Monthly Archives: March 2021

The road to success for QRS starts with being community focussed – Nigel Pollock

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Nigel Pollock, Quality Roading and Services (QRS) chief executive puts the Wairoa based roading firm’s business award win down to maintaining a balance between economic support for council (which owns QRS) and its social responsibility to the people of Wairoa. QRS won the Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce 2020 Pan Pac Supreme Business Awards at the end of 2020, with Nigel celebrating the win with most of the 87 strong team and a very proud mayor in Craig Little. The Profit interviewed Nigel on what the win means for the business and Wairoa district and what’s next for the business.

Briefly describe what QRS does? Tell me a bit about the businesses – what’s the mix of council and commercial type of business it does?Is all the work based in and around Wairoa or further afield?

Quality Roading and Services is 100 percent owned by Wairoa District Council. We’re known as a council-controlled trading organisation or a CCTO. We have our own board of directors with reporting responsibilities to Wairoa District Council councillors and have been trading for 26 years. Our speciality is civil construction and roading infrastructure. About a third of our work is for Wairoa District Council. Just under two-thirds of our work is for the Government and a small amount of work is in the private sector. We offer a full range of civil engineering skills, experience and equipment. We work mainly in and around Wairoa, which has a geographical footprint covering a third of Hawkes Bay! But we’ve also worked as far south as Bayview, north to Matawai, and west towards Taupo.

QRS was a finalist in 2019 and then took out the top prize in 2020 – it’s obvious the business was performing well – what (if anything did you do differently) to take out the awards?

Our balance between economic support for our owner, Wairoa District Council, and our social responsibilities to the people of Wairoa was, I believe, is the reason we won the Supreme Award. Last year’s award entry process forced us to look at how we navigated 2020 which was a tough year for everyone. Here at QRS a lot of the groundwork had already been done in 2019. We’d invested in diversity, growth, customer service, staff, and greater strategic thinking. We had a strong balance sheet and so were able to rise to the challenges of the difficult year. Our pre-tax profit was 27 percent higher than targeted by securing more work than predicted. Revenue was $10 million more than targeted. Our operating profit before tax and shareholder distribution to Council was $800,685. Our agreed shareholder distribution to Council was $250,000. The numbers reflect QRS’s larger, more complex and challenging contracts.

You passionately spoke out about the people of the organisation in your acceptance speech – how much of a difference does it make having a team that acts as ONE with each feeling that they are making a strong contribution to the firm’s success?

It’s all there in our overarching vision: a strong and successful company, growing the Wairoa community. Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini which translated means: my strength is not mine alone, it is the strength of many. We’re a family, many staff are actually family with mothers working alongside sons, brothers working alongside uncles. It makes us strong. And I don’t think any of us will forget that night. It was a fantastic feeling to be there along with QRS staff when the company’s name was announced as winner. It was a privilege to see firsthand how proud they all are of the company they work for. QRS whānau are true ambassadors for our district.

QRS is one of the largest employers in Wairoa, this a responsibility that weighs heavily – or more something that the firm wears with pride?

It’s an absolute privilege and we wear it with pride! We’re the second largest employer in Wairoa after AFFCO. Due to our location and the district’s demographic attracting and retaining potential employees can be seen as a challenge. But here at QRS our objective has always been to be an employer of choice for operational and highly skilled staff whether they be locally sourced, from New Zealand, or another country. We promote the work as a career while championing Wairoa’s lifestyle. It’s a privilege to be able to employ locals and see them thrive and flourish. We invested $7 million in salaries and wages last year. What are the future growth plans for QRS? We are invested in a new operations hub. The 750 square metre hub will provide space for an additional 30 staff, central meeting and briefing rooms, human resource and finance workspaces. It will be a modern fit-for-purpose building at our Kaimoana Rd depot and will help unleash our business efficiency and potential. We’re very grateful to have received support from the Provincial Growth fund to make it a reality. It’s another leap forward in the QRS journey where we invest in our most important asset, our people. They’re what sustains our ongoing growth.

As an employer – and a local business (not a large national just servicing the area) does this change your approach to how you do a job, how you get involved in the community and how you employ and upskill locals?

We operate in a remote rugged area often needing urgent, large-scale emergency slip responses. We’re the only company that can respond quickly and with the right kind of machinery and expertise from the Wairoa side. While Napier contractors work northwards, we’ll work southwards. It’s the same between Waiora and Gisborne. That emergency response capability means we’re resourced for large maintenance projects around Hawke’s Bay. With regard to employment, many tenders are now heavily weighted on how much staff training and development is associated with the work rather than on price. Contractors like QRS must show how new and existing staff, particularly Māori, will receive training and qualifications during the project. Eighty percent of QRS staff identify as Māori and last year QRS increased its training budget from $200,000 a year to $450,000 a year. This year we have a record 22 staff in apprenticeships.

