Electricity competition means best deal for consumers, say retailers

Fierce competition among electricity retailers is resulting in New Zealand having the most innovative sector of its kind in the world, meaning a better deal for consumers, says the Electricity Retailers’ Association.

Chief Executive Jenny Cameron says retailers are striving to come up with innovations that make their products more attractive, be it on price, convenience or transparency. She was responding to the Electricity Authority today urging consumers to shop around for the best deal to suit their circumstances.

“Retailers agree absolutely that consumers should be comparing electricity plans and asking questions of their suppliers. That’s the way to get the best deal. No one likes losing business, so retailers will listen.

“New Zealand has the highest rate of switching in the world. With 31 brands across the country, and at least 11 brands available in every region, competition is fierce and retailers are continuously working on ways to attract new customers and retain their current ones.

“It’s important to remember that price is only one way retailers deliver value to customers. It’s also important to remember that our residential electricity prices are, in fact, cheaper than many countries around the world – such as the UK, Japan, Australia, Denmark. We sit around the middle of the OECD.

“The speed of innovation in New Zealand in recent times has been quite remarkable, and includes:

• Increasingly widespread use of mobile apps and website tools to allow customers to better monitor and manage their electricity usage.
• A variety of pricing structures, including an increase in the availability of time-of-use pricing plans.
• Bundling price plans with broadband and telephone options.
• Billing management systems to make it easier for customers to pay their bills.
• Payment options that help with paying down debt or smoothing out payments (such as Smoothpay)
• Options to off-set carbon emissions by buying carbon credits.
• Join-up incentives and one-off bonuses.
• Special rates targeted at electric vehicles.

“We recommend first comparing plans by checking the Electricity Authority’s What’s My Number website and then getting a range of options from the Consumer Powerswitch site. If you still have questions, or need more information, call your retailer.”

This media release was originally sourced from Scoop. 

After 16 years as president of the Marine Farming Association, industry pioneer Rob Pooley has stepped down.

Replacing Nelson-based Mr Pooley is 38 year-old Jonathan Large, a second-generation mussel grower from Marlborough.

Pooley has also been made a life member of the top of the south Marine Farming Association and will remain on the MFA executive.

Pooley started as a marine farmer 40 years ago, encouraged by government and local authorities to get the industry started in the Marlborough Sounds.

"We'd fly up to Wellington on noisy old Bristol Freighters to talk to Government and fly back late at night before driving back to the Sounds," he told the MFA annual general meeting in Blenheim last week.

As owner of Marine Farming Solutions Pooley has enjoyed a lifelong association with the seafood industry - particularly with the lobster and New Zealand Greenshell Mussel industries.

While based in Nelson these days Pooley lived at Elaine Bay in Pelorus Sound for many years where he based his company.

He first served on the Marine Farming Association executive in the mid-1980s and returned as President in 2000.

Reflecting on his time at the top, Pooley was quick to praise the 'many palms on my back' that have supported him and held a positive outlook for the future.

"Our industry has come a long way and still has a huge potential. It's time for some next generation leadership to ensure marine farming can continue to deliver for the top of the south and for New Zealand," he said.

Aquaculture NZ chairman Bruce Hearn said Pooley 'had made a major contribution to this industry', while MFA executive member Bob Nicolle praised him for his passionate advocacy for marine farming.

Large said Mr Pooley had given him his start in the industry and left big shoes to fill and was pleased the retiring president will continue to provide support as a member of the MFA executive.

Mr Pooley has also been recently recognised by the New Zealand oyster industry and was a finalist in the inaugural Seafood Stars awards which were announced this week..

He was also full of praise for the incoming president who was elected unopposed by his peers.

"To be fair there were no surprises and he is a very fitting replacement," Pooley said.

Going forward, Poley said the key issues for the industry were security of tenure for marine farmers as well as maintaining good relationships with local councils.

"As pioneers we were invited to set up an industry and we were encouraged by government both local and regional," he said.

"We did that and we did a pretty good job and we now find ourselves under siege a little."

This article was originally sourced from Stuff and was written by Time O'Connell. 

Occupational Therapy New Zealand Whakaora Ngangahau Aotearoa, are the first allied health association in New Zealand, to authentically and practically practise a commitment to the intentions and spirit of Te Tiriti / the Treaty.

In this year’s September AGM, OTNZ-WNA will officially move into the two house Treaty Relationship Governance Model.

