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SPECIAL FEATURE: VISIONZ <strong>2016</strong><br />
KAREN BAIRD<br />
HR CONSULTANT FOR HUMANKIND<br />
JOHN SAYWELL, CEO, RPM RETAIL<br />
What are some of the typical HR challenges for a small<br />
retail/healthcare business?<br />
A challenge we see a lot of is dealing with poor performance.<br />
Often discussions aren’t held early enough, due to time<br />
pressures on the manager or concerns about how to handle it<br />
or what to say. As the business grows, there also tends to be a<br />
strain on the processes, especially around who is doing what.<br />
Regularly keeping on top of this and catching concerns early<br />
through honest conversations really helps to prevent these<br />
concerns from growing and potentially blowing up further down<br />
the track.<br />
What does Humankind offer businesses too small for<br />
their own HR manager?<br />
A mistake that many small businesses make is thinking that<br />
because they are small there is no need to think about HR.<br />
Reality is, small to medium-sized businesses need just as much,<br />
if not more support than larger companies. We take an approach<br />
that allows you to only use us when needed. We review your<br />
documents and processes and advise you on risks and current<br />
opportunities.<br />
As well as an<br />
initial review,<br />
we help you<br />
understand<br />
the essentials,<br />
making sure<br />
your policies and<br />
employment<br />
agreements are<br />
up to date, you<br />
understand the<br />
latest Health<br />
and Safety<br />
requirements<br />
and, when<br />
issues occur,<br />
we help you<br />
and your teams<br />
through the<br />
processes.<br />
What is your background?<br />
I qualified as a pharmacist then managed<br />
and owned pharmacies and sunglasses<br />
stores in Auckland and Christchurch for 10<br />
years before starting the consulting and<br />
software firm RPM Retail in 2002. Our RPM<br />
Business Intelligence software is used by<br />
over 500 retailers in NZ and Australia to<br />
benchmark store performance, provide<br />
stores with a KPI scoreboard and deliver<br />
actionable daily insights and alerts to store<br />
managers, head office staff and suppliers.<br />
In 2013 RPM merged with Montage<br />
Business Intelligence – a consultancy firm<br />
whose customers include NZ’s leading<br />
agribusinesses, utility companies and a<br />
number of DHBs.<br />
Are optometrists retailers or<br />
healthcare providers?<br />
Both, and the relative percentage of these two components<br />
varies from practice to practice. More importantly however, the<br />
common theme across these two parts of the business is the<br />
one-to-one relationship with customers or clients.<br />
BTP International and Rodenstock<br />
There are exciting things happening on the BTP stand at<br />
Visionz <strong>2016</strong> this year, including the presence of Nicola<br />
Peaper, professional services, Rodenstock Australia, who<br />
will be speaking at ADONZ on the topic of Maximising<br />
Multifocals: Intermediate and Near.<br />
The BTP stand will also feature the Rodenstock<br />
Lens display competence centre as well as the newly<br />
launched Frame and Lens companion range consisting<br />
of German-quality frame and lenses, designed to make<br />
the dispensing of premium quality spectacles easy for<br />
practices.<br />
We will also be running a promotion that will give<br />
attendees the chance to win up to $100 in gift vouchers,<br />
so be sure to visit us on the BTP stand to find out how.<br />
How can retail science help<br />
businesses blossom?<br />
Business models are being disrupted<br />
more rapidly than ever as the<br />
information revolution changes the way<br />
goods and services are delivered. I have<br />
a simple approach that relies on three<br />
simple steps: measure, plan, act. Because<br />
good plans can’t be made without<br />
knowing where you are now, gathering<br />
data is the first step. Then, once plans<br />
have been translated into new activities,<br />
it is vitally important to measure<br />
results so actions can be fine-tuned or<br />
redesigned. Customer behaviours can be<br />
understood through the measurement<br />
of transactions, particularly if data from<br />
a large number of stores or outlets is<br />
combined for benchmarking purposes.<br />
In my role as a retail scientist, I help<br />
businesses to interpret their data to find patterns which show<br />
what works and what doesn’t so their performance can be<br />
continuously improved.<br />
OptiMed<br />
OptiMed represent quality, value and innovation with<br />
our new diagnostic products offering very exciting<br />
additions to our range for <strong>2016</strong>. On display at Visionz<br />
we will have the Eidon Wide Field Confocal Scanner,<br />
plus other innovative imaging technology. Our supply of<br />
pharmaceuticals and consumables can be ordered online<br />
or by calling our friendly customer services team (see<br />
our ad in this issue of NZ Optics for contact details). Our<br />
slogan “OptiMed, Servicing All Your Ophthalmic Needs”<br />
defines us as a company where service is our strength<br />
and focus.<br />
Robert and Craig invite you to come and view our booth<br />
to discuss your interests, have a coffee and chat or just to<br />
enter our competition.<br />
We invite you to experience the EyeZen Challenge<br />
at ADONZ conference Booth No 3<br />
WIN Fantastic prizes !<br />
www.eyezen.co.nz<br />
00303_Eyezen_NZOpticsAd_APR16.indd 1<br />
14 NEW ZEALAND OPTICS <strong>Sep</strong>tember <strong>2016</strong><br />
8/04/<strong>2016</strong> 11:24:05 AM
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