BY ANNE FITZGERALDCLUBSNSW EXECUTIVE MANAGER — MEMBER SERVICES AND MARKETING

To another great success and many thanks to all involved.

Thank you to the 900 delegates and their guests who joined

us at this year’s Annual Conference and AGM at the Gold

Coast Convention Centre. Themed “A New Era”, you can read

a full review of this event and its many different elements

on the following pages but I would certainly like to acknowledge those

who made it another successful occasion when the industry gets

together to be challenged, motivated and energised for the year ahead.

I am going to start with the three young leaders in our industry

who were the finalists in our inaugural Generation Next — Investing in

our Future Scholarship Program. They led the two Gen Next Seminars,

each presenting their thoughts in a 10-minute address on how they

see the future of the industry and what they can do to ensure a

viable future. To say they were outstanding is an understatement.

Sarah Hillhouse from Bankstown Sports Club, Scott MacLean from

Candelo Kameruka Bowling Club and Mitch Vine from Ingleburn RSL

are impressive young leaders who I am sure will take the industry into

an exciting new era — we are in good hands with committed young

people such as these.

Congratulations to Mitch who, as the recipient of the scholarship,

will experience the trip of a lifetime to New York with program sponsor

PKF. To Sarah and Scott, enjoy the special weekend we have in store

for each of you (and a partner) in Melbourne. To Tyne Macmillan,

Member Services Manager, Delna Dugdale, Learning & Development

Specialist and Trent Sutton, Manager, Partnerships, Advertising &

Events — you all did a fabulous job putting this program and the

seminars together. I am thinking these seminars and the scholarship

will be back on again next year.

To IGT as the overall conference and dinner sponsor and to

Keno for hosting 1,000 guests as sponsor of the Welcome Party —

a big thank you. But mostly I would like to thank the hard working

and dedicated team at ClubsNSW for all their efforts. In particular,

conference leader Jenny Galic along with Tamsin White and Alison

Shier who executed many of the event fundamentals under the

capable Trent Sutton, and Ron Browne and his team of Delna

Dugdale, Debbie Organ and Daniela Vancova for all the preconference

education attracting over 130 “students” and the CDI lunch as well.

We engaged independent company This Space to get your

feedback and comments on our conference. By now I hope you have

responded to our survey or spoken to them face-to-face as planning

will soon be underway for next year. As always you can contact

me directly at afitzgerald@clubsnsw.com.au with any thoughts or

comments on our future conference programs. ♣

To watch conference highlights, and to download and share

a selection of the Conference seminars and presentations,

please go to: www.clubsnsw.com.au/conference.

The 2016 ClubsNSW Annual Conference and AGM was held on

the Gold Coast from Friday 7 October to Sunday 9 October, with

masterclasses and pre-conference training on Thursday 6 and

Friday 7 October.

All conference photography by PJP Photography & Digital Media.| Conference 2015 Conference 2015 | 44 45

It was a conference that would inspire attendees to take their clubs into a

prosperous tomorrow, and equip them with the expertise to do it. First,

though: the Welcome Party. On Saturday evening, guests gathered

on the Southern Terrace of the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition

Centre under the auspices of party sponsor Keno. Over a glass of wine or

beer and amid the heady scents of the food on offer — succulent pork off

a pig-on-the-spit, plump grilled chicken skewers, the floral spice of Spanish

paella — attendees warmed up old acquaintances and forged new ones,

sharing excitement about the educational opportunities ahead.

“You always take something home,” said Jan Ziino, a Director of the

Coomealla Memorial Sporting Club. “It doesn’t matter what you do at this

conference, there is always something to learn.”

Indeed, many guests had already learned a lot, having spent the past

two days immersed in the pre-conference training. Kevin Morgan, Vice

Chairman at Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club, had attended all three

Masterclasses. “They’ve all been very good,” he said, but Jason Clarke’s

Vision, Leadership and Strategic Delivery Masterclass was a standout. “He

was an excellent presenter. He had so much spring in his step. He really

made us think about the future.”

Networking was the other major draw for conference-goers this year.

“It’s amazing what you pick up from what others are doing,” said Dennis

King, a Director at the Moama Bowling Club, and Club Liverpool Deputy

President Dallas Stewart agreed: “You speak to people from different clubs,

you get different ideas on things. It’s the only way to go around it.”

One of the best learning and networking opportunities of the

pre-conference events was the new ClubsNSW Corporate Governance

Challenge, in which participants engaged in a simulation of club governance.

A NEW ERABY LACHLAN HUDDY

Newell’s address was far-reaching, touching upon three central

issues: opportunity, challenge, and threat. Of the opportunities before

clubs, Newell said, “Clubs generally are better-positioned than they

have been for a long time with regard to regulatory stability, interest

rates and the like to seize such a rare opportunity to invest and grow.”

He conceded that this would be more challenging for some clubs than

others, but “that positive environment is there.”

“With regard to the word ‘threat’,” he then said soberly, and went on

to discuss the recent shooting at Parramatta, as well as last year’s Lindt

Café shootings. In these troubled times, Newell contended, the spirit of

inclusion fostered by clubs is more important than ever.

“I encourage you to engage the future,” he said, “with the same

enthusiasm and community goodwill that you always have, not just

for the good of your club and your local community, but for the good

of the nation generally.”

