In its Q1 Global Beef Quarterly, the specialist agribusiness bank says while global beef prices remain high – with cattle prices across most key beef-producing regions at their highest levels in five years – cost pressures are building in the supply chain. And this will test the willingness of consumers to continue to pay ‘top dollar’ for beef.

“Over the past two years, retail beef prices have been phenomenal,” the report says, largely driven by strong consumer demand and some supply shocks.

“In Q4 2021, beef retail prices in the US were 23 per cent higher than the five-year average and in China, they were 24 per cent above the five-year average,” it says.

Consumer ‘demand pull’ for Global Beef

Much of this increase in prices has been caused by “demand-pull”, Rabobank senior animal protein analyst Angus Gidley-Baird said, driven by increased consumer appetite for beef due to factors including lockdown restrictions, additional disposable incomes from Covid stimulus packages and (in the case of China and African swine fever in pork) limitations on the availability of alternative proteins.

“With beef supply unable to keep up, the increase in demand has created an imbalance in the market and, as a result, beef prices have lifted,” he said.

In many cases, Mr Gidley-Baird said, the increases in retail beef prices have been among the largest in history. And, while beef prices continued to increase through 2021, prices for many other proteins remained stable or contracted.

“While price rises in beef have been dramatic, the fact they have been largely caused by consumer demand has meant they have been accommodated.  That is, consumers have been willing to pay higher prices to continue consuming beef,” he said.

Inflationary pressures on Global Beef

However, inflationary pressures are building in the beef supply chain, the report warns, with labour, freight and energy costs among the largest to see increases, along with the feed.

A number of these cost increases will be permanent and need to be “accommodated” and passed on into retail pricing, Mr Gidley-Baird said.

“Some of the cost pressures – such as freight, energy and feed – are cyclical and over time are expected to decline, allowing for some easing in 2022.  However, a number of cost increases – those associated with labour and sustainability for example – will be permanent and will need to be accommodated within the supply chain,” he said.

“Further increases in beef prices run the risk of consumers substituting other proteins or reducing their overall consumption. And we are starting to see signs they might be reaching their limit.”

Russia Ukraine

The Q1 report says the Russia Ukraine conflict is not expected to have a major impact on global beef markets, given Russia has a less prominent role in markets compared with five years ago. Russia only accounts for approximately five per cent of global beef imports with its major suppliers being Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina.

However, indirect impacts are possible.

“Increased energy, fertiliser and feed costs as a result of the conflict could all impact the beef supply chain and, with Russia and Ukraine accounting for 29 per cent of global wheat exports, any trade embargoes could pressure feed prices,” Mr Gidley-Baird said.

“The general uncertainty – along with slower global growth and inflation – could also see an erosion of consumer confidence which may result in an easing of consumer demand for beef.”

Australia

For Australia, the report says, “encouraging rains” across central, northern and eastern Australia in the first two months of 2022 will support cattle production in the largest producing states.

“After a number of dry years in northern Australia, we expect these rains to stimulate restocking and herd rebuilding, adding further producer demand to an already strong cattle market,” Mr Gidley-Baird said. “Such restocking will also support increased production in the years to come.”

Australian cattle prices remain strong, supported by ongoing producer demand for restocking, coupled with the limited availability of cattle, the report says.

Cattle processing has had a slow start for the year, with Omicron cases in the community impacting the labour force.

“For the first five weeks of 2022, east coast weekly cattle slaughter in Australia was nine per cent below the same period last year and 40 per cent below the five-year average,” Mr Gidley-Baird said.

Australian beef exports ended 2021 down 15 per cent on 2020 volumes, the report said.  The largest declines were to the US (down 31 per cent), China (down 25 per cent) and Japan (down 13 per cent).  Volumes lifted however to South Korea (up three per cent).

Live exports followed a similar trend – down 27 per cent overall, with volumes to Indonesia down 13 per cent and to Vietnam down 44 per cent.

Payments innovator QuickFee has expanded its business specifically for franchise operations, now enabling franchisees to get paid upfront while giving their customers the option to buy now and pay later using instalments with Franchise Payment Services .

The Franchise Payment Services BNPL solution, which can be white labelled, enables a range of flexible payments of up to 12 monthly instalments and represents a convenient way for franchisees to accept debit and credit card payments.

It helps franchisees grow their business by offering more payment flexibility and additional time to pay for consumers using their services.

