Waikato Business News March/April 2020

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Stronger together How we get through this “And in a blink, our world has changed.” From page 5 Rocketspark Grant Johnson Cambridge website builder Rocketspark was also admirably well prepared. It implemented a remote working trial the week before the shutdown. It also blogged about what it learned during the first seven years of Rocketspark when staff were remote working (https://www.rocketspark. com/blog/post/228/Remoteworking-as-a-teamwhat-weve-learnt/) Director Grant Johnson said Rocketspark’s client base is spread across a wide range of industries obviously affected by Covid-19 such as tourism and hospitality but also in less obvious sectors such as massage therapists and cleaners. “We’re fortunate to have a diversified client base across a really wide range of industries but many are seeing some sort of impact,” he said. “To help clients and the wider business community, we’ve started to prepare industry-specific playbooks to help businesses make the most of their online presence during this time.” The first was for tourism operators (https://www.rocketspark.com/blog/post/229/ COVID-19-Tourism-and-Accommodation-playbook/) Johnson said they had also been sharing their book which is a resource to ensure businesses are doing the online basics well (https:// www.rocketspark.com/ebookbuilding-a-website-click-byclick/). He said clients are recognising that closing their website will set them back in terms of search engine rankings. “Many clients are adopting online tools to service their clients, such as running online consulting services or adding an e-commerce offering.” Rocketspark had also seen good increases in online sales by many of their ecommerce Contemporary NZ art works for hire in workplaces & private homes. FrEE consultation & installation Consultancy services available. Portfolio Art Hire Janet Knighton P 021 059 0028 E art.hire@xtra.co.nz clients and Johnson expected that avenue would grow. Dynamic Media Working in the cloud has been crucial for Dynamic Media director Dani Simpson. She said she had been busier than usual leading up to the closedown announcement as her clients needed extra support around messaging and comms, both internally and externally. “I already worked wherever and whenever I needed to (whether a client’s office in Auckland, from a café, or my home office) so the technology side of things hasn’t been an issue. If anything, I’m super grateful for having the right tech set-up to ensure that I can access everything in the cloud whenever I need it.” CELF Community and Enterprise Leadership Foundation (CELF) chief executive Tania Witheford, who is the organisation’s sole employee, had already started working from home before the shutdown. CELF had also already postponed all programme activity and started the move to virtual meetings. “At this time we are acutely aware of the massive impact on all community and business enterprises and wider families Tania Witheford and communities in New Zealand as a whole,” she said. She could, however, see a silver lining, provided people stay well. “It will provide time for review, reset and reframe, to be ready for and to embrace the rebuild, restore phase, when we get to the other side of this situation and understand the space we will be operating in. “In the interim, connection and support of each other will be vital, be it in the virtual space, by phone or email, to care for our colleagues, friends and family. “Now more than ever, meaningful connection and kindness will play a significant part in looking after each other and being resilient.” Annah Stretton Fashion retailer Annah Stretton’s Waikato-based manufacturing plant has been repurposed to support the local production of reusable fabric face masks. “We are now an essential business and have begun to make masks for those that are unable to secure, and are older and more vulnerable,” she said. The reusable cotton masks can be ordered online. For every limited-edition fabric face mask pack purchased, a matching pack will be delivered to registered aged care facilities around New Zealand. The website says: “When purchasing a reusable fabric face mask it is very important to note that this type of mask does NOT protect the wearer from airborne Covid-19 particles from entering the nose, mouth or eyes. The primary purpose of a reusable fabric face mask is to minimise face touching.” Stretton also recommends in advice at manaaki.io that retailers look at their lease because some have a clause that offers some protection. In her post, she says she has emailed landlords at all her 10 fashion retail stores to advise them that she will need at least a three-month rent holiday. She says she had mixed reactions: “Some landlords have been awesome, others have tried to deal (ie pay 50 percent), some have said no and some have been silent,” she says. “Regardless, I have stopped all rent payments and I am focusing on my people and topping up their wages so they have security.” She also says in her advice not to forget about Eftpos, phone and internet and other variable payments that business people may have: “Everything is negotiable in this environment.” Volunteering Waikato Volunteering Waikato general manager Heather Moore said the organisation’s staff will be working remotely for the foreseeable future. “We are continuing to support our community through our online volunteer recruitment and referral portal, and are supporting organisations to think creatively about how they involve volunteers in their response, safely. We are looking at what client contact roles can be phone-based roles, and what other roles people can volunteer for at home. “We will be keeping staff engaged and connected through daily Zoom meetings, and collaborative technology Kelvyn Eglinton such as Microsoft Teams. We have brainstormed what additional work we can complete to use our time