In today’s current social climate, businesses and social interactions have been impacted dramatically due to COVID-19. But thankfully before the strong government restrictions were put in place, National Sales Manager Mikel Nyholt and Repaint Sales Manager Bridget Blinco attended the Strata Community Association (SCA) Queensland 2020 conference.
The conference focused on the theme Á Brain, A Heart & Courage’ which was used to focus on the changing environment of the Strata industry and dealing with tenants and owners. 260 strata professionals attended the two-day event which included keynote sessions, networking opportunities, sundown soiree and awards gala.
Comment from Mikel.
“There is so much value in supporting and attending these events as it keeps us abreast of key information relating to this ever changing industry, the ability to contribute & educate from a contractors perspective and most importantly creates the opportunity to network, connect and create a deeper level of understanding for the challenges faced by industry managers, lot owners, tenants and stakeholders living in or affected by strata title, body corporate, community title and owners corporations.”
During the conference, Usher Group’s own Bridget Blinco was asked to speak in a discussion panel about the topic, ‘how can a strata manager encourage a committee to work harmoniously’. With over 17 years’ experience Bridget was able to share her vast knowledge and some personal stories.
“One of my most challenging experiences as a strata manager was when a misinformed lot owner of a standard format plan experiencing significant subsidence rejected the body corporates advice in relation to an owners responsibility and escalated to aggression arriving back at the office with 5 accomplices with baseball bats and a rot wheeler,” said Bridget, “This was an unprecedented incident to deal with but thanks to the skills I had procured over the years I was able to handle this with a level of professionalism and calm to diffuse the situation.”
Discussions around this topic included, education, expectations and processes, the psychology of human beings, empathy, people pleasing and sitting on fences, and mindset. Working within the Strata industry comes with both challenges and exciting opportunities that require great skill and expertise to handle each situation with professionalism.
At the Usher Group, the staff pride themselves on their constant determination to face each new project or task with a unique set of skills and passion. Just like the Strata industry, the Usher Group work with clients closely and have to manage objectives and as a result of this is a solution-based project provider.
“In my role as head of the Usher Group Repaint Sales department I continually use my previous skills as a strata manager to provide a unique level of insight when it comes to helping other strata managers with their project issues and how to resolve them” said Bridget, “I have found that my extensive knowledge of the industry has enabled me to provide a better quality service to my clients that I would have loved when I was a strata manager.”
The Usher Group sponsored the Relax and Revive stand where delegates could come and receive a complimentary 10-minute massage throughout the days. In addition to the massages, delegates received an Usher Survival Kit filled with goodies including the ever in demand hand sanitizer which turned out to be a massive hit.
“We commend the SCA on hosting such a fantastic event and thank them for the opportunity to be involved. Bridget & I had so much fun and were blown away by the level of engagement and positive feedback received through attendees and other contractors. We can already see our return on investment and look forward to continuing our support of future SCA events” said Mikel.