The move follows QuickFee’s recent partnership with Jim’s Pay Plan, enabling QuickFee to offer its solution to Jim’s Group – Australia’s largest franchising family.

According to industry data, Australia’s $184 billion franchise segment comprises 1,344 networks, including over 98,000 individual franchised outlets employing more than 598,000 people.

The QuickFee solution looks to capitalise on this market by offering a simple QR code-driven payment gateway with no new hardware, software or customer application required, ensuring that franchise businesses can offer flexible payment plans to their customers very quickly.

Consumers can use the service to pay over four, six, nine or 12 months, via QR code, invoice or quote link, text to pay, or via computer, tablet or phone.

Bruce Coombes, QuickFee Australia’s Managing Director, said with the increasing awareness of BNPL options across the economy and higher demand from the franchise sector, it made sense to offer franchise businesses a tailored option for their specific needs.

“Our new Franchise Payment Services business is a strategic way for franchisees to expand their offering to consumers,” he said.

“This is well-suited to larger purchases compared to traditional BNPL products, and gives consumers confidence because it uses an already-established payment method they are familiar with, but lets them pay over time.”

QuickFee CEO Eric Lookhoff said: “Franchising is a great way for businesses to grow quickly, accessing new customers with existing brand recognition. At QuickFee, we tailored our payment solution to help franchisees increase sales, enjoy higher average transaction values, and improve customer loyalty. The franchising sector continues to expand rapidly, and we look forward to helping a wide range of businesses grow by offering the easy, fast, and secure payment solutions their customers demand.”

See Small Business Answers Guide to BNPL

As part of NSW Small Business Month and to celebrate International Women’s Day, Smartpay will be hosting an online facilitated Q&A webinar with one of Australia’s leading entrepreneurs Keira Rumble, founder and CEO of Krumbled Food

Deeply passionate about living a healthy and happy life, Keira is on a mission to truly revolutionise the health food, wellbeing and beauty industries worldwide.

“The personal and business challenges Keira has overcome will be intriguing and insightful,” says Peter Thomas, Chief Customer and People Officer at Smartpay. “We’re looking forward to learning more of Keira’s story on 7 March. The Krumbled Foods brand aligns with our own at Smartpay as we’re both solution-driven, value-adding organisations.”

In her early 20s, Keira was diagnosed as pre-diabetic (insulin resistant) and was forced to quickly change the way she was living and what she was eating. Disappointed by the lack of transparency and the availability of tasty, low sugar snacks, Keira decided she needed to do something about it, and so Krumbled Foods was born. Eight months after the launch of Beauty Bites in Australia, they became available in Coles Supermarkets and Priceline Pharmacies nationwide.

Smartpay’s In Conversation with Keira Rumble Q&A webinar will be feature Keira discussing how she built her brand and how she too started as a small business with important tips, tricks and challenges she faced along the way.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date: Monday 7 March 2022

Time: 12:30pm

ONLINE WEBINAR: Please register here.

In an industry in which men represent 78 per cent of workers, 50 per cent of the leadership team at Couriers Please (CP) are women – including three of its five state managers. Each of the female leaders is responsible for all areas of the business in their state, from the management of parcel delivery volumes, performance and recruitment, to profit and loss, process improvement and safety.

More than ever, female leaders are proving they are a force to be reckoned with, kicking goals in a challenging and complex industry and leading companies such as CP through periods of unprecedented parcel volumes – the company has seen a 15 per cent increase in year-on-year volumes since March 2020. These female leaders have also ensured the swift delivery of millions of parcels to households across the country, while also keeping essential workers safe and COVID-free across seven national depots.

Queensland State Manager Tracey Baldwin is CP’s first female and longest-serving state manager. She directs a team of 10 operational managers and is ultimately responsible for over 220 franchisees and 75 staff across five depots.

During Tracey’s tenure, Queensland has experienced a 35 per cent year-on-year growth in parcel volumes.

Thanks to Tracey’s performance, Queensland improved its linehaul utilisation by 10 per cent year-on-year, helping the state achieve a consistent 96-97 per cent rate of on-time deliveries.

Tracey says: “Safety is an important priority for me in my role, and I regularly visit each depot across the state to ensure we’re addressing any potential safety risks. For instance, I’ve championed the introduction of exclusion zones in our five depots. These zones identify high-risk areas, often where forklifts and other machinery are in use, to help reduce incidents.”

