starts at 7:00. He doesn’t want to answer it.

Not an office guy, he forced himself to learn how to use the computer and QuickBooks. Payroll must be ready by tomorrow and the computer keeps flashing a network error. The computer tech won’t answer.

His office administrator has been out with the flu and he can’t reach her for help. Finally, he gets up and heads hurriedly home so he won’t miss his daughter’s performance.

It’s been a bad week. Jose, one of his long-term employees quit for an outrageous pay increase some desperate contractor offered plus he took his helper with him. The Jones’s job has turned into a nightmare. The customer is just crazy picky and nothing seems to please. It’s already 50% over budget. Cash is tight because a large commercial job has not paid yet. All George is told is that it is being processed. Family life is not very good as he comes home late and falls asleep on the sofa. He wonders what has gone wrong and remembers back 12 years ago how excited he was to start his own business.

He loved working in the field with his crews. The joy of building things and being his own boss. Why isn’t business fun anymore? He has never felt lonelier. It feels like no one is on his side.

I have been running networking groups for contractors for 27 years and have learned a lot through the process. In the beginning, contractors join because they want to make more money; they stay because they need someone on their side. Running a business can be a lonely proposition. Getting too close to employees and customers can backfire. Your friends don’t understand and when they bitch about their boss you are wondering if that is what employees say about you. So how do you break this isolation and move forward? Here are some simple steps that might help.

1. Develop a hobby and activities outside of work.

Something as simple as riding a bike or taking a walk with a partner once a week. Better yet do something social such as play volleyball or poker with a group of friends and enjoy the social interaction. Make sure it is something you enjoy.

2. Exercise. Nothing like physical activity to help you sleep at night and keep you emotionally keen.

Possibly working in the field provided such exercise but now you are not physically working and need to still get that exercise.

3. Stop hoping your spouse and friends will get it.

Unless you own a business it’s hard to understand what owning a business really entails. Find some business friends to talk with now and then.

4. Consider joining a business person group.

AUSSIE PAINTERS NETWORK

E-LEARNING PORTAL Advanced Estimating Course for Painters - $250.00 Quoting Off Plans Calculating Overheads Hourly Rates and Labour Costs Tendering and Contracting Financial Management for Painters - $150.00 Basic Book-keeping Interpreting Financial Reports BAS and GST Marketing a Painting Business - $150.00 Effective Social Media Web-sites and Marketing Plans Starting a Painting Business - $150.00 Business Structures Workplace Health and Safety Legal requirements Contracting Painters WHS Management - $120.00 Risk Assessment Handling Apprentices Industry Specific SWMS and JSAs Relevant AS/NZ Standards and Codes of Practice WHS Management Plans Effective Customer Service - $150.00 Maintaining a Professional Image Closing the Sale and Following Through Quality Assurance

Painters Safety Induction Course - $20.00 Hazardous Materials Working at heights Electrical safety Manual Handling Spray Painting Safety Lead Paint Safety Lead Paint and Asbestos Awareness Course - $90.00 Testing for lead paint Encapsulation Painting Asbestos Containment and Clearance Chemical Stripping Painting Contractor Business Management - $800.00 Customer Service Financial Forecasting Managing Employees Marketing Resolving Business Disputes - $150.00 Create a Dispute Resolution Procedure Understanding the Security of Payment ACT COVID-19 Infection Control Course - $39.00 (Payment optional at end of course)

Business Continuity Plans Hygiene procedures Preparing your workplace Self-isolation procedures Risk assessment templates

2020 April Issue | 27

Phone: 13 25 59 Fax: (07) 3877 2285 sales@quickally.com.au

ALUMINUM ACCESS EQUIPMENT

10 YEAR Manufacturer’s Warranty

Supporting the trades of Australia with Quality Aluminum Products

28 | Aussie Painting Contractor

4. Work hard to upgrade your organization so you have one or two people you can depend on. A good office manager that manages details can make a huge difference. Upgrading means you may have to pay a little more but it will be worth it to have someone to help take the details and stress away.

5. Slow your growth. Consider raising prices and doing less volume. Growth is not always your friend.

Growth requires more people, more cash and more leads. Grow, grow, grow is not easy in a contracting business that requires skilled craftspeople.

6. If your situation feels hopeless and you are tired all the time, you may be depressed. Seek professional help. One of the issues with depression is that it happens to you so slowly. Stress has a way of slowly boiling you. Throw a frog into a pot of boiling water and the frog will immediately jump out. Put a frog in regular water and gradually bring it to a boil and you have a boiled frog. Possibly, your frog is boiled and you don’t even know it.

