AuSAE are proud to champion our new initiative Women in Association Leadership #WIAL. Our new networking series will provide a platform to showcase and celebrate our #WIAL who have led the way.

With no other event like this for our association leaders in the marketplace, we are aiming to bring like-minded women together to build those support networks and develop professional and personal skill sets.

Our first series will welcome three inspiring women in associations who will share their journeys, challenges and advice in a facilitated and interactive discussion.

Speakers include Cassandra Heilbronn, President, Women Lawyers Association of Queensland and Senior Associate, MinterEllison. Dominique Lamb, CEO and Director, National Retail Association and NRA Legal. Jane Schmitt, CEO, Australian Medical Association Queensland. Facilitator is Mel Kettle.  

To register for our Brisbane event: Brisbane 22 November

In Melbourne we welcome two inspiring women, and a male champion of change in associations who will share their journeys, challenges and advice in a facilitated and interactive discussion. 

Speakers include Mark Anderson, Chief Executive Officer, Swimming Australia. Dr Zena Burgess, Chief Executive Officer, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Dr Louise Schaper, Chief Executive Officer, Health Informatics Society of Australia. Facilitator Mel Kettle.

To register for our Melbourne event: Melbourne 21 November

Grab your colleagues, best friend or boss (male or female) and come along to #WIAL and see what we can achieve when we all come together.

The Australian Bankers’ Association today resolved to nominate ANZ Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott as Chair at its Annual General Meeting in early December.

Mr Elliott will succeed current Chair of the ABA, National Australia Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Mr Andrew Thorburn.

Commenting on the nomination Mr Elliott said: “The banking industry is working hard to build trust with customers, the community and with federal and state politicians on all sides. While we have made significant improvements in recent times, rebuilding community trust is a long-term issue and change within the industry needs to be bolder and faster.

“I look forward to making a positive and progressive contribution as the industry continues with the important task of delivering sustained change which delivers better outcomes for customers and helps rebuild our reputation.

“I would like to thank Andrew Thorburn for his stewardship of the ABA during this time and I look forward to building on his strong legacy of industry reform,” Mr Elliott said.

ABA Chief Executive Anna Bligh welcomed Mr Elliott’s nomination.

“Shayne has a long and distinguished career in banking and will bring considerable energy and commitment to the transformation process led by Andrew,” Ms Bligh said.

“The industry is currently undergoing the greatest program of reforms that banking has seen in decades. It’s vital that this continues and that we work to rebuild trust and better service the needs and expectations of the community,” she said.

By convention, the Chair of the ABA rotates between the Chief Executive Officers of the major banks. With the CEO succession announcement at the Commonwealth Bank in 2018, the next organisation on rotation is ANZ.

“For the sake of continuity it was decided to bring forward Mr Elliott’s term rather than seek an alternate chair,” Ms Bligh said.

“There are a number of reviews and reforms to be introduced in the coming year, so consistency is important. I am looking forward to working closely with Mr Elliott in his new role,” she said.

Mr Elliott’s term will begin after the ABA’s Annual General Meeting in December.

This media release was sourced from the Bankers Association and written by Stephanie Arena. 

Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) is excited to announce the launch of its revamped National Awards Program.

A working group - consisting of representatives from all sectors of the events industry – scrutinised and restructured the Program’s categories, questions and format. The number of awards to be presented is similar to previous years; more than 16 Awards have been consolidated, rewritten or renamed.

New awards include an Innovation Award, a Social Legacy Award, recognising the social and financial impact events deliver to destinations and communities, Unique Event venue with accommodation, Creative Design, Education and Training, and several awards for Associations, Government and regional events.

The complex two-part application process has been streamlined into one simple application and the application period has been extended into mid-February, so more entries are anticipated than ever before. The qualifying period for this first year is from 1 October 2016 to 31 December 2017 to transition from the previous program. From 2018, the Awards will cover the events held within each calendar year. The coveted MEA trophy is also undergoing a facelift, with the mantle-worthy display piece to be unveiled at the State Awards in April 2018.

