An original!

Yesterday a colleague and I were digging up some facts for an interview I was doing. We were both thrilled to discover that the first ever experience provider we signed to RedBalloon is still with us to this day – 12 years on. This got me to thinking…

“How many businesses can claim to have healthy long term relationships with the suppliers, clients, or even the employees who were there at the very beginning?”

In business, as in life, I am all about building and nurturing relationships. I want to take care of those who take care of me. Be that our long standing original suppliers; the office stationery store in Balmain that still arms our 60+ person office with pens, paper and post-it notes each month; or the RedBalloon employees.  None of these things are by accident; we designed them to be this way by creating and fostering happy relationships. I am a big believer in ‘what goes around comes around.’ And loyalty does still mean something in business.

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had our fair share of break ups. Even though we’re a celebrated best employer, there was a time (more than five years ago) when there seemed to be more employees leaving rather than staying. We’d hit a point in our growth journey that was “make or break”. We’d grown so fast that a lot of the procedures we needed in place to keep our people happy were simply not there. But we resolved that issue and have grown from strength to strength each year – featuring on the BRW Best Places to Work list four times running, with a bunch of self-confessed happy employees. We identified the problem and set about fixing it. It takes absolute commitment… determinate and persistence.

But it’s important to note that not everything needs “fixing”. Take the local stationery store I mentioned – yes, we could go to a larger business and perhaps save a few dollars along the way. But business relationships are more than a simple financial transaction of “I give you this and you give me that”. When I walk into that shop the owner knows my name. When we miss something off the order, they’ll pop it aside or have it sent out. If we need something specific that isn’t in stock, they’ll order it in for us. We don’t just receive a product from them; they’re part of our business community.

I urge everyone to start treating their business relationships in the same way we view our personal ones. I’m not saying you need to send your office supplies provider a birthday card – although that would be a nice touch – but simply take a moment to think about the difference these relationships make to your own business and treat those people as you would your own employees. Like in any relationship, there is give and there is take; but in the end both parties have each other’s best interest at heart. And combined, we can create happier workplaces everywhere. After all – who said you could not have fun in business?

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The RedBalloon IT & Development team have their heads in the cloud.
*p ro·gram·mer (n) An organism capable of converting caffeine into code.

Years ago – at the very beginning of time (well it feels that long ago), we began to think about what RedBalloon could look like. I took my hard earned $25k and visited a web developer. $25,000 later I had a very average website with no content management system. The site was ‘framed’ and even worse, not hosted.

For many entrepreneurs, technology is their Achilles’ heel. And I was no different. What I had was a business idea, and from that the site began to evolve. There was no architecture or grand plan. We just added features willy-nilly.

What started as a ‘project’ was fast becoming a massive convoluted mash of spaghetti. I had the vision to be a large business, but sitting under the bonnet the system was held together with sticky tape. About five years ago I knew that we had to invest in an enterprise solution that was rigorous, robust and scalable. The hosting, architecture, testing (and even coding in the boutique language Cold Fusion) was not going to get us where we needed to go. For me personally IT was a blind spot and every ‘expert’ was telling me something different.

The critical path to the success we now have came in the form of independent advice… not from consultants or vendors (because by nature they are not independent), but from putting together a Technology Advisory Panel (it’s a fancy name for inviting my friends who ran technology companies to lunch). It was slow and systematic, but I can hand on heart say that the investment we made is more than paying off.

RedBalloon was one of the first Australian businesses to implement the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud computing platform, which was another step on the online retailer’s innovation journey. RedBalloon initiated the move to Cloud computing as part of a major digital overhaul undertaken at the beginning of 2011 followed by a two month implementation completed in mid-July last year. The transition required only 15 minutes of downtime from its previous on-premise environment at 6am on a Sunday morning. The last time the business switched server providers the high traffic website was down for almost 16 hours and a hard-drive was flown between Melbourne and Sydney to transfer the enormous amount of data. And I got lots of grey hairs!