effectively while some of our usual work is parked for a time.” • Volunteering Waikato is taking expressions of interest from those who want to support their community during the Covid-19 response. Register interest at volunteeringwaikato.org.nz. Momentum Waikato As a member of the Waikato Funders Network, Momentum Waikato is looking to support core agencies and frontline services by joining its coordinated efforts. It has accelerated its partnership with the Wise Group, which started cooking and freezing meals for distribution to Hamilton’s most vulnerable during the shutdown. Momentum donated two new chest freezers to the cause. Chief executive Kelvyn Eglinton is actively encouraging central and local government across the Waikato to look at all projects - civil, community, affordable housing, etc - that are already at 80 percent or more of their total funding, and make a commitment to getting them over the line by filling funding gaps, communication adviser Mark Servian said. Meanwhile, Trust Waikato has allocated $1 million towards funding a Covid-19 response, and other funders will be contributing further through combined action and grants. The Waikato Community Funders Group will be contacting organisations who are active in the region to let them know the funding is available and how to apply. CI SPECIAL SP COMBO
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS March/April 2020 7 Global e-learning solution teaches datadriven decision making for DeLaval farmers Collaboration across continents leads to global e-learning solution built in Hamilton. High tech dairy farmers are learning how to make more data-driven decisions after Company-X built a global e-learning solution for DeLaval. The worldwide leader in milking equipment and solutions asked the software specialist to build an e-learning solution to teach dairy farmers and DeLaval staff around the globe how to begin using robotic milking systems and farm management software. Company-X was chosen for the project because its team had a track record with DeLaval NZ. The project started when DeLaval International’s Lynda McDonald, a New Zealander DATA DRIVEN DECISIONS: A dairy farmer trains on DelPro FarmManager. based in Sweden, approached Company-X consultant Lance Bauerfeind. “They already knew the company well,” McDonald said. “I thought it would be less of a learning curve to work with Company-X rather than a new company.” The solution had to be relevant to every farm model from the small European farms to the large corporate operations in China. Company-X project manager Dilan Prasad and senior software developer Wonkee Kim had input from DeLaval staff in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and Latin America. The diversity and geographical spread of stakeholders added to the project’s complexity. “It’s very much about providing value through knowledge to dairy farmers and staff,” McDonald said. “We are moving from manual milking systems, to farms now managing their herds by data. We need to make sure that we transfer knowledge and give them the best possibility to optimise their systems from the time they purchase them. “Customer satisfaction was really a significant driver.” Company-X worked on the e-learning programme in small iterations, allowing the DeLaval subject matter experts to provide frequent feedback on the solution as it was built. The DelPro Interactive E-Learning solution Company-X built offers 64 e-learning modules that take about four hours to complete. The content is delivered through nine separate courses including milking, feeding, health, reproduction, performance and body condition scoring. Modules are animated and narrated by an automated voice. Users can turn text prompts on or off. Teaching resources are offered for download for future use as the user progresses. Users can choose to use either the imperial or metric measurement system. What of the software development process? One challenge was keeping all of the stakeholders around the world fully informed and engaged. Company-X used project management tool Team- Work to collaborate and define a multi-stage review process. Reviewers and approvers were chosen for each region and a new role called DeLaval Voice to ensure content was consistent with DeLaval style. One requirement was to have the possibility to change both the text and voice within the e-learning when it is translated into other languages. Company-X used Google Wavenet technology with Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML) tags to simulate the appropriate English accent, with a variety of pitch and tone to get the right mix for each region, also with a combination of male and female voices for variety. Company-X built an SSML editor tool to automate this task. This way it was easy to make any changes and to generate voice over files with minimum time. “Generally the feedback has been very good,” McDonald said. “Dilan was brilliant, absolutely brilliant. If I was going to do something like this again I would absolutely use Dilan again. Dilan was so responsive and so solution-focused. He always just listens and then solves the problem. Another part of the overall success of the programme was our process, developed collaboratively by Company-X and the project group. This project might not have been so successful without a mature and well established review and collaboration process, and strong governance of that.” The next step is to translate the material from English into 15 other languages. Innovation that works The Company-X men and women are real-life software specialist superheroes. Our custom-built interactive e-learning solution for DeLaval guides their customers across the world through the complexities of their herd management system. Make our innovative thinking work for you too.
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Waikato Business News March/April 2020

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