Alana Hay, Chair of the Awards Review Working Group, said, “The new MEA National Awards Program more accurately reflects the meetings and events industry, the breadth of the MEA membership and the depth of innovation and creativity that is required to deliver exceptional meetings, events and experiences. This is your opportunity to reflect on your work, showcase your expertise and celebrate outstanding success with the best of the best from all sectors of the industry. I encourage MEA members to submit an application for an Award.”

Awards will be judged by a panel of esteemed industry leaders from all sectors of the industry under the guidance of the Head of Judges, Ian Stuart. The State finalists and winners will be announced in April at State Awards events to be held around the country, with the winners of the National Awards to be presented at the gala dinner on the last night of the 2018 MEA Conference, to be held in Adelaide.

The Awards portal will be live at www.meetingsevents.com.au/awards2017 from Monday 23 October until the 5pm 14 February 2018, providing MEA members ample time to collaborate with their clients and colleagues and submit an entry.

LIST OF 2017 AWARDS

Events of the Year

• Association Event of the Year NEW
• Government Event of the Year NEW
• Corporate Event of the Year
• Event of the Year UPDATED
• Exhibition of the Year
• Public Event of the Year
• Cause Related Event of the Year
• Regional Event of the Year NEW

Event Management Awards

• Professional Conference Organisation UPDATED
• Event Management Team – Association NEW
• Event Management Team – Government NEW
• Event Management Team - Corporate
• Event Agency NEW

Venue Awards

• Meeting Exhibition or Event Venue – Capacity less than 500 UPDATED
• Meeting Exhibition or Event Venue – Capacity more than 500 UPDATED
• Unique Event venue with accommodation NEW
• Unique Event Venue without accommodation NEW

Event Production and Services Awards

• Banqueting and Catering
• Audio Visual Services UPDATED
• Event Technology NEW
• Specialist Services and Suppliers NEW
• Creative Design NEW
• Event Marketing NEW
• Exhibition Services

Destination Marketing Awards

• Metropolitan Destination Marketing Organisation or Bureau UPDATED
• Regional Destination Marketing Organisation or Bureau UPDATED

Event Professional Awards

• Operations Person of the Year
• Sales, Marketing or Business Development Person of the Year UPDATED
• Event Manager of the Year - PCO
• Event Manager of the Year – Agency NEW
• Event Manager of the Year – In-house UPDATED
• YMEA Future Leader

Education and Training Award NEW
Social Legacy Award NEW
Innovation Award NEW
Outstanding Industry Contribution Award UPDATED
Platinum Award - Event Company of the Year
Platinum Award - Event Professional of the Year

The Perth Convention Bureau’s (PCB) 2018 Aspire Program is now open to individuals involved with not-for-profit associations in Western Australia, who can apply for the City of Perth Convention Scholarship and the Giving West Conference Scholarship funded by PCB under its Aspire Program. The aim of the Aspire Program is to assist the individual’s personal and professional development through attendance at a relevant international conference. The funding covers travel, accommodation and registration expenses to the maximum value of the award.

Application information and guidelines are now available at http://www.pcb.com.au/aspire. 

The deadline for applications is the 29th March 2018. A wide of assistance and advice is available to help you apply, for more information please contact Sophia Okeby, Communications Manager on +61 (0)8 9218 2921 or email sokeby@pcb.com.au.

With the full support of its board, the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux (AACB) is pleased to announce the election of Karen Bolinger, CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau as its new president.

The election was held at the AACB Annual General Meeting yesterday and announced at the opening of the AACB Conference this morning.

“I am looking forward to a productive year, with one of the first actions being to revisit the strategic plan with a view to the future model of the business events industry in Australia.”, said Ms Bolinger.

“AACB has a powerful voice in advocating for industry, stakeholders and partners who benefit from the sector, as well as influencing government to raise the profile of this vital economic driver for Australia.