As a fast-growing company, repeating this sort of downtime was out of the question. We realised 12 months ago that technology had become a growth inhibitor. The company was relying on 17 servers housed at a local data centre and needed many more to continue its growth.

Today, the RedBalloon platform features over 150 servers in the Cloud, which cost the same as the previous 17. Almost the entire RedBalloon business now runs from the cloud – including website, fulfilment, ERP and CRM. The intuitive model foresees more than 100 of the RedBalloon servers, which are automatically shut down overnight when not in operation; delivering flexibility, scale and a significant cost saving to the business every day.  Beyond the website, the Cloud DR program also means the physical business keeps operating if the Sydney office network is hit, as the phone runs off the internet. Practically, this frees employees to work remotely – an important feature of RedBalloon’s commitment to being a top employer.

We have gone from the ‘back foot’ to the ‘front foot’ – a painful journey, but essential to our future growth trajectory.

And what is life like being part of the RedBalloon team? Here is a post from our Development Manager Roneel.

The post What does Cloud Computing mean to RedBalloon? appeared first on Naomi Simson's Blog.

If only people came with ‘warning’ signs. Communication is two ways.

“Good listeners get what they deserve–better speakers.” Seth Godin

My mother always said… “your ears and mouth were built proportionally to how much you should listen or talk”. We should listen at least twice as much as we speak – one mouth – two ears.

I’m always open to constructive criticism. I have had many people take it upon themselves to ‘fix me’. However, I know who I am, what I do and what I stand for – and in so doing I do not take it personally when people ‘have a crack at me’. In fact debate is good.

A long time ago I learned that it is impossible to please everyone… Someone said to me that no matter how good I am as a speaker – if I have a room of 1000 people – there are 1% of attendees who will be unimpressed or simply not get my message. They may have had a fight with their spouse, or be worried about something else – and they are not present ie they are not really listening. Or the voice in their head has decided before I even open my mouth “what would she know”.

It is really easy to criticize others, act superior, but the only person you are really impacting is yourself. Even the worst speaker in the world has value to add – if for no other reason than we learn how we don’t want to be.

Lesson #1 – Everyone has gold – it is the job of the listener to uncover it.

I recently received this email:

“I’ve been reading your LinkedIn contributions (and the contributions of others) for a few weeks now.

Initially, I admit that I’ve been unimpressed with many of the articles I’ve been reading from people who are educated and successful–by all rights. I believe that many of us (particularly Americans) have chosen to ”react” to opinions and rhetoric rather than to think critically about the content that others say. It has bothered me that while we encourage others to succeed personally and professionally, I don’t see the same passion for genuinely enabling the success. We ask for people to demonstrate admirable traits that relate to generally acceptable values and beliefs–but we often don’t demonstrate them ourselves. And, it seems we rarely hold the one’s we value (accountable) to those standards.

I’ve written a handful of comments on your LinkedIn posts that were less than encouraging–trite, insensitive, and generally lackluster in communicating anything other than the fact that I don’t approve…

I wanted to apologize to you for doing that. I know that it’s okay to disagree–but that we should all encourage more than we scorn; and smile more than we ”beat our chests”. That includes me.

Naomi, I’m sorry that I my contributions to your posts were less than inspiring for you–and other readers.”

It took self-awareness to write this – and I thought others could learn from his words.

Lesson #2 it is a lonely place to always be right. Admitting you’re not perfect is a sign of maturity.

I love debate – it is healthy and fun, in fact conflict can create the challenge, which will lead to a better result. But before you challenge for the sake of it – have you listened for gold first and have you assessed how to be constructive without being ‘superior’? Holding on to a position of being right, without allowing other peoples’ opinions to be equally valued limits the opportunity to learn.

Have you ever tried to explain something to someone who says ‘I know’ alot? Doesn’t it stop you taking the time to share your view – and ultimately the ‘knower’ misses out. If you are the person who is always saying ‘I know’ (and maybe you do know a lot) but you will never find out what the other person did know if you cut them off and don’t ask open questions.