7. Learn to delegate. Some contractors are control freaks and as the business grows they can longer

keep their fingers in everything. You can’t do everything. Determine what you can delegate and hold people responsible to get it done.

8. Stop enabling people. Don’t be the fixer. Don’t let everyone give you their monkeys and walk around all day carrying them. Be careful of filling your business with friends and family, particularly family members who struggle to perform in other jobs and life. Your business is your golden calf. Don’t slaughter it, as everyone will lose. If your 27-year old son can’t keep a job, you are not helping him by having him come to work for you.

There is no doubt that running a business can be a lonely proposition but don’t make it worse by isolating yourself. Talk to others about it. I would be happy to talk with you, call me at 804 267-1688. You only get one earthly life, figure out how to enjoy it.

Monroe Porter

is president of PROOF Management a firm that teaches seminars and runs networking groups for painting contractors.

www.proofman.com

The portable, inexpensive method to prevent paint waste-water polluting the environment.

2020 April Issue | 29

Lambo…

#SheepToo I’ve chosen to tell you about Lambo… #SheepToo as it is one of my oldest and most enduring stories.

paddock to make it through before the glory of victory, was Lambo’s paddock.

It seems to get etched into people’s minds because… well? Let’s just jump right into it and see…

Enter Lambo…

When I was a small girl of about eight years old in New Zealand, I used to spend a lot of time with my parent’s friends’ kids on their deer farm in Christchurch.

The Ultimate Game

When night fell, our favourite thing was to play, ‘The Ultimate Game’.

One kid would sit with a large spotlight on the balcony that spanned the house and had the perfect view of the long driveway and series of paddocks out the front. The rest of us would run way down the driveway to our starting point.

Lambo was this deer farm’s only sheep. Lambo was a pet sheep. Rob and his kids stumbled across this pitiful little lamb on the side of the road one day in the 1980s not long after the hit film Rambo came out.

He had clearly been abandoned by his mother and was going to die if they left him there. So they christened him Lambo, took him home, and welcomed him to the family. I can’t imagine what it was about that tiny, cute, helpless baby lamb that reminded them of Sylvester Stallone’s revenge filled, murderous madman on a rampage… But who knows? Maybe it was a prophecy…

It was our mission to climb over or somehow get through the paddock fences and make our way through the fields full of animals to our final destination, under the house, without getting spotted by our spotter on the balcony.

Sheep are not solitary animals. They like to flock together. The family’s other pet was a big rottweiler dog called Max. Sometimes Lambo would try to flock together with Max. Sometimes Max would let him. If he ever got into the deer paddocks he would happily flock with them too. The kids would play in his paddock with him, and they would tear around the farm on horses and motorbikes while Lambo tried to join in.

This was no mean feat. There were two long paddocks with little creeks and many skittish deer with not TOO much foliage to hide behind. But the final

But like all babies, Lambo didn’t stay a lamb forever. By this night when we were playing The Ultimate Game, Lambo was a full-grown sheep.

30 | Aussie Painting Contractor

Let the game begin!

I was one of the youngest and the only girl who used to play this game. I didn’t know I was a girl back then even if everyone else did, so I was 100% in it to win it.

We were all gathered behind the old shed at the bottom of the farm, and the spotter signalled he was about to start our ten second reprieve. In these ten seconds we would have to scale the maybe four meter high fence, and find a hiding space where we could regroup, and plot our next move before the dreaded spotlight came into play…

“NOW!” It was on!

Seven or eight of us kids frantically climbed the fence, jumped down the other side, and scattered in all different directions. I heard one boy catch his shoe on the way down and expel some language one might not expect to hear from one so small… unless they grew up on a farm in New Zealand…

No time to look back. This was every kid for themselves.

Most of the others ran off to the right or down the centre. This day the far left was calling me and I successfully made it to shelter. For the spotter, the time when they first turn around is the best time to ‘take out’ the most people, as that is when we runners are most vulnerable. It is pitch black.

Is this really a good hiding space? Am I going to make it before he turns around? I didn’t think it was that far…

It is also the time we make the most noise. This time was no exception.

“Spotted Brendon!” “Spotted Craig!”

I was hunkered down behind a bush so I didn’t see the humiliating light bathe them as he shouted. Just stay still and wait for this initial frenzy to be over Claire…

You’ve got this.

