eKourier July 2018

Kennards Kourier

July 2018

What’s Changing At Our Night Of Nights

C ontinuous improvement is in our DNA. As a business we continually reflect on how we can do things better. Each year the Achievement Dinner comes under scrutiny for this very reason, how can we make it better and keep it relevant?

Our Hubs have been nurturing and developing our new Team Members for over 7 years, this year we will recognise and celebrate their important contribution to our business. Our appetite for improvement means events like the Achievement Dinner along with other areas of our business will be continually challenged, changed and tweaked in the hope of a better outcome. Darren Marshall General Manager

to Team Members who achieved consist- ently high results with their Mystery Shop and follow up. Changing things up this year on the Mystery Shop incentive opens the Award to change. With our attention moving towards Google Reviews and our motivation to adopt the Net Promoter Score (NPS) within the business, our intention is to recognise Team Members on the feedback and endorsements they receive from customers. Bringing into the spotlight our ability to surprise and delight our customers, recognising our ability to build relationships and make a difference to somebodies life when they are in need of help… in our case storage. Each year we recognise the Years of Service; 5 Years, 10 Years, 15 Years and these days further beyond. These are wonderful milestones appreciated by the business. We have always believed that people are our greatest asset; they are our greatest point of difference and our biggest competitive advantage. This is the very reason we celebrate each year with an achievement event dedicated to people. We believe that all our Team Members are equally important; with this philosophy we will this year recognise our newest Team Members to Kennards.

Last year we tweaked the Adding Value Awards to the Freedom Awards to align with our values. We moved the order of events to finish with the 10 Years of Service concrete ceremony to the end of the evening, so that people could move around and chat earlier. This year we will present our last Sales Excellence Recognition Award. This Award historically has been presented

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WHO’S WHO

Team Member Profiles

In this issue What’s Changing At Our Night Of Nights

1

Bernie Garcia Team Support Manager NSW

Team Member Profiles

2

10 Questions with...

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Career background: I worked in my own Clothing Design business for two years. I also worked in the disability sector for 10 years, supporting people with disabilities and challenging behaviours. I then worked in retail for five years at Harvey Norman and Domayne. Marital status: Partner for 21 years, getting married soon! Any children? No. Hobbies/interests: I enjoy socialising, Kyaking and being creative. Do you play any sport or have any special talents? No sport, my special talent is being me!

Brave New Digital World...

4

Partnership With WRS Continues

5

Prices Up, Occupancy Slides...

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In Memory Of...

7

Watch This Space

8

Customer Feedback

8

Google Reviews/ Feedback

9

Digital Agreements - The New Horn

10

Follow Up To Rent Up 11 Superannuation - I will Look Into It Tomorrow 12 The Power To Delight 13 Hot Tips 13 Hawkes Bay To Get More Space 14 Construction Updates 15 Spotlight On... 16 Kennards Gives A Helping Hand... 17 Customer Feedback 17 There’s Being Cold... Daniels Story 18 Nev’s Notes 19 Kennards Community 20 Email: sharon@kss.com.au Distribution: October 12, 2018 Upcoming events 13/7 - Christmas in July (Newcastle) 4/8 - KSS Achievement Dinner 13/8 - Royal QLD Show - Logan City/Moreton Bay (Browns Plains & North Lakes Centres Only) (QLD) 15/8 - Royal QLD Show (Brisbane City Centres only) (QLD) 31/8 - Gold Coast Show Day (Burleigh Jct only) (QLD) - PH Hours 30/9 - Daylight Savings begins in New Zealand 1/10 - Labour Day (NSW/VIC/ACT/SA) - PH Hours 1/10 - Queens Birthday (QLD) - PH Hours 7/10 - Daylight Savings begins (NSW/VIC/ACT/SA) 19/10 - Hawkes Bay Anniversary Day (Napier/ Onekawa/ Hastings Closed) (NZ) Next issue Deadline: September 14, 2018 Editor: Sharon Munro

Favourite book/s: Tales Of The City. Favourite movie: Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Favourite restaurant/food: I love all food. Where did you grow up? I grew up in Melbourne, very cold. I prefer the city life of Sydney. Any pets? Yes a cat called Zook. Favourite holiday destinations: Europe and America are my favourite places. I want to travel to New York and San Fransico this year.

Alex Nelson Prospect Assistant Manager NSW

Career background: 35 years in the Funeral Service. Accredited Master Funeral Director and qualified Embalmer. Certificate lV in Workplace Assessment and Training. Marital status: Married. Any children? I have four; Simone, Ashley, Nicole and Alex Jnr, plus eight Grandchildren! Hobbies/interests: Watching Sci-Fi movies, Boating and Camping. Do you play any sport or have any special talents? I’m more likely to build something than play something. Favourite book/s: The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy, by the late Douglas

Adams. Favourite movie: The Grand Budapest Hotel. Favourite restaurant/food: Asian - Thai/Chinese/Malaysian.