“I plan to continue the great work that has already been achieved and delivering new initiatives established in the 2017/18 strategic plan.”

Ms Bolinger opened the AACB Conference with a presentation on the significance and growth of the business events industry, following the official presidential handover from Lyn Lewis-Smith. Ms Lewis-Smith, CEO of Business Events Sydney served as AACB president for 4 years.

“It has been an honour to be AACB President over the last four years, and I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together over that time. Particularly the progress we have made engaging government and industry in the value and importance of business events, and the vital impact they have on the Australian economy. I look forward to working with Karen, Andrew, the board and all our members to build on that progress in the years to come.”, said Ms Lewis-Smith.

The Board also welcomes the appointment of Michael Matthews, CEO at the Canberra Convention Bureau as Treasurer, and Damien Kitto, CEO of the Adelaide Convention Bureau as Vice President.

AACB CEO, Andrew Hiebl said, “I would like to give a special thanks to Lyn for the time that she has committed to leading the AACB. It has been a privilege to serve under Lyn’s leadership over the last four years - a period in which I regard as one of personal growth through her guidance, advice and mentorship. I look forward to working closely with the new Executive team that has been elected.”

The 28th Annual AACB Conference is underway at the Henry Jones Art Hotel in Hobart, Tasmania, commencing with the Welcome Reception last night and concluding with the AIME Gala Dinner on Friday 8 September.

The Conference offers a unique opportunity for competitors and industry counterparts to network, share ideas, discuss trends and issues, and work collaboratively to develop the overall business events market in Australia.

This media release was written by Annika Hofsink, Marketing & Communications Executive. 

Brendan Pearson will step down as the Chief Executive of the Minerals Council of Australia next month after more than nine years in senior roles with the organisation.

Brendan has been Chief Executive since January 2014, having earlier served as Deputy Chief Executive.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and the MCA membership more generally, I would express my appreciation for Brendan’s contribution to the work of the MCA for more than nine years, including nearly four years as Chief Executive,” Dr Guthrie said.

“Brendan and his team have advanced the interests of the minerals sector significantly across a broad spectrum of issues. He led the MCA during a period of economic downturn in the sector and was able to maximise the organisation’s impact with forthright and thoughtful advocacy,” Dr Guthrie said.

Mr Pearson said it had been a privilege to hold senior leadership positions in the MCA during a period of significant challenges for the industry and the nation.

“I am especially pleased that we have built coalitions of interest across a range of policy issues and deepened and broadened our co-operation with the broad policy community. Consistent with the MCA tradition, our policy advocacy has been vigorous but constructive and evidence-based. The industry has been prepared to tell its story and articulate its case and it is important that this continue.

“Particular challenges to the coal, iron ore and gold sectors have been (and continue to be) met resolutely, while amalgamations with uranium and coal sector bodies have been productive. The mining and carbon taxes have been repealed, there is bipartisan support for the Fuel Tax Credits scheme and I am confident there will be much-needed reform of the GST distribution system over the next 12 months,” Mr Pearson said.

“It has been a particular pleasure working with an industry that makes such a strong contribution to regional Australia and one that leads all other sectors in providing opportunities to Indigenous Australians,” he said.

Brendan will leave the organisation in mid-October. David Byers will be Acting Chief Executive during the transition to new leadership.

This media release was written by Vanessa Guthrie and Brendan Pearson of Minerals Council of Australia. 

The Australian Smart Communities Association (ASCA) today announced the appointment of its first full-time CEO. Laurie Patton takes on this role following an extensive career in media, IT and event management. For the past three years he has been CEO / Executive Director of Internet Australia, the NFP peak body representing the interests of Internet users.

Welcoming Mr Patton, ASCA Vice President Brook Dixon (and Chair of the ASCA Nominations Committee) said the ASCA board was keen to see the organisation increase its contribution to the promotion of smart community concepts across Australia and was committed to working with a wide range of stakeholders.

