The Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders study evaluates and recognises what it takes to execute best-in-class leadership and talent management across the globe. This year’s Australian and New Zealand Top Companies were selected and ranked by a panel of independent judges using a number of criteria, including assessing strategies and success in the attraction, identification, retention and development of leadership talent.

“A new normal now exists. Leadership practices that used to differentiate are now commonplace within Australia and New Zealand. However, a new benchmark has now been set by Aon Hewitt’s 2014 Top Companies – DHL, Lion and Z Energy. These Top Companies all exhibit highly effective practices that, combined with clear outcomes and measurement, ensure strong leaders are continuously coming up through the ranks,” said James Rutherford, Principal and Head of Leadership at Aon Hewitt.

Z Energy was recognised as a Top Company because it embeds a positive leadership culture, provide leadership development opportunities and integrate leadership expectations into on-boarding and induction processes. Lion develops authentic leaders, drives culture and engagement through leaders, identifies future leaders and helps them flourish. WhileDHL was praised for promoting diversity and inclusion through leadership, providing strong leadership development frameworks and creating and embedding engaging leaders within the business.

The 2014 Australian and New Zealand insights showed that Top Companies are moving the dial and taking their practices beyond the ‘new normal’. Aon Hewitt’s 2014 Top Companies for Leaders study identified six areas where Top Companies within Australia and New Zealand are setting a new standard:

Top Companies are moving from:

1. Processes to outcomes: It is no longer about processes, policies or simply completing an activity or program. Top Companies consistently measure the effectiveness of such practices and hold their leaders accountable for the outcomes.

o Key data point: 90% of Top Companies hold leaders accountable for the promotion rate of high potentials Vs 30% of other organisations.

2. Engagement measurement to developing engaging leaders: Almost all organisations now measure engagement, Top Companies however have an increased focus on the selection, attraction and development of leaders who through their personality, sense of purpose, experience and behaviours create engagement in their organisations.

o Key data point: 65% of Top Companies hold leaders accountable for the engagement levels of Managers and Managers’ direct reports Vs 30% of other organisations.

3. Diversity to inclusion: Top Companies focus much more on the gathering of diverse perspectives and insights from both within their organisation and externally.

o Key data point: 70% of Top Companies track gender diversity for successors to the CEO Vs 43% of other organisations.

4. Accumulating followers to developing leaders: Top Companies believe that the primary role of leaders is to identify and nurture upcoming leaders.

o Key data point: 95% of Top Companies use 360 degree feedback to assess how leaders are developing their talent Vs 55% of other organisations.

5. Assessing skill to aligning for fit: Top Companies assess both the skills required for the future success of the organisation and the fit to the organisation’s aspired culture and strategy.

o Key data point: 75% of Top Companies use personality assessments to measure the potential of front line managers Vs 49% of other organisations.

6. Higher performance to higher purpose: It’s not just about performance, Top Companies create a sense of higher purpose and look at how they contribute to the environment and how their strategy affects the communities in which they work.

o Key data point: Top Companies are twice as likely as other organisations to offer employees special assignments directly related to their CSR strategy.

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The Congress included sessions on Leadership, Best Practice and Personal Development.

Technical education and self-development emerged as core professional development principles for financial planners at the Financial Planning Association’s (FPA) Inaugural Professionals Congress.

The event, which took place in Sydney on 17 and 18 October, welcomed over 1,000 financial planning professionals from around Australia.

The program was designed to develop planners from an educational and professional development perspective, based specifically on needs identified by FPA members. The Congress included sessions on the technical aspects of advice as well as on Leadership, Best Practice and Personal Development.

CEO of the FPA, Mark Rantall said, “Financial planning has undergone significant changes, in both a regulatory and cultural sense with the implementation of FoFA and a continuing emphasis on professionalism being a focus in recent times. Congress was an opportunity for the professional planning community to come together and celebrate our successes and the success of our peers as individual practitioners.

“Our goal was to provide delegates with a program that was, above all, practically beneficial to both their professional practices and their own personal development. We are engaging with delegates to receive structured feedback to ensure we continue to provide our community with the development it needs and the feedback we have received so far confirms that the Congress program met the needs of our community.”

Among the most popular and highly rated sessions were personal and professional development topics, such as personal time management and consumer targeted sales and marketing.

These evaluative conversations revealed that members benefited hugely from the event, with one delegate testifying that, “The Congress was a great way to connect with like-minded professionals and to really learn how to engage with clients and build a growing, sustainable business in this ever-changing industry.”

