ARE WE READY TO RUMBLE?

elcome to 2023. Are you ready for all the challenges it will inevitably bring?

I’m writing this a few days before Christmas, so some weeks before you read it (a sincere thank you, by the way, for taking the time to!). However, without a crystal ball it’s still rather obvious to me that the New Year is going to bring more than a few trials and tribulations for the country’s business community to deal with.

If you’re a business owner, you have my utmost respect and admiration. The past three years have been difficult enough with all the havoc caused by Covid and other disruptive world events, such as the war in Ukraine (I’m assuming there was no Christmas peace deal?) and other geopolitical tensions.

We’d all love to have dealt to the cares and despairs of this world over the holiday period, but I’m guessing that the twin problems of inflation and rising prices haven’t gone away either.

And, looking at the business sector – I assume that the issues of staff shortages, supply restrictions, and declining consumer confidence are still kicking around too.

Let’s not forget there is a general election coming up towards the end of the year as well – now there’s a distraction if ever there was one!

I’m hoping you managed to set aside some time over the Christmas/new Year holiday break to consider where your business priorities lie. What does 2023 look like for you?

What plans do you have going forward, and should you seek professional help to implement those plans?

You don’t need me to tell you that failing to plan is also called ‘planning to fail’.

You could start with a SWOT analysis – but start sooner rather than later.

Meantime, I trust you’ll find plenty of useful reading in this quarter’s Money issue.

Meet the David Wards Supreme winner Clare Wilson of Block Dock.

There are inspirational case studies across a number of sectors, as well as plenty of educational articles and snippets to keep you on your toes.

A belated Happy New Year and enjoy the read!

WGlenn H Baker editor@nzbusiness.co.nz

iwi start-up Earshots, which makes the world’s first sports headphones with a patented ‘Earwrap’ system, has been globally recognised on TIME’S list of best inventions for 2022.

The unique product is included

Kas one of the most extraordinary innovations changing lives.

TIME describes Earshots as a ‘small company from the bottom of the world’ innovating in a category dominated by billion-dollar budgets. Earshots has been included in the design category alongside the likes of NASA’S James Webb Space Telescope. They also follow in the footsteps of Allbirds, another Kiwi company previously recognised by TIME for its global leadership in design.

Founded and designed by athlete and adventurer James Bell-booth, Earshots are wireless sports headphones with an ‘Earwrap’ system that keeps them in place no matter the activity. They also rotate up to 40 degrees to cater for different ear shapes.

Bell-booth originally came up with the idea while training for the

T42 adventure race in the Tongariro National Park, being frustrated by earphones falling out, being dislodged and needing to be adjusted.

“When I first started the journey, it was to solve a problem I had myself,” he says. “However, I quickly recognised many others had the same issue. When I saw their reaction to our prototypes and earlystage design it was easy to see there was a gap in the market and a clear business opportunity, even amongst a category dominated by large companies with substantial budgets.”

For the complete TIME list of best inventions 2022 visit www.time.com/ best-inventions-2022

rog Recruitment surveyed 1107 workers and revealed that 54 percent of recipients aged 50-plus believe they ‘go above and beyond in their job’ compared to just 17 percent of those under 25.

Forty-three percent of those aged between 25 to 50 years said they are doing more than they need to at work.

Before anyone starts chastising Gen Z for their lack of work ethic, the survey drilled down further to reveal that 41 percent of workers below 25 prioritise their work and life balance, compared to the 25-50 year generation (36 percent) and those over 50 (32 percent).

Frog Recruitment MD Shannon Barlow (pictured) applauds our workforce’s youngest workers for prioritising their well-being at work.

F“After what we now know about burnout in the workplace, it’s vital people protect themselves from exhaustion and be extra careful not to burn the candle at both ends – particularly the middle generation who may be juggling work responsibilities with bringing up a family while squeezing in time to exercise, volunteer or perhaps even study.

