June 2023 - Bay of Plenty Business News

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12 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS June 2023 Rotorua Business Pulse Survey: Optimism in the business community RotoruaNZ, in partnership with the Rotorua Business Chamber recently released the third Rotorua Business Pulse Report, providing the latest insights from Rotorua’s business leaders. The Rotorua Business Pulse initiative serves as a key barometer for local businesses, providing a platform for business leaders to share their perspectives on Rotorua’s economic health. The most recent survey, which ran from March 22 to April 14, collected responses from 93 Rotoruabased businesses. Andrew Wilson, RotoruaNZ Chief Executive, hailed the city’s economic resilience, reflected in a noticeable upswing in confidence, largely thanks to the recovery the tourism sector. “With the growth and resurgence of our vital tourism industry, we are witnessing renewed optimism in our business community”, said Wilson. Despite the rise in confidence, local businesses are navigating a complex economic landscape marked by escalating costs related to staffing, inflation, and debt. Businesses have shown innovation and adaptability in response to these challenges, with some exploring solutions within the artificial intelligence space and product innovation related to climate change. Wilson acknowledged these challenges, saying, “While we continue to remain optimistic about Rotorua’s economic future, there are significant economic headwinds around inflation, talent and borrowing costs which are leading to very real concerns around profitability and work pipelines.” Rotorua Chamber Chief Executive Bryce Heard also responded “the Rotorua business has confronted more setbacks than most NZ businesses over the past 3 years. This makes it even more remarkable that the survey partakers’ degree of confidence in themselves to navigate the next year, is way higher than their confidence in the national economy. We are justifiably proud of Rotorua’s business resilience and ability to bounce back. It is to be hoped that we can work closely with the new Council and the business community, to finally get the CBD recovery underway and step up the Rotorua Brand.” Participants voiced a need for investment in infrastructure, especially within the Central Business District (CBD), ensuring that Rotorua is vibrant and attractive to visitors and residents. Tied in closely with this, rebuilding reputation and restoring image also came through as top priorities for business leaders. Climate change emerged as a notable factor in operational expenses and supply chain disruptions for a third of the city’s businesses. Furthermore, one in five businesses cited issues with flight schedules and reliability as the reason for choosing not to use Rotorua Airport. See the full Rotorua Business Pulse Report at www.rotoruanz.com/business-pulse-survey. Digitalisation: Our multibillion-dollar opportunity It’s clear Aotearoa New Zealand has a big productivity issue. Small business owners and employees in the Bay of Plenty and across the country are working long hours with less to show for it. As a result, we placed 27th out of the 63 countries in the 2022 IMD World Digital Competitiveness Rankings, slipping down from 19th in 2018. There’s no doubt this is a problem which needs to be addressed – but the question is, how do we solve this? Xero recently worked with the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research to understand how digitalisation could impact our local economy, and the results were astounding. The research revealed a 20 percent increase in the uptake of cloud-based digital tools could increase New Zealand’s GDP by $7.8 billion through improved productivity. Digitalisation is instrumental when it comes to improving productivity, equipping businesses with the tools they need to thrive in the modern era. We need to be following in the footsteps of Denmark and Singapore, both of which are great examples of what strong, committed government investment into digitalisation can do for an economy. Aotearoa can become a world-leading digital nation, and better yet, businesses in the Bay of Plenty have the power to lead the charge. However, this is easier said than done. Digitalisation is no mean feat and it can be daunting to commit to overhauling processes without knowing the outcome. That’s why our Government needs to create policy and encourage digitalisation investment to strengthen our economy by billions. Looking at the research, there’s a clear roadmap for our Government to consider in the short term, which paves the way for improving the digitalisation of Aotearoa. This starts with developing a New Zealand Productivity Solutions Grant and foundation plan to set small businesses up for successful digitalisation. A trusted resource like a Chief Technology Officer-as-a-service is also a crucial step In the long term, the Government needs to actively invest in digital literacy at all levels of society, meaning everyone from primary schools to nursing homes will be equipped with basic digital skills.” to ensure business owners can engage with digital consultants who provide customised advice and guidance. This is followed by building an integrated public service system to boost productivity and trust amongst our local businesses. In the long term, the Government needs to actively invest in digital literacy at all levels WORKPLACE WELLBEING > BY BRIDGET SNELLING Bridget Snelling, Xero New Zealand Country Manager. of society, meaning everyone from primary schools to nursing homes will be equipped with basic digital skills. Government should then promote and subsidise gaining digital skills, as part of learning in the workforce and education. We also need to review the level of investment and regulatory frameworks of government research and development of digital technology. And lastly, improve the competitiveness of the tech sector immigration policy. Although digitalisation requires both an investment of money and time, the payback period is relatively short. It can take less than two or three years to see a positive return, helping rejuvenate the economy by billions. The reality is, all around the world economies are rapidly digitalising – if we don’t do the same, businesses in the Bay of Plenty and across Aotearoa New Zealand are at risk of being left behind. Our Government needs to show more support for our digital progress and introduce policies that support the expansion of New Zealand’s digital economy. Only then will we be able to unlock the full potential of our economy.
