It was an excellent Strata Community Association national conference in Auckland – I am still recovering from it (in a few senses) a week and a bit later, which is why the delay in posting.
Here’s my top 10 from the week
- Bright & Duggan winning the National Strata Manager of the Year award (along with Strata Data). Well deserved accolade, reflecting the hard work of Bright & Duggan and Cambridge, across the Eastern seaboard.
2. Clare Stuart of Bright & Duggan QLD winning the SCA Community Manager of the Year – Rising Star award.
Congratulations also to Cambridge Victoria for their nominations for Strata Community Management Business of the Year – Small and Briana Edgecombe for her nomination for Support Team member of the Year.
3. Sir Bob Parker presenting the keynote on providing reassurance in times of need. Very chilling videos and photos of the Christchurch earthquakes.
What Christchurch experienced during that time certainly gives context to how bad times can be, for factors completely beyond your control.
4. Tuesday night welcome event at the Auckland war memorial and an awesome dinner afterwards with colleagues at Baduzzi – must visit if in Auckland.
5. The Impact of Design and Development – Matt Davis from Davis and Davis Architects. Whilst the keynote was quite winded, it was incredibly interesting as I move professionally into wanting to understand how buildings function for the benefit of their occupants. Did you know that design is only 0.5% of the cost of a building’s lifecycle, and operating costs 85%?
6. Getting some exercise in with colleagues and commuting to and from the venue on a lime scooter – lots of fun. Must bring these to Newcastle!
7. Sustainability presentation from City of Sydney. I have been big on sustainability and efficiency for strata schemes for many years – the topic is now a very mature one and front of mind given the introduction of NABERS ratings in the residential space.
It’s less efficient to live in an apartment than a house, which should not be the case.
More green walls and solar please!
Check out this cool article I read yesterday about green walls.
8. Macquarie benchmarking data presentation. The data has been out for a few months but it was good to digest again to understand where we sit as a business versus competitors and where we should push towards.
Attracting, retaining and continually engaging great staff is key – what’s the point in growing a business if you can’t do those things?
Also interesting is the push towards diversified revenues. Strata management companies shouldn’t be in business if they’re only profitable due to disbursements and insurance commissions.
9. Sharing times and a few drinks with friends from NSW and interstate and meeting a number of other industry stakeholders.
10. Getting a better understanding of where we sit as a business versus the industry – Bright & Duggan is a great business (and this is now nationally recognised), but constantly reflects on the way it treats its staff and serves its clients. These two factors are far more key to profitability than bringing on new business or slashing costs.
See you in 2020 (maybe at Griffith too)!
