Waikato Business News September/October 2018

48 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS September/October 2018
MP’s goals for region’s growth
I am passionate about the Waikato region.
I have five goals that will contribute
towards ensuring our region continues to
grow and thrive.
By JAMIE STRANGE
Hamilton-based Labour list MP
1. Passenger rail
Local councils are supportive of
a passenger rail service between
Hamilton and Auckland.
NZTA have included funding
in their National Land
Transport Plan. I anticipate a
further announcement after
their board meeting on October
5. A key to the success of this
venture will be having a café
and reliable WiFi or hotspotting
service available, which will
enable passengers to be productive
while commuting.
This initial rail service will
be a first step towards a modern
passenger rail network
that serves the golden triangle
between Hamilton, Tauranga
and Auckland.
This rail service will build
on the good work done by the
previous Government to facilitate
population and economic
growth between Hamilton and
Auckland. Transport leads
growth: I expect half a million
people will settle in this corridor
over the next 30 years, as
Government, developers, and
tourism operators turn their
attention to this geographical
area.
2. Affordable housing
Forty two percent of Hamiltonians
are renting. Many would
like to purchase a home, but
have been finding it difficult
due to rising house prices and
related costs.
I appreciate the work
Hamilton City Council have
done around Special Housing
Accords (SHAs). SHAs are
a short-to-medium term tool
to bring more housing to the
market through an accelerated
resource consent process. SHAs
must have a portion of housing
less than $500k, making those
houses eligible for KiwiBuild.
Five SHAs have passed
through Hamilton City Council
over the past few months, consisting
of around 3000 houses,
and are currently being considered
by Government.
In order to encourage home
ownership, this Government is
proactively exploring a range
of options including grants and
shared-equity schemes.
3. Community policing
Our police officers do a fantastic
job in our community.
I highly value the important
work they do, often at the hard
edge of our society. This coalition
Government will fund an
extra 127 police officers in the
Waikato region.
We will also support a community
policing model. We currently
have five empty police
stations in our city, plus empty
stations in Cambridge and Raglan.
Adding police resourcing
will enable our area commanders
to do more in our communities,
preventing crime through
building strong relationships
with local families and communities.
4. Māori tourism
One of the goals of the Waikato
Tourism Agency is around the
Kiingitanga and New Zealand
Wars. We are the sole region
where the Māori King resides,
and this creates huge tourism
potential. The Kiingitanga treasures
(taonga) are currently valued
at $300 million. I believe
this tourism potential is the
largest un-tapped opportunity
in our region.
The Waikato River is our
greatest natural asset. The
Waikato River Regeneration
Plan is an excellent piece of
work, which identifies the key
practical projects that will bring
about environmental benefits
for our water quality. I appreciate
the work that has been done
in recent years around opening
this area up, as developers turn
Hamilton to face the river.
5. Special projects
World class projects elevate
a region, creating uplift for
everyone. As a Government
MP I bring key stakeholders
together around collaborative
opportunities, ensuring Government
Ministers are aware of
regional projects, and assisting
in applying for central Government
support. I brought seven
Ministers to our region in July/
August, and have a further
eight booked in between now
and the end of the year.
I am actively supporting a
number of local projects, such
as: Tainui Inland Port, Pacific
Hub, Te Awa Lakes (an exciting
housing and tourism project
by Perry Group), Northern
Districts Cricket training
facility, Waikato University
Sports Hub, Waikato Regional
Theatre, a $50m sheep milk
dryer at Innovation Park, Rural
Medical School, returning All
Black test matches to Hamilton,
Rototuna Hub (including a
swimming pool complex), and
a range of health, education,
and tech projects. Such is the
positivity and growth in our
region, new exciting projects
are emerging all the time.
I have been working closely
with the newly formed Te
Waka (Waikato Regional Economic
Development Agency),
to pitch a number of key projects
to Government for funding.
I appreciate all those who
are working hard to ensure our
region is the best place to live
in New Zealand.
So, your CEO is
leaving? What now?
It’s enough to make the knees
of board members tremble.
Your CEO has
announced they are moving
on. Whether it’s to a new job or
retirement, they are going and
that means changes at the top.
At this point, HR kicks in –
all thoughts go to recruiting a
new CEO.
But it’s worth pausing and
putting your PR hat on too.
How are you going to communicate
this announcement internally,
to staff, and externally, to
clients, stakeholders, the industry
and wider public?
What risks are there – will
staff feel concerned about the
future of the company or their
jobs? Will clients wonder if
their projects or contracts are
at risk without your CEO at the
helm? Is there a perception that
the CEO takes a lot of company
IP and reputation with them,
and how do you manage that?
A well-planned communications
strategy can ease the leadership
transition, and mitigate
risk to the company’s reputation
or projects.
Here are seven things to
think about when communicating
about leadership transition
at a company or organisation:
GATHER YOUR INNER
TEAM
– You’ll want to get your board
or key members of the leadership
team together immediately
to start planning next steps.
Keep things confidential and
limited to just those who need
to know.
MAKE A PLAN
- Start with a communications
strategy. This is your road map
for communicating about the
leadership change. You need to
decide what to say and how to
say it, who to, and in what priority
order.
It’s an involved process, and
generally includes gathering
information, considering audiences,
setting strategic communication
objectives, crafting key
messages, looking at communication
risks and mitigation, and
planning a timeline for all communications.
DOT THE I’S AND CROSS
THE T’S
– An effective communications
strategy is incredibly detailed.
To do it well, it’s important to
be thorough and consider every
possible scenario with your
communications execution and
delivery.
PREPARE THE
COMMUNICATIONS
– Once you have your road map
written, and signed off by leadership
team, it’s time to ‘do the
doing’. This may involve crafting
bullet points for the CEO’s
departure announcement to
staff, with all the key messages
you want to convey.
This is typically followed up
by an email letter that goes out
to all staff, confirming the contents
of the meeting. Another
letter will be sent to other audiences,
including clients and
stakeholders.
As part of this preparation,
it’s worth spending time brainstorming
questions you may
get asked so you are not caught
unawares. In any situation
where there is change, it can
be upsetting, and it’s best to be
prepared and have responses in
place to assure staff and clients
if needed.
Get your email databases
ready in advance, so everything
is drafted, approved and you are
ready to press send on the day
of the announcement.
STAFF COME FIRST
– In any announcement of this
kind, talk to staff first before
clients and other stakeholders,
and do it in person where you
can. If you need to make the
announcement across multiple
office locations, consider
getting staff in on Skype or a
conference call, and ensure the
senior leaders at those locations
have been briefed prior to that if
there are questions.
MEDIA/PRESS RELEASE
– When a CEO retires or move
on, it can be a great chance to
celebrate their achievements
and contribution to the industry,
region or community. Write
a media release for an industry
publication, business paper
or local media outlet. There is
PR AND COMMUNICATIONS
> BY KATE MONAHAN-RIDDELL
An Account Manager at HMC Communications, a
Hamilton-based, award-winning public relations agency.
often a good story to tell, especially
if it’s a long-serving or
founding CEO. A media story
can also help with recruiting the
new CEO.
SOCIAL MEDIA
– Don’t forget about sharing
the news on your social
media channels, after your
staff announcement and client
meeting and emails. A post on
your business Facebook page or
LinkedIn may be appropriate.