Where did you grow up? Western Suburbs of Sydney. It was great growing up there. Plenty of space. You could ride your bike around, go down to the creek and fish for Yabbies or Tadpoles. Any pets? None now. Kept Tropical Fish for years. Favourite holiday destinations: Christmas Island is a “must see”. Apart from Ashmores Reef, it is the farthest extent of Australian Territory to the west, isolated and peaceful with a subtropical climate and plenty of wildlife.

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WHO’S WHO

10 Questions... With Tay Tay Yuan - THQ Finance

Nærøyfjord, Aurland Norway

What do you like to do in your spare time? When I have a day off, I enjoy spending time with my three year old daughter, taking her out for playtime, visiting museums or reading books together. I am also a food lover, always looking for good food to try out. How long have you lived in Australia and where is your hometown? I’ve been in Australia over 11 years now. My hometown is Shanghai, one of the biggest cities in China. Fun fact: Shanghai’s population is almost the same as the total population in Australia; over 24 million. What do you enjoy most about living in Australia? Life in Australia is pretty relaxed and I find people here can achieve better work-life balance, spending more time with family and doing what they love. Also, Australia is a wonderful country with amazing views and lovely people.

How long have you been with KSS? I have been with KSS one year now. What do you do at Kennards? I am in the Finance Team at THQ. Apart from my routine accounting tasks I also look after National Accounts and assist with Payroll. What field of work were you in before this and where was that? I was in a similar role at Mitsubishi Heavy Industry before I joined KSS. What do you like about working at KSS? I really enjoy working in a strong and cohesive team environment. We are able to work more efficiently by effective communication and great team support between each other. How did you come up with your name Tay Tay? My favourite idol was Taylor Hanson back then and one of his nick names was Tay Tay. I thought it was an unique and brilliant name so just took it as my English name.

My next holiday destination will be Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan, famous for its night market food. I can’t wait to explore all the different kinds of food there. To sum up Kennards in one word would be? Trustworthy

Mittagong NSW

Tell us about your next holiday destination?

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FEATURES

Hi, Ares!

Sydney 21 °

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All

Announcements

Events

Yammer

Social

Brave New Digital World INJIO - Intranet Coming Soon

K OSMO “Kennards Operations and Systems Manual Online” has been the source of truth for Team Members for many years, replacing OMO “Operations Manual Online” (from Lotus notes for those who remember), before it. Both served us well for a period of time, however the time has come to bring the intranet into the 21st century! Our strategic Goal is to “Create a Connected Digital Workplace” and modernise ‘how we work’. To achieve this, we set out on a research and discovery mission with the aim of choosing a new intranet platform, essentially the front door to the modern workplace. Starting off was easy, we reached out to subject matter experts “Step Two”, who specialise in this space and help organi- sations land on business requirements and technology choice, their proven practises make short work of lengthy selection processes. Their engagement involved several workshops to define

our vision, mission and outcomes. They performed field research, Team Member interviews to understand both the effort and to understand the pain points a new intranet could solve, elegantly. Our shiny new Injio Intranet is planned for September of this year, welcome to the brave new Digital World. After developing an RFP (Request for Proposal), came the shortlist of intranet platforms and providers, we reached out to four of five and made arrangements for them to pitch. Presentations were based on our RFP, with each intranet option scored using key criteria. Finally, four were reduced to two, Elcom and Injio by WebVine. Both were invited back for a second presentation and the ‘ ‘

opportunity to convince us ‘why them’.

At this point it was all coming together, pieces of the puzzle were falling into place and criteria over and above the intranet itself were beginning to prevail. Some of those ingredients we consid- ered equally as important were, partner fit, alignment with our technology strategy and scale of the platform. It was difficult not to choose Injio by Webvine, collec- tively they were the better fit all round. Injio by WebVine is a fully functional device responsive intranet solution built on the Microsoft Cloud platform, and deeply integrated into the 365 ecosystem we already use in our workplace (Yammer, Email, Office to date). Injio leverages the enormous scale and resources invested in Microsoft’s Cloud platform whilst also allowing for customisation. Our goal is to deliver an intranet that is unique, easy to use and elegant which

Con’t page 5

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FEATURES Partnership With WRS Continues

Team Members find engaging and interactive. It will be personalised, accessible from any device and any place. Communications and answers to Team Member questions will be easy to find and consume. Popular existing tools like Yammer and the digitisation of others like our diaries integrated in one common place. Its going to change ‘how we work’ for good. All that excitement aside, our new intranet needs a name. Nope it won’t be KOSMO. What’s in a name you say? We love giving names to our apps and programs, it makes them all the more memorable and engaging and the new intranet is no different. Something to fit its place and purpose. Perhaps you have a name in mind that is fitting? Great! In the coming weeks ideas and suggestion will be sought! Our shiny new Injio Intranet is planned for September of this year. Brave New Digital World... Con’t from page 4

