Sisters are doing it for themselves!

I was at the 2015 National Telstra Awards event last night and the room was simply buzzing. The evening started off with the band singing "Sisters are doing it for themselves".

A very appropriate start to the night. The words in the song - we are standing on our own two feet and we have something to say to you.... truly resonated around the room.


Awards like these help promote gender balance and diversity in Australian businesses. We would all agree that it is diversity of thought drives great outcomes in business.

Last night we celebrated women entrepreneurs, those in start ups, not for profits, private sector and young women in business. Across the country there are businesses being led by amazing women.

However despite the success and celebrations last night the reality is that

• the pay gap is over 19% in Australia
• the diversity we see in our communities is not reflected in the work place leave alone boards
• only 18% of employers have specific objectives to achieve gender pay equality

It is clear that our people systems need to be rewired and we all have a role to play.

Last nights winner Captain Mona Shindy will become a shining light in this issue, of that I have no doubt.
Her speech was eloquent, inspiring and confident. Personally I was thrilled to see a winner who did not fit into the typical white corporate success story. Here is a woman we can all look up to. I cannot believe that the Australian Navy have kept her hidden all this time.

It is Mona's aim to encourage more Muslims to join the defence force, around 100 of the 45000-defence force personnel identify as Muslim, 27 of them in the Navy.

She says terrorist attacks, which have hijacked aspects of religious teachings to justify those behaviours have created “fear and uncertainty for others who are non-Muslims”.

“You can be a proud Australian that loves everything about this great nation and still love your roots and love where you came from and straddle both worlds and both communities.
That’s how I live my life and I like to help other people find their way in living those two things,” she said (as quoted in the Muslim Mirror )

Jane Caro closed the night last night by saying "it is something special that it is this winner, at this time, this week". Very appropriate I thought.

I am thrilled at Mona's win simply because I  now have a "sister", who is not your "white corporate success story" who will relate to the ethnic minorities, new migrants, refugees and by sharing her story help inspire them to achieve great things. Women's agenda wrote an article on this amazing woman... Read more here

Congratulations to all the other winners last night, you now join an incredible alumni of women across the country, all of whom will have positive impact on the issue of diversity and equality in our workplaces.

Jessica May - Enabled Employment
Marie Piccone - Manbulloo
Kate Thiele - Guide Dogs
Mona Shindy - Royal Australian Navy
Katarina Carroll - Qld Fire and Emergency Services
Catherine Ball - AECOM
Kim Tran - La Belle Peau

Lease Me - the final part

I want to say that I was surprised at the negative comments made on my last blog, sadly your feedback is an indictment of how often people in our industry get service delivery wrong.

As businesses we seem to constantly pursue that point of difference, how can we better the technology, the training, the marketing to engage the client, when what we really need to do is focus on great customer experiences. The technology, training, marketing, websites that are responsive are all secondary to service/client experiences.

The business that focus's on client experiences will win their business.

So where am I in my leasing cycle.

Well after having viewed a number of properties, I finally found one in Balwyn and move into it next month. Thank goodness say the property managers of Melbourne...:-)

However here are some insights I would like to share with you:

1. We have to ensure that our property mangers and leasing agents are more accountable on returning calls despite the volumes. As an industry we cannot continue to see high volume of calls not returned or clients called at all as acceptable. Managers of departments and business owners need to focus on this area of their business, mystery shop your people, have better reporting and transparency, maybe even call your clients on a regular basis to get feedback.

2. Ensure that you present the home professionally on the internet. Photos of doors, toilets, bathroom sinks, untidy rooms simply have no place today. This was an issue we talked about at conferences over 15 years ago, why is it still happening today?

3. Provide accurate description of the homes, if the third bedroom is too small to use as a bedroom then ensure that you say so. You waste our time otherwise going from inspection to inspection based on the description of the home you provide.

4. Why is there such a disparity on pricing, same suburb, same street, similar homes priced at least a few hundred dollars apart. If listings are on the market for over 10 days at least, you may have the price wrong, don't refresh and say it is a new listing, those of us on the market - KNOW IT ISNT.

5. Leasing agents need to ask better questions, no one has asked me if I have a property to rent. I have an investment property in Richmond, however because I am a tenant, I am considered as "second class". Ask yourselves how many potential listings are you missing out on from your tenants and existing landlord simply because you haven't asked. Every time you go through McDonalds the 16yr old ask, is there anything else, would you like a drink, would you like fries!