In happier news, the opening was also time for ClubsNSW to

confer Life Membership upon David Doyle of Coffs Harbour and

Jon Chin of Newcastle.

Doyle, a veteran of the Vietnam War, has spent over 50 years

working in the industry, holds an Order of Australia medal and has, in

Newell’s words, “dedicated much of his life to helping others.” When

accepting the conferment, Doyle took to the lectern with wet eyes and

a momentarily trembling voice, and his heartfelt thank you — to his wife

Lois, and to the NSW club industry — was very moving. A highlight of

the weekend.

It was up to Jon Chin, the tireless, charismatic CEO of Hexham

Bowling Club, to lighten the mood. He did just that. “You’ve got to

pardon my informal dress,” he said. “Actually, I got the dates mixed up.”

As laughter broke out the Malaysian-born jokester quipped, “I can assure

you one thing: I’m not an illegal immigrant.” Mr Chin came to Australia in

1960, and since joining the industry has, in Newell’s words, “championed

clubs at every opportunity.”

These two heroes suitably honoured, it was time to welcome

the first of the day’s keynote speakers: John Brogden, CEO of the

Australian Institute of Company Directors, with his talk “Directors &

Boards: Future Challenges”.

After an introduction that extolled the clubs industry’s many social

virtues, Brogden got down to the brass tacks with hard-hitting insights

about the realities facing Board Directors today. “Directorship in Australia

is hard and getting harder,” he said. “If Directorship is hard, then let us

embrace good governance for good performance.” ê

Keynote speaker John Brogden AM

Keynote speaker Walter Bugno

“It was based around a Monopoly board,” said Ron Browne, Manager

of Professional Development at ClubsNSW. “There were challenges

that they had to surmount, there were bonuses that they might pick up

depending on the luck of the draw, and they had to keep track of their

profit and loss, their balance sheet and their cash flow.”

Each team drew unique benefits from the challenge but, Mr Browne

said, “everybody agreed it was a fantastic model to play.”

Keith Gomes, a Director of Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club and

ClubsNSW, who participated in the challenge, summed it up best: “A

great way to stimulate the brain.”

Early risers on Sunday were treated to the wisdom of Steven

Ciobo, the Federal Coalition Government's Minister for International

Development and the Pacific, and George Wright, the ALP’s National

Secretary, at the Political Landscape Breakfast sponsored by Club

Employers Mutual. Both men addressed the audience and then the floor

was opened for an engaging Q&A. Eschewing political grandstanding,

each speaker gave smart commentary on various issues, from how the

current political climate bears on the clubs industry (both painted a

rosy picture) to the recent leadership spill (both agreed it had to happen).

“The quality of the speakers that we had was fantastic,” said

Mitch Vine, Ingleburn RSL’s Gaming and Loyalty Analyst. “Some

really insightful comments came out of the audience, too, it was really

good to hear.”

Later that day ClubsNSW Chairman Peter Newell opened the

conference officially, extending warm welcomes to all attendees, with

special mentions to ClubsNSW’s industry partners and sponsors, in

particular conference sponsor IGT.

A New Era was the title of the 2015 ClubsNSW Conference, words to evoke a glimpse of the industry’s future and of grand things to come. The event

promised nothing less: four days of innovative training, leading-edge seminars, formidable speakers from all arms of business and politics, and — to speak plainly of this year’s “Outta Space” Conference Dinner — one heck of a show.

“It doesn’t matter what you do at this conference, there is always something to learn.”

– Jan Ziino, Director, Coomealla Memorial Sporting Club

| Conference 2015 Conference 2015 | 46 47

ClubsNSW CEO Anthony Ball

Over the next illuminating hour Brogden spoke of the ways

in which this might be accomplished, such as the AICD’s

Ten Good Governance Principles, evading the dangers of “group

think”, and the crucial importance of diversity in boards. “The

research internationally demonstrates that boards with diversity,

particularly gender diversity, actually perform better for

their organisation.”

Laurie Camilleri, Vice President of the Demo Club in Broken

Hill, walked away impressed: “That was very informative. Picked

up quite a few points there that I could take back to my Club.”

After morning tea, it was back into the central rooms for

the second and final keynote, “The Changing World of Gaming”,

delivered by the venerable Walter Bugno, CEO of conference

sponsor IGT International. Despite being, in his own words,

“sandwiched between an elegant speaker like John Brogden

and lunch on a Sunday,” he soon had the audience in the palm

of his hand.

His keynote combined multimedia, video and speech to

paint a compelling picture of the shifting sands of the world of

gaming. Bugno explained how three massive technological shifts

— Social and Mobile, Analytics or “Big Data”, and the Cloud —

have resulted in a consumer who is more connected than ever,

and thus has unique needs for entertainment providers to meet.

Sunday night brought the most-anticipated social event

of the conference: the Outta Space dinner. Proceedings kicked

off with a rousing address from Deputy Premier Troy Grant

emphasising clubs’ key role in promoting social unity in the face

of the kinds of divisive forces responsible for the recent shooting

in Parramatta.

“But,” Deputy Premier Grant went on to say, “tonight is all

about celebrating a wonderful year. I understand you’ve had

a terrific conference.” As the entertainment line-up that night

would prove, the conference was only getting better.