I n the background commer- suppliers. This practice ensures prices are reviewed and service levels are maintained and even improved. When agreements between businesses and contractor go unchecked complacency can set in and prices can go unchecked. We are very excited about the commitment and securing our partnership with WRS for the next three years. cial decisions are often made in relation to our engagement levels with preferred contractors and This exercise was recently undertaken with our box and packaging supplier WRS, Wayne Richardson & Son. They have been supplying Kennards Self Storage with cardboard boxes and packing supplies for the last six years. The competition, Visy Boxes and More who service the majority of the Self Storage Industry, were aware that our existing Agreement with WRS had ended and our box and packing supplier was ripe for change. ‘ ‘

Both WRS and VISY presented strong proposals. After careful consideration WRS was chosen and will remain as our preferred box and packing supplier over the next three years. This is a major decision for Kennards, the retail side of our business is significant, a business within a business that could stand alone and be successful. The commitment brings with it certainty and transparency around our cost prices over the next three years. A review and change in our supply chain for New Zealand. A newly appointed dedicated Account Manager to help facilitate innovation and ideas to trial new products. Access to the parent company “Orora” innovation lab, and industry insights. All with the aim to improve our overall offering and competitive advantage. We are very excited about the commit- ment and securing our partnership with WRS for the next three years. In addition to securing our retail supply chain, work will commence on improving the Box Shop on the KSS website to be more e-commerce centric and leverage our relationship with Australian National Couriers to make our online ordering and delivery of boxes and packaging a seamless and efficient experience for our customers. Darren Marshall General Manager

Welcome to the brave new Digital World!

Jeff Xanthos Chief Information Officer

HOT TIPS

Another use for the Lock Audit List.

Centres with a focus and good routine for cleaning tend to use a list, some Centres have been using the Lock Audit List to manage the routine of cleaning roller doors. Simply mark the doors that have been cleaned and when all the roller doors on the list have been marked then the list is reprinted and the cycle starts again.

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FEATURES Prices Up, Occupancy Slides as New Competition Arrives To be published in the upcoming 2018 Inside Self Storage International Edition Magazine Source: Urbis Self Storage Supply Tracker March 1 st , 2018

T he Australian storage market has seen a 2.2% dip in occupancy while rate per square metre has increased 3.4%, in the second half of 2017. With new supply opening across Australia, there is known to be 50 new facilities in the pipeline. Some sub markets in the Australian storage sector will likely enter a phase of subdued occupancy and revenue. The Urbis Storage Index December 2017 Report revealed actual storage rates (REVPOF) had increased by 3.4% over the preceding six months. This is the rate paid by existing customers not prevailing street rates paid by new customers. The observations from the field at Kennards Self Storage is that competi- tion is biting hard and aggressive pricing is becoming common place. Indeed, at Kennards our like-for- like same store analysis reveals our Move-In Rate is 0.7% lower than the same time last year. This is the first time move-in rates have fallen since KSS started analysing this data. The inevitable consequence of lower street rates will flow into the actual storage rate in time. It is likely new stores revenue will also fall short of feasibility expectations. ISS Article The occupancy in Perth at just 72% deserves special mention. This reflects the economic conditions in this uniquely positioned mining-reliant city. Having The Australian storage market has seen a 2.2% dip in occupancy while rate per square metre has increased 3.4%, in the second half of 2017. With new supply opening acros Australia, there is known to be 50 new facilities in the ipeline. Some sub markets in the Australian storage sector will likely to enter a phase of subdued occupancy and revenue. The Urbis Storage Index December 2017 Report revealed actual storage rates (REVPOF) had increased by 3.4% over the preceding six months. This is the rate paid by existing customers not prevailing street rates paid by new customers. The observations from the field at Ke nards Self Storage is that competition is biting hard and aggressive pricing is becoming common place. Indeed, at Kennards our like-for-like same store analysis reveals our Move-In Rate is 0.7% lower than the same time last year. This is the first time move-in rates have fallen since KSS started analysing this data. The inevitable consequence of lower street rates will flow into the actual storage rate in time. It is likely new stores revenue will also fall short of feasibility expectations. ‘ Th bservation from the field at Kennards Self Storage is that competition is biting hard and aggressive pricing is becoming common plac . Prices Up, Occupancy Slides as New Competition Arrives Market Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth Auckland

Facilities Proposed or Under Construction

#Facilities

#Units

16 11

>10,000 > 6,800 > 2,400 > 1,800 > 2,000 > 2,600

5 4 4 4

Source: Urbis Self Storage Supply Tracker March 1 st , 2018 Source: Urbis Self Storage Supply Tracker March 1st, 2018

enjoyed a spectacular boom fuelled by China’s interest in minerals, the mining investment fell away and the Western Australian economy reversed gear a couple of years ago. The self storage operators that previously enjoyed very strong 95+% occupancy and robust prices are now experiencing challenging times. Notwithstanding this, some local operators remain optimistic and continue to build new stores. Indeed, within some sub markets of Perth some operators are reporting strong occupancies. Investors are climbing the risk curve to put their money to work. As a result self storage has received plenty of interest. Capitalisation rates continue to strengthen for operating facilities. In addition, investors are taking development risk and building new storage facilities. On the surface some projects have dubious economics. Several projects have come across my desk only to be rejected by us, then picked up and developed by exuberant and hungry new investors. Despite the warning signs there is plenty of interest for new investment in the sector. Funds are l oking for a hom , so sset prices for traditional asset classes h ve soared.

