Friday 2 September

Platform led transformation 

The consulting world is changing, and there is a pressing need to transform for value protection and value creation. Working collaboratively with smarter design methodologies and tools, implementing engineering solutions using digital integration, using AI based modelling tools etc takes us into a new consulting era. With the mega trends of skills shortage, brain drain, climate change, exponential technology advancements upon us we need to reimagine the way we deliver and embrace platform led transformation. But the step change needs effort from whole of ecosystem and partnerships to shift the dial of how we have been using technology. Moving from deterministic to probabilistic era of engineering using AI and Machine learning requires culture and mindset shift. 

About Rekha 

Rekha is an innovative leader who has experience of leading digital transformations across various organisations globally. She is responsible for the development and delivery of Tonkin and Taylor Group digital transformation strategy and growing our digital service offering to clients. She has worked in various industries internationally in logistics, banking, and financial and infrastructure industry. Rekha has experience working both on the client-side and as a consultant in professional services firms. She has been involved in large transport infrastructure projects for Waka Kotahi NZTA and Auckland Transport and administered Waka Kotahi's technology delivery portfolio in a senior leader capacity. Rekha was recently selected to be part of the market development subcommittee of the ISCA board and will assist in its digital offerings and growth via innovative business models.

Client experience: a real opportunity for differentiation 

More than just ‘good client service’, client experience or CX is quickly becoming the key differentiator when clients choose consultants. But how is the profession approaching CX? Where are we investing time and money? What are CX leaders doing differently? Recent beaton research surveyed CX professionals and identified critical internal markers of CX best practice including in the areas of service, client feedback, technology, processes, people, leadership and culture. See how these internal factors contribute to better outcomes for organisations and more importantly, how thousands of clients rate their experience with their providers of professional services. 

 About Jon 

Jon is a Partner at beaton. Jon is a client-facing specialist and business development adviser in professional services. He helps his clients to develop the culture, skills, systems and processes to create strong, high trust client relationships and industry leading client experience. In short, your clients choose you and your business as opposed to someone else. Jon was General Manager of Business Development at Beca for seven years before joining beaton in 2019. He has worked in client-facing roles for 25 years and as much as he loved his time at Beca, Jon still cites being a sales manager at Newcastle breweries, selling Newcastle brown ale to working men’s clubs, as his most valuable education!

They said it can’t be done in professional services...

The area of performance management has received significant investment resulting in some ground-breaking initiatives. However, the corresponding documentation that accompanies these improvements often makes them too onerous to implement. An organisation’s pursuit to align their objectives with those of their employees seems so simple but becomes highly complex. Enter the four-day working week. This simple concept cuts through layers of data and reporting. Instead, it offers employees something they value individually, but must work as a team to achieve. The resulting improvements in sustainability, quality-of-life and mental health are well recognised, but perhaps the most exciting outcome is yet to be unveiled.

About Matt 

A believer in the ‘New Age’ of engineering, Matt founded BVT Engineering over 10 years ago with a focus on changing the way engineering is delivered. Driven by the desire for continuous improvement, he strives to curate and collect best practice business systems from different industry disciplines, while searching for continual efficiencies in his own. He believes it’s important to be a channel of knowledge and innovation, and provide that critical link between the client and internal delivery teams. This is a role that underpins BVT Engineering’s growth and ability to stay ahead of the curve in their industry and for their clients. A future thinker, Matt’s motto is always “It’s not what we do, it’s how we do it.”

21st Century consulting – it’s all about people 

People are our greatest asset and in the post COVID world attracting, retaining and developing them is the single biggest factor in how successful a consultant will be. Drawing on over 20 years global experience, and 10 in a people leadership role, Graeme Fletcher will share his thoughts on how you can address these challenges. 

About Graeme 

Graeme leads the AECOM Buildings and Places business across Australia and New Zealand from Auckland. Graeme has over 20 years’ experience in consulting; a chartered structural engineer in the UK with a heavy focus on the design of social infrastructure around the world. Graeme enjoys leading, developing and looking after people and sees the power of good people who are engaged and happy.

Tools not toys! 

From winging it, to an innovation framework. The Harrison Grierson Survey team has been in business since 1885, how do we navigate the noise and how it may apply to your team? The survey profession is surrounded by exponential technological change. Laser scanning and point clouds, drones and photogrammetry, LiDAR, robots, multi-stations, augmented reality, virtual reality. The options and price tags can seem endless and overwhelming. The Harrison Grierson Survey team has adhered to a handful of guiding principles to keep our services at the leading edge and transform from 2D to 3D and more than just measurement. 

About Clare 

Clare was the ACE New Zealand Future Leader Award winner in 2017. She is a Licensed Cadastral Surveyor with Australian and New Zealand experience and as the General Manager of Survey at Harrison Grierson, the Sstrategic Leader of the survey team since 2016. A remote worker before it became the new normal, Clare lives in Tasman with her family and can be found walking the Richmond Hills thinking on the latest problem to solve with her dog Bonnie Doon most Friday afternoons.

Technological empowerment and the path to radical change 

To respond to climate emergencies and build a better future, radical change is needed in the way we design and deliver projects. Good progress is being made, but the processes and methodologies offered by technology are not being adopted fast enough. As an industry, we must embrace and champion new ways of working to transform how we approach, design, and build infrastructure for the future. From rapid iterative design cycles to highly collaborative work environments, to applications of computers to solve the hardest problems... the tools we need are available, but do we have the appetite for change? 