Time to get serious

I could hear some of my fellow competitors starting to make their next move across the paddock. So could our spotter. The light darted to the other side of the paddock. This was my chance.

My feet were air that night. I made a good distance narrowly missing a resting deer I hadn’t anticipated.

The time you are most vulnerable is when you have to get through the four-metre-high fences. If you were lucky you might ‘find’ a weak point and ‘help’ it into an eight-year-old sized hole, but that was somewhat ‘frowned upon’ by our parents…

2020 April Issue | 31

Otherwise you had to pick a spot and make the climb as quickly and quietly as possible, because every good spotter knows to keep checking back here.

“Spotted Mark!”

Another one down! And over the other side from me! I made my move and YES! Fence number two successfully defeated.

And holy crap, I think I was winning! WAY ahead of the other guys. This could be it! The moment I had been waiting for…

Into Lambo’s territory

Calm down Richardson… You’ve still got to scale one fence to Lambo’s paddock, and then the last fence before the glory of victory under the house. It is by no means assured…

Right…

Our spotter was well focused on fence number two and surrounds now, not thinking anyone had made it further up. This was another window I had to take before they got jumpy and started scanning again.

He thinks he’s onto someone down there…

I slowly scaled the fence by one of the posts in the hope of blending in. Stay down by that fence, spotter… Stay down by that fence… The trick at the top is to stay low, oh, and not fall down the other side with a loud thud. So far so good, but still in the danger-zone.

SUCCESS! I was in and secure! Woohoo! I don’t think I had ever made it this far before. What a freakin’ hero!

But this is a dangerous spot. It is so close to the house now. The slightest noise can tip off the spotter. Now was the time to be more vigilant than ever. I had to get around Lambo’s little pond and over the other fence without making ANY noise.

“Spotted Paul!”

Ooooh! Another one down! More language unbecoming of children…

The silence quickly fell upon us again, until I heard this grunting noise behind me.

What the…?

32 | Aussie Painting Contractor

What the..?

I turned my head just enough to catch the sight of Lambo bounding up behind me, extending his fullgrown sheep’s body to wrap his hooves around my eight-year-old little waist, and start going to town on me, like a horny little dog on its owner’s leg.

What the..?

Luckily I had a horny little dog at home, so I knew what was happening. At full extended height, Lambo was about the same height as I was, and the power of horniness had given him super-sheep strength.

DAMNIT! He was going to give my position away! How would I extract this big horny bastard without getting spotted ??

Mercifully his grunting wasn’t TOO loud. I grabbed each hoof with my hands and tried with all of my strength to unlock his vice-like grip. GODDAMNIT LAMBO! And why wouldn’t this family have him desexed? What was Lambo ever going to do with his libido??

Okay, try again…

I couldn’t make any noise, but in my head I’m screaming with the effort, “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!”

I finally prised Lambo’s locked hooves from my waist, rolled along the ground a short distance, sat up, and faced the horny devil. We locked eyes.

“Bring it Lambo,” mine were saying. Lambo snorted and grunted loudly, then ran off.

The spotlight darted to my position.

Mercifully I was still concealed behind a bush. Okay Claire, don’t flinch, don’t breathe…

The light hovered for a second, followed my attempted rapist momentarily, before coming back to the scene of the crime.

“Bloody Lambo,” I heard the spotter mutter. If only he knew!!

The light then went back to scanning the fences further down.

We are here

to HELP!!

info@aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au 1800 355 344 or 07 3555 8010 2020 April Issue | 33

The pressure is on!

DAMN that was close. In SO many ways. Get it together Richardson. Who knows how long you’ve got before Lambo comes back for round two? It’s time to win this thing! It’s now or never!

“Spotted Sam!” Perfect. Sam was spotted still back in the second paddock.

There was a little tear in the fence I thought I could manoeuvre so I could slide through next to one of the far posts. Scaling the fence this close is almost suicide.

I worked it a little. Keep it quiet Claire. You can do this.

I saw the light swing violently my way and darted quickly back behind a bush. Breath held.

No call. Phew!

The spotter was looking everywhere now. I was not going to have the luxury of so many others distracting him anymore.

I crept back to the spot, slid through, and made the dash to victory.

“MADE IT!” I shouted.

The sweet taste of victory!

Expletives from the spotter, cheers from those who were already ‘out’ and waiting at the top. No one ever expected me to do it. But glory was mine and it tasted good.