6. Have empathy for your tenants. Moving is a very stressful time, as an industry we have to get better at providing support during this time. With so many client services companies and options it seems that we only focus on connections and that's because it is on the application forms.

An example of the level of service we provide, here is what happened at the OFI on Saturday at my property.
I took my son to view it, a number of people turned up as it was advertised and they were told the property had been leased however there may be others that may interest them.
The property I have leased had been for sale, it was passed in on a vendors bid and the owners decided to rent it out.
They choose another agent to do this.
However the agency that was selling the property listed an open time of 1.30 pm Saturday 23/5. A number of people turned up at 1.30pm and yes you guessed it, there was no sales agent there to let them know that the property had been taken of the market.

To say I was appalled at this was simply an under statement. A high profile brand providing this level of service is simply unacceptable.

Surely systems in offices cannot be that poor that this was missed. I suspect it was simply sour grapes or poor management from the three sales agents listed on the board.

Interesting as well that the owners decided not to use the selling agency to rent their property either. How often does that happen I wonder.

To any business owner who reads this blog, why is this rant of mine important enough for you to pay attention.

It is quiet simple really. As an investor, I give you my property to manage and you build your wealth and assets off it. Your business is valued on the recurring income I pay you in management fees. You even have the ability to leverage off the rent roll.

Yet you see it as acceptable to provide the poorest level of service to those who rent my property off you. Tenants ensure that both of us continue to build our assets.

The rent role is your retirement/exit out of the business, my rental property is one of my retirement/exit out of corporate world. The common denominator here is the tenant and your teams are simply not paying enough attention to the service delivery they receive, regardless of the fact there is an abundant supply of tenants.

In each of your market places, regardless of your brand, it would be very easy to become known as the agents that provide the worst service.

Sadly that are far too many similar experiences and stories such as mine to say this has been a one off.

So here ends my blog on my experiences on leasing a property. I now have an 18 month lease in place and the next stress on the agenda is the actual move. :-(

My new property manager said to me, after I had told her about my experiences - there are no short cuts in property management..... wise words I say.

Rent Me? Day one

I have decided to start this ongoing blog to share with you my experiences as a prospective tenant. I believe that one of the best ways to improve process and service is to be a client of your business or industry. So lets see how the leasing system works for me.


My property manager hand delivered my notice to vacate as she wanted to tell me face to face how sorry she was that I had to move. A very lovely and unexpected gesture. Unfortunately I wasn't at home so she left the notice under the door and emailed me.

One of key areas that many of us often fail to deliver on or understand is empathy on how the client is feeling. We get so busy doing our jobs, processing applications and people that really connecting with what our clients are going through emotionally can become irrelevant.

I have been in my property for over 3 years and for all intents and purposes it is my home. Somewhere in the back of my mind I am very aware that at some point I may have to move however it isn't something we think about at all.

My kids and I have created a lovely home here, the location is perfect and we can afford the rent. We are emotionally tied into this property even though we rent.

When I got the notice through on my email, I actually sat there, disconnected from the teleconference I was on and thought - what do I do now, they are taking my home away! My emotional stress levels kicked into top gear and panic set in as to what now. Where are we going to go, how much more am I going to pay, *$^& I have to pack the house up, this is going to cost me money I hadn't budgeted for, what if I don't find a property..... etc etc

Dramatic - ofcourse, but that is how I felt.

60 days isn't that long a time, especially as over the next 30 I am travelling, so going to inspections will be challenging.

The first thing I did was to jump onto realestate.com and see what was on the market. That is when the full realisation hit in.

Not enough stock and I would need to pay more for the type of property I am looking for.

So started my journey of dealing with my industry as a tenant.