If you hear that little voice in your head so loudly that you can’t listen – perhaps it is time that you asked the little voice to quieten down for a moment so you can get the most from those around you.

Are you open to being a great listener? One of my favorite books on this subject is called “The lost art of listening”

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With Julie Coates (and EO board members Jo Burston and Danny Kordahi)

It is always wonderful to discover the journey of successful female executives. Last week I had the privilege of meeting the Big W General Manager Julie Coates.

Whilst she primarily spoke of the success of the discount department store over the past few years – I was also interested in her journey through retail to her present role. She started her career as a maths teacher in Victoria. (She is clearly strong with numbers and has a great head for customer experience). She lamented that she too was surprised that there are not more women in leadership and store manager roles in retail in Australia – given that 75% of all purchase decisions are made or influenced by women.

She said her advice for women – is no matter if childcare is expensive, and it seems as if you are working for no return, you must keep your networks, contacts, and experience to progress. Julie spoke of a young woman she advised years ago to ‘stick at it’ even though with the cost of childcare it did not make financial sense. (ie she was effectively working for nil gain). Now, years later, this woman has progressed and her salary more than doubled. This would not have happened if she had stepped out of the work force.

Many entrepreneurs work for nothing for years… to get ahead. We just don’t think of this happening to our corporate counterparts.

Some other insights on retailing from Julie’s presentation:

• In recent times, with the fluctuation of currency and increasing cost bases – you have to sell twice as much to get the same profit result
• Multi option retail is essential ie it is not ‘bricks & mortar’ versus online, successful retail takes an integrated approach (including mobile devices – where people will compare prices whilst in your store with other retailers)
• Innovate constantly. Big W are first retailer to have online layby functionality and pay via mobile
• Customers are valuable – care about them. Big W online customers spend twice as much as retail customers

The post Advice: ‘Work for nothing to get ahead.’ appeared first on Naomi Simson's Blog.

As you know I believe not enough employers use R.E.D. (Recognition Every Day)… and as a result the researchers tell us that 10s of billions of dollars disappear from lost productivity.

Ernst & Young Productivity Pulse claims that as much as $308 billion evaporates from the Australian economy annually as a result of people being ‘disengage’ ie they hate their employer – and will do anything to disrupt them.

80% of all Australian employees say that they could be more productive in their roles…. and they blame four things for ‘not doing their best work’.

1. Staff engagement (ie if others around them hate working their it is hard to do their best work – disengagement is infectious)
2. Well Being
3. Motivation
4. Work place recognition.

Logic would tell us that all four reasons are intertwined. At RedBalloon we say people are far more likely to do their best work if

“People know what they are there to do, they feel part of something bigger than themselves, some one notices their contribution and they go home feeling like a winner.”

People management issues (ie bad managers) have the biggest impact on engagement. Employees want to be able to respect their manager or supervisor – to believe in them, trust them, be inspired by them.

Think what are you doing today at your workplace…. if you are not doing your best work, perhaps you could encourage your HR team or other leaders to attend the Inspired Ideas workshops – in Melbourne and Sydney. One by one I’m committed to transforming Australian workplaces – join me.

What can you do about these things at your work place. A little recognition could help!

The post Inspired Ideas so everyone can work in a great place appeared first on Naomi Simson's Blog.

RedBallooners It’s all about the ‘Good Times’

Planning for the new financial year is upon us again. The leadership team at RedBalloon is in the midst of brainstorms and planning sessions with their teams, exploring how they each can help deliver our purpose: creating happiness by giving people more good times.

Its times like this I’m so grateful for the wonderful contribution we make to peoples’ everyday lives. Be that ticking an item off their bucket list, celebrating a 30^th, 40^th, 50^th or 60^th, or simply providing an experience that gives the recipient a happy memory they can recall for years to come.