“Australia is well placed to be one of the leaders in emerging global moves to make our communities more liveable, more sustainable and more technologically empowered. We recognise the importance of putting people first – viewing things from a local perspective while also drawing on international experience,” Mr Dixon said.

“Our board and members hold significant roles in organisations committed to creating smart communities. We are keen to lead the conversation about how best to develop all our communities for the benefit of every Australian.

“Smart community interest and action is accelerating across Australia, with great leadership from the Australian Government, through the Prime Minister and Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation, Angus Taylor MP,” Mr Dixon said.

“ASCA has been working closely with the Australian Government to drive positive smart community outcomes, and we look forward to building this partnership into the future.”

Mr Patton’s immediate priority will be to engage broadly with communities, governments and businesses to ensure ASCA fulfils a central role in stimulating debate and actions designed to help our communities take full advantage of the many exciting opportunities opening up in the 21st Century.

“There’s never been a more important time for ASCA to make a contribution to the development of smart communities throughout Australia,” Mr Patton said.

“We are fast entering a digitally-enabled world full of new avenues for improving people’s lives by enhancing the places where they live and work.

“While many communities are now poised and ready to proceed, and some already on the journey, there’s clearly a need for a coordinated effort across the country that sees us collaborating and sharing our experiences as we experiment and learn. I’m looking forward to working with the ASCA board and members to ensure we make a major contribution to that effort,” Mr Patton said.

This media release was sourced from the Australian Smart Communities Association.

Does your brand need a refresh? Are you looking to rename and rebrand? Or are you starting out from scratch and need a new brand? No -matter what stage you are at – it is crucial in an era of marketing communications overload that your approach to brand development is clever and tactical.

A brand is not only your logo, it is your identity and fully encompasses who you are as an organisation at every level. Your brand is your story, your people, your key messages and your visual look and feel – it needs to quickly and consistently explain who you are, what you do and engage with your target audiences.

Therefore, with this in mind here is our best practice approach to creating a strong and powerful brand that will connect with your many diverse communities.

Step 1: Discuss, Explore and Analyse

Immerse yourself in your organisation, internally and externally, take a full look at your organisation, your history, your audience and conduct an analysis of your current brand or and current situation. Think about how you want to be perceived and write your mission, vision, values and key words that explain the personality of your organisation.

Review and discuss your industry and competitive landscape – what are other organisation’s brand like, what are their positioning statements and how is your value proposition different?.

If you already have an existing brand to refresh, conduct a brand audit across all of your corporate materials and marketing channels. Consider your presence from a key message and visual perspective – is your brand identity consistent, value focused and clear across all your marketing touch points?

Step 2: Internal and External Audit & Colour Mapping

Conduct a creative and visual review of the landscape, competitive brands and substitute offer brands Australia-wide and globally. Then preparing a visual record of how they look, what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, what they say and (where applicable) brand architectures employed. Place these visually on a colour wheel, so you can consider where your brand will fit in your industry competitive landscape.

Step 3: Name, brand story, key words and brand personality

If you are creating a new name altogether, it is only now this brainstorming should take place for this. The brand name, taglines and visuals will rely on the research that you have completed. At Zadro, we would provide our clients with a few names and tagline combinations at this point and we would also write the brand stories story for each considered name.

Your brand story is at the core of your brand, it is who you are, why you are in business, your purpose, your personality and reason to exist. Check out Zadro’s brand story for inspiration.

Step 4: Design a cohesive visual style including your logo design, brand and tagline

Now is the creative design piece of the puzzle. It is important to note that oAt Zadro, our creative team are a key part of immersed into the full brand development process from the beginning, as they needin order to understand all of the background as welland deliver the best end result. The worst thing you can do is to exclude the design from the previous steps and then just brief them at this point as it will create a ‘disconnect’ for in the identity of your brand.