Day one

• set up my profile on realestate.com and I trawl through 2 pages of property in the suburbs that I have selected
• realise that most property managers take terrible photos, why I am interested in a photo of the tiles of a back yard, or a close up of a toilet, why are we not taking professional photos of properties in the top end of the market?
• the hero shots really need to capture my attention otherwise I will skip past it
• why do we not have floor plans especially for the top end properties
• virtual tours are fantastic but again few and far between
• inspection times are not listed on a number of properties, why is it that by Thursday we don't have them listed on the internet so I can plan my Saturday
• calls are not answered and certainly not returned, if you have your mobile number listed on the internet then can I suggest to you that if I leave a message I expect you will return my call
• a third bedroom is one where I can easily put in a bed and most certainly swing a cat in! Please stop advertising a study as a third bedroom
• ensure that your reception staff, who clearly are there to assist you in the volume of calls that you take, are aware of the properties listed and open times. Sample dialogue "umm, sorry you will need to spell the name of the street as I am not sure we have it for rent" Ahh yes you do, its on the internet!
• Thurs morning call to find out an open time dialogue - "sorry, we don't have an open time, you will need to call back later today if you want to know when it is open, or keep checking the internet"

I know that regardless of the fact that I am paying top rent, that I make an ideal tenant, 99% of the leasing agents I am dealing with right now are not bothered at all about actually putting me on a database or helping me find a property. I know the volumes we deal with in our industry as I work in it, however as a client, I don't care, all I want is for you to help me find a property.

I have been given 60 days notice, this is day one of my search for a property.

I have met one leasing agent who has returned my call, met me at a time that worked for both of us and I felt really wanted to help me find a property.

One agent out of 10 I have called or met so far.

So lets see what the weekend brings.

Mr Abbotts post Easter to do list

Alan Jones took Tony Abbott to task on a number of issues recently including ASDA, the potential of a tax on bank deposits and an increase on the GST.

Mr Jones was described as being very direct, passionate and somewhat furious during the interview.



Whilst on my Easter break I read various articles that encouraged me to make my own list of items I would give Tony Abbott feedback on should he appear on my radio show. If I had a radio show of-course...... here they are!

Domestic violence is at crisis point

To date we have had 28 women killed in Australia - another day, another woman dead read a recent headline. Yes the number is unusually high I was recently told, normally it is one woman a week!

The fact that one woman dies a week in Australia is disgraceful, however to have that number double in the first half of the year means that we are at crisis point.

How many more women need to be killed before we see leadership and action at a National level from our Governments.

We have talent at various organisations, CEO's, Directors, who run crisis centres, people who at the coal face of this issue. Why are we not getting them together with our leaders to find a solution?

We have talent within organisations, resources available, but it seems we do not have the will to make it happen.

Sack yourself as Minister for Women

You appointed yourself as Minister for Women; I fail to understand what made you think you were qualified to take on this role.

I suggest you sack yourself from this role Mr Abbott. While you have been the self appointed Minister

• the pay gap in Australia has increased to over 18%
• more women are dying from domestic violence
• there has been a lack of women represented at Government level
• there has been a lack of leadership on the issue of gender equality

In fact the recently elected Victorian Premier has made a commitment that he will appoint 50% of women to all Government boards and Victorian courts between now and 2018. Now all he needs to do is build the freeway and he will have my ongoing support!

Why however is this push for equality on boards, based on merit, not happening at a national level.

Understand the pay gap has impact on Government budgets

Why have you not called for a summit of leaders, CEO's, directors from industries around the country to discuss the issue of gender equality and how can we become world leaders on this issue? You are after all the Minister for Women. What does that even mean?

We know that the issue of an increasing pay gap has an ongoing impact on the number of women who will be relying on Government hand out's post retirement. So it is very much in your interest to start conversations leading to change.

So Mr Abbott, yes my feedback is short and focused on issues relating to women, but I am a women and I will judge you on these.

Perhaps Michaela Cash should be allowed to take a much greater lead in her role, be given the mandate to push for change, form think tanks to find solutions and encourage businesses to implement agreed reasonable solutions.

I have heard Ms Cash speak, she comes across as passionate, however is perhaps a "lame duck" given who her boss is.

Women's safety is everyones issue!

Like many of you, I woke up to the news on Tuesday the 30th of March that another woman had been killed, her 18 year old daughter injured and her husband in custody.

Did you know that as of Jan this year we are losing 2 women a week to domestic violence?

Did you know that domestic violence is the key cause of homelessness for women and children? Many women however don’t leave due to fear and the inability to support themselves. 1 in 4 children bear witness to violence against their mothers and are often hurt simply trying to protect them.

Many of the women killed this year had DOV’s  against their husbands/partners and just as many were young innocent victims.

These women are our mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, girlfriends, friends and colleagues and they all deserve to live in safety, free from violence and abuse. 