Yes, I’ve been accused of running a “namby pamby revolution” – more than once – but what we do has great value to so many people. Whilst some might say that what we do is not ‘rocket science’, the fact remains that at the very core of each persons well being is their connection to other human beings – and when an experience is shared – that connection is deepened. The moments that are created through RedBalloon experiences is a great thing. We’re simply making it easy for people to have shared experiences – and as a result make Australia a slightly happier place. We like to think we have started a ‘happiness revolution’ – one experience at a time.

When I get the chance to see what our teams present to the board in the coming weeks I know I will feel a combination of pride, excitement and purpose…

…Pride because this is the business that until 12 years ago lived entirely inside my head. I am proud when I think there is now a team of 60 employees supporting our purpose and on track to deliver two million experiences before the end of the year. And that we are supporting 1000s of businesses in our supplier community. Not forgetting the half million good times we facilitate for our customers every year.

…Excitement because my days of dreaming up and delivering the business strategy for RedBalloon has been passed to the CEO and a leadership team now tasked with this, and it’s exciting to think I’ve played a role in their professional development. I’m also excited to see what ideas they create.

…Purpose because it’s the why we do what we do. It is our purpose that drives us, and get’s us bounding out of bed every day, and we wouldn’t know what direction we’re headed or what we needed to take with us. Our purpose and our values guide every decision we make as a business, and I am so fortunate to have a team of people happily along for the ride.

I hope you enjoy this time of year as much as I do. I’d love to hear your own experiences with planning and the strategies you use to get the best ideas and buy in from your people.

The post Pride & Purpose appeared first on Naomi Simson's Blog.

Any where Any time

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 to ensure that we are doing the right thing.

Like all business risks director and business owner need to take the lead on this. Directors are responsibility under the Corporations Act 2001 for:

• Care and diligence - to act with the degree of care and diligence that a reasonable person might be expected to show in the role
• Good faith - to act in good faith in the best interests of the company and for a proper purpose
• Improper use of position - to not improperly use their position to gain an advantage for themselves or someone else or to the detriment to the company
• Improper use of information - to not improperly use the information they gain in the course of their director duties to gain an advantage

So really if we are acting properly with care and diligence – all should be okay. I know as a director that I must ensure that beyond doubt I have personally done everything I can to ensure that my team are safe at work (complying with Occupational Health and Safety director obligations) – the new bullying legislation will provide the same onus on directors.

As leaders doing a few simple things in preparation will keep our people safe, our brand safe and reduce the likelihood of claims.

The point is stuff happens in business – and we are dealing with people’s many and varied personalities.

At RedBalloon we love being ‘famous’ for being a great work place. I believe one of the reasons we have achieved this is because we have shared values. This goes along way to creating mutual respect in the workplace.

As a leadership team we are committed to people coming to work every day able to do their best work. Despite this RedBalloon is at risk as much as any other business.

What happens if a bullying claim is made at RedBalloon? First of all we don’t panic – we have done the preparation – directors trained. The CEO goes straight to our policy – and follows it.

As the new laws role out there is no need worry if you stay vigilant to the issue – and acknowledge it can happen in ANY business at ANY time.

1. Do you have a strategy, policy, or process documented?
2. Are potential areas of concern identified? (eg we have a policy about providing alcohol at work functions – because risky situations can also occur when coworkers are at work functions.)
3. Are the leadership team and the directors informed – educated and committed to the process?
4. Are the policies and processes shared with all leaders?
5. Do employees know what to do if they have a grievance?
6. Is there an independent ‘hot line’ employees can call (if they feel that they are unable to speak to someone internally – including HR)
7. At what point is an issue escalated to either an internal or independent investigation?
8. Is the employee kept informed and made to feel safe at all times?
9. Are disciplinary actions taken quickly and effectively if required?

Here’s the good news – like so many HR practices there are experts who work in this area, who assist in designing policies, identifying risk areas, hotline and investigations services (Licensed investigators may well be needed – cases have been thrown out of court because the investigators were not licensed to conduct them).

