On emerging technologies: We’re a tech business in a property market, so innovation and understanding how technology can change the game is absolutely critical for us. Innovation is one of our core values that’s embedded in our reward and evaluation systems. Everybody knows what’s expected in that space. It’s an important foundation. The exchange platform of our business is regulated and is now critical infrastructure of Australia, so we’re trying to rebuild a lot of attention to where we innovate, or areas where we don’t have confidential data. Therefore, when we think about our pilots and innovation methods, we look at the non-regulated, less risky area of the business. In third parties, we also take a very holistic approach, and that was true for cloud, and very true for AI. About six years ago, when we were one of the first companies in Australia to move into the cloud, it wasn’t just about the migration. It was about ongoing training, reskilling, and certification, and we’re now taking a very holistic approach to AI, but never compromising on data privacy, cybersecurity, or resilience.
On thriving teams: Something we do well at PEXA is make a connection to purpose and strategy, and the tech side connects people to places. We’ve made tremendous progress in that space in Australia and now in the UK. It’s about getting the team to understand what that means for customers, the impact you’re having on the markets, and the impact when things are down. Getting close to that purpose and making sure we keep it aligned and close to the strategy is essential, as well as understanding how one’s work contributes to the group scorecard and group impact. This is something we talk about all the time in different teams, and we cascade that visibility. Also, we’ve been investing a lot in career pathways and self actualization to make sure our team continues to learn and evolve. Diversity and inclusion is also important to ensure that independent of your background, we can get the best out of you, and you can be yourself in the organization. I think people dramatically underestimate the impact of not having an inclusive organization.
On developing future talent: Technology is absolutely critical. You need to know your area, but also your business in great detail. Spend time with the customer center, in the store, in the aisle. Deep dive into your business and understand its potential, opportunities, pain points, and the realities of the employee. It’s always a competitive advantage in technology to do that. And don’t always ask for permission. There are always pockets of innovation, and you can always test things. It’s much easier to demonstrate the value of something if you’ve been able to make it happen in real life. An inclusive team is also critical. Too often we have teams that are very similar in IT, and the problem there is you have a team that doesn’t fully understand all aspects of the business nor relate to different aspects of the team itself. If you have a team that’s able to do that, you can demonstrate it’s really going to reflect positively on your potential as a broader leader.