Words fall short of the full psychedelic glory of Sacred

Circus’s Laser Spectacular show, or the magnetic charisma of MC

John Reid, or the spellbinding quick-change skill of Australia’s

Got Talent finalists Soul Mystique (not to mention the quirk

factor of a party populated by inflatable green alien dolls). ARIA

award winning band Mental As Anything had people flocking

to the dancefloor, kicking up their heels to hits like “Live It Up”

and “Too Many Times”. The headline act though was almost

upstaged by the acoustic guitar stylings of singer Benny Nelson.

The 19-year-old graduate of the Talent Development Project blew

the crowd away with his talent and maturity.

The sensory overload was complemented by a lavish dinner

of pomegranate salmon, chilli-roast duck, macadamia chicken

breast and roasted beef fillet, all accompanied by as many

decadent drinks as the wonderful conference suppliers —

Lion, CUB, Treasury Wine Estates, Diageo, Robert Oatley Vineyards,

Coca-Cola Amatil and Asahi Premium Beverages — could provide.

“The whole event was fantastic,” gushed Lorraine Dean of Mounties

Bowling Club. “It’s probably one of the best ones they’ve had.”

For those who braved the early morning after their trip into outer

space, the conference’s final day began with the lively Workplace

Relations Breakfast, courtesy of ClubsNSW Corporate Partner Club

Plus Superannuation. Guests were treated to crisp bacon, moist

chipolatas and some sparkling back-and-forth between worthy

adversaries: Richard Tait, Workplace Relations Executive Manager

at ClubsNSW, and Helen Carayannis, Workplace Relations

Special Counsel.

The session assumed the air of a Great Debate with Helen and

Richard taking up the employee and employer arguments from a

variety of workplace relations case studies. Laughs were a fixture, but

many of the real-world outcomes left attendees with an invaluable

reminder of the importance of clear WR policies (and the wisdom of

maintaining one’s senses at the office Christmas party!).

The conference program was jam-packed with seminars for the

remainder of the day, tackling issues most relevant to clubs of today

and of the future: social license, strategic thinking, the fostering of a Peter Newell with new life members David Doyle (left) and Jon Chin (right).

prosperous club culture, investment in the next generation, and the

burgeoning importance of food and beverage. All were worthwhile

but there were a few highlights worth singling out.

In “Creating Tomorrow’s Gaming Offering”, Bankstown Sports

CEO Mark Condi demonstrated in meticulous detail how his Club

undertook a major gaming revamp in response to lacklustre financial

performance. The presentation was a goldmine of articulate advice

supplemented by graphics with a focus on proven methods:

customer research and data analysis driving measureable strategies

that resulted in a huge win for Bankstown Sports. The numbers, as

ever, never lie.

From the edifying to the entertaining — “Future of Food &

Beverage” was the sold-out show of the conference, attendees forced

to mill around the back of the room when seats filled up. The panel —

Julio Azzarello, chef and accredited culinary judge; John Sussman of

seafood agency Fishtales; Luke Heard, hospitality consultant at PKF

Australia — were led by Stuart Gregor of “wine-centric” PR agency

Liquid Ideas, and was just the right balance of culinary expertise and

rockstar rambunctiousness, eager to burst the bubble of clubs who’d

become too set in old ways of thinking about food and beverage.

“The way the clubs think about [restaurants],” said Luke Heard at

one point, “and I don’t want to offend anyone — it’s a little bit a**e-

up. We don’t talk to customers until we’ve already built the venue.”

Julio Azzarello, meanwhile, pinpointed an even deeper problem with

many club restaurants: “There’s no real purpose, no real identity with

what you’ve got.” ê

“Clubs generally are better-positioned than they have been for a long time with

regard to regulatory stability, interest rates

and the like to seize such a rare opportunity

to invest and grow.”– Chairman Peter Newell.

| Conference 201548 Conference 2015 | 49

If the invigorated post-seminar discussion during the Nescafé

Coffee break was anything to go by, feathers were ruffled in all the

right ways.

Finally, and fittingly given the theme of the conference,

the “Generation Next” seminar and challenge, sponsored by PKF,

may have been the weekend’s most exciting. Three young industry

leaders took to the microphone to impart their visions for the

clubs of tomorrow, vying for the winning title before a panel of

industry experts.

Sarah Hillhouse, Senior Duty Manager at Bankstown Sports,

had Greenfield Sky, a conceptual combination rooftop garden and

sustainable restaurant on top of Bankstown Sports. In his fabulous

Canadian lilt, Scott Maclean, Secretary Manager of regional Candelo

Bowling Club, outlined his plans to move his club completely off the

electrical grid, deploying everything from geo-thermal heating to

roof-mounted solar and wind turbines. Last but not least, Ingleburn

RSL’s Mitch Vine has a plan to get the apathetic youth demographic

engaged with club culture, using club resources to offer young people

opportunities in exchange for club and community service.

“Really, really blown out of the water,” said Life Education NSW’s

Lillian Adnan, one of the judges. "[The judging process is] going to be

very tough.” Not too tough, though — Mitch Vine took out the top

spot, and deservedly so. An eloquent speaker and impressive figure,

he might just be the general to rally the next generation of club-

minded Australians.