It was now time for me to take the ultimate prize. It was my turn to be the spotter and I KNEW I would kick arse at it.

But of course, Mum and Dad decided it was time to go home before I could take up the honour. Oh well, maybe next time…

How did I feel about my first sexual assault being by a sheep? Okay technically it was our horny little dog, but puppy leg humping doesn’t count…

I reflected on how Kiwis are often referred to as ‘sheep shaggers’ by outsiders, particularly Aussies,

due to the country having more sheep than people.

But who are REALLY the predators here?? Maybe it is not that cut and dried…

#SheepToo

And what became of Lambo? He kicked around for a few more years and increasingly began living up to the behaviour of his namesake. He started ramming into other animals and even the kids on their bikes and horses. After one particularly bad incident with the youngest daughter, they decided that Lambo, much like his namesake, was a menace to society and had to be taken out.

Although his stealth skills were impressive for a sheep, Rambo he was not. He met his demise one sunny afternoon with a bullet to the head from the oldest son, who once so lovingly reared him.

RIP Lambo you crazy, horny, lonely old sheep. You added a new dimension to those whose lives you touched, and certainly provided many a good story in The Ultimate Game of your life.

The End

Thanks for reading and/or listening. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please like and share on social media. I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin and my handle is @ClaireRWriter.

If you want to work with me, check out my website ClaireRWriter.com and book a meeting.

Until next time!

WHAT IS THIS BLOG ALL ABOUT? It’s about being entertained. It is about sometimes laughing, sometimes thinking, getting your heart racing, transporting yourself into the stories, and generally having a good time. I hope my posts will make you feel… something.

Claire Richardson Writer

www.facebook.com/ClaireRWriter/ www.clairewriter.com

2020 April Issue | 35

Petition Outcome After about four months of the Parliamentary petition running it came to an end on the 11th February 2020. It was disappointing to see the results considering the number of painters and public contact us about having painting removed from the Home Warranty Insurance Scheme.

With only 831 signatures it was easy for the Government to not take it seriously as making the change to have painting removed.

Unfortunately, it has been made clear by the Government that the change will not be made, and the Painting Industry is stuck with the Home Warranty Insurance Scheme for the foreseeable future.

Thanks to all those that mad the effort for the industry See the response from the Minister.

36 | Aussie Painting Contractor

2020 April Issue | 37

50 YEARS A HOUSE PAINTER

This book contains 36 topics of industry related knowledge and information which will help you in the way you operate your business.Topics under headings of; Business Checklist, Staff, Marketing and Sourcing Customers, Professional Behavior, Successful Operation and Looking Ahead.Highly recommended by Jason Osborn, Dulux Business Development Executive as; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;A very easy interesting read, that combines industry facts and great topics.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

www.mytools4business.com

38 | Aussie Painting Contractor

The Real Cost

Do you have a full understanding of what your business costs are?

Do you know how much profit is in your hourly rate after taking out expenses?

If you don’t know these two things, I can honestly say you’re not alone as there are many business owners that have no idea either.

I beg you please! Don’t assume that when you were working for a boss and on a wage of $35 an hour, you can go out working for yourself and charge $45 an hour and feel that is enough. I can guarantee you it won’t be. I can guarantee though you will be working 10-12 hour days, 6 days a week, just trying to make ends meet. This is not the way to run a business. You will be tired, you will be grumpy and stress will set in.

This is not good for your health or well-being and not fair on your family either.

Don’t go by what others charge out either as every business has different overheads. Even being in a different State could change your rate by a dollar or two.

You need to be ‘on the ball’ and work out how much everything is costing you in your business. Once this is done, you can add on your profit margin.

To work out your hourly rate, you must calculate how many days you actually work ‘on the tools’. I call these ‘Productive Hours’ (quoting, bookwork, holidays, etc, are not producing an income so are not included).

There are 260 ‘Working Days’ in a year (taking out weekends). Now subtract all the days you are not physically working, which will include the quoting, bookwork and maybe supervision if you have employees. This may come down to you only being on the tools for 165 days of the year (you have to realise that if you’re not on the job with a brush in your hand, you are not earning your own income). You now multiply 165 by 8 to give you how many hours you physically work in a year. This is then divided into to your total yearly expense (which will include your wage and Superannuation) and it will give you your ‘Break-Even’ hourly rate. (If you need any assistance with this, feel free to contact me at info@mytools4business.com) The video attached is just one example of an expense if you have an employee. You will be truly amazed at the final cost when all entitlements are included.

