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Welcome to Issue 30!
- Australian Small Business Champion Awards Finalist
- Feature Story - New Corporate Business System - Opportunities and Risks
- What have we been doing?
- MPG Team Get Together
- MPG Team - New Team Members
- Here to Help
- 2020 Local Government Elections
- Out and About
- Our Specialist Services
- Skills Manager
- Our Local Buy registration contract details
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Australian Small Business Champion Finalist
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We are excited to announce that Mead Perry Group are finalists in the Australian Small Business Champion Awards 2020. Being a small business operator is often not an easy task and certainly not in the current times, but we would like to say a huge thanks to our clients for your ongoing custom and friendship throughout this journey. We are very grateful to have an awesome team (past and present), who continue to support our vision. We are a small business with loads of knowledge and experience who are committed to creating services and solutions that enhance the performance of Local Government.
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New Corporate Business System
- Opportunities & Risks
The Queensland Audit Office (QAO) recently released a better practice guide which reported learnings identified as part of the development of their report “Effectiveness of the State Penalties Enforcement Registry ICT reform (Report 10: 2019–20),” which was tabled in the Qld Parliament in February 2020. www.qao.qld.gov.au/reports-resources/reports-parliament
The better practice guide highlights the significant risks associated with ICT procurement projects and identifies ways in which these risks can be managed. Through our work with Councils we have seen examples of well managed ICT procurement and implementation projects that have delivered performance improvement and nett financial benefit to Councils and others that have delivered the opposite. Unfortunately, the latter is most prevalent.
Changing a corporate business system (CBS) is not only a significant financial investment but is also one of the most challenging organisational changes a Council can face. In most instances, however it also presents a rare opportunity to make significant performance improvement and to deliver real benefits to the community.
In all instances a new CBS will cost money, put pressure on staff resources and create change anxiety for individuals. It is not something to be done lightly or to take on underprepared. How it is undertaken will be the difference between success and ongoing cost and dissatisfaction for the organisation.
In our view, as shown below, there are three critical elements to getting a good outcome from a CBS change. Ultimately all three need to be addressed eventually, but if they are worked on proactively “up front” a successful outcome is much more likely and at much less cost.
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Key elements for CBS change success
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As pointed out by the QAO, governance and probity are critical aspects of the process. This includes ensuring contracts are appropriate and managing how steering committees operate. Importantly they state that “When an entity lacks the expertise it needs for a major ICT project, it should engage a ‘critical friend’ who is independent of the delivery team and can provide objective and independent advice to the project steering committee on risks.”
Taking on a project of this magnitude and complexity will challenge any organisation and inevitably strain customer and supplier relationships to the detriment of the project. In our experience, having an independent party or “critical friend” to liaise between supplier and Council and maintain accountability ensures that the project progresses and maintains an outcome focus.
In addition, a dedicated third party can maintain an internal focus on progress and importantly support and maintain a focus by staff on agreed business process change and alignment to system functionality to ensure that Council gets the best possible return from its significant investment.
We are pleased that ICT reform has been recognised by the QAO as a significant issue for the Public Sector. At MPG we have the skills, experience and capacity to support Council through procurement, implementation or reengineering and would be happy to discuss how we may be able to help you.
We have been involved in a number of projects to support Councils through preparation for procurement, procurement and implementation of systems. We have also been able to assist Councils with reengineering their internal business processes or identifying system configuration enhancements. MPG has recently built on its already strong capacity in this area with the addition of Bronwyn Cairns and Paul Fendley to our team. They bring extensive project management and ICT management skills and experience and are looking forward to supporting our clients across Australia.
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What have we been doing?
Amidst the changes we are all currently experiencing, we have continued to be kept busy with a variety of specialist projects for Councils throughout Australia. The graph below shows the projects we have undertaken since the last newsletter.
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MPG feel it is important to ensure good communication and networking continues to be a high priority, with both existing and new clients, to better serve needs of local governments and the issues that immediately affect you!
Does your organisation need advice or assistance in any of these areas?
We can help.
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Can't wait for the newsletter? Need regular MPG updates?
Check out Mead Perry Group on Facebook! Click the link below or find us at www.facebook.com/meadperrygroup.
Don't forget to 'Like' our page while you're there.
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The MPG Team had our bi-annual catch up in Brisbane in February. As always, it is a great opportunity for us to meet together face to face and discuss plans into the future.