After lunch came the final item of business: the ClubsNSW Annual

General Meeting. Convened by Chairman Newell, the well-attended

meeting saw the presentation of CEO Anthony Ball’s annual report,

which detailed ClubsNSW’s financial figures from the preceding year as

well as the encouraging findings of the latest UMR Research survey on

ClubsNSW’s performance.

“The findings there tell us that we are on the right path,” Ball said.

“We’re doing the things that you consider to be important and we’re

doing them well.”

At Conference Dinner: Outta Space

Col Bentley, IGT, NSW/ACT State Sales Manager

The other centrepiece of the meeting was Newell’s Chairman’s

Report, in which he focused upon the positive political climate, the

light at the end of tunnel of Keno licensing, and the ongoing situation

regarding Peter Garrett’s accusations which recently aired on the ABC.

Cheerful news was delivered soon afterward, with the

announcement of Mike Fraser and Keith Gomes’ re-election to the

ClubsNSW board.

With that the AGM, and the 2015 ClubsNSW Conference, was

drawn to a close. Conference attendees departed better-educated

and maybe even inspired, full of brave and exciting ideas to take

back to their clubs and shape a new era for their industry. It was an

era glimpsed in the seminars, keynotes and animated conversations

between conference-goers throughout the weekend — an era that

began now. ♣

| Conference 201550 | Conference 201550

Panthers Group signs on with Professional Advantage

& ClubIntel

August 2015 – Sydney, AustraliaTechnology firm Professional Advantage has signed a deal with Panthers Group to transform how its clubs access, manage and interpret data.

With six licensed clubs, over 120,000 members and 1000 employees, Panthers Group is one of the largest club groups in New South Wales.

Panthers uses at least twelve key systems in areas such as payroll, point of sale, rostering, accounting, gaming, marketing and promotions. These systems don’t talk to each other, which makes it difficult to analyse data across business units.

Panthers Group financial controller Mathew Luszczynski says “There is a lot of data in different sources, and that data is powerful. But if we can’t access that information in real-time, we can’t make timely decisions.

Panthers Group needed a solution that could provide real-time analytics, dashboards and reporting from multiple systems in a single location. As a club-specific product with a proven ability to connect to Panthers key systems, Mathew says ClubIntel was an obvious choice.

Developed by Professional Advantage for the registered club industry, ClubIntel helps clubs to uncover, report on and analyse key data from all business units. From attendance records to peak food service times, ClubIntel’s easy-to-interpret dashboards drive more informed decision-making.

“We investigated a number of other solutions before selecting ClubIntel. A lot of systems claim they can do what ClubIntel does, but they’re not club-specific and they don’t have the same track record,” Mathew says.

“We didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. We are basically tweaking ClubIntel’s look and feel, rather than building a solution from scratch. That’s a big plus.”

Access will initially be limited to general managers and finance employees, but it is envisaged that the target audience will grow to include executives such as the CEO and COO, Finance Specialists, Gaming Managers, Marketing Managers and Departmental Managers. Eventually up to 40 employees will use ClubIntel on a regular basis.

Mathew says connecting ClubIntel to gaming, point of sale, membership, marketing and rostering systems will be a top priority. He also hopes ClubIntel will make marketing spending more efficient.

“ClubIntel gives us the ability to measure where we spend our money, and determine whether we’re getting the best bang for our buck,” he says.

We can look at the data in ClubIntel and prove that it brings people through the doors and increases member spend. If we put a car out in the foyer, for example, and this is what members want then why not do a car giveaway once a month insteadof once a quarter?”

By providing detailed information about rostering, labour costs and revenue, ClubIntel will become a valuable tool to monitor wages budgets, our largest single expense line item.

“If we can see that sales are going down but labour costs are going up, then we can start to ask why that’s happened, what we can do about it, and adjust future rosters accordingly” Mathew says.

Clubintel Payroll & Rostering

Traffic

Financials

Food & Beverage

Events

Gaming

Analytics & Reports

business intelligence for your club

Get more value From your data!

ClubIntel can help your club generate more revenue, attract new members and make data driven decisions.

To find out more, contact Professional Advantage on 1800 126 499.

Leadership and the current political landscape were front of mind

for Club CEOs, directors and senior club staff at the recent Sunday

morning Political Breakfast at the ClubNSW Conference on the

Gold Coast. Those in attendance were treated to a cordial and frank

assessment of politics in Australia and the importance of leadership by the

National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party, George Wright, and the

Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the Hon. Steven

Ciobo MP.

The superb breakfast provided a unique setting where both

speakers cited stability in leadership as a key to success as a nation and

recommended an end to the rotation of leaders.

Minister Ciobo opened the discussion, declaring that our communities

rely heavily on the economic and social benefits that clubs provide and

that “Clubs are ingrained in our everyday life.” The Minister indicated that it

had been a hectic few weeks in Federal Parliament, but joked that although

we’ve had more leadership changes in Australia than in Italy in recent years,

he was not pessimistic about the future and that we aren’t in the midst of a

crisis. Minister Ciobo cited the experience learned from the fortunes of the

former Newman Queensland Government, which was swept from office in

February this year, as a major factor in listening to the polling and trying to

reverse the Federal Government’s fortunes.