As for community support, we believe a thriving community can exist only with the support of all who live and work in it. We love giving back to the community that supports our company and its staff. In recent times we’ve donated money and services to sports teams, science and technology education and events, the Wairoa A and P Show, and the Hawke’s Bay Rescue Helicopter Trust.

As the leader of QRS – what’s the most enjoyable part of your job?

The people. The people around me who have shared values and are prepared to make a difference. Understanding what your purpose is and making sure that it is bigger than oneself is important to me. I get to work with people I respect.  I get to work with people I like.  I also love working with our shareholder and owner Wairoa District Council. Without their support, energy and expertise, this ‘journey’ would not have happened.

How do you give back to a team that has done so well?

I can’t emphasise enough how important recognition is, recognition for a job well done, and in front of your peers, that’s something that can never be taken away. It was an incredible night for the staff that came to the award ceremony. The next week we brought the whole team together for a shared big breakfast. The Mayor came and we were able to share the success face-to-face with everyone and pay our respects to every staff member. We did an exercise that morning asking everyone to write on a piece of paper how they were feeling. Some staff wrote lengthy sentences about their pride, joy and delight. Others scrawled things like “Too Much! and “Kia Kaha!” To me that says we are heading in the right direction.

Where to now for regional economic development

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Economic Development in Hawke’s Bay is set for a big shake-up. However, Minister for Regional Development and local MP Hon. Stuart Nash is urging the region’s councils to have a new delivery model for economic development up and running faster than the proposed timeline of 12–18 months. He is also telling the councils they’ll need to contribute more money for it to be effective.

In February, all five councils across the region – Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Napier City Council, Wairoa District Council, Hastings District Council and Central Hawke’s Bay District Council – agreed to complete a review by Giblin Group, at a cost of $40,000, which will further develop the preferred option of a Council Controlled Organisation (CCO). The proposed shake up and likely move to a CCO has brought to an end to Business Hawke’s Bay (BHB), an independent business-led economic delivery agency (EDA) but funded by councils. Following the decision by council’s to complete the review, BHB chair Stuart McLauchlan made the tough call to bring the organisation to an end after 11 years.

“The board has wrestled with this decision, as BHB has made a genuine and significant contribution to Hawke’s Bay over the past decade, delivering much needed services to the region’s business community and the wider economic development eco-system. “We are disappointed that we won’t be playing a part in the future economic development of our region and we’re sorry for the impact this decision will have on our people, who have given their all, and put up with considerable uncertainty for a long time.”

He says the board will now work collaboratively with Councils to try and preserve as much value and IP from BHB’s activities as possible; including its people and securing the future of the two Business Hubs, as well as BHB programmes serving start-ups, the food and fibre and hi-tech sectors, along with regional talent attraction and retention.  The date of the wind up will be determined as part of the transition arrangements to be negotiated with the Councils. BHB, which has also operated the shared Business Hub in Ahuriri since 2015, has received a total of $320,000 a year from the councils – just 3 percent of a total $10 million investment by councils. Hawke’s Bay Tourism receives 15.7 percent of the total funding.

The review recommended the disestablishment of BHB and the establishment of a CCO instead. The report also stated at least a further $1.6 million in funding was needed for it to be effective. It also recommended that the Business Hubs in Ahuriri and Hastings continue to be funded. Councils will now independently receive the final report before deciding how they will each participate and contribute to the delivery of economic development.

However, it’s likely that Hastings and Napier will be asked to stump up the most cash, with Wairoa and Central Hawke’s Bay ratepayers already expecting a significant rate increase.

In an exclusive interview with The Profit, Stuart Nash, who also holds the portfolios for small business and tourism, has put the acid on councils to have a new organisation structure, including the appointment of a new chief executive, within six months.

“Twelve to eighteen months is far too long. I can’t see why a new chief executive can’t be recruited within three months and a new organisational structure up and running within six. What this would require, of course, is for the councils to quickly agree on a new way forward and divert some of their current local economic development budget into a region-wide organisation.

“This is certainly what I would like to see as Minister. The region runs the risk of missing out (again) if we don’t have a highly functional EDA operating for 12 to 18 months.”   Stuart also believes the council’s current approach of operating their own economic development resources isn’t helpful and that a better coordinated approach is the best way forward.

“My understanding is that there is around four to five million dollars spent directly across the region by the various councils on economic development.