At this point design your brand concepts – we usually find 3 to 4 is enough before there’s too many to choose from. Use a variety of colours, typography and icons, bringing in the taglines to each to show the options. It can also be good here to showcase a brand In in situ. What we mean by this is to design the brand on the front cover of a brochure, or a business card, etc, to show what it could would look like in a real application.

Once you have concepts, present these to a small leadership audience, however make ensure the key decision makers in your business are present and ideally allow the creative and marketing people to talk through the concepts and how they arrived at these. It is important to take the decision makers on a journey so they can make an informed decision.

Once you have the feedback, your designer can refine the logos down to one concept with colour or typography variations so you can make a final decision.

Step 5: Create a brand style guidelines and key brand collateral

Now you have your brand, you need to create guidelines around how this is to be used in your organisation and across your marketing channels. Your designer will create a brand style guide that includes use of your logo, typography, colour breakdown and guidelines on the use of your taglines and , key messages. It is good to include your brand story in the guidelines so when you implement the new brand everyone in your organisation knows how to use it and your brand is consistent across your communications.

Step 6: Develop a communications plan for the launch of your new brand

Now you have a new brand, you need to shout about it! Create and implement a launch communications plan across your website, email marketing, social media, marketing collateral or even have a launch party event.

And, finally, a lot of hard work has gone into the development and launch of your fantastic new brand, give yourself a pat-on-the-back! for launching your fabulous new brand!

This article was written by Mellanie Wulf, Creative Lead at Zadro.

All Graeme Blackford wants is a "good country chef".

Someone who is qualified but can cook a juicy steak, a good chicken meal and rustle up a few burgers.

But the Grand Tavern publican's search for a chef has moved into its fifth month with no sign of a likely candidate coming forward.

He's advertised in local and national newspapers and even has a blackboard sign outside the tavern in Te Aroha, advertising for a chef.

While there are cooks out there looking for work, no-one qualified has put their hand up.

It has meant the tavern's restaurant hasn't been able to operate.

"You can't function without a cook or a chef so we're not getting by at all, and it's starting to cost us money."

Blackford is president of the Thames branch of Hospitality New Zealand and he reckons his problem is not an isolated one.

And he's right. Hamilton restaurants were also struggling to attract top chefs while the New Zealand Restaurant Association admitted there was a skill shortage when it came to finding people willing to work in a commercial kitchen.

A search of the job website, Seek.co.nz, showed there were 26 jobs listed under the title, "chef" for the Waikato.

Pay rates ranged from $20 to $29.99 per hour while another job was listed with the rate of $35,000 to $44,999 per year.

"We [the association] had a meeting recently and talked about the lack of chefs," Blackford said.

"You can't get anyone. You look at the hospitality column of the situation vacant and it's all people looking for chefs.

"I know of a hotel in the South Island which took about 12 months to find a chef."

He thought there was a shortage of trades people across the board. Costs involved with training programmes were holding people back.

A lack of accommodation in rural towns like Te Aroha also added to the problem.

"People from the cities don't want to come into a country town, even from Hamilton.

"In Te Aroha, there's no accommodation, no where to rent."

Blackford said he had been spoilt for the past 11 years where he had been able to lease out the restaurant at the tavern to people who had "worked hard but made good money".

"With the summer coming up, we're going to miss out if we can't find anyone."

Blackford agreed there were plenty of Aucklanders moving to Te Aroha but most were retirees, and not looking for a new career challenge.

"They're people who have probably made about $500,000 or $600,000 on selling their property, and paid about $300,000 for a good house in Te Aroha.

"They've got cash in the pockets but not looking to work, they're 70-plus. You're not getting anyone in their 40s or 50s coming here."

Blackford said he was still hopeful someone suitable would answer his call for help before the summer season starts.

"We just want a qualified person who is happy to work evenings and weekends especially, that's where you're going to get most of the work."

Head hunting chefs

In Hamilton, the city's top restaurants were head-hunting chefs from each other because they couldn't find new people to fill the void.

More successful city restaurants were offering higher pay rates to retain chefs.