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We welcome some new faces to the team at MPG. Our capacity to assist our clients in achieving their goals is supported by a team of professionals who have a very expansive knowledge of the local government industry. They are all familiar with the aims and challenges Councils face daily. Building on the invaluable knowledge of our team, we now welcome Bronwyn, Paul and Neil on board.
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Bronwyn Cairns has extensive experience within local government finance departments. As a local government employee she has held positions of Administration Officer, Rates Officer, Payroll Officer, Cost Clerk, Project Officer and Manager Community Services, which has given her a broad view of local government operations. Having worked at GenEng Solutions Pty Ltd, Darling Downs Regional Organisation of Councils (DDROC), Crows Nest, Millmerran and Jondaryan Shires and conducted many projects with other Councils including Toowoomba, Central Highlands, Lockyer Valley, Cassowary Coast and others, Bronwyn's knowledge will be invaluable to Mead Perry Group. Her experience includes Total Management Plans, 10 year financial plans, report writing, including annual reports, business cases, funding applications and analysis of data for applications. She has a Bachelor of Business and an MBA specialising in Project Management. Bronwyn's wide range of skills and experience include project management, business process improvement, data analytics and integrated management systems development and maintenance.
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With almost 30 years in the Queensland public sector, including 14 years in Local Governments, Paul Fendley has a Masters of Business Administration (Majoring in Governance and Tech Management Minors in Strategy and Entrepreneurship), a Bachelor of Applied Science and is currently undertaking a Masters of Leadership. Paul has spent 5 years at Whitsunday Regional Council in the roles of Chief Staff Officer and Executive Manager, Customer and Information Prior to that he was Manager, Information Communications and Technology at Toowoomba Regional Council for six years. He has been a Sessional Academic at both the University of Southern Queensland and Queensland University of Technology and has also held Information Services roles at Moreton Bay Regional Council, Pine Rivers Shire Council, SunWater Limited and various research, analyst, policy and project roles with various Queensland State Government Departments, including Premier's and Natural Resources, Mines and Water.
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Neil Crotty - Neil will be a familiar face to many. He comes to us with more than 32 years of practical management experience in Local Government and the private sector. He worked at National Australia Bank and Department of Transport and Main Roads before commencing his Local Government career which included holding a Senior Administration role at Etheridge Shire Council, Deputy Shire Clerk at McKinlay Shire Council and Chief Executive Officer at Barcoo Shire and Longreach Shire Councils. Neil also continues to operate his own entertainment business in his band "Back in Business". Neil's personal management objectives include building strong relationships, engaging in positive communication and mentoring teams of dedicated and excited people to strive to meet organisational goals.
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With the breadth of knowledge that the team at Mead Perry Group have, we continue to have the capacity to provide our clients with skilled and professional support in all areas of Local Government, including strategic, governance and financial matters. We are more than happy to tailor a solution to your specific needs, so please give us a call.
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From John and Scott and all the team at Mead Perry Group, we understand the COVID-19 situation brings with it, uncertainty and concern and we want to assure you that we are here to help in any way we can, whether that be a phone call for some guidance or assistance to complete a project. Our team is well placed to complete most projects remotely if necessary.
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2020 Local Government Elections
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The recent 2020 Local Government elections has resulted in many new faces across Councils and has also seen the return of some standing members. We at Mead Perry Group, extend our sincere congratulations and well wishes to all elected members as you enter a new term of Council and work towards addressing local issues and improving the quality of lives in your communities. We look forward to the opportunity to meet in person, hopefully later in the year.
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Here at MPG, we get to see a lot of the sushine state and a little of some other places. From the coastline to the most remote areas, we are lucky to experience the diversity and vastness that beautiful Queensland has to offer. We hope that by sharing some photos along the way will help others to see just how amazing our country really is.
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On the road to Biloela!
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Low tide on the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton.
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Kaitlin - onsite in Biloela.
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Scott was out and about in the South West and passed through the small township of Toompine. He also dropped in for a very quick visit to see Dave Burges in Quilpie.
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John and Joel were enroute to Goondiwindi in early February and passed through a good shower of rain in Millmerran. Through drought, fire, flood and now pandemics, we are still here to help our clients in any way possible, whether it be on site or remotely.
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During his visit to the South West, Scott was able to spend some time with our former team mate, Lew Rojahn in Thargomindah.
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New team member, Bronwyn, joined Scott on a recent project in South Burnett and visited the community of Cherbourg on the way.
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