-------------------------------------------------------------------Jim Baker www.mytools4business.com

2020 April Issue | 39

My employee is not performing!

What can I do?

Having employees who are not performing can be particularly frustrating for employers, particularly trade related businesses. You’ve quoted a job on the basis that the job will get done in a certain timeframe. So if you have an employee who is consistently late to work, slow back from lunch, on their phone during the day and generally not working at an acceptable pace then this going to have a significant impact on your ability to get the job done right in the quoted time frame.

Wages are a painter’s largest operating expense. So, if you have an employee who is underperforming and only operating at 60% then effectively you are losing 40% of their wages every year. This is going to have a significant impact on your business’s bottom line.

• Personal issues. Employee might be experiencing some challenges in their personal life that is impacting on their concentration and focus at work.

Underperformance. What is it and how should you handle it?

Now that we know the causes, what can we do about it?

Firstly, what is underperformance? Underperformance is basically when an employee is not performing to an acceptable or expected level. They may be failing to complete required tasks, taking longer than necessary to complete the tasks, frequent absences or poor time keeping. It can also include having a poor attitude.

• Not feeling comfortable or confident in their tasks.

They don’t feel confident so they put it off hoping it’ll either go away or someone else will do it.

• Lack of accountability. When employees don’t feel they are being held accountable for their tasks/ performance then their performance levels can start to slide. Once this starts to happen, it can become a slippery slope where their lowest performance level becomes the new standard.

Tackle the issue early In all cases where you have an underperforming employee, you should address the issue early. Initially this can be a simple informal conversation such as:

What causes underperformance? There can be several reasons why an employee is performing poorly but the most common we find are:

“Hey, John. I notice that you weren’t able to get that job finished yesterday. Was there something holding you up on it?”

• Poor engagement. The employee isn’t engaged in their role or their tasks. This might be borne out of boredom, complacency, lack of interest, poor relationships with manager or colleagues or not understanding the importance of the task.

Or “Hi, John. I notice you’ve been late a few times this week. Is there something going on I should be aware of? Could you please make sure you’re here at 8am going forward as when you’re not here on time it pushes our whole schedule out.”

40 | Aussie Painting Contractor

Look to the cause

Key points to remember

We mentioned above that there were four main causes of underperformance – engagement, personal issues, confidence and lack of accountability. If you are aware of poor performance, then it’s also time to tune into what may be causing the poor performance. If you notice that an employee takes a long time to complete a particular task, then some training might be in order. If your employee is always scrolling through Facebook, then it might be time to bring in a Mobile Phone and Devices policy and / or an Employee Engagement program. Or for an employee struggling with personal issues, then asking “are you ok” may help. For employee’s that aren’t performing due to a lack of accountability then its time to bring in some performance management measures such as a performance review.

• Underperformance should be dealt with promptly.

Depending on the severity of the underperformance, its cause and how long it’s been going on then a formal Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) may need to be implemented. A PIP should clearly outline your expectations, detail achievable goals and a reasonable timeframe for the employee to turn their performance around. Your mindset when implementing a PIP should always be to set your employee up to succeed. You want to be working with your employee to assist them in correcting their poor performance and turning a low performing employee into a high performing employee.

• The longer poor performance is allowed to continue, the more difficult a satisfactory resolution becomes as well as having a negative impact on other well performing employees. No one likes to feel that they are carrying the burden of an underperforming employee.

• Be consistent. Consistently deal with each transgression. Don’t let them slide or it will become the new standard.

• Set your employee up to succeed.

HR Maximised can assist with developing a performance management meeting plan to help turn a poor performing employee into a high performing employee.

Vanessa Petch HR Maximised 0418 190 106

2020 April Issue | 41

COVID-19 Infection

Control Accreditation The World Health Organisation has provided data that shows that approximately 20% of everyone who contracts the virus will need to be hospitalised, and between 3 - 4% of people who contract it may die.

This makes it over 20 times more dangerous than the flu (the flu has a mortality rate of .1% ) When you combine this with the fact that it is twice as contagious as the flu (the average person who contracts the virus passes it on to approximately two other people, vs the flu which is usually only passed onto an average of one other person), you can quickly see how dangerous it is and why the government is taking drastic measures to keep it contained.