“As Minister of Regional Economic Development, I would like to see a more coordinated approach taken by councils across our region to economic development. So, it’s not so much a matter of money, but rather a strategic agreement – and then operational implementation – on the way forward that is of highest importance.   “The fact that around five million dollars is spent by the various councils on their own economic development strategies, and yet there is no regional EDA, is incredibly frustrating and counterproductive to regional economic growth.

“Let’s face it, if one of the Bay’s towns and/or cities does well, the whole region benefits.” Stuart also hopes that the councils consider the inclusion of the strongly performing entity Hawke’s Bay Tourism as part of the new economic development model. “Hawke’s Bay Tourism does a fantastic job and really stepped-up post-Covid to maximise the region’s tourism potential.   “There are around 15 EDA that also have the regional tourism organisation (RTO) incorporated within their operational structure.

“As minister for both Tourism and Economic Development, I have asked my officials to provide me with an analysis on the most optimal structure given the ability to compare the different models across the country.

“I am certainly not against the concept; in fact, I may well recommend this structure to the councils going forward.”

Stuart adds that Hawke’s Bay Tourism also has a high level of transparency and accountability back to the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, whereas none of the councils have representation on the board of BHB and yet BHB demanded ratepayer money for operational funding.   “With regards to BHB, there was perhaps a disconnect between private sector and public sector understanding of the important role of key stakeholder accountability.”

Meanwhile, as this council consultation works its way through political decision-making and community consultation, Business Hawke’s Bay is likely to cease operating – either prior to or after the current funding ends in June – as well as leave much in limbo. Something that Minister Nash will keep a very close watch on.

 

All Blacks help kickstart new local business

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A small Hawke’s Bay business has been able to use some heavy weights influencers to help launch their business. Sensory Haven 4 Kids sells quality, affordable products that can provide comfort and security for both children and adults who are challenged by Sensory Processing Disorders, Anxiety, Fetal alcohol disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Dementia and Autism.

Business owners Lynair Bergman and Angela Howlett launched the business in February 2020 and became one of 100 businesses across New Zealand that got to use the marketing grunt of the All Blacks and ASB Bank to launch their products.

“We created the business because we have always had a passion for working with and supporting children and adults with sensory differences.

The products that were available on the market were hugely expensive which made them unreachable for many of the families we worked with. This was the driving factor to starting the business.”

Although some may think the timing of a launching a business wasn’t ideal, just business prior to a six week lockdown, thanks to ASB’s Borrow the All Blacks campaign, the idea of getting one of the world’s most recognisable brands, the All Blacks, helping out, is something that is usually well out of reach for small businesses.

“When the All Blacks competition came along  we were looking for ways to promote our business and thought what better way to promote ourselves than to have NZ’s sporting stars showcase what we have to offer.  “COVID lockdown allowed us the time to stop and think about our passion and what we wanted to do. We knew there was a need for reasonably priced products to support children and adults with sensory processing differences.

“We researched and sourced online quality affordable products and for the items we couldn’t access we found people within the community that helped us to have these products made locally. “Having the All Blacks involved was hugely exciting  and a real privilege to have them showcasing some of our products. It means further exposure for us and will draw attention to what our business has to offer.   The business is now kicking goals and they’re confident that they’ve got a product range that’s making a positive difference.

We know that our products will make a real difference in people’s lives as already we have had some fabulous reviews, and the positive changes they have made. “We would like to thank you ASB and the All Blacks very much for the opportunity. ASB reviewed nearly 2000 entries to select the 100 small to medium Kiwi businesses that will get a share of the bank’s New Zealand Rugby sponsorship through the ASB Borrow the All Blacks campaign. The bank’s executive general manager of Business Banking, Tim Deane, says the campaign was an innovative way the bank can lend a hand beyond the financial. “Borrow the All Blacks is our way of lending more than just money to hardworking SMEs who are the very backbone of New Zealand’s economy.

 

The business pivot

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While “Pandemic” was voted as the 2020 Word of the Year, you probably haven’t heard the word ‘Pivot’ used with quite so much frequency as you did last year. We’ve all heard amazing stories of companies that have taken up opportunities to shift their focus by changing their product offering, their target consumers, their delivery method, or the way they do business.

What is a business pivot?

In business, your pivot point is your vision, your mission statement, and your values. This is your strong foundation, what makes you and your business unique and something you do not want to change. If the core of your business does change, then you are not pivoting, you are jumping—which might be appropriate, but it is not pivoting. A change in strategy is your business pivot move. This is where you can make your changes and either move to survive or move to thrive and seize an opportunity to achieve your company’s vision. So, when you are taking some time to strategise for 2021, or before you rush headfirst into “business as usual” (whatever that is these days?), you could dust off that business plan, remind yourself of your purpose, and then start asking some questions.