Much of what I learned came from the research and work Risk to Business does.

Take the Workplace Risk Audit – see how your business fairs – maybe you are already on the right track…

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If we were all the same – how dull life would be.

Everyone has their own unique view of the world.

It is really easy to criticize others, act superior, but the only person you are really impacting is yourself. Even the those you think are a complete waste of time have value to add – if for no other reason than we learn how we don’t want to be.

Lesson #1 – Everyone has gold – it is the job of the listener to uncover it.

I recently received this email:

“I’ve been reading your LinkedIn contributions (and the contributions of others) for a few weeks now.

Initially, I admit that I’ve been unimpressed with many of the articles I’ve been reading from people who are educated and successful–by all rights. I believe that many of us (particularly Americans) have chosen to ”react” to opinions and rhetoric rather than to think critically about the content that others say. It has bothered me that while we encourage others to succeed personally and professionally, I don’t see the same passion for genuinely enabling the success. We ask for people to demonstrate admirable traits that relate to generally acceptable values and beliefs–but we often don’t demonstrate them ourselves. And, it seems we rarely hold the one’s we value (accountable) to those standards.

I’ve written a handful of comments on your LinkedIn posts that were less than encouraging–trite, insensitive, and generally lackluster in communicating anything other than the fact that I don’t approve…

I wanted to apologize to you for doing that. I know that it’s okay to disagree–but that we should all encourage more than we scorn; and smile more than we ”beat our chests”. That includes me.

Naomi, I’m sorry that I my contributions to your posts were less than inspiring for you–and other readers.”

It took self-awareness to write this – and I thought others could learn from his words.

Lesson #2 it is a lonely place to always be right. Admitting you’re not perfect is a sign of maturity.

I love debate – it is healthy and fun, in fact conflict can create the challenge, which will lead to a better result. But before you challenge for the sake of it – have you listened for gold first and have you assessed how to be constructive without being ‘superior’? Holding on to a position of being right, without allowing other peoples’ opinions to be equally valued limits the opportunity to learn.

Have you ever tried to explain something to someone who says ‘I know’ alot? Doesn’t it stop you taking the time to share your view – and ultimately the ‘knower’ misses out. If you are the person who is always saying ‘I know’ (and maybe you do know a lot) but you will never find out what the other person did know if you cut them off and don’t ask open questions.

If you hear that little voice in your head so loudly that you can’t listen – perhaps it is time that you asked the little voice to quiten down for a moment so you can get the most from those around you.

“Good listeners get what they deserve–better speakers.” Seth Godin

Are you open to being a great listener?

The post Two lessons on not ‘fitting in’ appeared first on Naomi Simson's Blog.

What makes us tick? 'Good Times' with family and friends is way up there.

I started a business more than a decade ago based on ‘giving people good-times.’ Since then I have researched and read many books about happiness, well-being and what it is to be human. In essence I have been seeking the answer to the question ‘What is it that drives us?’ And I first wrote about this on LinkedIn

I have learned the definitions of pleasure, contentment and joy and in so doing I have discovered that the word pleasure and desire are often hijacked by a seedier conversation.

In this pursuit I was delighted to come across ‘What Makes Us Tick: The 10 Desires That Drive Us’ by Australia’s leading social researcher, Hugh Mackay.

We ask so many questions of ourselves: Why do we work? Why do some people work jobs they don’t like? Why do others work when they don’t need the money (lucky them!)? Why are people scared to retire, afraid of not working?

According to Hugh, we shouldn’t be so puzzled about human behavior. In fact, we’re suffering under the delusion that humans are rational beings… and we then get frustrated when our behavior is irrational. Instead, Hugh says, our brain is ‘like a gland – awash with hormones’, and we should be surprised at the times when people do display the ability to be rational, rather than the other way round!

