Tasmanian Business Reporter April 2018

Tasmanian Business Reporter - APRIL 2018 7
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Small business our
economic backbone
Sue
Hickey
Parliamentary Secretary for
Small Business
IT IS an absolute pleasure and
an honour to be appointed
Parliamentary Secretary for
Small Business and Parliamentary
Secretary for Urban
Development in the re-elected
Hodgman Liberal Government.
With more than 30 years of
experience in small business,
I understand the unique pressures
facing this vital sector
of the economy.
I will be bringing my personal
understanding and
knowledge to the position
and act as a strong advocate
for Tasmania’s small business
community.
In 2012 I received my Masters
of Business and Administration
from the University
of Tasmania and in 2007 was
nominated Telstra Tasmanian
Business Woman of the Year
in recognition of my business
experience.
Tasmania’s small business
sector is the backbone
of the state’s economy, with
more than 36,000 small businesses
employing more than
110,000.
I want to see Tasmania’s
small businesses continue to
flourish and the re-elected
Government has a number of
policies to support small businesses
so they can reach their
full potential.
Following our successful
$5 million pilot scheme to
support trainees and apprentices
in small businesses, we
will provide $2.5 million annually
for a Small Business
Grants for Apprentices and
Trainees Program.
This funding would provide
a grant of up to $5,000 for
each new apprentice or trainee
taken on by a small business
in growth areas, including
building and construction,
tourism and hospitality and
advanced manufacturing.
Feel free to contact me
at sue.hickey@parliament.tas.gov.au
www.tcci.com.au
Trust a fragile asset
By ELIZABETH PROUST
AICD Chairwoman
ORGANISATIONAL culture is essential
to repair the trust divide.
Throughout 2017, successive scandals
in the finance sector, the arts, the not-forprofit
sector, and governments perpetuated
a significant trust decline in the Australian
community.
A spotlight was shone on workplace
culture which has forced directors to consider
what role we have in shaping those
cultures.
The culture of our workplaces has
probably never been under greater scrutiny
than it is today and boards have a
crucial role in shaping, monitoring and
changing our organisational cultures –
across all sectors.
If we, as directors, are not setting and
requiring the cultures that our staff and
the wider community expect, we cannot
hope to repair the trust divide.
A good culture can be a competitive
advantage. Conversely, poor cultures
damage employee and stakeholder outcomes,
and when they result in visible
failures – be they regulatory or ethical –
they erode trust.
In that vein, it is welcome that the
most recent AICD Director Sentiment
Index found that the vast majority of directors
– 92 per cent – are actively trying
to change the culture within their organisation.
But what needs to change?
There is no “one size fits all” approach
to culture.
Boards can play a role in regaining
Elizabeth Proust
trust through improved culture if their
decisions are consistently in line with
three key pillars:
• accountability;
• transparency; and
• ethical behaviour.
The lack of accountability and transparency
in instances of financial or ethical
wrongdoing is undoubtedly a driver
of the trust deficit between Australians
and their institutions.
These may sound like straightforward
principles – yet when stakeholders or
politicians or commentators ask who
is being held to account for failures –
whether it be in corporate Australia or in
the not-for-profit sector, the answer has
too often sounded hollow.
Without greater accountability and
transparency, a culture of ethical behaviour
cannot take hold and there is no
pathway towards regaining community
trust.
In addition to ensuring these values
underpin our decisions, we as directors,
need to model the ethics we want to take
hold in an organisation. If we fail to model
the cultural traits we ask of employees
or volunteers, we can hardly be surprised
when the desired culture fails to appear.
And if we on boards reward success,
we need to hold ourselves accountable
and punish failure.
We must be transparent in doing so
– explaining clearly the reasons why
decisions have or have not been taken,
honestly and fully. The tenets of organisations’
social contract are changing as
the world changes, and directors must engage
with that, rather than dismiss it, if
we are to rebuild trust.
AICD is holding director’s
briefings on the Board
and organisational
culture.
• Ulverstone, Tue May 8.
• Launceston, Wed May 9.
• Hobart, Thur May 10.
For more information contact 03
6242 2200.
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