Do I have to do it?

A strategic pivot can be used to create a shift in your business. From a defensive position – where the game has changed, you have to pivot in order to survive and we saw this commonly during and immediately following the 2020 Alert Level 4 lockdown. From an offensive position – the pivot helps you seize an opportunity to grow your business and this is what happened more regularly during the tail end of 2020 and we expect to see more of during 2021. Both shifts require you to pause, take stock, and assess your next move so that you can move forward deliberately and with purpose. Regardless of your circumstance, it is important that we take the time to acknowledge our regions resilience in the face of the unknown, commend our business owners for being dynamic in their operating structures and most importantly, take these hard learnt elements through with us into 2021. Should your business pivot in 2021?

The game has changed

Economic growth in New Zealand slowed to 1.8% over the March 2020 year, following revised 3.1% pa growth in 2019.

This March 2020 year captures only the very early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this time, China was in lockdown, the New Zealand border was closed, and our trade activity suffered from global reactions to the pandemic. There is no denying that the game has changed massively for many businesses. For some, this happened instantly, especially for those in hospitality, tourism, and retail. However, for some, the changes are taking time to flow through. Post lockdown and operating under Alert Level 3, businesses had to quickly review the way that they conducted business and traded with their customers. Initially, reports suggested that 79% of workers in Hastings and 73% of those based in Napier would be able to operate under Level 3 restrictions. These figures are largely assumptive, in that those who would be largely affected by trading restrictions had already reviewed their modes of operation and changed and/or pivoted to meet strict Health & Safety guidelines in order to resume trading. Many businesses had projects lined up for the full 2020 year and they’ve successfully been able to catch up on lost time and work continuously.  What happens, however, now that work is finished? Is the work still coming through in the same way as previously?  Are your supplies still as readily available as they were in the past? Have you got employees that are working from home now? What change is your business facing?

What barriers are in your path, that are making you reassess your business operations?

There is opportunity

When looking for opportunity, it is important that you take a 360 degree view of what prospects you might have in order to reach your goal. Think of the companies that swiftly mobilised to manufacture masks or offer online delivery of their services— we saw a surge in the use of digital platforms which opened businesses up to new products, customers, and delivery methods. Operating a savvy online store or having a glossy e-commerce presence was no longer the territory of the big retail chains. Dynamic client communication and digital advertising strategies moved from the ‘maybe one day list’ to top of the priority list, in the hope of capturing a slice of the digital market which exploded almost overnight. It’s all about being open to opportunities – and taking the necessary time to look for and clearly identify them when they come along. You can ask yourself questions like: What solutions can you offer?  What unfulfilled needs can you meet? How else could you deliver your service? Who else could use your products or service? What assets have you got that could be repurposed? Who could you connect or collaborate with?  It is assessing how the environment has changed and what opportunities have arisen as a result. Can you take advantage of any of these opportunities?

3 ways business intelligence can accelerate your business

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Business intelligence (BI) and the ability to draw higher-level understandings from your data is fundamental for any organisation striving to be agile, future-proofed and ready for tomorrow.

Business intelligence, or BI, is how organisations collect, organise and contextualise data, often using BI reporting tools to provide data-driven insights at a glance and in easy to understand formats. BI refers to a wide range of data-related activities, including data mining, reporting, and querying. All organisations should seriously consider a Business Intelligence initiative to assist in a better understanding of business performance. Financial analysis and forecasts are still an essential part of business planning, but now only provide part of the picture. As companies expand and evolve, data can become more challenging to manage consistently. As a result, businesses regularly face obstacles that prevent them from performing a comprehensive analysis of their data to drive informed business decisions. Fortunately, there are new and powerful business tools doing away with these issues. There are plenty of business intelligence software and services available to help organisations gather and organise data more effectively, improve information access across their business, and successfully support more accurate, reliable results.

1. Simple and accessible insights

You don’t have to be a software engineer to start using BI for data analysis or understand how it presents information. BI applications make reading and submitting visual reports as straightforward or as detailed as you want it. The tools for building dashboards is usually drag-and-drop, so you can organise data with a few clicks and customise how it is presented. Beginners and experts can use BI tools to quickly explain increases or decreases in data charts by a simple click on an analyse button. The results are displayed in a window with simplified visualisation and an insightful description outlining what factors may have impacted your data. A great example is where data is gathered from machinery operating within a factory. The data can be integrated with a BI tool to identify trends of machinery performance over time.
A human operator can observe this to determine whether the production cycle is slowing; if so, they could work further to identify which machine requires service, dispatching a technician to perform maintenance before the problem results in downtime and a loss of productivity. Some BI tools can identify the underperforming machinery’s specific part, such as by determining that the motor is overheating.