George Wright followed saying, “Clubs and the Australian Labor Party

have a strong relationship. We get clubs.” In terms of leadership, Wright

noted that there had been four Prime Ministers in four years and that we

should go to the people to seek “real change” and that’s the way it should

be in a democracy. Wright said that both parties, Liberal and Labor, had

struggled with leadership issues in recent history and that he believes the

Government is about to face the same difficulties that the Labor Party

did — in that both Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull have a fractured

relationship with their parties. To be successful as a political leader, Wright

believes politicians must have a strong relationship with both the public

and the political organisation that they represent.

Successful leadership requires good listening skills, consultation and the ability

to inspire rather than impose.

Both Wright and Minister Ciobo agreed with each other that it is up

to a leader, whether it be the leader of a political party or a leader in the

club industry, to listen and consult through engaging with people and

stakeholders, and to gather opinions and viewpoints before advocating and

seeking change. A good leader must take people with them and explain

why change is needed, not simply impose their own views on others and

expect them to follow. In their view, helicopter style leadership where

micromanagement and viewpoints are imposed, rather than opinions

sought and organically harvested, will spell the end for leaders in the

political sphere, the corporate world and the not-for-profit club industry. ♣

ClubsNSWgoes mobile.

No matter where you are or what device you’re on

– Apple, Android or Windows – you can now browse the

ClubsNSW website with ease.

Visit

www.clubsnsw.com.au today for all the key news

and information about the club industry.

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A GOOD LEADER: 2015 POLITICAL

BREAKFASTBY ADAM SHULTZ

CLUBSNSW POLICY OFFICER

The Hon. Steven Ciobo, Minister for International Development and the Pacific (left) with George Wright, Secretary of the Australian Labor Party (right)

| Conference 201554

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DIVERSITY AND LEADERSHIP MADE

FASHIONABLEBY RON BROWNE

CLUBSNSW PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

As the dot com bust claimed the corporate lives of more than 99 per cent of Internet companies at the turn of the millennium, many in spectacular fashion, one online retailer selling high end fashion on a site designed to look like a magazine defied

the odds. Today Net-a-Porter is the world’s leading online retailer worth $4 billion. Co-founder and director of Net-a-Porter Megan Quinn was the keynote speaker at the Club Directors Institute (CDI) Luncheon.

A serial entrepreneur, Quinn is now the founder and CEO of consultancy Q&Co, which assesses how well companies are connecting their businesses to customers. She possesses that wonderful balance of executive management and board governance experience that gives her great insight into effective governance of almost any organisation. She presented a fascinating overview of the key themes of diversity in all its forms, leadership in tough times and generational change that she has gleaned during a glittering career here and overseas.

Her example of the team at Net-a-Porter that created a global fashion retailer was a great illustration of how diverse age, skills and gender can add significant value to either an executive or governance team, bringing many complimentary skills together with the synergy that affords.

Leadership via diligent oversight of every facet of the business was a key ingredient of Net-a-Porter’s success. Quinn explained that they utiltised the diverse expertise of their Board members — who came from different countries, different industries, different educations and vastly differing perspectives — to examine all business issues at both the macro and micro level. Making the tough decisions and keeping the big picture in view helped ensure the success of the venture.

Megan also had a great mentor in her publican father who always addressed the people factor of his pub and other businesses, ensuring that communication, education and permission to innovate were always part of the business ethos.

However, upon returning home in 2008 after 18 years in London, she found the business environment to be quite different. Still reputed as a fresh young upstart that was innovative, different and challenged the status quo, she found the opposite to be true of Australia. We had become compliance-driven, risk-averse and not open to deviance from the norm (popularly called disruption today). Quinn should know as Net-a-Porter was the disrupter of its day.

Megan now offers her insights to the two boards she sits on — UNICEF Australia and Specialty Fashion Group — as well as her consulting clients, and recognises that these are core governance principles that every club can learn from. She described the induction process to the Board of UNICEF Australia

A New Era of learning and education culminated in a fascinating talk by fashion maven, disrupter and entrepreneur Megan Quinn.

as one that inculcates the themes of thinking independently and avoiding group-think. Now focusing on the issue of generational change, the Board recently voted for a maximum of two three-year terms for their directors.

Quinn also touched on the issue of big data, which many clubs today have on hand due to the myriad programs available. She challenged us as to how we might use this data to provide innovative new products and services for our members and patrons. Utilising modern technology, not just for the sake of it, but to enhance the customer experience — something that has been core to her approach to business during her career — is something she believes all boards should consider and encourage their management to investigate. “The customer must be the central focus of everything you do, giving them the best experience that you can offer,” she said.

So whether you are talking a fashion house, a not-for-profit organisation like UNICEF or a club board, Quinn’s key take home messages can be consistently applied. Those key points are:

¡ Communicate to members how a professional approach by the club’s board is for the benefit of the club.

¡ Think independently but work as a great team player. ¡ Look to increase diversity on the board to better reflect your membership through age, gender, ethnicity, cultural and educational diversity.

¡ Show true leadership through making the tough decisions, at the right time, for the right reasons.

¡ Look at maximum term of service to help motivate generational change. ¡ Investigate ways to utilise the data you capture to provide better customer experiences for your members and patrons.