‘

Market Occupancy December 2016

December 2017

Source: Urbis Self Storage Supply Tracker March 1st, 2018

Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Perth Auckland

85.2% 89.8% 83.0% Not Measured 91.1%

82.7% 89.1% 82.4% 72.2% 88.8%

In March, Urbis released its first Supply Tracker Report. The Supply Tracker measures new facilities in planning or under construction across the major

Con’t page 7

Source: Urbis Storage index Source: Urbis Storage index

6 Kennards Kourier July 2018 The occupancy in Perth at just 72% deserves special mention. This reflects the economic conditions in this uniquely positioned mining-reliant city. Having enjoyed a spectacular boom fuelled by China’s interest in minerals, the mining investment fell away and the Western Australian economy reversed gear a couple of years ago. The self storage operators that previously enjoyed very strong 95+% occupancy and robust prices are now experiencing

FEATURES

In Memory Of...

metro markets of Australia and New Zealand. This report shows there are 50 new facilities in planning or development, and this could prove to be an understatement. Despite the warning signs there is plenty of interest for new investment in the sector. Funds are looking for a home, so asset prices for traditional asset classes have soared. Investors are climbing the risk curve to put their money to work. As a result self storage has received plenty of interest. Capitalisation rates continue to strengthen for operating facilities. In addition, investors are taking develop- ment risk and building new storage facilities. On the surface some projects have dubious economics. Several projects have come across my desk only to be rejected by us, then picked up and developed by exuberant and hungry new investors. The counter weight to the supply surge is a booming population growth, particularly in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. Australia and New Zealand remain exceptionally appealing places to live, so immigration levels are very high. There is much to be positive about in both Australia and New Zealand. While it seems inevitable some sub-markets will suffer sluggish performance until conditions restore themselves, there are still growth opportunities. It is a time to be cautious and opportu- nities demand even more careful analysis and sound site selection; as well as undertaking appropriate scale projects for the market. Prices Up, Occupancy Slides... Con’t from page 6

Aldo Gortan 9/7/48 - 16/9/17 11 Years Service Team Support Manager NSW

Phil Howe 6/2/45 - 10/12/17 22 Years Service Centre Manager Waterloo

Sadly we have said goodbye, etched in our minds is your friendly smile. Part of our family through and through, a real team player of orange and blue. A leader to many a support to most, your years of experience we throw you a toast, Aldo, Phil, Phyllis and Anne, your memory at KSS will always be grand.

Sam Kennard Managing Director

Phyllis Jallais 27/11/45 - 21/10/17 17 Years Service Centre Manager North Melbourne

Anne Newman 12/12/56 - 24/5/18 14 Years Service Customer Care Team

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FEATURES Watch This Space

Customer Feedback “Super clean, super safe. I looked at other cheaper options but the security at Kennards was so much better and the drive through convenience was great. I used Kennards Chatswood on a couple of occasions for short term storage and each time it was quick to set up and quick to surrender the unit (with refund on the payment balance). Will use them again.” “I am extremely happy with your storage and units at Campbelltown. Any service industry is only as good as the staff. I wish to commend Mr Ryan Duttfield as excellent representative and an asset to your company. We as a church appreciate this young man and his wonderful service rendered to us. Thank you Ryan.” “These guys exceeded my expecta- tions at Camperdown. It was easy to book online, staff were friendly and helpful, space was modern and clean, even got a refund when I moved my stuff out early. Thanks Ross and Team!” “Excellent customer service both when I booked in a few months ago and also when I checked out today. Ross at Camperdown was on the desk today and was very helpful. Great example of good customer service. Definitely will use this branch again.” “Parramatta Kennards Self Storage was clean and tidy. The prices are reasonable and the centre is central. The staff were extremely helpful, knowledgeable and understanding. I required assistance with boxes, sizes weights ect and Ben made me feel like no question was too silly. Highly recommend. Thanks Ben and Sanjay for your excellent customer service.” “I had very pleasant and amazing customer service from KSS in Fortitude Valley, always friendly and supportive. Highly recommend for any storage needs.” “Easy to book. Friendly staff at Kunda Park. There was a vending machine that saved my life on one of the hotter days moving stuff in which was sweet.”