2. Collate data from separate systems into one dashboard

BI tools can be used by anyone in your organisation and can be customised to their role and requirements. The tools can quickly create simplified visualisations of your most business-critical data that anyone can read and understand at a glance.
Why is any of this useful? A unified dashboard can act as a quick reference for any employee needing to access relevant data in a hurry, such as in a meeting. It also makes sharing insights easier if you collaborate remotely.

3. Using BI to identify past results, current performance, and for future predictions

Data modelling has made it possible to forecast trends and predict future outcomes relatively accurately with modern-day software. BI tools can provide great predictive analytics and forecasting features to explore reliable future results for your business. Using the analytics and forecasting tools in BI applications, you can run and compare different ‘What If’ scenarios on your information such as financial forecasts or industry-specific growth markets by adding a forecast to your chart without needing a data analyst’s services. BI Tools use built-in predictive forecasting models to automatically detect seasonality, next reporting period (week, month, year) and provide forecasting results. These models learn from historical data using statistical algorithms (often of the data mining or machine learning kind) to derive probable results and project them in an easy to understand graphical visualisation.

Conclusion:

Business intelligence is becoming an essential part of today’s business. When combined with business analytics, BI offers an ability to differentiate past from present, while predicting the future and responding accordingly. Businesses that implement BI into their operations will likely enhance their competitive edge and bottom line. They can stay across trends and key results optimising their processes based on data-driven insights and making future decisions based on more accurate predictions of what the future might hold.

Are RMA reforms the solution for HB’s housing issues?

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In February, Environment Minister David Parker announced the government’s proposals to repeal and replace the RMA with the following three Acts:

1. Natural and built Environment Act

2. Strategic Planning Act

3. Managed Retreat and Climate Change Act

These actions are in response to a broad consensus that the system introduced by the RMA has not adequately protected the natural environment or enabled development where needed and has under-delivered for urban areas – contributing to rapidly increasing urban land prices to the extent that NZ’s housing is amongst the least affordable in the OECD. While it will be interesting to see if it is the legislation itself or implementation by people, or in fact other non-RMA factors such as engineering approval
or infrastructure delivery processes that is the culprit, which will inevitably be borne out over in time, the option of fundamental change certainly seems to have been favoured over targeted improvements. Let’s hope that day to day resource management is improved as a result and we’re not getting wholesale change for a few issues in a few areas of country. Immediate issues with housing supply cannot be denied however, and with the Randerson review referring to poorly managed urban growth leading to increased homelessness, worsening traffic congestion, increased environmental pollution, lack of transport choice and flattening productivity growth, the reality is its not just enabling development for developers, its actually about enabling development for society.

Here in Hawke’s Bay urban growth is underpinned by the Heretaunga Plains Urban Development Strategy. Embedded within the Regional Policy Statement the Strategy requires Councils (or private parties) to complete a complex Plan Change process to re-zone land, including development of Structure Plans to guide future subdivision consent applications and infrastructure development. That process is then followed by a subdivision consent application layer prior to commencement of residential development (building houses).

This process can typically take 3-5 years plus to get to a point where a house is constructed. Given our housing shortfall and the severity of associated social issues, this ‘release’ timeframe is unacceptable. Will the reforms assist us? In time probably yes, but what is the time frame? While an ‘exposure draft’ is said to be released in September this year, media releases refer to this containing only limited details and not details such as consenting processes, designations, proposals of national significance, Environment Court workings or transitional arrangements. While these details will obviously follow in time, initial indications are that the new laws will not be in place for three years or more.

Indeed, Central Government has suggested it will be five years for the reforms to have effect! Can we wait? and if not, why must we remain bound to the current ‘preferred’ but inadequate process? We say, ‘lets not’. Let’s not ‘do nothing’ in the hope of future solutions. Let’s not wait for change that may not even work. Let’s not leave families to raise their children in motels and substandard housing during their formative years – in the hope of a house when they become teenagers, only for their first home to be unaffordable.

Let’s bite the bullet, let’s buck the system, let’s, as a community, try a few  different things and see if there’s a model that enables Councils to design concepts within existing areas that developers or ministry organisations can pick up with greater certainty and get on with building for example. Lets look at those areas already identified in HPUDS, or parts them, and really think about the need for prolonged and expensive Plan Change and Structure Plan processes and consider whether we can jump straight to a subdivision process – potentially saving years of delay. I’m not suggesting we do away with planning tools. Indeed, the Resource Management Act, in its current form, includes tools to help enable this brave approach – we just need buy-in from Councils and the Community to get a little more creative on how to apply those tools and be open to applying different methods to different situations. We can do this – Hawkes Bay is different to Auckland and Tauranga, our new development areas are not actually that big, so let’s just keep things in the box.