South Australia State Manager Lisa Tedstone leads a team of 35 staff and 64 franchisees in the State. One of CP’s longest-serving operational personnel, Lisa joined the company in 2009 as a customer service representative, working her way up into operational leadership roles.

Lisa’s leadership has ensured CP’s SA business consistently maintains a 96-97 per cent rate of on-time deliveries and delivers more items per courier than any other State. Since the start of the pandemic, CP’s SA business has seen close to a 40 per cent increase in parcel volumes and increased its franchisees by 36 per cent.

Lisa also helped lead numerous national programs at CP, preparing the company to deliver for the Christmas peak period, and ensuring CP continued adapting during the pandemic while the company experienced its highest parcel volumes. Lisa onboarded the company’s new scanner devices nationally to all drivers, enabling customer delivery notifications to be sent and including route optimisation for faster parcel delivery.

West Australian State Manager Kristy Wright leads a team of 20 staff and 60 drivers, 10 of which are small-business franchisees. Kristy has 15 years experience in the logistics industry, having fallen in love with the industry after starting her career as a courier driver. During Kristy’s tenure, WA experienced unprecedented parcel volumes – including a 30 per cent increase in the Christmas peak period, the busiest Christmas she has seen in her career.

Kristy says: “I’m very proud to be part of the team at CP. It’s the first time in my management career that female leaders outnumber male leaders. I’ve achieved enormous improvements in productivity and performance – including on-time deliveries – and we now have the highest staff engagement rates since I’ve started. I anticipate that we will continue experiencing exponential growth over the next two years.”

Synology release Surveillance Station 9.0 with a magnitude of improvements to its video surveillance suite. Users will find securing their premises an altogether more pleasant and integrated experience. In Surveillance Station 9.0, everything is simply more within reach.

An all-new experience

When you first access the new Surveillance Station, what you’ll immediately notice is the sleek dark interface. Adopting many users’ preferred look is one small way we are making monitoring a better experience, but look for the Live View and you’ll notice something more: The separation between live streaming and the former Timeline View is now gone.

In place of the standalone applications, there is now one Monitor Center that lets you scrub through recorded footage efficiently without losing situational awareness, side-by-side with your live streams, maps of camera positions, I/O modules such as door and speaker controls, camera tilting/panning/zooming controls, and more. And that’s not all, as we’ve made large and immediately noticeable improvements to each of these features.

View events on multi-layered maps

To start with what was formerly known as “E-Map,” the Maps functionality in Surveillance Station has had a complete overhaul and now lets admins create multi-layered, hierarchical sets of overlapping maps that can be used as the starting point for all your surveillance — from regular monitoring to receiving alerts and investigating incidents.

Imagine a setup with Surveillance Station deployed across a campus with three buildings and a surrounding park. Thanks to Google Maps and OpenMaps integration, you can now quickly situate each camera anywhere around the neighborhood, whether indoors or outdoors.

Did a camera detect suspicious movement or any other event? Look, an alert pops up on the map pointing you to the right location, with live feeds displayed directly on the map. Did the event occur in a building? Simply zoom into the building to locate the exact scene on the right floor, with new support for multiple-floor ground plans.

Besides finding and investigating events much more quickly, the new Maps function allows you to respond with more accuracy to any surveillance needs. Speakers, alarms, door controls, and other input/output modules can be placed on the map for easy manual operation, and it is easy for users to locate and control cameras that can pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ) from the same interface.

Best of all, all these features are part of the dynamic Monitor Center dashboard, which is also used for scrubbing through footage. When any event you’ve defined is detected, in addition to an alert, a bookmark is automatically placed on the timeline so that you can easily review it when time permits. You can also leave bookmarks yourself, to help yourself or others find back footage and take a look.

While all these features speed up the process of rewinding and reviewing footage after spotting abnormal behaviors, boosting the amount of investigation any person can do, they also make it much easier to hand over surveillance between staff members, or for a person without intimate knowledge of a deployment to get up to speed and react adequately.

Securing more with less

Crucially, the improvements in this update combine to facilitate securing larger premises with fewer people. With the same purpose in mind, we’ve drastically sped up the time it takes to set up or migrate large camera deployments, added support for advanced security features that help protect such large configurations, and made it possible to integrate more intelligent analytics into big, remotely managed, deployments.

New IP cameras can now be configured by batch-importing settings from old deployments in spreadsheet format, so you don’t need to manually record camera settings or repeatedly key in the same information — a feature that can potentially save hours of work. But even for new deployments, a new wizard drastically cuts the time it takes to add large pools of (new) cameras with similar or default settings.