Under this model, Council is made up of two houses, Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti. The model is about creating a third space that maintains the integrity of both houses.

OTNZ-WNA’s executive director Peter Anderson, says "We are very proud to be leaders in the use of this Treaty Relationship Governance model. It is important to us as an association that we work together by honouring the treaty and demonstrating true partnership and equity".

"We hope that other organisations will eventually also adopt this model, and be able to provide better outcomes for all New Zealanders".

The Treaty Relationship Governance model includes:

Collective decision-making that also encourages diverse views in a supportive environment.

This article was originally sourced from Voxy. 

In 2016 Women & Leadership Australia is administering a national initiative to support the development of female leaders across the all industry sectors.

From September 21st 2016 the initiative will provide women in the finance sector with grants for leadership development. More specifically, grant applications are open for women at three levels. Please click on the preferred program link for details. The deadline for expressing your interest for this funding in your sector ends on December 15th.

1. Senior management and executive level women leaders can apply for $8,000

part-scholarships to undertake the Advanced Leadership Program

2. Mid-level female managers and leaders can apply for $4,000 part-scholarships to undertake the Executive Ready Program

3. Aspiring talent and emerging women managers can apply for $3,000 part-scholarships to undertake the Accelerated Leadership Performance Program.

Expressions of Interest

Attached to this email is the Expression of Interest form or can be downloaded here.

Should you wish to discuss the initiative in more detail please contact Ian Johnson at the office of the National Industry Scholarship Program, Women and Leadership Australia on 03 9270 9016 or via ijohnson@wla.edu.au.

Recently I’ve been asked what the key focus areas are for Associations. In my view, it’s all about staying relevant and connecting our respective communities with great people and great ideas.

Consistently, the number one benefit of belonging to an Association is being part of a community and connecting with colleagues to learn, share and advance careers. Reid Hoffman (co-founder and chair of LinkedIn) says “those who can conceptualize and understand networks – both online and off – have an edge in today’s fast-paced and hyper-competitive landscape, where the speed with which we can make informed decisions is critical.” A critical imperative for us is to create opportunities for our community to meet, collaborate and expand their network. It’s also about us facilitating introductions and connections to the right people for any given situation. The age old adage of “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is possibly more true today than ever, especially when it comes to career progression.

In terms of staying relevant, innovation is all the buzz and includes everything from massive step change to small incremental changes to stay ahead of the curve. It’s important that changes relate to the core purpose of the organisation and help to mitigate against disruptors wanting to enter the market. Innovation is about changing tracks when the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming disruption locomotive.

Providing thought leadership and great ideas are essential. With easy access to a vast array of information, the traditional ownership of the knowledge hub by an Association has gone. It’s now the role of Associations to curate, interpret and distribute timely, relevant and meaningful information and resources. So how do we become thought leaders and access/choose the right information. There are many ways including social media, membership of your Professional Association and attendance at sector and international conferences.

In the interests of sharing, here are five insights from sessions I attended at the ASAE conference in Salt Lake City:

• Don’t sell what you make. Make what you can sell;
  
• Partner with good/smart people and organisations for members to access greater benefit;
  
• On promotional material list the top 3 benefits, not 18 features;
  
• Charge more! (for everything…);
  
• Create urgency and exclusivity by bundling products and services and promoting them for a short period of time.
  

I’d be happy to discuss key focus areas for Associations or the above insights in more detail if you are interested.

Brendon Ward

Chief Executive Officer

Australasian Society of Association Executives

Internationally respected CNN anchor and correspondent Hala Gorani joins the Women World Changers Summit!

With three weeks to the Women World Changers Summit, we're pleased to welcome Hala Gorani, a multi-award winning international anchor and correspondent at CNN to headline Women World Changers.

The Australasian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE) is proud to support Women World Changers, a powerful one-day leadership program on diversity, inclusion, talent, culture and growth and features a line-up of international and national speakers never before seen on one stage.

ABOUT HALA GORANI

Hala Gorani has been named one of the most powerful women by Forbes Woman Middle East, as well as a top 100 most powerful Arab women by Arabian Business Magazine.

Hala Gorani is one of CNN's most experienced international journalists, she currently anchors The World Right Now with Hala Gorani, and has reported from every country in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories. She was instrumental in CNN International's coverage of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in 2006, for which CNN won an Edward R.