Just doing this may well achieve at least some of the outcomes that we as a society desperately need a whole lot earlier than the alternative. Who knows, with a narrower approach seemingly being talked about, it may well be that we lose some of the flexibility that is actually there if we choose to use it. Given what is at stake, shouldn’t we be willing to look at things a little differently and get a little more enthused about trying to make things happen, as there is a real risk that the solutions being talked about are in fact for the next problem, in 10-15 years’ time – not this one.

 

The increasing value of ‘SOMO’

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The post lockdown activity levels and value growth throughout 2020 was a surprise to all, especially as it was contrary to what most experts and economists predicted. The performance of the residential market during the last quarter of 2020 was simply staggering. Hawke’s Bays’ residential housing values grew 19% during 2020. However, it is not just the precipitous increase in values that has our attention, it is the relatively short period of time that this jump has occurred.

The lion’s share of the 19% value growth for 2020 in the region was experienced in the last quarter (October, November, and December) with 50% of Napier’s value growth occurring in this period and 80% of Hastings. The acceleration of growth rates caught many by surprise and left buyers scrambling to adjust their offers upwards with the ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) followed by ‘sick of missing out’ (SOMO). Assessing accurate valuation levels using historical sales data was almost impossible as the market was growing at over 3-5% per month.

The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on value levels has varied, with lower value level housing growing by even higher percentage levels than the medium to upper level value housing. The 2020 year finished in a sprint towards the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, only punctuated by the Christmas holiday close down. When our team returned to work in January the market continued where it had left off and the excess demand is still present with values still growing strongly.

How long this will continue is anyone’s guess. The market dynamic, with demand well outstripping supply, and such low interest rates suggest the residential property values will continue to increase.

The rate of growth has been astonishing, and possibly this will only be eased as affordability is not mitigated by low interest rates. This should have the impact of lessening the demand. Although, many buyers are now in the SOMO frame of mind which continues to fuel rising prices. Why is there such strong demand? Basically, it’s a perfect storm. Whilst there is much market uncertainty due to COVID 19 there are certain dynamics which are driving demand for residential property.

At the lower end of the market, we have a very active sector as certain groups compete for housing stock. Kaianga Ora – Homes and Communities has been very active in purchasing residential properties to add to their inventory as well as being active in redeveloping old state housing. First time home buyers have renewed vigour to get their foot on the property ladder, spurred on by the low interest rates. Then, there are those who are now advantageously positioned with good equity and who can take advantage of the low interest rate environment to buy an investment property. This is seen as a less risky way to make a superior return than they can gain through other investments. None of these groups are selling their homes. Through the middle sectors of the market homeowners are using their increased  equity to upgrade to superior property’s locking in mortgages at very low interest rates making the move affordable.

The construction sector is also under pressure with a lack of tradespeople and a lack of vacant residential land for development. The upper end of the residential and lifestyle market is being driven partly by local Hawke’s Bay residents but also a steady stream of people relocating to Hawke’s Bay from our larger city centres as well as those that have decided to return to New Zealand due to COVID-19. The demand for this sector is expected to continue as it is expected more Kiwis will be returning home in the coming years.

One sector that may relieve some pressure is the Retirement Village sector. There are 677 new occupation units under construction in Hawke’s Bay at present. As incoming residents sell their homes prior to entering the village this is likely to provide some much needed residential stock. However, with most residential sectors being squeezed for inventory it is difficult to see how the residential market will slow unless there is a major impact to the market conditions in some way. While we consider it would be healthy for the growth rate to slow down, we do expect the market to continue growing through 2021.

Record making start to 2021 in commercial property activity – Danny Blair – Colliers HB

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Colliers Hawke’s Bay has kicked off 2021 with the largest January and February since inception in 2004.

The economic rebound experienced in the third and fourth quarters of 2020 post the lockdowns led to a rise in a number of local economic indicators, as a broad range of sectors reignited in an attempt to make up for the lost periods of activity. The rebound across many measures has been strong, particularly retail spending, residential and commercial real estate and export conditions.

This has buoyed local conditions, providing cautious confidence in occupier and investor decision-making. There are a number of underlying economic benefits the Hawke’s Bay enjoys including a growing population and employment opportunities which support commercial real estate activity. Investors are conscious that a rebound and resumption in more normal market conditions are eventuating due to the forced short-term nature of market disruption. As a result, investors are turning their focus towards the solid market conditions leading up to COVID-19 and reviewing the fundamentals. Investors are postulating that the current uncertainty created by COVID-19 could be accommodated in many circumstances, especially if incorporating longer-term projections.