On Friday the 8th of May, join me in the “Harcourts Walk a Mile in their shoes” and help raise awareness on the issue of domestic violence. Join the walk

We have partnered with White Ribbon and all funds raised will be donated towards their school’s program. If we can influence the next generation to make a different choice and understand that violence is simply not OK then we will have a long term impact on this issue.

This year we have Rosie Batty – 2015 Australian of the Year – who sadly lost her son Luke last year as our ambassador and walking with us on the day.

If you are unable to walk and would like to donate please click on this link.  Donate here

If you have items we can auction off at events to help raise money please email or contact me directly on 0403 271 676

This is no longer an issue any of us can ignore, when we are losing 2 women a week we are at crisis point, it is time to make women’s safety everyone’s issue. The more voices we have, the more likely we are to make a difference.

Join me and together let’s give voice to the women who no longer have one and make a statement that violence is simply not OK.

Not There!

 

Faces of women were erased from billboards and websites around the United States as part of an awareness campaign for International Woman's Day.

 

The campaign was called "not there" and was led by Hilary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and Melinda Gates.

 

It was a simple concept, very clever and dramatic. Where you would normally see the picture of a model or an actor you saw nothing. It was a very powerful way to visually display the issue of gender equality and generate discussion.

 

It was also a great way to remind all of us that even though we have made great gains, which must be celebrated, we still have a long way to go.

 

In Australia we still have many issues to resolve, the pay gap, domestic violence, homelessness, less superannuation for women, reliance on government assistance upon retirement, lack of buying power across sectors such as real estate, bank loans, rental properties and the list goes on.

 

I constantly ask the question whenever I am asked to speak on this topic, if we are not equal than what are we?

 

Given the level of discussion being had across the globe why is that the issue of equality is not part of an ongoing global agenda?

 

The United Nations is now pushing for gender equality by 2030, that is only 15 years away.

 

Wow do we have some work to do and quickly.

 

As women thrive, so will humanity but if girls are held back, the whole world will feel the pain, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned the high-level opening of the United Nations body tasked with the promotion of gender quality and the empowerment of women.

 

In her UN speech, Hilary Clinton said that the issue of gender equality will remain the greatest unfinished business of the 21st Century.

 

IWD is an interesting day, it is a day of celebration of that there is no doubt, however are we disengaging men in the process? How many male global leaders came out on that day and made affirmative statements on what they were going to do to tackle the issue of inequality?

 

Frankly as a woman, who has experienced the many issues of inequality, I am over the speeches, what I am interested in is what are the key steps global leaders and businesses taking to meet the UN call of equality by 2030?

 

How are we engaging men, how are business ensuring a more balanced environment, how are ASX companies engaging more women on their boards, how are CEO's changing the mindset's and cultures of their organisations, how are governments working with groups and businesses?

 

I want to know, globally, which countries and businesses have gained headway into this issue, what did they do, what were the results, how can we duplicate initiatives into our businesses rather then re-invent.

 

How are we, at family level, ensuring that the next generation, our sons and daughters, understand the issues we are facing, the gains we are making, the legacy we are leaving them and the role they play from their teenage years onwards around this issue.

 

We have a lot of work to do over the next 15 years and if we are truly going to make a difference then everyone needs to be involved. Each one of us needs to start a ripple, leaving it to the next generation, acceptance, making statements such as "its not so bad" is no longer acceptable.

 

Male leaders, CEO's, Directors, fathers, husbands, brothers, friends must start to empower women in their lives for change to occur.

 

I am excited that we have leaders focused on deadlines, I am excited because I know what happens when we set deadlines, we may not meet it to a 100%, but we will get gains towards it. And any gain is better than none at all.

 

Lets hope that the "not there" campaign in 15 years, becomes part of history, where we remember a time where we fought the good fight and won and our children, grand children and future generations simply learn about inequality as part of their history lessons and never have to experience it.

 

 

 



International Women’s Day 2015 - #Makeithappen

On March 8th we celebrate International Women's Day. A day that is now set aside globally to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women, past and present.

This day is about our mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, friends and girlfriends.

20 years ago women who celebrated this day perhaps had a very different vision or hope in mind as to where we would be on this issue of equality.

I am the same. My desire is to ensure that the legacy I leave behind my daughter and son is radically different to where we are today.

As we near closer to the 8^th of March, IWD is indeed a day that should be celebrated. Our gains have been many however there is still a long way to go.