June 2023 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 13 Talent to burn? Why staff training is good for your ego, but bad for your wallet The learning and development industry would have you believe investing in staff training is the perfect antidote to talent shortages and AI uneasiness. However, business leaders are about to learn a painful – and costly – lesson. Pity the human brain. It’s suffered more than a few headaches recently. First there was the lockdown lobotomy. Then it was given marching orders to drain across the ditch. Now, it’s under threat from Chat GPT, Google Bard, and their artificially intelligent digital nomads. Thankfully, a new saviour is on the horizon: A senior executive with an axe to grind and a staff training budget to spend. “Use it or lose it”, they like to say. But are they talking about the budget … or the workforce? Burning a hole in your pocket On the surface, everything looks fine: Businesses want to enhance their workforce capabilities, so they look to spend a bit of money on a skills upgrade. Good news, especially if you happen to run a training company. But the truth is more sinister: Something akin to a monkey pulling a fish out of a river and saying, “Here, let me put you up in this tree before you drown”. Although businesses have the best of intentions when it comes to employee training, all they’re really creating is an expensive exercise in suffocating their talent. Swimming against the tide Don’t believe me? When was the last time you TRULY learned something new in a training session at work. We all remember the flipcharts, the post-its, the awkward icebreaker exercises and coffee that tastes like Rangataua Bay after a downpour. But did you actually take anything away from the training … except a crushing anxiety that you had a days-worth of emails to catch up on? Sure, it might have been mildly useful. But you were unlikely to be standing on your chair, hugging your colleagues and giving it the full ‘Tony Robbins meets Jon Bon Jovi concert’, were you? Yet time and time again, we return to the training room, like walking back into a relationship we swore we’d left for good. A lose-lose deal Employee training is painful. It’s like going to the gym, but without the sunny upside of kidding yourself you might look good naked, if you go through enough torture. Business leaders don’t want to pay for it (not enough budget). Employees don’t want to do it (not enough time). Trainers don’t want to deliver it (not enough passion). Yet according to the New Zealand Productivity Commission, between $1.3 billion-$2 billion is spent by Kiwi businesses every year on staff learning and development. That’s a lot of money to throw at something that generally produces an eye-rolling reaction akin to telling a child they’re on their way to the dentist. Employers won’t hear of it, however. Because they’re too busy telling the world how much they ‘value their people’. Learning a harsh lesson Time to face facts: your DISC profile was shoved in the drawer. Your Myers Briggs report (ENTP, in case you’re wondering) fell apart after being used as an emergency coffee cup coaster. But the world is changing fast. Employees need to develop new skills to help win at work and keep the Kiwi workforce competitive in the global economy. Training, however, is not the answer. 30 years ago, perhaps. But in 2023, the last thing people need is more MINING BUSINESS WEALTH > BY FREDDIE BENNETT Guinness World Record Holder, podcast host and bestselling author, Freddie is known as ‘The Profit Hunter’. He helps business owners enjoy more time, money and freedom by discovering and extracting hidden profits in their companies. Freddie@conqueryourmedia.com knowledge. Your teams have all the knowledge they could ever desire at their fingertips, for free. Why pay for it? Knowledge is a waste of time and money without two things: Mindset and Habits. If your people are lacking the right mindset, they won’t have the confidence and courage to think differently. If they don’t back-up their learning with the right habits, they will never apply the knowledge they obtain. It’s like you’re sending your workforce to a lecture about press-ups, and expecting them to get stronger. But they only develop true strength if they have the mindset