Hundreds of cameras in 30 minutes

Take for example a deployment of 300 IP cameras of several models, spread over 5 recording servers. Previously, devices would have had to be added separately to each of the servers, with a limit of 6 cameras at once. Adding exactly 60 cameras per server would require repeating the same process 50 times. At 10 minutes per iteration, that would take a whopping 8.3 hours, and even at 5 minutes it would cost more than 4 hours of precious time.

Luckily, there’s a better way in Surveillance Station 9.0, where cameras can now be batch-deployed directly from your central management server. Taking the same example, with about 10 different sets of default camera settings, we estimate that the whole process could be completed within 30 minutes. Leveraging Surveillance Station Centralized Management System (CMS) also means no repeated logins to different servers and, crucially, being able to add all devices of a certain model in one go.

Keeping large deployments safe

Deployments running multiple recording servers, like in the previous example, can now more easily be kept up-to-date. Admins can make sure that all NAS in their setup run the latest enhancements and security patches by enabling their Surveillance Station CMS server to autonomously download and install updates on all recording servers in the network.

Even if their central management servers have no access to the internet, administrators need only manually upload update files once, to the CMS host, which can dispatch and install them automatically to all recording servers. Notifications can be enabled in case any server runs out-of-date software.

Upgraded privacy and data protection

The larger (and more distributed) your surveillance deployment, the more important it becomes that video data from IP cameras cannot be intercepted and viewed by eavesdropping outsiders. In addition to HTTPS-secured communications, video streams themselves can now be encrypted and transmitted from IP cameras to NAS over the secure HTTPS and SRTP protocols (and from NAS to clients over HTTPS), meeting a major demand from enterprise users seeking to harden their surveillance networks.

Besides preventing malevolent actors snooping in on camera streams, amid evolving privacy protection rules, organizations may also need to shield everything but live streams from their staff. To that end, the recorded footage itself can now be protected with a separate encryption implementation that goes beyond encrypting shared folders, making recordings unreadable not only in case NAS or drives are compromised or stolen, but also for unauthorized security personnel. By requiring distinct encryption keys to access archives, firms can keep a tight lid on sensitive footage.

To help organizations comply with privacy rules regarding what can be streamed on CCTV, privacy-enhancing features have also been added for live surveillance streams. Privacy masks are available to obscure areas of the premises that must remain off-camera (for instance, an employee’s workspace caught on a wide-angle camera). Automatic watermarks can be applied to video files to deter unauthorized distribution and make it easier to identify their origin in case of leaks.

Recording multiple streams

Video surveillance is a means to protect your premises against theft and other calamities, but what if your recording servers are compromised, damaged, or taken? Surveillance Station has long allowed users to back up blocks of recordings to another Synology NAS, but what if a recording server is disabled or destroyed before a batch of footage has finished replicating? Situations develop fast and crucial minutes of video may be lost forever.

One new way to overcome this risk is dual recording. While adding an IP camera, admins can choose to enable a second simultaneous recording, either on the same or on a secondary NAS. Recording twice to the same server can be useful in order to, for example, store higher-resolution recordings for a different length of time — always or perhaps only in case of events. Recording to a secondary server allows for the creation of continuous backups with minimal lag, for an ultra-short recovery point objective, and fast playback on the secondary server of the last minutes of any calamity that often present crucial evidence.

Safe recording to the cloud

Taking this protection a step further, on official release later this year, Surveillance Station 9.0 will allow users to stream and save their surveillance footage onward to Synology C2. With dual recording to Synology C2, video streams are transmitted simultaneously to NAS recording servers and the Synology C2 data center, and potential data loss is minimized to under five seconds. However, footage is not only protected — it is also kept easily accessible at a moment’s notice. Recording to C2 lets you review recordings from anywhere in the world without having to restore any files from a backup server. If required, easy clip sharing lets you get relevant footage to personnel and authorities efficiently, whether or not your servers are still available.

Synology C2 for surveillance is set up to provide data protection and data security equivalent or superior to local recording servers, with end-to-end encryption making sure only you (with the right encryption key) can access and review video images. Monthly plans are set to start from US$1 per feed. More details and final pricing will be announced later in 2022.