Social networking was also a focus at the Congress, with delegates encouraged to interact on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The event hashtag, #FPACongress, achieved the number one trend in Australia on Twitter with over 2,100 tweets posted before, during and after the event. The FPA Australia Facebook page had an audience increase of over 350%.

Mr Rantall said that the growing importance of social media as a professional communication tool was a key factor in providing delegates with social media support and expanding the online element of the Congress.

“Interaction between planners and clients is vital and with an increasing number of conversations happening online it is important that we are encouraging our members to use social media and ensuring they are equipped to do so.

“As a professional organization, we also understand that social media is an effective way for us to communicate with our communities and the wider financial services industry on an ongoing basis. We hope that the valuable conversations from Congress continue in the social sphere and we look forward to being a part of that.”

The 2014 Professionals Congress is scheduled to take place in Adelaide on the 20^th and 21^st of November next year.

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Matthew Rowe said he was delighted to accept the position and recognised the need for the FPA to continue to provide the vision, leadership and resources to raise professional standards and the community standing of members.

“The past year has seen significant changes in financial planning and I am committed to working with the Board to promote the higher standards and professional standing of FPA practitioner members,” said Mr Rowe.

“The Board is very much aware there is always room for improvement and we will work tirelessly to deliver value to members.

“I congratulate outgoing Chair Julie Berry CFP® for her outstanding leadership of the FPA Board.”

Welcoming Mr Rowe’s appointment, Julie Berry said, “Matthew is highly qualified and respected within the profession and brings a great deal of experience to the Board’s governance.”

Matthew Rowe is currently Chair of the FPA Board Professionalism and Board Strategic Planning Committees and a member of the Board Remuneration and Succession Planning Committee. He has also chaired the FPA Ripoll Inquiry Committee and Professional Conduct Committees.

He is the owner and managing director of Hood Sweeney, an Adelaide based Principal member of the FPA.

FPA Annual General Meeting

Friday November 26, 1:25pm. Expo Hall, Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre

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While choosing the six finalists was an exceptionally difficult task, Mr Klipin said the final contenders represent the cream of today’s crop of young advisers.

“These individuals have a pedigree education; they are innovative, they are passionate, they are committed to and involved in their communities and to their industry,” he said. “Everything that is good about the advice industry resonates through these outstanding candidates.”

This year’s Rising Star finalists are:

Nikkii Park – Risk QLD (QLD)

Andrew Shakespeare – JSA Financial Planning Group (NSW)

Michael Batten – Batten Financial Services (QLD)

Mark Rattigan – Merideon Wealth Strategies (WA)

Paul Trosti – Godfrey Pembroke (NSW)

Christopher Jones – RETIREINVEST (QLD)

The Award, which is supported by ING Australia, was established in 2005 and recognises up-and-coming advisers who provide quality, holistic advice; who demonstrate a commitment to education and who make a valuable contribution to their industry and to their community.

“Nurturing new talent is the key to sustaining the industry’s growth,” said Gerard Kerr, ING Australia’s Head of Retail Insurance Products and Marketing. “It’s in all our interest to ensure the future of the financial industry is in good hands. That’s why ING Australia continues to sponsor the AFA Rising Star of the Year Award. It’s our way of helping recognise, celebrate and support tomorrow’s leaders.”

The Award, which continues to reinvent itself, this year went online www.afarisingstar.com.au

The online site provides advisers with:

• the ability to nominate online
• watch the progress of their nominee/s or themselves
• read information, watch videos and see pictures of previous winners and finalists
• participate in the community conversation
• read the judges’ biographies
• information on AFA and ING events and initiatives

Mr Klipin said that as the Award supports and engages the future leaders of our industry, it was a logical step to leverage current technology and innovation to provide advisers with a compelling online experience.

The judging panel includes financial adviser and former Rising Star award winner Esther Althaus, Perspective Financial Services along with Richard Klipin, AFA; Terry Bell, Business Health, Gerard Kerr and Daniel Waller, ING Australia.

This year’s AFA Rising Star will be announced at the AFA National Conference on the Gold Coast on Sunday 24 October 2010.

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These could be the words of the big players NAB, AXA, AMP or it could be a smaller dealer group, or some boutique financial planners, but they weren’t.

They were the words of Virgin Blue’s CEO John Borghetti, who addressed the Financial Services Council in Sydney earlier this month. The rest of the sentence was – “we have a formidable weapon not available to our competitors – the people and culture of Virgin Blue.” But this can also be true of many other businesses – in many industries including financial services.