to practice, and the habits to keep doing it. Taking the leap Training companies can pull out all the stats, psychometrics, and ‘tailored learning programmes’ they like, but they can’t hide the facts. Traditional training is terrifyingly ineffective. We learn through challenges, puzzles, trial and error, experimentation and (whisper it) failure. Which lesson do you remember from your childhood: The 100 times your mother told you not to touch the hot stove? Or the time you touched the hot stove? If you really want to develop a workforce that’s fit for the future, focus on their mindset and their habits. Let them get real. Allow them to screw up, laugh about it, and then screw up again. This is how we learn. But, as a leader, will you be brave enough to allow it to happen? Perhaps there’s a training course that might help … ADVERTORIAL 2degrees – Software defined networks | Networks when you need them These days businesses expect to be in control when they consume digital services. They want to be able to dial up services when they need them. This is an everyday experience for consumers who can, say, log into their mobile phone account and change their plan, buy more data or organise international roaming. Typically, that’s not how most businesses order and organise network services. They must call a network operator, discuss their needs, negotiate options, then commit to a contract. But modern businesses want data and services when they need it, and want to be able to add it, remove it and change it, all quickly and seamlessly. It’s where the 2degrees business team is focussed; on its self-service platform for what’s known as software defined networks. 2degrees Chief Business Officer Andrew Fairgray says: “We are bringing the smarts we are all use to as consumers, to larger, more complex businesses, essentially to make their lives easier and more efficient.” Key to this for 2degrees is its platform called “Flex”, a front-end interface initially developed for Freightways, a major customer. Freightways wanted a digital platform which allowed it to manage a large fleet of mobile devices, and now that platform has been expanded to include more products, and is available to 2degrees business customers. “The goal is to provide customers with comprehensive on-demand network infrastructure”, says 2degrees CIO Steve Kurzeja. “Everything on the network is software enriched. We have a network that reaches every data centre in the country and our network can reach anywhere on the UFB footprint, which covers close to every business in New Zealand.” “A customer from the top end of town might come to buy 100 gigabit Ethernet ports if they need to shift a huge workload from one point to another, but smaller customers can also benefit.” Kurzeja says there’s nothing to stop customers with more modest needs ordering secure point-topoint links from any home or office on UFB to a data centre or a cloud on-ramp taking them to Australia, the USA or beyond. “It’s still early days, but if a Andrew Fairgray, Chief Business Officer, 2degrees customer wants to order, say, a circuit from London, we can do that now. We have partners from overseas coming to us in New Zealand wanting to set up circuits through our local ecosystem. Our network footprint already reaches across the UK, Australia and the US. We have other relationships connecting elsewhere, so if a customer needs a line to Singapore, we can connect through Australia and the ASC submarine cable.” He says that because 2degrees We have a network that reaches every data centre in the country and our network can reach anywhere on the UFB footprint, which covers close to every business in New Zealand.” is a software-led business, it can move fast, take customer feedback and iterate. “We learn from our customers and change. They can see us continually releasing new things and listening to their needs, which is exactly what it means to be customer centric.” Fairgray sums it up: “Software defined networks gives 2degrees customers a competitive edge putting customers in control of their agility, innovation and application needs and futureproofing their connectivity.”
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June 2023 - Bay of Plenty Business News

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