W e are pleased to built. It has been a long time in the making. When we acquired the land we had existing tenants occupy the site and finally all of those Leases have now expired. Since this is our first New Zealand purpose built centre, we have been working through the challenges of Council rules and conditions to obtain approval to build a significant orange beacon of freedom six levels high. This will be exciting stuff – finally after a decade of operating within New Zealand, we will finally build a purpose built Kennards site that will be the envy of the storage community and set the example for more sites in the future. Wairau Park is on the North side of Auckland city in the largest business precinct area for that side of the city. Our site has the ultimate exposure announce that our new Wairau Park site in Auckland is about to be

Boundary lines are indicative only

located right on the motorway off ramp in the business district. It is also completely surrounded by high density housing. As the north shore area is growing exponentially and there has been no new storage inventory built within the greater area for some years, we are confident that the rent up of this approximate 8,000 square metre MLA site will be reasonably quick. While I have expanded an existing centre, this is my first time involved in the construction of a brand new site. I’m excited to become involved with the Construction Team to make this happen. Above are a couple of pictures to show the current site and its location and what the proposed new centre will look like. I will update this article with our progress in the next Kourier edition and you can share the journey, as we add another site to the New Zealand portfolio from literally the ground up! Andrew Kirkham NZ Operations Manager

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REVIEWS

Customer Feedback

oogle Reviews

“Excellent all-round. Brad, who always seems to be on duty, is the model of attentive, cheerful and knowledge- able assistance. Two thumbs up for Hornsby.” “We are very happy with the storage facility. The staff are extremely helpful and the place is very neat and clean. We can certainly recommend Chatswood to anyone who needs to store anything!” “Brand new facility, friendly and helpful staff, easy to get around with free use of trolleys and so on. Great price too. What more can you ask for at Murarrie?” “I had most of my household goods in storage for just over a year. I needed to unpack a very packed shed and unfortunately our removalist didn’t follow the plan and my needed things were at the back. Di and Nathan from Kennards were great. They allowed me to use a spare shed close by for a day so I could rearrange my things and we even hired the smaller one at the same time with a discount. It’s secure with 24 hour access, water tight and super clean. They regularly do rounds to check on things. Super friendly and super helpful. I wouldn’t go anywhere else.” “The whole place at Napier was very clean and tidy and the staff were very welcoming.” “The Managers name is Debbie. She is absolutely wonderful she could not do enough for me. KSS Auburn go above and beyond. I would highly recommend this place to store your goods. It’s also a 24 hour access site.” “Storage was ideal for our purpose and easily accessible at Palmerston North. The staff (particularly Shona) were always friendly and helpful.” “Great friendly and knowledgeable staff!! Rationale prices and super safe. Great facilities to help you move in and out!”

“We found that their service is simply good old fashion service where the customer comes first. All the Banks would learn a lot if they came out to Kennards Self Storage at Kirrawee. We stored items with them for nine months and we did not have any issues with any of the other families who used their services. We went there night and day and we always felt safe and secure. We are HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY customers. Five out of five.” Jan “ There is no doubt that the Kirrawee Team provide an outstanding service with compassion and care. I have been extremely happy with their service and facilities having gone through personal issues the last several years. The Kirrawee Team go above and beyond and I continue to use them because of the service they have provided both in the past and in the present. I am happy to recommend you to my family and friends, thank you Kennards Kirrawee. ” Jenny “Belinda and Matt at Wollongong were so helpful to me in a very stressful time of moving - fabulous people - Thank you. I think a pay rise is on order for these hard workers - at the very least a special mention at bonus time!!! Matt showed us around the facilities for storage and explained everything brilliantly. Thank you.” Jane “I needed storage for a few months between houses and a friend recommended Kennards Chatswood. Jai and Michelle at the centre are extremely helpful and friendly. I like the centre for its cleanliness, easy drive in/ out and sense of high security. I also did all of my shopping for storage from the office there! Online registration and payment is also a breeze. Very happy with our decision to use Kennards Chatswood!!” DC “The best experience I’ve ever had! Definitely the best place I’ve been to look for storage. Also I would like to take this opportunity to say big THANK YOU to Emma and Mark for always helping me and making me feel so comfortable like home,very friendly staff! Strongly recommend this place to store your things!” Marjan “I have been storing my goods there for several years now and wouldn’t look anywhere else to store my goods. I have dealt with Brett there for a while now and he is extremely professional yet really friendly to deal with. His Team Members were also great to communicate with. From signing the paperwork to moving my goods in, everything just went really smoothly. Thank you Brett and your Team for everything you have done. Would definitely recommend to anyone storing around here!” John “Kennards at Klemzig is fantastic for us. We run our online business out of Kennards and they have been an integral part of our success. We have been with them for over three years now, starting out with a small single shed space. The beauty of Kennards for business is that it allows you to expand as your business grows without the need to sign long term leases. We now have over five sheds and as our business grows we simply rent more space as we need it. The other thing to take into consideration is the convenience of having the facility staffed by Kennards which allows us to have our deliveries receipted and dispatched without us being there, knowing the facility is secure and staffed is peace of mind when you are running a small business, as you can’t be everywhere. The conference room with free Wi-Fi facilities is also great and free use of the trolleys and forklifts is also a real bonus.” Melanie