Murrow Award. In 2010 Gorani covered the devastating earthquake in Haiti, for which CNN's coverage was recognized with a Golden Nymph award - one of the highest honours in international journalism. Gorani was also one of the CNN journalists awarded a News and Documentary Emmy for the network's coverage of the 2011 Egyptian revolution that led to the ousting of the country's then president, Hosni Mubarak.

Click here to see Hala in action on CNN!

To access the latest Women World Changers Agenda, click here

When:

10 October 2016 – The Peninsula, Melbourne

12 October 2016 – The Star, Sydney

Time: 08:00 – 17:30

Special Rates for AuSAE members

Non Member Rate: $1,200 per person

AuSAE Rate: $995 per person

Table of 10: $8,950 per table

Gender Balanced Table of 10: $7,950 per table

Register Now for special AuSAE Rates!

For further information:

• Call 1300 721 778
• Email sean@thegrowthfaculty.com.au

Businesses exist to make money, fund retirement, provide social good etc…

Typically the mantra is "as in sport the key to success is keeping one's eye on the ball". Alternatively, consider just the word "relevance"; meaning "important to the matter at hand". This of course begs the questions "what is the matter at hand" and "why is it important".

Short term; resolve, improve, eliminate, fix, replace and upgrade so that the little things that "annoy" clients, both current and potential, no longer can do so.

Long term; ensure that there are processes in place to prevent "little things" from existing in the first place and where they do actively prevent them from growing into "big things".

For example, take the Website User Experience. Where this is perceived as inadequate, each time the site is used a "small thing" has been created; which over time can only grow. What to do?

Simple, regularly use the Website yourself, just as you expect each client to do, and resolve what annoys. The "small thing" may be real, or may be only perception. Read the literature; for example take the quotation from Steve Seow; author of Designing and Engineering Time. "Uncertainty is a disease, and information is usually the cure, particularly with software. Even something as simple as a gradually filling circle to convey the progress of a download can go a long way to keep slowness rage at bay”.

Relevance; consider all aspects of your business from the point of view of the Client; and take action on what you observe.

Every association deals with various complex issues and challenges. It’s safe to say that the association world isn’t always filled with sunshine and daisies - and that’s OK.

Decisions need to be made every day, and sometimes they are difficult ones. Since your organization handles memberships, the decisions you make directly affect others - no pressure, right? Associations that offer memberships often have to make adjustments that can rock the boat, but they are often necessary. Does your association know how to properly deal with these membership difficulties?

Enforcing a New Membership Structure

New trends and fads are hitting many associations’ membership models. It’s no longer standard to have a traditional one-size-fits all model that leaves members with no alternatives. Many associations have found that members want choices and flexibility when it comes to their commitment level. So where does that leave your association?

That means that your staff will have to implement a new membership structure, and that’s a hefty job. For starters, your members are accustomed to a certain membership style. It’s not easy to go against the grain and change your methodology without any pushback. It will be your job to keep your members at ease and assure them that their membership experience will not falter.

The final question remains: Does your association know what new membership model to implement? It’s important to understand which membership structure will best benefit your entire organization.

How do you know what will work and what won’t? What do members want? This transition causes for many questions, and it’s your job to figure them out. Luckily for you, that’s where data comes into play. If your AMS has robust reporting capabilities, you will be able to understand your members needs. You will be able to pull reports and analyze your findings - allowing you to lay the foundation for your new membership model.

Another strategy to gain insight into what your members want - just ask them! By polling your members, you will receive direct feedback on what initiatives work, and what don’t. You will be able to understand what benefits members value and implement that information in your new membership arrangement.

Measuring the Right Metrics

As stated above, the right AMS will make it easy for you and your staff to retrieve and extract useful data. However, just because you can pull data, doesn't mean you necessarily should. If your association is looking to advance, it will need to become a data-driven organization. By analyzing quantitative data, you will be able to make strategic decisions to better your organization as a whole.

To make your memberships the best they can be, you need to genuinely understand your member.

But are you measuring the right metrics? In order to understand your membership structure and memberships in general - you need to analyze the appropriate data. By pulling general member information (demographic information, overarching characteristics, etc) you can gain insight into your member type. Another important element is to understand what makes members tick - what initiatives keep them engaged. Take a look at your event registrations, see what sessions had the most attendees and review the topic being discussed. By surveying these data points, you can structure your memberships accordingly.