The demographic who seem to be the most at risk of fatalities are people over the age of 60, and anyone with a pre-existing health condition, such as diabetes, or lung problems.

The impact of coronavirus is wide ranging within the painting industry, from effects felt within the supply chain, through to the inevitable questions about its impact on employment conditions and safety.

It is critical that painting company supervisors and employees train their staff in strict hygiene, particularly when doing repaints on residential and commercial projects. Painters are required to handle door furniture, window furniture, doors, architraves, and many surfaces which are perfect for transmitting the virus. It is important to sterilise all these surfaces on completion, and to avoid sharing tools such as brushes and roller poles without sterilisation.

In addition to physical wellness, employers should consider mental health, too, because employers report anxiety among workers as one of the top issues brought on by the coronavirus.

42 | Aussie Painting Contractor

Under the WHS laws, employers must have measures in place to eliminate or manage the risks arising from COVID-19.

To do this, you should keep up to date with the latest COVID-19 information and advice to ensure that any action taken is appropriate. This includes closely monitoring the information provided by the Australian Government Department of Health, the Smartraveller website and advice from state governmen agencies, including health departments and WHS regulators.

You will not be able to completely eliminate the risk of workers contracting COVID-19 while carrying out work. However you must do all that is reasonably practicable to minimise that risk.

What control measures will be reasonably practicable will depend on the work being carried out by workers and particular workplaces. Generally, you should: • determine appropriate control measures in consultation with workers, their representatives and taking account of official information sources (see below for further information on consultation) • implement those measures and clearly communicate them to all workers, including providing clear direction and guidance about what is expected of workers • workers should know when to stay away from the workplace • what action to take if they become unwell • what symptoms to be concerned about • continually monitor relevant information sources and update control measures when and if necessary • employers should continue to provide information to workers, including changes to control measures, as the situation develops • provide workers continued access to official government sources for current information and advice

• provide workers with appropriate personal protective equipment and facilities, and information and training on how and why they are required to use them • require workers to practice good hygiene, including: • frequent hand washing • limiting contact with others, including through shaking hands • covering their mouths while coughing or sneezing • sterilising any tools that are shared, or providing employees with seperate tools kits • providing clean and sterilised toilet facilities and cleaning products such as soap and/or hand sanitiser • require workers to stay away from the workplace if they are unwell and not fit for work, and encourage them to seek medical advice as appropriate • seek advice from health authorities immediately if there has been a confirmed case of COVID-19 in your workplace • limit access to the workplace by other people, unless necessary • reconsider work-related travel and implement other methods of communication • remind workers that they have a duty to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and to not adversely affect the health and safety of others • provide workers with a point of contact to discuss their concerns, and access to support services, including employee assistance programs • allow workers to access available entitlements in line with obligations under any applicable enterprise agreement, award, employees’ contracts of employment, and workplace policies​

Society, and Biological Services Australia. It contains important facts and information from the World Health Organisation, the Federal Department of Health, and WorkSafe Victoria, and is created in such as way to ensure that employers and employees understand the information. Topics covered include: • • • • • • •

Who is at risk?

How to carry out proper hygiene practices How to disinfect surfaces How to self-isolate Business continuity planning Safe Travel procedures Risk Assessment and COVID-19 SWMS

We recommend putting all your staff through this course as soon as possible. Although a lot of information is freely available on the internet, employers should not rely on their employees finding the correct information themselves, and simply reading it. It is vitally important that they show they understand it; it could be a matter of life or death for some people.

The course can be completed from home on any internet connected device, including phones, tablets, laptops or PCs, and can translate into over 35 languages.

Employers who complete the course are issued with a certification. The course takes about 2 hours to complete. Certification is issued by the National Painting and Decorating Institute, and the Australasian Infection Control Society.

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To assist you to do this quickly and efficiently, the National Painting and Decorating Institute has created an easily understandable and affordable on-line course, in association with the Australasian Infection Control

Daniel Wurm

National Painting and Decorating Institute.

2020 April Issue | 43

BUSINESS PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO BUSINESS OWNERS. At Future Funding, we want our clients to grow, prosper and achieve their goals. From time to time, we all face challenges and we need to do our best to protect our livelihoods. Recent unforeseen events – floods, bushfires and now COVID-19 – have triggered us to prepare the following to help you: 1. Understand your cash position Make sure you have a clear cash flow projection for the next 6 months with scenarios that include a material reduction of revenue.