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FEATURES

Digital Agreements - The New Horn

or our customers have via Support Requests. Doing so improves our technology platform and customer experience and the system will continue to evolve and improve. We need your “support” to help us build the best digital platform in the self storage industry worldwide. The customer is always our focus and for those times that digital is not working then complete the paper Storage Agreement. It is imperative that the customer has the best possible experience. In the current version of the Digital Agreements, we know that 4/10 new move-ins per month at a centre can be achieved as digital. Once the customer experience is completed, complete a Support Request if there was an issue that resulted in paper being required. Using the FAQ portal and your Buddy Centre for questions or discussions can assist you quickly and the Buddy network provides vital feedback back to the Technology Team on “issues” quickly. The customers are loving it, feedback is positive. Further we have been blown away by the acceptance of our Team to change habits that some have had for over 10 years, the paper agreement is hard to let go. Thank you for your support for this innovation and your commitment to changing a fundamental work place practice. Our attention now turns to New Zealand which is on target for an early August roll out. introduction of Digital Agreements has been innovative for KSS and is creating a leading edge advantage against our competitors. Carolyn Coates NSW Operations Manager We have used the current paper Agreement for over 15 years. The

O n June 4th 2018 when every KSS AUS centre activated for Digital Agreements, a milestone happened for our business. The Storage Agreement is the essential document between the customer and our business, it has a key focus operationally for centres. Introducing a Digital Storage Agreement is a major change for both centre operations and customers.

given no training or documents – we gave them Yammer. 15 months later and to the credit of the 12 centres we are using a Digital Agreement platform that is 90% operationally robust. Since March 2017 we have completed 6,371 Digital Agreements (SRA, EP and PDS) and our June 2018 paper to digital conver- sions is 65% for all AUS centres.

The journey has not ended...

‘

I n the beginning... In March 2017 we asked 12 centres to participate in a pilot of the Digital Agreement platform. We asked them to be brave and have a leap of faith, we needed the centres to use something that was only 20% ready, and they were required to provide feedback to the business and to manage a seamless and professional customer experience. For these centres it was confronting and at times challenging. They were ‘ The customers are loving it, feedback is positive. Further we have been blown away by the acceptance of our Team to change habits that some have had for over 10 years, the paper agreement is hard to let go. In order to provide the ultimate Digital Agreement platform we needed to activate every AUS centre, knowing that we had more work to do. The volume of every centre would get us to the finish line sooner. Over the last three months as we commenced activating more centres we have discovered so many tidy ups and loose ends through your Support Requests and discussions with Buddy Centres. We encourage you to let us know as many of the problems as you

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FEATURES

Follow Up to Rent Up

T ake a second, and reflect back on the last Follow Up call you made? As Confucius said “Reflection is the most noble way to learn”. It helps us understand our underlying beliefs and assumptions and how they influence our decision making. In the case of your last follow up call what was the purpose, what outcome did you set and did you get there? Are we making the most of our follow up calls, and what could we be doing differently? If a customer doesn’t call back it doesn’t automatically signal a lack of interest – they could just be really busy! As professionals in storage, it’s our golden weapon in showing customers our commitment to them. Nice Huh! It takes a bit of tenacity, commitment and a big dose of sincerity, but combined these ingredients give us the chance to leave a lasting impression. Remember, by the time your follow up day comes around the customer has already reached out! – it’s not a cold call so there is nothing to worry about. We know we have a first class solution and like a genie, can make all their problems go away! So tell them, using your best warm and fuzzies.

Serve some value with your call. We have plenty of ways we can add value – many of them unique to us. We refund all unused rent, we buy back boxes, etc. Golden Weapon Number 3 Build trust – hopefully the customer knows you are going to call them from the first conversation, it shouldn’t be a surprise, don’t leave them hanging, do what you say, pick up the phone and have a chat – get their thoughts, answer their questions, smile! – the customer will see it. Golden Weapon Number 4 Keep going, and going and going – use different touch points, take baby steps, build the relationship, it might mean five phone calls, two emails and two SMS’s but don’t give up. Keep educating them and sharing our value. Ask questions that’s get answers, think about your customers pain points and where we fit in as part of their moving process. Generally customers have two other steps to conquer before they can even open a roller door, Packing and Moving – would you like a little bit more value with that? Fiona harding Business Development Manager

“David, it was really great chatting to you yesterday about your move, if you are free tomorrow I would love to show the centre and get your thoughts on the unit I’ve put aside, is there a good time you can drop in?” If a customer doesn’t call back it doesn’t automatically signal ‘

a lack of interest - they could just be really busy.