¡ Innovation is a key ingredient.Megan Quinn’s final question, on the convergence of all these points

was: “Are you prepared to disrupt your established club model, to move

forward in a New Era?”. ♣

Keynote Speaker Megan Quinn

| Conference 201556

It started with a call for white papers, it continued with a battle of three young club leaders and their

visionary ideas, and it ended with one winner.Photo caption Photo caption

GENERATION NEXT: INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

BY TYNE MACMILLAN AND DELNA DUGDALEALECLUBSNSW MEMBER SERVICES MANAGER AND CLUBSNSW LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

Every story starts with a beginning, has a middle and

eventually comes to an end. This particular story started with

a call for white papers from young employees of clubs, asking

them to share their thoughts about how they would take a

club into the future in one or all of the following areas: club culture,

community engagement, and services and facilities. The idea was

to harvest the thoughts and innovative thinking of potential leaders

who one day may guide the club industry into a future where the only

certainty is exponential change.

From the white papers, just three finalists and eventually one

winner would be chosen. ClubsNSW Corporate Partner PKF provided

the prize for the eventual winner — an all-expenses paid trip on the

2016 PKF New York City Food & Beverage Insights Tour No. 4 that

offers exclusive access to NYC’s most iconic and innovative venues,

not to mention networking opportunities with other club managers,

venue owners, concept creators and renowned head chefs.

Three judges, PKF’s John Tully, Lillian Adnan from Life Education

and Anne Fitzgerald from ClubsNSW, were tasked with the hard job of

selecting the three finalists from a mountain of incredible applications.

But their job as judges wasn’t over and it wasn’t going to get any easier.

The middle of this story saw our finalists work to a strict time

frame to turn their white paper into a presentation with the objective

to engage and entertain delegates at the ClubsNSW Conference

seminar “Generation Next: Investing in the Future.”

The finalists were judged on different aspects of their

presentations and each was asked questions by the judges and the

audience to gauge their commitment, knowledge and understanding

of the pros and cons of their ideas. Scores for the white paper and

presentation were combined to identify an overall winner.

Which brings us to the end of our story — but before we get there,

let's start at the beginning of the end — the conference dinner.

Our three finalists, Sarah Hillhouse from Bankstown Sports, Scott

Maclean from Candelo Kameruka Bowling Club and Mitch Vine from

Ingleburn RSL, attended the dinner with the judges — the first time

they had been in the same room as the finalists.

Although meeting the judges bore no weighting on their marks, it

was a fantastic opportunity for the finalists to mingle with one another

and speak to the judges about their ambitions, hopes and everything

in between.

Of course, like every competition — and perhaps every story —

there comes a little foul play, with contestants ordering drinks for one

another in the hope that their rivals might slip up and tell them a little

more about their presentations. All in good fun, of course, and none of

them succumbed! These are, after all, our future leaders and they are

quite at home with strategy both at the workplace and socially!

Monday morning saw the serious side of the three finalists, who

were all starting to ooze nervous energy as they patiently waited for the

doors to open. As around 90 delegates started piling into the room, the

nervousness emerged. The seminar was one of the most popular right

from when registration opened. And why wouldn’t it be?

It gave the younger generation the opportunity to respectfully

challenge the status quo of the industry. As one of the delegates

said: “If all three were to collaboratively work together and merge

their ideas it will be a good disrupter for the industry.”

Each finalist, as expected, brought a different concept to the

table with their own unique insights. The varying size of their clubs,

combined with the finalists’ personal backgrounds and experiences,

gave this seminar a rich diversity of ideas and solutions. The audience

was highly engaged as evidenced by the numerous questions the

finalists fielded at the end of the seminar.

Sarah Hillhouse, Senior Duty Manager at Bankstown Sports and

with eight years’ experience in one of Sydney’s largest clubs, was first

cab off the rank. She spoke about sustainability and her idea for a

rooftop garden at Bankstown Sports (or any club really). We learned

that the outlay of money required for the project would be far less

than what the Club would reap once the garden was established, not

to mention the benefits to staff, the community and the environment.

John Tully described Sarah’s white paper as an outstanding

submission on every level.

While Sarah comes from a very large Club, Scott Maclean,

Secretary Manager of Candelo Kameruka Bowling, comes from a very

small one and his presentation reflected the scale of projects that he

could implement, including a great idea to take the Club off the grid.

Lillian Adnan saw Scott’s white paper as a passionate application of his

ideas and noted that community connectedness was clearly apparent.

Last but not least we had Mitch Vine, Ingleburn RSL’s Gaming and

Loyalty Analyst, again a finalist with a different set of skills and from a

different type of club, this one medium-sized. Mitch’s “Club Alumni”

was a solution to the war being waged on clubs by the anti-club

lobby and a lack of connectedness to the younger generation. Lillian

Adnan said his white paper demonstrated great use of research and

command of technology. She said his passionate delivery pushed his

idea forward as a visionary application for RSL clubs.

The judges described their task as exceedingly hard given the

calibre of the presentations. However only one person could win, and

that person was Mitch Vine.

Lillian, Anne and John couldn’t allow the other two finalists to walk

away empty-handed — both Sarah and Scott will go to Melbourne

courtesy of ClubsNSW on a weekend of their choosing to see a few

restaurants and bars in full operation.

Speaking to Anne Fitzgerald shortly after the winner was

announced, she had this to say: “To meet and get to know the three

finalists through their submissions and at the conference and to see

the energy, enthusiasm and passion in their ideas and delivery was

uplifting. It also reinforced for me the important role that ClubsNSW

plays in harnessing and showcasing this talent which will take the

industry into a new era.”