Office

Despite caution in the office sector due to the rise in remote working, an active development sector is forecast over the next five years. Supporting some of the optimism is the economic and business performance outlooks. One measure to keep an eye on is the recent changes in the number of filled jobs reported by StatsNZ. It is still early days, and overall growth rates are still below COVID-19 levels, but some trends that show office occupier demand returning are appearing.

Industrial

Strong leasing market fundamentals, which have seen vacancy rates holding at low levels and upward pressure on rentals, have underpinned the positive sentiment towards the industrial sector amongst investors. The results of the latest Colliers investor sentiment survey found that investor confidence across the country was a net positive 45% (optimists minus pessimists).

Retail

There have been some clear winners in the retail sector after a challenging 2020. Latest data released by StatsNZ indicated core retail card spending in December 2020 totalled $6.68 billion, an increase of $1.14 billion from the previous month and 4.8% higher than December 2019.Consumable and durables recorded the biggest spending increase as Kiwi’s spent up strongly in liquor, supermarket and grocery stores. A new milestone was also recorded with spending on food and beverage services surpassing the $1 billion mark for the first time on record. The nonfood and beverage large format retail sector have also benefited, with strong spending in the furniture, electrical and hardware category, with spending up 12% compared to December 2019.

Economy is performing better than forecast

Action taken by the government and Reserve bank to insulate, as far as possible, NZ business from the impact of COVID-19 and the relative success the country has had in dealing with the virus has seen the economy outperforming original forecasts. Treasury now expects New Zealand’s GDP to grow by an average rate of 4.2% across 2021 and 2022 outpacing Australia (forecast 3.6%) and the USA (forecast 3.5%). While unemployment rates are expected to increase, they are much lower than original expectations.

The unemployment rate is forecast to peak at 7.8% as opposed to earlier predictions of 9.8%, according to latest Treasury forecasts. Government policies including business tax refunds, small business cashflow loans, wage support and mortgage holidays successfully limited job losses and company failures. The Reserve Banks quantitative easing and reduction and stability in the OCR until March 2021 has improved market liquidity, kept interest rates low and boosted investment confidence.

Should I work in or Workout

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A structured health and fitness routine should be high on the priority list for us all this year.

We are seeing a big uptake of people locally and online making it a priority. This is a positive. However, many of these people are presenting with aches, pains and niggles and having trouble finding balance in their lives. The assumption is that they need to train hard. No pain no gain!

This is NOT normal. With all the uncertainty we experienced last year in addition to today’s fast paced life we are bombarded with stress from the time we wake up to the time we go to bed. Stress comes in many forms – we have nutritional stress, emotional stress, physical stress, electromagnetic stress, and mental stress. Your body does not recognise where the stress is coming from it just responds to it. Adding high intensity exercise to a body and mind that already has a high stress load often results in more niggles, aches and pains.

We are in a position to control and manage all of these things which will help with reducing the stress load, find balance and build a health and fitness routine that gets results.

Many people perceive the symptoms as normal and put them down to their current situation and a busy life.

If you are experiencing any of the following common symptoms it is a sign that your body is not coping with stress.

  • Aches and pains
  • Bloating
  • Fatigue and poor sleep
  • Trouble waking up in the morning
  • Weight gain or loss
  • Mental tiredness
  • Not coping with stress as you used to

To help find balance with your health and fitness routine it’s important that you do the right type of activity for your mind and body.

Before you start your training check in with yourself and rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 against the seven Peak Fitness Pillars of Health and Fitness below.

1 = Feeling poor and off your game 10 = Feeling great and ready to play

If your numbers are on the low side don’t be scared to adapt your session to suit where you are at. Reducing training intensity and volume may be just what your body needs. If your numbers are on the high side get out there and follow your plan (just keep some energy in the tank for tomorrow). Once you have done this you can make a more educated call on working out or working in. In an ideal world your weekly training will include both working in and working out exercises.

Remember that working out costs your body energy. If your check in scores are low use some working in exercises to give your body an energy boost.

Working in exercises could include meditation, yoga or pilates, slow walking or mobilisation exercises.