Facing similar issues as financial services businesses – Borghetti said that the only thing constant in the industry is that nothing stays the same and challenges are always present – dressed in many different forms – from high fuel prices to SARS and more recently with the GFC. Financial services might swap thee aviation industry’s issues with greater regulation, shaky markets, and government reform. However, the way that smart leaders face these challenges is to recognise the strengths of their business.

To highlight the people and culture is something not often heard in financial services. It is important for a strong culture to have a strong leader. When Virgin took flight in Australia for the first time – just over 10 years ago – its larger than life leader Richard Branson stamped his personal brand over their airline. It was attractive young hip staff. The airline was a low-cost carrier – unique in the market.  Today the market has changed. There is greater competition, cheaper fares and expanded markets.

Borghetti took the reins of the company just four months ago and already looks different  from the jeans-wearing management of old– he wears Zegna ties and suits. But he says that it’s not a contrast to the culture of the staff  – instead he says it’s an evolution. “The staff knows they have to evolve to keep the culture and be ready for something new,” Borghetti said. “You have to bring people with you and they have to be willing to come with you.”

Looking at the challenges ahead – Borghetti says, in the past 10 years the size of the domestic market has doubled. Meanwhile, general consumer prices are up 36 per cent, but commonly available domestic fares have dropped 15 per cent and in nominal terms 23 per cent (excluding GST). It’s an environment not unlike financial planning.

Borghetti said Virgin Blue would use its strengths to meet the challenges of the 21st century – its timing, hunger and people and “we don’t know what was impossible “. Who will be the financial services’ Virgin Blue?

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BTFG’s General Manager of Platforms, Marketing & Communications, John Shuttleworth, said, “It is fantastic to be making an internal appointment into the Head of Asgard position after a very comprehensive internal and external search over the past few months.

“Craig is very well positioned to take on this leadership role,” Shuttleworth said. “He knows what advisers and dealer groups want from their platform providers, he has more knowledge than just about anyone on what platforms can deliver to advisers and their clients, he’s deeply engaged in the current regulatory reform agenda and he knows how to motivate a team to consistently deliver high quality projects and product enhancements.

“That’s quite a combination of skills which Craig’s developed over many years in the BT Wrap business, and based on this background he’ll be hitting the ground running in Asgard,” Shuttleworth said.

“Craig’s joining Asgard at an important time for the business. It has good momentum in terms of its service delivery, its new distribution structure which better aligns our team to advisers, and the exciting pipeline of product enhancements which will build on recent developments on the Asgard master trust and the newly launched first phase of our three-year program of equities enhancements.”

Lawrenson has been with BT for some 14 years, most recently as Head of Product and Strategy for BT Wrap with responsibility for the design, execution and ongoing management of product strategy for BT Wrap. A chartered accountant, he joined BTFG in 1996 in fund accounting and during his career at BTFG has held various roles in Wrap operations, product management, strategy and product development.

Lawrenson’s appointment is effective 1 October 2010.

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The prestigious award recognises outstanding leadership and achievement by a fund executive within the Australian superannuation industry.

The Fund Executive of the Year Award was presented during an event at The Westin Sydney Hotel last night and marked FEAL’s 11th anniversary as an organisation dedicated to supporting the professional development of leaders in superannuation.

AUSCOAL Super’s Chief Executive Officer Bruce Watson was selected for demonstrating innovative and outstanding leadership in responding to the needs of the fund and its members during a challenging year.
AMP Capital Investors Business Director Client, Product & Marketing Brian Delaney said: “With a membership of over 65,000 and $5.2 billion under management Bruce has shown extraordinary leadership in identifying and responding to the needs of AUSCOAL Super members to ensure they receive the maximum benefit from their superannuation.”

“Bruce’s hands on approach together with his passion and commitment to staff and clients make him a well deserving recipient of this award.”

Bruce Watson was selected for the award by a panel of industry leaders and peers. As part of FEAL and AMP Capital’s commitment to supporting professional development Mr Watson will receive a $20,000 education grant to study at an internationally recognised business school.

AMP Capital has supported the Fund Executive of the Year Award since its inception in 2002.

On winning the award Mr Watson said: “I was extremely honoured to be considered for this award. It is a privilege to be among such an esteemed group of prior recipients and it is a tribute to all the support and fantastic work of the entire AUSCOAL Super team.”

Prof Jennifer George, Fund Executive of the Year Award selection committee Chair and Dean of Melbourne Business School said: “Bruce Watson has an outstanding track record as CEO of AUSCOAL. His nomination was strongly supported with evidence of the results that he has delivered. The committee was very impressed with Bruce’s achievements and are pleased to confirm him as the Fund Executive of the Year.”
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