A colleague called me from a bus this morning to tell me she’d be unable to make an 8.30am meeting because the “traffic was at a standstill”. The fact she had left her home – a mere 19 kilometers from the office – at 6.30am that morning still did not guarantee she’d get to work on time. After sitting on a bus for almost two hours, she decided to get off and walk the remaining distance; eventually arriving at the…
The only thing that is constant in my life is being on the move. I was asked by LinkedIn to share ‘where and how’ I work… Maybe this request was inspired by Marissa Mayers demand for the Yahoo employees to stop telecommuting and come to the office. [I think she may well have been taken a little out of context. I know the importance of feeling a part of the team – and if I am out and about the…
It’s been a big week at RedBalloon. We announced the appointment to CEO of Kristie Buchanan, who has been acting in the role for 12 months. Our head of security Dexter was followed around by a film crew and featured on The Project on Channel Ten. And the news I really want to share here: We have welcomed Richard England and Atlassian Founder Scott Farquhar to our Board, signalling the start of a new chapter in our journey. Richard is a seasoned…
This year is off to a flying start and we are already seeing some very positive shifts. This is what I have already noticed. What have you found that is different this year than last? 1. Customer intimacy becomes reality – not only have we moved our language away from ‘call centers’ and ‘CRM’, to being all about ‘Customer Love’ – and creating brands people love. The focus on the customer experience will be fundamental to performance results – NPS…
As I sit at my desk under the RedBalloon scoreboard I can see that more than 1.5m people have now had a RedBalloon experience. I have written about our purpose and Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) on many occasions. I have declared on so many times ‘RedBalloon is changing gifting in Australia forever’. In reality that speaks about what we are doing – rather than ‘why’ we do what we do. It is now more than ten years since I…
I am quietly musing to myself – laughing on the inside really. I sat down to start this blog on 3 June… more than a month ago – and it’s all about productivity. There is no doubt that I needed to attend the lunch to launch the Ernst & Young Productivity Pulse Survey. Of course I listened with big ears, the challenge of course is what did I take out of the presentation – and how will it make a…
More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of employees would consider leaving their organisation if they weren’t recognised for their contribution, and one in four are already actively seeking a new job or intend to in the next three months according to the more than 4000 people who responded to the recent RedBalloon for Corporate survey. Managers receiving the bulk of the criticism, with 44 per cent rated “very poor”, “poor” or just “satisfactory” at delivering praise; three quarters of employees…
The NSW Opposition Leader – Barry O’Farrell visited RedBalloon this morning to make an announcement on his ‘Economic Growth Plan’. They were very deliberate in chosing a fast growth business with a strong employee engagement record as a venue for the announcement. It was an interesting experience having eight or so party people and three politicians visit, however it was the 20 media people with all their equipment which took over RedBalloon. Barry chatted with the team, I got to…
I’m often asked what is the greatest concern that I have – ‘what keeps me awake at night?’ The only thing that concerns me is did I do everything I could to support, assist and grow the team around me. It is kind of an upside down world here at RedBalloon. I see my role as serving the team – who of course then serve our customers. It is not external things like interest rates, or retail trade figures that…
Imagine running a business based on fun - that's what I decided to try when I left a very serious corporate career in marketing to set up RedBalloon...
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Getting ready for Bullying Legislation
Last week Cara Waters headed her column “Massive influx of Bullying Claims expected” Now I know her job is to get people reading with sensational headlines – however I think a more apt headline is “Be Alert Not Alarmed”. Megan [RedBalloon Employee Experience Manager] – arranged for a presentation from our workplace lawyers prior to the last RedBalloon board meeting. This is very much a part of our responsibilities as directors – and we don’t need to wait for legislation…