2. Make sure you have maximum cash and credit in your business Review your planned expenditure and make sure you are focusing on minimizing any short-term discretionary spending. Also, ensure your banking arrangements are maximized.

3. Collect debtors and don’t extend credit to known problem clients Remember that if your clients don’t pay you in a time of economic stress, they can destroy your business. Take cash up front from past offenders.

4. Insurance coverage Many businesses have business interruption insurance and now is the time to contact your agent to review your policy.

5. Prepare your team Review your team and stack rank them from best to worst performer. Ask your team to double down on effort and ensure you have a plan to match your team to your revenues.

44 | Aussie Painting Contractor

arrange flexible terms to keep the whole team intact during a prolonged severe downturn.

6. Seek Government assistance The ATO implemented a series of administrative measures to assist Australians experiencing financial difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

For further information, CLICK HERE. 7. Set the vision Show the positive future to your team on the other side of any downturn. Share that things will get better over time if everyone works together.

8. Opportunities Stress and dislocation in the economy provide opportunity to accelerate.

Many Business Owners who currently have Home Loans tied up against their business will be feeling the stress as to what will happen in the future.

It is important for all of us who are Self Employed and running our own businesses to be informed and updated with what is in the marketplace available to us.

We are starting to put together ourselves a list of banks who have direct information and processes for Homeowners to seek the assistance you require, including several Government sites which information can be given directly.

Lead Kills

Find out if the things around you are safe for humans and pets.

Buy your DIY- Sampling Lead Test Kit/Lab Analysis Lead Kit Lead Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lead Test Kit are the only ones available in Australia.

Even LOW level of lead is HARMFUL CLICK HERE for videos on How to use the sampling kit For donations, CLICK HERE This Lead Safe World Project of The LEAD Group, aims to achieve a lead safe world by 2041

You take the samples and send them to Sydney Analytical Labs.

www.lead.org.au 2020 April Issue | 45

Come and share your painting ideas! www.facebook.com/groups/aussiepaintersnetwork/ 46 | Aussie Painting Contractor

Below are the current Lenders we have sourced and will be updating this as the weeks go on.

Business owners should also be aware there are some good information grants and Business programs available to business owners.

There are some loan and grant options out there that you should look at.

I will have more information regarding these in due course but here are some links to look at or perhaps start registration process.

http://www.qrida.qld.gov.au/current-programs/covid19-business-support/queensland-covid19-jobs-supportscheme https://www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/economy/ government-coronavirus-second-stimulus-small-business/

Personal Debts & Relief: you can access $10k of your super and If you have a mortgage then take advantage of the repayment pausing.

Any assistance contact Alex on 1300 790 818 or 0414 505 504

2020 April Issue | 47

The Industry Idiots

48 | Aussie Painting Contractor

IMPORTANT

Contacts

Aussie Painters Network www.aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

Ph. 0430 399 800

National Institute for Painting and Decorating www.painters.edu.au

Ph. 1300 319 790

Australian Tax Office www.ato.gov.au

Ph. 13 72 26 / Ph. 13 28 65

Award Rates www.fairwork.gov.au

Ph. 13 13 94

Fair Work Building & Construction www.fwbc.gov.au

Ph. 1800 003 338

Mates In Construction www.matesinconstruction.com.au

Ph. 1300 642 111

Workplace Health and Safety Contacts Comcare WorkSafe ACT Workplace Health and Safety QLD Victorian WorkCover Authority WorkCover NSW SafeWork SA WorkSafe WA NT WorkSafe WorkSafe Tasmania

www.comcare.gov.au www.worksafe.act.gov.au www.worksafe.qld.gov.au www.vwa.vic.gov.au www.workcover.nsw.gov.au www.safework.sa.gov.au www.commerce.wa.gov.au/WorkSafe/ www.worksafe.nt.gov.au www.worksafe.tas.gov.au

1300 366 979 02 6207 3000 1300 362 128 1800 136 089 13 10 50 1300 365 255 1300 307 877 1800 019 115 1300 366 322

www.actcancer.org www.cancercouncil.com.au www.cancercouncilnt.com.au www.cancerqld.org.au www.cancersa.org.au www.cancervic.org.au www.cancerwa.asn.au

(02) 6257 9999 (02) 9334 1900 (08) 8927 4888 (07) 3634 5100 (08) 8291 4111 (03) 9635 5000 (08) 9212 4333

Cancer Council Australia ACT NSW NT QLD SA VIC WA

2020 April Issue | 49