Smart analytics for all

Work continues on the intelligent analytics offered on our DVA devices. A new update adds license plate recognition to Surveillance Station’s portfolio of AI-powered image analytics, to let households and businesses monitor cars entering and leaving their properties. A particularly useful option during the ongoing pandemic, new Congestion Alerts let you automatically detect overcrowding in selected areas.

The existing modules for people counting and facial recognition have also received an accuracy-enhancing update, with a new wizard that allows users to adjust camera angle through an intuitive wizard supported by real-time data collection. When used in conjunction with I/O-module rules, these new and old detection modules can be directly linked with a range of automated actions.

An new DVA line device

Last but not least, smart video analytics, which have for a while been limited to the powerful DVA3221, will soon be accessible to smaller businesses and households. The brand-new DVA1622 will support up to 16 cameras and offer facial recognition, as well as one other continuous analysis task of the user’s choice.

The DVA1622 will support new features in Surveillance Station 9.0 and will come out of the box with 4K HDMI output, making it both affordable and immediately ready for use in environments where a local display is needed. Integration of DVA devices with CMS since Surveillance Station 8.2 also makes the DVA1622 ideal to add new capabilities where needed in multi-server deployments.

Conclusion

Surveillance Station 9.0 promises to make workflows and procedures significantly more efficient and has clear benefits in terms of security and safety. If you are considering Synology for your next video surveillance solution, there has never been a better time. If you are an existing user, the current Beta program is the perfect opportunity to create a test setup and evaluate how to take maximum advantage of the new Surveillance Station.

Before testing or upgrading, read the release notes to see what is happening to existing features and check the Surveillance Station 9.0 Beta page for a summary of highlights and more feature demonstrations. Would you like to watch a video overview of what’s coming to surveillance and other solutions? We invite you to watch our Synology 2022 AND BEYOND sessions for more details and demos.

With Surveillance Station 9.0 and other updates expected in 2022, we are showing our commitment both to bolstering the capabilities of existing Synology deployments and to prepare our product for ever more complex implementations, as our customers and the trust they place in our video surveillance solution grow to new heights.

Read more in small business answers guide to wired security solutions

Food markets are set to be “highly dynamic” in the year ahead, as the ongoing effects of the global pandemic continue to be felt across supply chains and in consumer behaviour, Rabobank says in a recently-released Agribusiness Outlook report.

In its Australian Agribusiness Outlook for 2022, the specialist global agribusiness bank says the rapid emergence and spread of the Omicron variant has had a profound impact on local and global food markets, resulting in supply chain issues, labour shortages and leading to increased inflationary pressures

While vaccination programs have been in full swing in the developed economies, many governments had reinstated containment measures, the report said.  And for food and beverage companies, this had led to higher supply chain costs and challenges in keeping products moving through to consumers.

Report co-author Rabobank senior analyst Michael Harvey said these supply chain issues look set to continue to disrupt food markets in the first half of 2022.

“Food companies and retailers need to navigate supply chain vulnerabilities,” he said. “Meanwhile consumer movement is voluntarily cautious, leading to reduced foot traffic.

“Over the course of 2022, the channel distortion we have seen should eventually return to pre-pandemic norms, but it will clearly not be as linear.”

Food prices inflation Agribusiness Outlook

Mr Harvey said food and beverages companies across all geographies were reporting margin pressure stemming from inflation in all parts of the business, including raw materials and distribution.

“And inflation is expected to remain high through much of 2022,” he said. “As a result, companies are acting on retail pricing across a range of consumables.”

Against this backdrop of food price inflation, the report said, consumers are facing additional cost-of-living pressures and reduced income support.

“The impact of these cost pressures on consumer food purchases will vary significantly across geographies and categories,” Mr Harvey said, “For those in the food and agricultural sector, there will need to be a keen eye on potential demand destruction in emerging markets.”

Rapid and structural ‘pace of change’

The report said a “rapid and structural pace of change” will continue in consumer behaviours and food innovation in 2022, partly driven by the impacts of the pandemic.

“There are some clear pandemic winners, including products catering to consumers who work (and eat more) at home and have a preference for home snacking and convenient meal preparation, while on the flipside on-the-go and foodservice products continue to be negatively impacted by reduced consumer mobility,” Mr Harvey said.

“This, of course, takes place against a backdrop of increasing consumer demand for natural, clean, fresh, and personalised food products. While e-commerce in the food system has enjoyed a transformational boost during the pandemic through the acquisition of new consumers.”

China

The Agribusiness Outlook report also warned of a need to watch China’s zero-tolerance Covid policy and its impact on consumer demand in the world’s largest importer of food and agricultural products.