Here is the catch – prior preparation prevents piss poor performance, every call needs to be thought about before the dial tone starts – stop winging it. Our purpose is to connect with the customer and add value, customers are busy and sometimes need processing time. Accept that it may take some time. Golden Weapon Number 1 Demonstrate you care – and I mean really care, about them, their situation, their goods and about their entire move. ‘

Golden Weapon Number 2

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FINANCE

Superannuation - I will Look Into It Tomorrow

W e hear so much about always changes through legislation, rules, default funds, tax rulings – it just goes on and on. In any case, it is a long time till I retire so will look into it some time in the future...busy at work and driving kids everywhere and so on – will get to it soon. Does this sound familiar? We have all done this at some stage. For someone reading this close to retiring the feeling may be something like “I wish I had looked at this 15 years ago.” All of us will retire one day or stop working at some stage, what income will we have? What will our lifestyle be like? Will we be able to afford to travel and possibly do the things we could not do while working or bringing up kids? What could impact our choices around super: • Our Age – the younger we are, the more risky our category could be as we have many years to cover the bad years. What this means is a risky portfolio would have some great years and some negative years. History generally indicates two or three out of each 10 years would be negative, however the growth years should offset that. As they say, “High Risk and High Return”. As we get older, we do not want to lose our Super balance to a Superannuation and how important it is. There are

sudden change in share markets so we would probably select a lower return and lower risk super fund. During the GFC many higher risk/return Super portfolios dropped 10-50% in a very short time All of us will retire one day or stop working at some stage - what income will we have? • Life Situation – are we single or do we have a family and dependants • Life or Injury Insurance – the majority of funds offer this as part of the super. If we are young and single it would not be as critical to have life insurance compared to someone paying off a home loan with a family • Fees – the fees are impacted by the type of fund, advice given and services offered. If we are not using the advice, it may be good to change to a lower fee structure • Multiple Funds – many people have more than one fund. There could be very valid reasons for this. However each and every fund charges fees. We should try and avoid paying any unnecessary fees which could have a huge impact on the ‘

balance remaining when we retire

• Voluntary Contributions –we can also make additional contributions to lift the balance. This is very useful when one is young as these small amounts would grow significantly. As we get closer to retirement we may top up our Super balance as this can be tax effective as well as boost our retirement income • Tax Situation – depending on our income and tax situation it can be very effective to move funds into super rather than pay Income Tax • Self Managed Super – there are alterna- tives to having someone manage your super by having your own super fund – once again this would depend on each persons situation There are many factors to impact our decision in relation to super – whatever we decide to do, is our own personal choice impacted by our own personal situations – however doing nothing is not an option. Have a look into your super, understand what it offers and what the fees are, review the returns each year (which is sent after the June year end), read up about super and understand if your fund is okay for you and achieving returns similar or better to other funds in the market. Just like the Nike slogan – JUST DO IT! Anthony Rous Chief Financial Officer

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Your Onsite Systems Review document now lists Digital and Non-Digital Agreements separately. Digital Agreements run in unit order for easy keyboard use. The digital list is helpful to check that customers with auto pay options in Storman have a digitally accepted Easy Pay document. HOT TIPS At Kennards we know Self Storage is a needs business, sometimes that need might not be the best of circumstances but we always continue to delight our customers. You might be having a bad day, just take some time to think of your contribution to our customers. Delighting them should also delight you! Bill McClean Training & Development Manager spoke of having fun at work, for me that is part of the delight! The results from the delight factor, after three years of stagnant sales, immedi- ately following the rollout of the delight factor there was an 11.7% increase in sales during the six week Easter period for 2017 compared to the same period the year before. In addition, over 1.2 million more Hot Cross Buns were sold. One bakery in Western Australia experi- enced an almost 17% increase in sales shortly after the The Delight Factor was implemented. Sometimes it’s nice to take time and reflect. For me it is all about FREEDOM. We are encouraged to have fun at work and empowered to make decisions. I often hear from Team Members that many have come from other industries where they have “just been a number” at Kennards they feel like a person and they are listened to, they are delighted to come aboard.

The Power To Delight

R ecently I attended the organised great speakers networking opportunities and some nice take aways for me. One of the sessions I attended “Demonstrating The Impact of Learning” by Justine La Roche struck a chord. I was particularly interested in her case study. She had collaborated with Bakers Delight to define what delightful customer service looks like, their learning initiative was dubbed “The Delight Factor”. Australian institute of Training and Development Conference 2018 in Sydney, it was well This presentation immediately made me reflect on FREEDOM and how it applies: Fun - is infectious we enjoy what we do. Happiness creates satisfaction engagement and learning. It removes fear and creates passion that reflects in everything we do. ‘ Sometimes it’s nice to sit and reflect. For me it is all about FREEDOM. ‘

Respect - For each other, yourself your customers and FREEDOM all the time everytime. It sets the right behaviours on how we interact and communicate. Ethical - Everyone is expected to always conduct themselves in an open, honest and ethical manner. Ethical conduct is essential in building trust in our Teams, customers and Brand. Empower - Gives all Team Members the FREEDOM to make decisions, own their decisions. FREEDOM to speak, share ideas and learn from mistakes Delight - is to think outside the box, to go out of our way to surprise and delight our customers. To find the little things that leave the WOW factor, that makes their day and you a day maker. Openness - Is the licence that gives us the FREEDOM to express our thoughts, feelings and ideas honestly, knowing Kennards is a transparent and caring environment. Memorable - On our Journey to becoming a Famous Household Name , our goal is to create a memorable experi- ence. We will achieve this by doing the little things to surprise and delight in every way, every time, in the hearts and minds of everyone. One of the points made at this presenta- tion was that the delight was not only for the customers but for their Teams both front and back of house. Further she

This list is found in Kemo Exceptions; On Site Systems Review.