Dropping Certain Benefits

This one can be tricky, but hear me out. If your association offers 20+ benefits and only a few are truly being valued, why even bother? At this point, you are just adding more work for your staff and exhausting valuable resources. To alleviate this issue, associations need to match their benefits to their target demographic’s needs and wants. By conducting a market analysis, you will be able to align your benefits to your members. Depending on your industry, membership structure and target market - you will need to match all components. In the long run, it’s probably better to cut the benefits that are collecting dust and keep the ones that members truly value. These are the benefits that entice members to join - the ones that they can’t anywhere else. Again, it’s crucial to analyze appropriate data to give you these insights. Conducting polls and surveys is another intuitive way to listen to your members.

Nobody said the association world is easy. There are difficult decisions that need to be made on a daily basis - tough stuff! When dealing with memberships, you are directly affecting the experience of your members. It’s important to understand what to do when things get tricky. Every association deals with difficult membership processes, but with the right mindset and understand of your members - you can overcome anything.

To learn more about transitions in the association space, check out our blog, “Embrace the Association Change.”

This article was originally sourced from Member Suite and was written by Amanda Simmons. 

There are all kinds of memberships out there - individual, organizational, freemium, and ah yes, virtual. But how do you know what models are right for your association? You may be offering individual and organizational memberships, but should you be offering virtual memberships as well?

It’s definitely something to ponder, but before you make a final decision, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Do you have the resources and infrastructure needed to support a virtual membership?

Virtual memberships will likely entail a lot of webinars, online training, fresh content, etc. Does your association have the staff and technology needed to provide those services? If not, is the cost of getting (and sustaining) those resources worth offering a discounted, virtual membership? You definitely don’t want to spend more than you bring in.

2. Can you differentiate the benefits of a virtual membership versus a regular membership?

Your regular membership - whether individual, organizational, or both - should be your primary focus. It’s fine to roll out a virtual option, but make sure there’s a clear difference between that and your regular membership. The last thing you want is to devalue your existing members by rolling out an online option.

3. Down the road, can you encourage your virtual members to become regular, higher-level members?

Ideally, you want everyone to be a “regular” member. Virtual memberships exist, though, for those who don’t want or need all of your regular member benefits (e.g. all of those in-person perks).

That said, once someone commits to being a virtual member, can you later encourage them to upgrade their membership? Before rolling out a virtual option, this is something you’ll want to consider.

Offering different membership types is all about recruiting more people. The more options you provide, the more people you’re likely to recruit.

That said, if you’re not ready to roll out a virtual option or it’s not a good fit for your association, that’s totally fine. You can still recruit people with your existing membership types. Not sure how? Check out our free guide, Best Practices for Online Member Acquisition, below!

This article was originally sourced from Association Universe and was written by Callie Walker.

Membership is a team sport. It cannot be achieved alone.

But let’s face it, working with people is tough. Even if you’re a small-staff association, you still have several opinions to take into consideration, not to mention, those of your board. And with so many ideas/opinions floating around, it can be hard to land on one, meaning your association can’t move forward.

Not good.

So how do you eliminate silos within your organization and get everyone to work as a team? Here are a few tips:

1. Set goals (and frequently refer back to those goals)

Sometimes, when people are working in silos, they’re working towards different goals. It’s very easy to do. I mean, how often do you get lost in your day-to-day responsibilities? But if you really want to move your organization forward, it’s important that you’re all working towards the same goals.

To do that, clearly define your current and future goals and refer back to those when meeting/making important decisions.

2. Define roles

Now this is important for a number of reasons. First, you need to know who your decision makers are so that you can collect feedback and determine next steps accordingly. But also, you need to have leaders in place to keep the team moving forward. Without leaders, it often seems that people take a passive approach - and that’s not good for reaching goals.

3. Encourage creativity

Regardless of who your decision makers are, everyone should have a voice. Brainstorming and creativity are what spark the BEST ideas. That said, give everyone an opportunity to speak and encourage unique and transformative ideas.

4. Communicate

No matter how you spin it, the root of effective teamwork is communication. If you want your staff (and board members) to work efficiently together, you need to keep everyone in the loop. You need to keep people updated about current projects, future projects, and more importantly, why certain decisions were made (particularly if there were different opinions about it).

The more people know, the more included they’ll feel, and the more willing they’ll be to help. (Plus, the value of those ideas will improve.)

Teamwork is what it takes to successfully manage your organization - but that doesn’t make the management process any easier. If you need help with membership management, particularly when it comes to member acquisition, engagement, and retention, check out our free Membership Management Guide below!

This article was originally sourced from Association Universe and was written by Callie Walker.