And there you have it; this is where our story ends — on a high and

in the knowledge that there are young and talented people waiting in

the wings ready to take this industry into a new era. ♣

PKF's John Tully, Life Education's Lillian Adnan, Next Gen Scholarship winner Mitch Vine and ClubsNSW Executive Manager Anne Fitzgerald

| Conference 2015 Conference 2015 | 58 59Conference 2015 | 59

CONTROVERSIAL MODERN DAY

WORKPLACE POLICIESBY VIKI GNJATIC

CLUBSNSW MEMBER ENQUIRIES CENTRE TEAM LEADER

7.30am seminars are a tough gig. Especially after an evening of

aliens, astronauts and out of this world dance moves (that you

would rather forget). All of that is a recipe for hitting the snooze

button. Luckily this year, as always, getting out of bed for the

Workplace Relations Breakfast Seminar was made much easier knowing

that the banter between the speakers would be at an all-time high and

there will be no shortage of practical information to take home. And, if you

were really lucky, maybe a Club Plus puppy.

ClubsNSW Executive Manager of Workplace Relations Richard Tait

and Workplace Relations Special Counsel Helen Carayannis delivered

their annual great debate at the ClubsNSW Conference on the hot topic of

controversial modern day workplace policies.

Among the tasty breakfast treats available, delegates were entertained

and educated (you don’t see these words combined in one sentence very

often) while listening to Richard and Helen debate six different cases on

various workplace policies. Cases were argued from both the employee and

employer perspective before leaving it to the delegates to decide who they

thought won.

The seminar focused on how the Fair Work Commission determined

whether or not a dismissal for breach of policy was harsh, unjust or

unreasonable relative to the facts. For example, in Woolworths Limited v

Cameron Brown, the employee was terminated after multiple breaches of

the employer’s Dress Policy, which prohibited exposed jewellery. The Full

Bench on appeal held that the employee repeatedly refused to obey lawful

directions to remove a piercing even after receiving numerous warnings; this

therefore provided a valid reason for termination and justified dismissal.

In George Mihalopolous v Westpac Banking Corporation, the

employee was terminated for breach of the employer’s Code of Conduct,

which included a Conflict of Interest Policy. The employee had failed to

disclose a romantic relationship he had with one of his direct reports, and

it was also revealed that he went to considerable lengths to assist her in

her professional career. To further exacerbate the issue, the employee

lied about the relationship to his manager on two separate occasions. As

a result, it was found that the failure to disclose in combination with the

employee’s dishonesty constituted a valid reason for dismissal.

The above examples all seem straightforward but what happens

when misconduct by an employee occurs out-of-hours? Or at a work-

related function such as a Christmas party? Interestingly, and much to the

surprise of the delegates, in the case of Keenan v Leighton Boral Amey

Joint Venture, even extending your workplace policies to work-related

functions may not be enough to justify dismissal. In this case we heard of

an employee who was intoxicated at a Christmas party, verbally abused his

managers and inappropriately touched other colleagues. Although there

may have been a valid reason for dismissal, it was held that the dismissal

was harsh and unjust as the employee’s conduct had occurred outside the

time designated for the event, the employer supplied the alcohol and there

was a lack of significant ongoing workplace consequences of his behaviour.

Overall, many cases demonstrated that having workplace policies in

place which specify the objective, the scope of the policy, the procedure

and the consequences of a breach may justify a dismissal. However, as

demonstrated from the surprising decision above, this is not always the

case. Employers need to be careful to give consideration to all the facts

relating to an employee’s conduct and how a workplace policy impacts on

potential disciplinary action to be taken.

The ClubsNSW Workplace Relations team is available to assess

and provide advice on such matters and to assist in developing

workplace policies. ♣www.aruzegaming.com

DUO of WEALTH

Corporate Head Office 23-27 Bourke Road, Alexandria NSW 2015, Australia TEL: +61 2-8332-6000 FAX: +61 2-8332-6066 email: sales@aruzegaming.com.au

Cases involving body piercings, a workplace affair and intoxicated and inappropriate behaviour at an office party were debated, some with

surprising outcomes, at the Workplace Relations Breakfast.

Workplace Relations Special Counsel Helen Carayannis

| Conference 201560

At this year’s conference, “A New Era” came with a new experiential learning option.

provided, tracking every input and impact of the decisions taken.

Eager recording of results, quarter by quarter, for the first two

financial years was displayed for all to see. The competitive nature

of all six teams soon became apparent after the first three-hour

stint. Results looking good and growth in net profit by all meant

that happy teams retired to their evening’s activity and to refresh

for the challenges Saturday will bring.

Saturday morning’s session brought the first “ah ha” moment

for all players. Governance failures all-round due to a focus on the

operational aspects of profit and loss with no regard for cash flow

or balance sheets! Shock ran through all teams with the realisation

of how easy, as in real life, it is to lose perspective of the big picture

and overlook due diligence and the fiduciary duties of governing

our clubs. I will say no more on this, as it would be a spoiler for

next year’s teams.

Then the teams were confronted with amalgamation options

with three different clubs. There was more focus this time on due

diligence, with five pages of summarised information of the three

prospective amalgamation options, asset valuations, indicative

P&Ls, balance sheets, membership profiles and more. Notes

were taken and deliberations had in private, before there was an

opportunity to interrogate, sorry interview, the Chairs of the three

target clubs (played by John and Ron), to gain additional insight

into the prospect offered by each club.