13 Kennards Kourier July 2018

PROPERTY Hawkes Bay To Get More Space

T he surging population of Hawkes Bay has seen demand soar for space at our existing locations in this area. At the end of May our three locations were literally bursting at the seams with Hastings at 94.7%, Napier at 99.2% and Onekawa at 98.2%. In response we have recently acquired a parcel of land in Hastings and will develop a new storage centre in the near future. The property will be developed into a two storey 350 unit storage centre. The new location at 816 Omahu Road will complement the existing KSS centre at Hastings. Located 3.5km from the existing location, 816 Omahu Road provides a convenient alternative to customers on the Western side of Hastings. The property is currently occupied by foodstuffs N.Z. as a logistics centre. The property will be developed into a two storey 350 unit storage centre. Construc- tion will commence at the end of the existing lease-term. The new storage centre will embrace the latest innovations and quality standards typical in all our new centres, these include high definition digital CCTV recording, individual door alarms and computer-controlled customer access. We are actively expanding our New Zealand network. In late 2018, construc- tion will commence on our property in Wairau Valley, North Auckland. This will be the ninth New Zealand asset. The 816 Omahu Road Hastings centre will be the tenth for the company in New Zealand. ‘ ‘

NAPIER 99.2%

HASTINGS 94.7%

ONEKAWA 98.2%

Sam Kennard Managing Director

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PROPERTY

The Hills District Lands a Facelift

Castle Hill NSW

Castle Hill NSW - Roof and wall cladding underway Total Construction are running to program with the roof going on, wall cladding underway and some internal fit out commenced. Adelaide Airport SA - Internal fit out is underway Hutchison Builders have the building framework up, roof and wall cladding going on, internal fit out underway and the external works commenced. St Marys NSW - Civil works underway Apex, who built Stage 1, have been awarded the contract to build the new three storey building. The site has been cleared and fenced with some early civil works underway. Warrawong NSW - Roof framing going up Industrial Strata Units - Total Construction have the slabs down and the concrete walls and roof framing going up. Bankstown NSW - Documenting construction drawings Total Construction have won this contract for the expansion of the centre and are currently documenting the construction drawings. Wairau Valley NZ - Ready to go to Tender Documentation of the project is almost complete, ready for Tender issue. Ultimo NSW - Tenders issued Tenders being called for the repainting of this iconic corner building. Coorparoo QLD - Working through documentation Hutchison Builders are the successful builders for this project and are working through the pre-construction documentation. For regular updates follow Michael on Yammer and Twitter. Michael Macheledt & Craig Henery Development & Construction Team

St Marys NSW

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PROPERTY Spotlight on Parramatta

Our centre has a rating of 4.7 stars on Google, which is an indication of the high level of customer satisfaction in terms of cleanliness of the centre and customer service provided by the Team, which falls in line with our Kennards culture and our tag line “Keep it at Kennards, the People who Care”. This is a big motivating factor for the Team to work hard and maintain the reputation achieved. The centre is spread over 6,077 sqm and consists of 650 units on three levels. The Centre has two goods lifts which is a huge convenience for customers having storage units on the upper levels. Ground level units are occupied mostly by commercial customer, purely for conveni- ence of access.

K ennards Self Storage cusp of Harris Park and Parramatta, close to the Parramatta CBD and surrounded by up to 13 Indian Restau- rants, shops and fashion boutiques. Parramatta is located on 105 Wigram Street. The Iconic orange building resides on the In addition the centre is located opposite the fire station and NSW Police headquarters, giving us added security. Furthermore, it is within walking distance to both Parramatta and Harris Park Railway Stations. The building has a long standing history, starting out as a bakery back in 1916 and later on was converted to a self storage facility by Millers. Kennards took over the business in 2004. Today with all the infrastructure develop- ment in Parramatta, our presence as a self storage facility has become even

more important. Our Parramatta centre has undergone a few changes in recent times, to keep up with market demand. The first major change was to make the centre 24 hours for customers. This happened at the beginning of 2018. This change was well received by our storers, giving them flexibility to access their storage after hours at their own convenience. Second change was knocking down seven large units and building 42 smaller units. Thirdly the level of security at the centre has been raised with the installation of additional CCTV cameras. Now we have a total of eight cameras. Customers have a very positive view about the centre and Team. Often mentioned and reflected in Reviews both on Google and our KSS Website.

Current Team at Parramatta consists of Assistant Manager Ben Anderson (pictured right), who has been with Kennards for almost five years and myself, Sanjay Bhatia (pictured left). I have been the Centre Manager for two and a half years now. Our biggest challenge is to get the occupancy up to 90% and maintaining at that level. Our best occupancy was 89% in August 2016. As a Team we are confident of reaching 90% occupancy very soon.

Sanjay Bhatia Centre Manager Kennards Self Storage Parramatta

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Kennards Kourier July 2018