Lawrenson Group owns 16 restaurants and pubs in Hamilton's CBD.

Its chief executive John Lawrenson said his HR manager kept watch on recruitment websites to find new staff.

Their search showed chefs were the sixth most advertised in the country and the least responded to.

With no new qualified chefs answering advertisements, Lawrenson said there was a fair bit of work going on to lure head chefs from other restaurants.

He thought there were only about five or six good restaurants in Hamilton and about the same number of "good cafes".

"The sad reality is there's not a lot of good qualified chefs around."

Pay rates had "skyrocketed" to about $35-$45 per hour, in an attempt to keep staff.

Long hours and difficult working conditions were a few of the factors Lawrenson thought were limiting a chef's career.

"Working as a chef is hard. They work long hours prepping, work 12 to 14 hour days and we try to juggle the hours for them so they have four days on and three days off.

"Kitchens are very hot places to work in. It can get up to 30 degrees [Celsius] in the summer."

Some chefs moved into the industry in their late 20s but by their early 30s were ready to get out.

"They leave and become a rep or open up a cafe somewhere. As a result the demand for chefs continues to rise."

He believed many restaurants were considering applicants from as far as Asian to work in commercial kitchens.

Shortage of chefs

New Zealand Restaurant Association Chief Executive Marisa Bidois said chefs were on the skill shortage list for the country.

"We have done a lot of research on how difficult it is for our industry to recruit any particular position. Chef seems to be one of the most difficult," she said.

A recent NZ Restaurant Association survey found from 200 members, 65.57 per cent said it was "extremely difficult" to find a chef and 28.67 per cent said it was "difficult" to find a chef.

"We had 0.82 per cent - that's not even a whole person - who said it was easy," Bidois said.

"It's such an important issue. It's a hot topic for our industry."

Bidois also said more than 60 per cent of members stated finding a suitable candidate had increased in difficulty over the past year.

The New Zealand Restaurant Association runs a Pro Start training programme, working alongside the government to try recruit and promote the industry to unemployed people.

It's aimed toward people the association believes can make a suitable transition into the industry and offers month-long training and on-the-job experience.

The programme runs in Hamilton and Auckland.

"Our employment rate is extremely low - there are not enough people to cover submissions at the moment.

"There are great stories from people who come through the programme but it is difficult in general for employers to find the right people."

Bidois has seen small community restaurants get creative when it comes to pitching their job offers.

Businesses propose a lifestyle change, cheaper rent and a balance between work and home life, she said, but Bidois understands the difficulty.

"Through speaking with other members, they've said it can take months to find the right people, but that's not through lack of trying.

"There's been substantial growth in the hospitality and tourism industry in the last five years. It's grown a lot and grown quickly.

"All of these things are good for the industry but it puts more pressure on finding the labour."

This article was originally sourced from Stuff NZ.

Clarity around the distinctive and different roles and responsibilities of independent public servants and political staff will give the incoming government and its staff a fresh start, says Public Service Association national secretary Glenn Barclay.

The Code of Conduct for Ministerial staff, introduced by the State Services Commission today, will support political staff so they don’t overstep the mark when working with independent public servants.

"Political staff are public servants too. They deserve State Service Commission guidance around standards of integrity and conduct as much as any other group," Glenn Barclay says.

"Over the past few years it has become increasingly clear to the PSA that more tangible supports are needed to protect public servants for perceived or actual misconduct. Political advisors can be subject to pressure from a range of sources. This code will provide them with some protections as well as helping the delivery of free and frank advice.

"All public servants, whether under the State Services Code of Conduct or the Ministerial Code of Conduct, now have guidance around recognising and respecting the roles and responsibilities of their colleagues," Glenn Barclay said.

The PSA says there is space within New Zealand’s constitutional framework for political advisors to sit alongside independent public servants. But says it is critical that there are parameters around each role to protect the individuals involved as well as the integrity of our democracy.

This article was originally sourced from Scoop Politics.