“Older generations need to be extra careful as they are more likely to experience burnout. The concept of achieving ‘work-life-balance’ is new for mature workers. It was once perceived to get ahead in your career, you had to be seen working extra hours. It’s only recently that working smarter and with flexibility, not longer, has been the modus operandi for a productive workforce.”

SHANNON BARLOW.

Barlow believes going above and beyond at work is more likely a habit for older workers. “Managers should be aware of the unique habits of each generation within their team and be prepared to adjust the expectations of their workforce to maximise team productivity.”

Forty-two percent of the youngest group said they are doing only what’s required and ‘are nailing their job duties only,’ compared to 21 percent of 25-50 year-olds and 14 percent of 50-plus workers who said the same.

“If Gen Zs are hitting their KPIS and are cohesive team players, employers can afford to overlook any perceived disparity in work ethic,” says Barlow.

“It’s more important that employers are tapped into the needs of each generation, especially if they’re recruiting to fill skills shortages. Many of our clients want to attract a younger workforce, and we know employers offering policies that genuinely support healthy work-life balance will do this more successfully than those organisations that don’t.”

ver looked at all the plastic wrapped around houses being built and wondered how it is disposed of when the building is finished? Auckland’s construction and demolition sector currently sends the equivalent of around 26,615 shipping containers of rubbish to landfill.

But now Hamilton upcycling company SAVEBOARD can recycle 90

Epercent of soft plastic wastes on-site back into reusable building products.

The construction industry is one of New Zealand’s biggest waste to landfill contributors, but SAVEBOARD provides an innovative solution that diverts soft plastic waste from landfill by recycling it into high-performance building materials.

Building company Naylor Love now uses SAVEBOARD for site hoardings, replacing plywood. It has an equivalent cost to plywood and the best thing is that it can be recycled back into new boards – closing the loop and making soft plastics a circular economy.

Auckland property developer Nigel Benton was part of the trial and was stunned by how much plastic is used on sites. “We were able to repurpose 91 percent of all construction waste from one site,” he said. “There was a mega amount of plastic used.”

These pioneers are on a mission to reduce plastic waste on site and educate construction companies around New Zealand about the volume of waste heading to landfill from the skip bin.

ecruitment and staff retention have been identified as key challenges for regional New Zealand businesses, and Southland’s Blue River Dairy is addressing this with an innovative scheme to engage and reward their team – keeping their seats full, and their company culture strong.

The Trophy Programme incentive scheme combats the current challenging employment and recruitment landscape, whilst offering a unique, fun and inclusive way of meeting targets within the company.

It was crafted to support the teams and the particular challenges each division face operationally. Feedback is taken from each team, and incentives are crafted around that to ensure staff are functionally supported but also rewarded for their successes.

The trophies set targets which break the business’ overall goals into small steps that can be achieved quickly.

When a target is hit, even if it is mainly the responsibility of one particular area, all staff are rewarded, which is aligned to Blue River’s value of winning together. This means everyone supports each other’s objectives, building a collaborative team culture.

Every month, the objectives are developed, and teams can keep an eye on their progress with the Trophy Tracker displayed on

Rcommunal TVS to ensure targets will be met for that task duration.

Blue River Dairy GM Robert Boekhout says the Trophy Programme incentive has been an integral initiative to the business given the current employment environment.

“Employment and recruitment are tough for a lot of businesses presently and implementing a scheme like this has led to a more engaged team whilst continuing to fuel the sense of community throughout the company,” he says.

The rewards vary from supermarket vouchers to fuel vouchers, presenting real value to the team members, and are especially appreciated during the current post-covid economic climate, which is being heavily impacted by rising inflation.

Southland Business Chamber CEO Sheree Carey believes Blue River Dairy has set the bar in workplace wellness.

“This type of innovation from Blue River Dairy is not surprising. Staff satisfaction is core to their business, having won the Workplace Wellbeing Award 2019 at the Southland Business Excellence Awards for their ‘Healthy Me’ wellbeing programme.

“They are now encouraging other organisations to follow suit and sponsor the Workplace Wellbeing award.”