“There is growing concern about the state of the economic recovery in China, which, combined with the strict lockdown policy, is impacting consumer markets there,” Mr Harvey said.

“There was a slowdown in total Chinese retail sales growth towards the end of 2021, and, while food retail posted double-digit growth in the most recent data when adjusted for inflation, it was a more subdued picture.”

Samsung and Her Black Book host panel event and launch grant to support women worth over $40,000 to support Australian women in business.

Samsung Electronics Australia and Australia’s premium online curated shopping and discovery app, Her Black Book announce a new partnership that celebrates and supports female entrepreneurs in Australia for International Women’s Day 2022 (IWD).

Fresh from announcing the Galaxy S22 Series smartphone including the much-anticipated Galaxy S22 Ultra with S-Pen capabilities, this collaboration further bolsters Samsung and Her Black Book’s partnership to celebrate women in business. Up Close with Her Black Book, powered by Samsung Galaxy will see a curated panel event with sought-after leaders in business as well as a grant package worth over $40,000 RRP in total to see the next generation of women in business reach their goals.

Shaneez Johnston, Head of Corporate Affairs, Samsung Electronics Australia, said: “In the lead up to International Women’s Day, we are proud to collaborate once again with Her Black Book, to present: Up Close with Her Black Book, powered by Samsung Galaxy. We are extremely excited to host this event that will celebrate women in business as well as provide grants packages to support two up-and-coming female-led businesses.

“At Samsung, our brand purpose is about creating innovations that will help people defy barriers and achieve things that have never been done before. In partnering with Her Black Book, we hope the event will provide valuable insights and peer connections for attendees and that the grants will offer the funding, technology and mentorship that will help local businesses achieve their goals and make 2022 a turning point in their entrepreneurial journeys.”

Sali Sasi, Co-creator of Her Black Book, added: “We are thrilled to align with Samsung for such a meaningful event. Having co-founded our own tech startup along with my sister, we understand the challenges faced with launching and growing a business and the funding required to grow – so we welcome the opportunity to empower women in business and pay it forward to those starting out.”

Up Close with Her Black Book, powered by Samsung Galaxy – Event

The event will celebrate entrepreneurial women, inclusivity and equality. Through insightful conversations, the event will showcase how technology and the right support can be used to succeed in Australian industries.

Hosted by TV personality, Erika Heynatz, guests can expect insightful conversations and gain key takeaways for personal and professional growth, as well as a luxurious breakfast and refreshments, premium gift bags, prizes, entertainment and a lively atmosphere at Sydney’s beautiful new venue Shell House, on top of plenty of networking opportunities to get up close with like-minded women.

Her Black Book Creators, Australian twins Sali Sasi and Julie Stevanja, will be among the impressive array of guest speakers and panellists including Alisha Geary (CEO of Provvy, Director of Faebella – luxury activewear that incorporates indigenous artwork), Samantha Brett (Founder of successful sunscreen brand, Naked Sundays), Amal Wakim (Co-Founder & CEO of fitness phenomenon, Equalution; Forbes 30 under 30), and Jules Robinson (Founder of Figur and Moira Muise, with an influential following well over half-million).

Guests will also have the chance to win a Samsung gift pack on the day – which includes a Galaxy S22 Ultra and Galaxy Buds2 wireless earbuds, plus be reminded of their last chance to apply to be awarded one of two grants to be announced on IWD, March 8^th 2022.

Event details:

Where: Shell House – 37 Margaret Street Sydney

When: Friday March 4 2022 @ 8:00am -11:00am ADST

Tickets: Tickets are $175 per person for HBB members* and $200 per person for non-members.

*Download the Her Black Book App to become a member and use discount code at check out. 

How to buy tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/up-close-with-her-black-book-powered-by-samsung-galaxy-tickets-267189901187

How to submit for grant consideration:Via the event website herblackbook.com/samsung 

Samsung x Her Black Book Grant to support women

To enter, entrants must provide a detailed submission discussing how the grant will help to scale up and expand their business. Entrants will be judged on the quality of responses to the judging criteria including a compelling pitch.

The winners will receive a grant of AUD $10,000 to support the expansion of their business, and $5,000 in business coaching sessions from Her Black Book founders, Sali Sasi and Julie Stevanja. As well as a Samsung technology pack which includes a Samsung M7 Smart Monitor, Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphone, Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet, Galaxy Watch4 smartwatch and Galaxy Buds2. The total value of the two grants is more than $40,000.