It is important to note here that the clubs in the simulation

are all real clubs. The figures from their recent annual reports have

been varied by a small factor to disguise their true identity, but

the figures were realistic for the bowling, golf and RSL clubs being

considered. And of course for our “home” RSL club too.

As part of the pre-conference training offering, the

ClubsNSW Corporate Governance Challenge was a

new and innovative addition. Designed to challenge

directors and managers with at least mandatory

director training and a few years of experience in governance

behind them, this club simulation was rolled out to six “board

teams” of four, who took on the challenges and opportunities

presented to them with gusto.

Facilitated by John Radclyffe, Managing Director of

WorldGAMES and the creator of the simulation, and myself, the

teams were made up of a mix of directors and managers from 13

clubs and our Challenge sponsors KPMG. Run simultaneously with

the Masterclass sessions, the teams were introduced to the rules

and concepts of play in the first session on Friday afternoon.

Each lap of the (Monopoly) board, tailored to club operations

of Membership, Events, Bar, Catering, Fitness Centre and Gym

Membership, represented a quarter of a financial year. After a

demonstration first lap, the teams set out, under the banner of

their play tokens — Dog, Car, Boot, Cannon, Hat and Thimble — to

play the next seven quarters, tracking their results each quarter on

a board at the front of the room.

Overall targets were set with each quarter offering options

for thousands of dollars of marketing spend, purchase of 10 or

20 additional gaming entitlements and machines, challenges

presented when you land on a Utility, either a positive or negative

occurrence when you land on Chance or Community Chest,

challenging role plays when you land on a Tax Square and bonus

options when you land on a train station. Play progressed rapidly

and happily, as data was entered into spreadsheets on the laptops

The time had arrived for decisions to be made. Of six

boards, four choose the same target club, the golf club, one

board chooses the small, same core function RSL club, with

the last board choosing not to amalgamate with any club. And

there are no right or wrong answers here, only your decisions

and their consequences, just as in real life. Although unlike real

life, no-one gets hurt!

It was time for a brain break. Now that decisions were

locked in we had lunch to refresh and refuel, and to allow time

for the algorithms to blend the figures of the amalgamated

clubs, so that we could start the next two financial years

trading with a consolidated set of accounts.

Play resumed for the final two years at almost fever pitch,

but with the wariness afforded by the due diligence issue of

earlier in the morning. More role plays, Chance and Community

Chest card boosts and knocks, a few “No Consequence” cards

received with sighs of relief, and finally the roundup of the full

16 quarters of play.

Challenges like a fine for an environmental spill, floods

closing the club for a week (if you landed on the “Go to Jail”

square), or staff claiming bullying and harassment were

all weathered. The consequences of how the board and

management of each club responded flavoured the outcome

decided by the facilitators. Handled appropriately and your

outcome was “Positive”, or handled reasonably but not

covering every eventuality returned a “Neutral” outcome,

while poor handling or no serious diligence could result in a

“Negative” outcome. Whatever the outcome, the algorithms

calculated the impact on the clubs’ top and bottom lines. The

full impact of the various decisions became quite obvious

when the results were tallied and the awards decided.

John and I noted the interesting mix on each board,

which demonstrated the benefits and challenges of diversity

of thought. We also noted the risk of group-think and the

importance of cohesive and cooperative board operations.

The players all agreed that they had learned many useful

governance tips that they could take back to their clubs for

implementation. A resounding success, the Challenge will

return next year for new teams to test their mettle. ♣

RESULTS OF THE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CHALLENGE

MEASURE WINNING TEAM RANGE OF RESULTS ($000)Highest Revenue Cannon $103,798 – $139,762

Highest Profit Dog $22,700 – $4,651

Best EBITDARD Boot 31.7% – 12.5%

Best Return on Marketing Thimble 3.14% – 4.00%

Best Due Diligence in Governance Racing Car —

Best Learning Hat —

CHALLENGEACCEPTED

BY RON BROWNECLUBSNSW PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Noel Radburn, Wyong RSL and Dennis McHugh, Tradies, embark on the Challenge.

Community Chest and Chance cards threw new challenges and opportunities at the participants

| Conference 201562 Conference 2015 | 63

WELCOMEAllan Brassil (middle) and Jakki Corcoran from CUB (right)

Andrew Walsh (left) and Jeff Richardson from Treasury Wine Estates

Anthony Ball and Trevor Parkes from KENO

Peter Feenan and David Irvine (right) from Robert Oatley Vineyards

Jackson Besley, Talent Development Project

Damien Pocock (right) from Konami

Team from Nestle Professional

| Conference 2015 Conference 2015 | 64 65

DINNERFrom left: Bankstown Sports Chaplain, Shane Mount, Mingara Chaplain, David Slee,

Anne Fitzgerald, Len Ainsworth and David MacIntosh from Paynter Dixon.

Andrew Neagle, Sales Director IGT Australia & New ZealandMental As Anything

Soul Mystique

NSW Minister David Elliott (left) and NSW Deputy Premier Troy Grant (right) TDP Graduate Benny Nelson

| Conference 2015 Conference 2015 | 66 67