Town Hall Meeting for Friday 13th January 2023
Friday, 13th January, marked our first town hall meeting for 2023. With a future focus, we introduced new aspects to the town hall format.
This includes the re-introduction of fortnightly sessions instead of every three weeks. We're also hosting via webinar instead of a live event on MS Teams. This option provides new functionality and more flexibility to deliver sessions that feel more connected and together.
One way to feel that togetherness is through the instant polling we trialled. View the results of these polls in the image below.
First off, we asked you how you felt. A resounding 81% of you felt either good or great.
Our second question stems from feedback and observations after introducing the Q&A panel discussions to the town hall meetings late last year. With a keenness to enhance and evolve this concept, our CEO Dennis has suggested a series of Ask Dennis sessions. This will allow for the two-way dialogue and transparency you have heard Dennis emphasise so many times. You feel the same way, evidenced by the 91% of responses agreeing to this concept. "Watch this space" as we plan to integrate this into our session format.
Your voice is so important, and our final question in the poll offers a new platform for this. The concept of a town hall takeover provides individuals and teams to host an entire town hall - a total takeover. 74% of you agreed, so we will implement the takeovers. Another one to watch as we plan and then communicate how this will work.
Instant Polls Held In This Meeting
Moments of Inspiration
With a new year we see new moments of inspiration from Dennis. Switching from books to podcasts, Dennis highlights the Lex Fridman series of podcasts which you can view by clicking on the link here.
This sparked an interest amongst our live audience, who went on to share their favourite podcasts in the chat. We're sharing these with you too:
- Jimmy Leslie recommends: Stuff You Should Know. Access this series by clicking here.
- April Edwards recommends: Spark and Fire. Access this series by clicking here.
- Rachael Reynolds recommends: You're Wrong About. Access this series by clicking here.
- Duane Romanell recommends: Everything is Alive. Acess this series by clicking here.
Business Review
Dennis stressed that high performance leads to success. With a vision of a sustainable purpose-led future, we got an overview of what to expect in 2023 that will support our future success. This includes:
- Colart 2030 Manifesto
- Business Review Cascade 2023
- Launch of a Sustainability Council
- BCorp Accredition
- Sustainability Manifesto
- The Value Creation Model
- Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
Expect to see more detail communicated to you in the coming months.
Q&A Discussion
Dennis facilitated a discussion with CFO Jonathan Spight and CPO Jane Beeston.
With a finance wrap-up for 2022, Jonathan said December was a good month and recovered from sales that were down in October and November.
Refer to the Business Dashboard on the intranet at any time for updated data on financial results. To access this, click the link here. (the dashboard also includes Sustainability, People and Diversity monthly updates).
We also learnt that the 2023 Budget would be a "cautious budget" that provides for lower spend, profit and sales. Our challenge for 2023 will be "prices vs cost and margins". This means there will be an increased focus on manufacturing and distribution costs. As with 2022, Jonathan predicts that the next 24 months will be difficult and that we must continue managing our cost base. He concludes on a positive note, confidently resilient by our proven adaptability.
Dennis and Jane then debated the topic of a strong culture leading to success. He expressed concerns about a diluted culture when people do not come together. Be sure to watch and listen to Jane's response to this. Jane concluded with another new concept we will test and launch very soon. Ally Groups helps you connect and network with people at Colart outside of your day-to-day work community by finding an interest in a common group of people. Thanks to the online volunteer team who put their names forward to test this. With their support, we hope to launch this very soon.
Concluding the town hall, Dennis reminded us that the window is still open for performance discussions. If you're looking for more support to ensure a performance discussion with purpose, review the dedicated webinar to this by clicking on the news article here.