The competition starts today and closes on March 7th. Forms to enter can be submitted via: herblackbook.com/samsung. T&Cs apply.

Just 19% of Australian employees said they work in a high fairness environment and have an employee experience that is characterised as fair, compared to the global average of 18%, according to a survey from Gartner, Inc. Thus 81% Report Work Lacks Fairness

Gartner defines a high fairness environment as one where employees perceive that their manager and organisation treat them fairly. The Gartner survey of 3,500 employees conducted globally in 3Q21 found that employees who work in a high fairness environment perform at a level that is 26% higher than those who don’t and are 27% less likely to quit.

“The rise of Omicron has yet again disrupted our working environment, and for those left covering for their colleagues who are sick or caring for family members – employers are facing even more challenges in fostering a fair employee experience,” said Neal Woolrich, Director HR Advisory at Gartner.

“Creating a balanced and shared employee experience will be the most important initiative for HR executives in 2022. To do this, organisations need to go beyond policies and develop philosophies,” he said.

Four Factors That counter Employees who Feel Work Lacks Fairness

According to Woolrich, there are four areas that employers can develop strategies around to increase employee perceptions of fairness at work:

Being Informed

The Gartner 3Q21 survey showed that only 37% of Australian organisations practice true information transparency. According to the research, most companies disseminate information unevenly regarding their workforce talent processes, including recruiting and compensation. This opens the door to back-channel conversations and distrust among employees.

Concern regarding the future of work, workload planning and opportunities for career progression should be clearly and consistently communicated. Transparency will lead to trust.

Feeling supported

When employees feel supported at work, they are more likely to indicate that they work in a high fairness environment. Organisations have tried to support employees by investing in well-being programs.

A Gartner survey of 53 Gartner HR leader clients between September and November 2020 found that 64% of respondents added or expanded well-being programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these investments, most employees still don’t feel like they’re getting the support they need and deserve.

Feeling considered

The Gartner 3Q21 survey revealed that only 21% of qualified employees in Australia are considered for the next opportunity when it emerges at their organisation. This compares to the global average of 18%.

Most organisations have created referral programs that give access to opportunities for qualified external candidates based on a current employee’s referral, but they have not done this for internal candidates. Instead, organisations typically rely on managers, who are asked to consider more qualified candidates, or employees, who are encouraged to take initiative to raise their profile and build their own brand.

Receiving acknowledgement

Accurate employee evaluation and recognition boost employee perceptions of fairness, however, the Gartner 3Q21 survey found only 19% of Australian employees feel acknowledged for their contributions, compared to a global average of 24%.

Managers are typically called on to create this feeling of acknowledgement, but Gartner research reveals that in a hybrid environment, managers tend to favour on-site employees over remote employees. According to a November 2020 global Gartner survey of nearly 3,000 managers, 64% said that on-site employees are higher performers, while 75% say that on-site employees are more likely to be promoted.

The Way Forward to counter work lacks fairness

Progressive organisations are increasing their employees’ feelings of fairness by addressing the four factors above in the following ways:

• Dramatically increase the amount of information given to all employees and candidates and provide guidance on what actions they can take if they have concerns or questions.
• Expand support programs to all employees. Frame assistance as an effort to create a more successful organisation with a better work environment and employee experience for everyone; help employees understand why different people are getting different support.
• Use peer networks to provide more equitable access to opportunities between those outside the organisation and those within.
• Use technology to acknowledge the employees making the most important contributions. This includes ensuring employees are comfortable and consulted with the privacy implications of these technologies and, helping employees understand what behaviour changes will result in changes to their performance.

“Organisations that employ strategies to address these four factors can create a significant shift in the number of employees who feel like they have a fair experience at work – from fewer than in 1 in 5 employees to more than 4 in 5 employees,” said Mr. Woolrich.

Additional information is available in the Gartner webinar ‘The Equity Imperative: How Fairness Improves Performance and Employee Experience.’

Small Business Answers has a whole section with guides on HR.

SproutX, an initiative from Findex, has announced that it will launch their Business of Agriculture Program in March 2021 to attract new entrants to the AgTech sector. The national early stage AgTech mentorship accelerator and pre-accelerator program provider will look to expedite science and technology entrepreneurs into Victorian agribusinesses.