The key things that qualify an exercise as working in are:

  1. The exercise and movement should be of a low enough intensity that you could perform it straight after a meal on a full
  2. You should be in control of your breath throughout the session without your heart rate or breathing rate
  3. Move in time with your breathing. Let the speed of your breath determine the speed you move.
  4. You should feel relaxed during the movement or
  5. Afterwards you should feel lighter and have an energy

Try 10-20 reps of these working in exercises and see how much better your body feels. We recommend a quiet area in bare feet

https://training.runninghotcoaching.com/videos/working-in- with-jess

If your scores are high then try 2-5 rounds of 10-20 reps (or 30- 60 seconds) of this great working out session. It will be a great addition to training.

https://training.runninghotcoaching.com/videos/working-out- with-jess

Remember the balance between working in and working out each week is the key to great performance and consistent results.

School student lands key governance role on YES – Sam Wixon

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A “transformational experience” has not only propelled former Havelock North High School student Sam Wixon into the business world but landed him a key governance role.

Having competed in The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) for the past two years, the 18-year-old has been elected as the youth trustee for 2021–2022 on the Board of Young Enterprise Trust, which provides strategic direction and governance for the organisation.

“One of the biggest reasons that I applied for the youth trustee role was because I’ve had such a transformational experience with YES and I really want and hope that other people can have that same experience,” Sam says.

He hopes to have a positive impact on the bicultural side of Young Enterprise. “I want to make sure there is a strong voice for the students and a good understanding of what the students are after and what it is like going through the

programme currently.”

During his final two years of high school (2019–2020), Sam’s business Te Kete ō Tangaroa developed an alternative to polystyrene bins, drawing inspiration from the mātauranga of his tūpuna to do so.

Passionate about business, design and te ao Māori, Sam was inspired to take polystyrene out of circulation, offering an alternative with his own bins made

from a biodegradable material that could also be industrially composted.

Te Kete ō Tangaroa received three National Excellence awards, the He Kai Kei Aku Ringa Award for Rangatahi Entrepreneurs two years in a row, and the HSBC Award for Environmental Sustainability in 2020.

It was also one of the five YES businesses selected for the Global Kaitiakitanga Project in collaboration with New Zealand at Expo 2020. In 2019, Sam was in the Uprise digital team at Entrepreneurs in Action (EIA), which took out both business challenges.

Sam says he “never would have thought” he would be able to achieve what he has, but YES pushed him and showed him his potential. “It made me a lot more open to taking and grasping at every opportunity, pushing myself and being resilient, and

I think that’s really transformational for myself and most people.”

As well as his trustee position, Sam has recently begun a Bachelor of Design Innovation majoring in Design for Social Innovation and minoring in Public Policy at Victoria University of Wellington.

His experience with YES has meant he now has a “really good tool belt of abilities and understandings that are more than what we just get out of the stock standard school experience”.

As for his business, he is unsure what the future holds.

“I have been in contact with different organisations and groups about it and the overall conclusion I’ve come to is that it’s going to take a really large amount of money to be able to get

it to a point where it will be market-ready, which is something I can’t do by myself.”

Sam’s success is the latest in a long list of trailblazing Rangatahi from Hawke’s Bay who have achieved national success through YES. Most notably, former Karamu High School student Jeriel Sajan, who was the first to hold the youth trustee position for 2019–2020.

The end of Jeriel’s term has seen her take up the newly created position of Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne regional coordinator – a role she is looking forward to diving into headfirst.

A YES alumna who participated in both 2015 and 2016, Jeriel developed a passion for both business and the work of Young Enterprise and is excited to now be a regional coordinator.

Jeriel has continued her keen interest in business and is currently completing a Bachelor in Business Studies at the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT).

“When the opportunity to be the national youth trustee came up, I thought I would love to give back to the organisation; and then actually being involved at these different levels, I just fell in love with it, so this is like my dream job,” Jeriel says.

She not only hopes to increase participation for the region – already at 450 students – but also see students place at nationals as well as win a sponsored award.

“We certainly give the rest of New Zealand a good run for their money and we would love to show that we are actually leaders in this area, so I’m going to be pushing for that in the coming year.”

Despite the disruptions faced because of Covid-19, more than 4,000 senior secondary students took part in YES last year, setting up over 1,000 companies between them. Only 21 of those companies made it to the national final, including Te Kete ō Tangaroa.

Hawke’s Bay also won three sponsored awards – the same amount as Wellington and just one less than Auckland, who has almost three times the number of students participating.

Jeriel believes Hawke’s Bay’s success is down to people seeing the value that YES has on a young person’s life.

“I think people get onboard with the momentum and they can see how a young person becomes more confident and more resilient after they’ve had a chance to give this a go, and the more the region gets on board the more our Rangatahi can really thrive.”

As part of the programme, Jeriel is looking for people to consider being a mentor for a team. “These young people would really benefit from having an older person who is more experienced in business or other sectors.”

If you want to find out how you can be a part of YES here in Hawke’s Bay, contact Jeriel on jeriel@hbchamber.nz