Hugh explains that we don’t do anything in our lives for just one reason. Everything we do is a dynamic, messy, contradictorily interplay of 10 desires that drive us.?? While all 10 desires drive every facet of our lives, Hugh touches on seven desires which are particularly played out in the workplace.

The desire to be taken seriously. We need to know we exist, that we’re valued, that we’re being listened to. This desire is why good listeners are so valued in the workplace. And why when you feel so bad when you realise someone is looking over your shoulder when you’re talking to them, rather than listening to what you have to say.

The desire for ‘my place’. We all need places that feel like ours, places that symbolise who we are. This is why, for some people, hot desks and open plan offices create a certain amount of disconnect and dissatisfaction at work.

The desire for something to believe in. We all desire a framework of values in our lives, values we can live by. If the organisation we work for has integrity, it can form an important part of our value set.

The desire to connect. Not only do we feel connected to people around us at work through everyday interactions, we also use work to connect deeper to ourselves. For some people their work is an expression of their self.

The desire to feel useful. The one thing we least want to hear ourselves described as is ‘useless’. Wanting to be useful is fundamental to being part of society. This is the reason that people pull together in times of disaster to help complete strangers… to feel they are doing something useful.

The desire to belong. According to Hugh, we are both ‘herd animals’, and ‘tribal creatures’. We like to feel part of a group, as well as part of something bigger. The best workplace contains rich gratification through both a small herd (work group) and the sense of being a part of the company, the tribe.

The desire for control. Hugh believes this desire is the one most likely to get us into trouble. Humans are by nature uncontrollable. The only person we can control is ourselves.

So the boss who tries to control his team, or a parent who tries to control their children, are fighting a losing battle. So a first-time parent returning to work often feels relief at coming back to an environment where they have influence again… ‘control’ over their own workflow and tasks.

Hugh explains that it’s unlikely we all have these desires all satisfied on a daily basis, but if you feel you have something useful to do, you’re connected, and you have a close work group then you’re doing well.

A final thought from Hugh, that resonates with my own passion for acknowledging people, is that if a workplace can fulfill some or most of these desires for their employees, the ripples will be felt beyond just the personal lives and relationships of the employees, into a more cohesive and peaceful society. Certainly something worth striving for!

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Lauren enjoying herself on the grid

The notion of an “office” has been turned on its head thanks to cloud-based products. They’re changing the nature of work environments like never before.

Our Microsoft host Isabel introduced herself as a “Full time mum of two, full time wife, full time daughter, full time sister and full time employee. We’re all a full time lot of things – all the time, everywhere, anytime. And we’re also expected to be productive everywhere, anytime.”

That sentiment really resonated, as I know myself and many of my colleagues are in this position. With so much on their plates, employees want – and need – the flexibility to do their job in a way that best suits them. Our “outside” lives don’t end when we step “inside” the office.

But delivering this holy grail of flexibility has been a tall order for many SMEs for a long time. The cost that often accompanies providing such tools has, until very recently, been hugely limiting.

V8 Supercars Director of Finance Peter Trimble said their company had no choice but to look at a technological solution for their slumping employee morale – they were “doing their peoples’ heads in” with out-dated technology.

“Our people were working inefficiently and often until 10 or 11 at night just to get their job done. We were wearing our people out…and it was costing us a lot of money to run a broken system. There’s no room for forgiveness in our work – the race will start no matter what.” While that’s true in a literal sense for V8 races, it also applies equally to every business.

RedBalloon has been a recognised top employer for years, with a steadfast commitment to providing flexibility and the right tools for our people. As part of this we recently transitioned onto “the cloud”, where simple yet fundamental features like accessing email, calendars and files, and staying connected when working remotely, are possible. Surprisingly though, we have also seen a reduction in costs.

For the first time, small businesses are able to provide tools for their people that have been for so long available only to the wealthy few. These products are levelling the playing field.

How are you using technology to drive productivity and engagement in your business? Is out-dated or costly technology a stopping point for your growth?

I’d love to hear your stories.

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