About Jamie 

Jamie is a Lead Digital Specialist in Aurecon, NZ, based out of Auckland. Jamie has come from a game development background, working in animation, design, and programming. Professionally trained in electronics engineering early on in his career, Jamie’s diverse career and high level of interest in technology has led him to his current position at Aurecon. Jamie is an advocate for radical thought in transforming development pipelines in the AEC industry, with a focus on better outcomes for the community but importantly delivering on a promise of a sustainable future for generations to come.

Embedding sustainable development and resilience into our client work – lessons learned from re-imagining our approach to consulting and engineering services 

What does it take to truly embed sustainable development and resilience into our consulting and engineering work? How do we practically equip our people to advance our industry and create value for our clients, stakeholders and the community? In 2021, AECOM launched its global ESG strategy – Sustainable Legacies – committing to ambitious action in supporting our clients achieve their sustainability and net zero goals. One year on, what are some of the key lessons learned and where do the opportunities remain? 

About Ashley 

As leader of AECOM’s New Zealand and Australian Environment & Energy business, Ashley knows firsthand the opportunities and challenges associated with embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) into how we work as consultants and engineers. She is passionate about this journey and inspired daily by the work of those in our industry leading the change. Over her 30 year career, Ashley has held various project delivery, operational and strategy leadership roles regionally and internationally, contributing to positive environmental and social outcomes on major projects and business operations.

What I wish someone told me about people leadership: reflections of a young leader 

Good people leadership is fundamental to a thriving business yet for most consulting engineers, stepping into a leadership or management role is simply just the next step on the career ladder. We get promoted either as recognition for our current performance or to suit company hierarchies, and then find ourselves in the murky waters of people leadership without much real-world guidance and support. Having recently stepped into a leadership role, Anthony will be sharing key lessons that will help new leaders understand and own their new role and at the same time, help senior staff better support their emerging leaders. 

About Anthony 

Anthony is a structural engineer with almost ten years of experience in the consulting industry. Having moved from a technical role to being an engineering manager two years ago, he has learned that his people-oriented nature is only part of the skillset needed to be a successful people leader. A key aspect of his current role includes coaching and developing staff (from interns all the way through to “experienced” staff). Through his experiences “on-the-job” as well as professional training, leadership coaching, mentoring, personal learning, and of course a few knocks along the way, Anthony has learned and developed key skills that help him day-to-day lead his team.

Embarking on SME ownership transition 

One of the greatest risk points in the life of an SME consultancy is the transition of ownership from the founder(s) to new owners. Often, the founder is the business. The business’ reputation and brand is in reality the founder’s personal reputation and brand. Clients choose to work with the business because of their trust in the founder personally. Staff choose to join the business because of the founder’s reputation and enjoy the sense of security that the founder’s presence creates. This session will provide practical insights from experience in planning, and implementing the first steps toward, a successful ownership transition. 

About Stephen 

With a background as a lawyer and general manager, Stephen has extensive experience leading and working with teams in small and medium-sized businesses – overseeing people, systems, and processes. As the General Manager of Origin Fire, Stephen’s role is to grow the business, and to help the Origin team achieve their goals and everyday tasks in a more effective and efficient manner. Outside of work you’ll most likely find Stephen spending quality time with his family, riding his bike, or reading a good book.

What’s stopping us now? 

Engineers love solving problems – but in order to do that, we need to understand what those problems are. There is a national and global mandate to reduce carbon emissions in the buildings industry, but many consulting business are left asking - what do we do now? To develop an understanding of what barriers are in place preventing wide-scale behavioural change in consulting engineers, Phoebe Moses interviewed 10 structural engineers each from Aotearoa NZ and the UK – many of them leaders in driving low-carbon solutions for their businesses and clients. This presentation will summarise her findings. 

About Phoebe 

Phoebe is a chartered consulting structural engineer with Beca. Since 2018, she has been developing her capacity to help clients understand the carbon implications of their projects, which led to her decision to complete an MSc in Environmental Sustainability at the University of Edinburgh. Her passion and drive to change the industry has only grown in this past year, and she is excited to bring a fresh perspective to her work and clients going forward.

COVID-19 has fundamentally and irreversibly changed the face of leadership 

COVID-19 was a catalyst for the digital transformation of businesses and brought new challenges for business leaders. Leaders must now be agile and adaptable, and able to lead and inspire teams in a hybrid environment. Soft skills like empathy, trust and digital communication have become more important than ever. Managing the impacts of digitisation on the way their teams work is one of the greatest challenges for leaders. With our ‘always-on’ culture, how can we achieve business objectives while caring for our employees’ wellbeing and accommodate their differing needs for flexibility? 

About Doris 

Doris is a Principal at Aurecon where she is the Client Leader for key client, Auckland Transport. She has previously held various operational and management roles, including Client Relationship Manager for Waka Kotahi and Leader of the Traffic Management Coordination Team for the Auckland Motorway Alliance. Since March 2018, Doris has chaired ACE New Zealand’s Transport Group, and earlier this year, received the President’s Award in recognition of her work building influential relationships with Auckland Transport and Waka Kotahi stakeholders, which has led to stronger engagement between these important client organisations and ACE New Zealand consultancies.