I believe it is time for us in Australia to consider how we overcome some of the following issues:

·       The gender pay gap in Australia is 18.2%, the highest it has ever been. In WA however-the boom state- with the highest cost of living, the gap sits at 26.4%.

One of the reasons for the pay gap is that women are more likely to work in industries that pay less such as healthcare, education, human resources, administration, food services, retail and hotels. Conversely men dominate industries such as mining, finance and engineering which have traditionally been better paid.

There are also more women in part time work, they job share or are taking a career breaks.

Let’s not forget those women who choose to stay at home and are responsible for “unpaid” work.

And there is of course the ongoing issue of many working women carrying majority of the household burden.

Although there are many companies who have lead the way on this issue, including representation of women at leadership levels and on boards, we still have a long way to go.

• One of the consequences of the pay gap is that women are retiring on 1/3 less superannuation than their male counterparts (Human Rights Commission).  A recent study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows women over 55 are increasingly seeking homelessness assistance.

A woman born after 1966 aged 45-49 has an average superannuation of $60,618 vs $102,358 for a male. 

 

40% of women who retire claim their main source of income as the government pension and they make up 55.7% of the age pension recipients (ABS).  

Regardless of gender, neither amount is enough to retire with now that we live longer.

• Given the rate of divorce in Australia there are more women who head up single parent families. Many of these women’s lack of earning capacity has an impact on areas such as housing affordability. They are being priced out of the property market regardless of whether they are buying or renting.

Banks see them as high risk and they often don’t get the level of lending they require and sadly many will often be screened out as appropriate tenants in favour of higher paying applicants.

The 2011 census indicates that there are 600,828 single women over the age of 45 on medium to low incomes who do not own their own homes. There are 373,794 men in the same situation. As these women retire they will struggle to pay rent as the cost of living and utilities continues to rise.

• Over the last 10 years, every single market in Australia has seen significant price increases impacting the lowest income earners, in particular women. This increases the risk of homelessness and housing stress. Affordable and accessible housing is critical and we need to find a way to supply affordable homes without reverting to the fringes of Melbourne, away from jobs and adequate transport.

Public housing is not always the answer, as this is also under stress with over 200,000 on waiting lists across the country.

·       Domestic violence is the main cause of homelessness for women and children in Australia (White Ribbon). In 2015, two women a week have been killed, up 100% from previous years.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in 2013 32% of all clients receiving assistance from homelessness agencies were escaping domestic and family violence. 63% were women and 19% were children under the age of 10.

Often women will make the choice to stay in unsafe relationships as leaving will result in potential homelessness.

A national survey of 409 leading Australian business (Telstra Business Awards Alumni) women has found stopping domestic violence against women is the top priority for women in Australia in 2015. (Survey conducted by Telstra)

So by 2020 we potentially will see an:

·       Increase in the dwelling gap of affordable housing (supply and demand vs income)

·       Increase in homelessness in which older women and women with children will be over-represented

·       Increased stress on public housing

Equality is not just about the pay gap, however the issue of pay gap has reverberating consequences.

I am a woman born in 1966 and fortunately, retirement for me does not look like living of a government pension. However I am a single parent and I constantly am seeking ways to secure long term financial security that my male counterparts don’t truly seem to understand. Housing affordability is an issue when I have commitments to my children’s education and wellbeing.

I am however in no way marginalised and I have a strong voice and opinions with skill sets that I can carry across industries.

The theme for IWD 2015 is “make it happen”.  

·       What will it take for leaders around the globe to unite to “make it happen”?

·       What will it take for CEO’s around the globe to unite to “make it happen”?

·       What will it take for leadership teams around the globe to unite to “make it happen”?

Because if we don’t unite now than when will we? And if we not equal then what are we?

The ongoing impact on women, in particular, demands that this occurs or we will continue to see women and their children marginalised. 

How will I “make it happen”? 

I believe that to truly change this paradigm, women need to engage men and invite them to join us.

We need to work with men who empathise with the issue and are prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with us and influence others. We need to find male sponsors in our work places.

I will #makeithappen by continuing this conversation, on line, off line, with family, with friends, work colleagues both male and female.

Revolutions start as a ripple, start your ripple today and affect change that will have an impact.

Let’s not leave this issue of inequality as unfinished business in our lifetime.