SproutX has partnered with LaunchVic who recently announced a $2.2 million injection into their AgTech Pre Accelerator program, as well as The University of Melbourne and Marcus Oldham College. Funding from the state innovation agency LaunchVic will be used to run the two-year project, with a target to foster 70 incorporated startups by 2024.

“We believe that increasing the volume of entrepreneurship at ideation stage will have a flow on effect and number of startups that grow into investment-ready opportunities down the track,” said Maxie Juang, SproutX Community Manager.

“Through the SproutX Business of Agriculture Pre-Accelerator Program, we aim to boost the number of investment-ready AgTech startups from Victoria. We are excited to be partnering with the University of Melbourne and LaunchVic in delivering world-changing ideas that are ready to be commercialised.”

Kate Cornick, CEO of LaunchVic, “SproutX provides word-class commercialisation support for founders tackling the agriculture sector’s biggest challenges – taking new ideas from farm gate to plate. With support from LaunchVic, we’re delighted to see the team join forces with the University of Melbourne to take 154 aspiring entrepreneurs through The Business of Agriculture Pre-Accelerator Program, a new initiative designed to engage non-traditional participants in the Victorian startup ecosystem.”

The pre-accelerator program is a free 10-week online course and will run an autumn and a spring cohort each year.  The online workshops and farm tours will cater to individuals from tertiary research, academic, and corporate R&D participants to consider commercial opportunities through startup.

SproutX has built a strong reputation since launching 2016 and has an active portfolio of 26 food and AgTech startups, from pre-seed to Series A.

There are signs that the Coronavirus pandemic is creating a structural shift in gender equality as pressure eases on some of the key barriers to women’s financial progress in 2021, the Financy Women’s Index December quarter report shows.

Key Results Financy Women’s Index

• The Financy Women’s Index (FWX) finished 2021 up 1.6% to 72.3 points with women’s financial progress and time to economic equality better than expected.
• The key drivers of the FWX in 2021 included the closing of the gender gaps in employment, ASX 200 board positions and unpaid work. 
•  However there was a 2.2% drop in the Index during the December quarter, weighed down by a worsening gender pay gap.
• The timeframe to economic gender equality now stands at 59 years, down from a revised 76 years based on the worst performing area – unpaid work.

Bianca Hartge-Hazelman, author of the Financy Women’s Index, said that 2022 presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Australia to consolidate the gains of 2021 towards economic gender equality.

The FWX finished 1.6% higher at 72.3 points compared to 71.2 points in December 2020, aided by a closing of the gender gaps in employment, ASX 200 board positions and unpaid work.

It will now take 59 years to achieve financial gender equality in Australia, down from a revised 76 years in 2020, based on the worst performing area of progress – unpaid work.

Data suggests that more flexible work arrangements and a better division of unpaid labour has enabled women to spend less time on unpaid work overall, whilst men are spending slightly more of their overall time in this area.

“The significant reduction in the timeframes to equality has surprised the FWX Advisory Board because we expected that the unpaid workloads of women had probably increased as a result of home-schooling and working from home during the lockdowns,” said Ms Hartge-Hazelman.

“But in fact, women appear to have been working more than ever in paid employment, although for less financial reward than men.

“While it is encouraging to see a greater balance in paid and unpaid work between women and men, if this is to be a long-term structural shift then it is vital that we also see female workforce earnings keep up, especially in those hard-hit services areas like Health,” said Mrs Hartge-Hazelman.

This quarter, the Financy Women’s Index sheds some light on one of the big questions to have emerged during COVID-19 – who bore the brunt of the unpaid work?

“The unpaid work index remains one the most important indicators of women’s progress, with the division of domestic tasks so closely tied to gender norms,” said Rhiannon Yetsenga, an economist at Deloitte Access Economics.

“The pandemic and associated lockdowns have shown a path towards greater gender equality through more flexible working, but further cultural and structural change is required if we want to enable progress beyond the modest improvements seen this quarter,” said Ms Yetsenga.

Despite the annual FWX improvement, a disappointing December quarter weighed on the result, with a 2.2% drop driven by a widening in the gender pay gap (14.2%). 

This was the only area of the Index which failed to improve over the year.

It acted as a drag on the annual rate of progress towards women’s economic equality, bringing it to about half of that recorded for the 2020 calendar year (1.6% versus 3%.)

“It’s frustrating to learn that, despite living in a wealthy, well-educated society in the 21st century, the Financy Women’s Index estimates it will take close to 22 years to close the gender pay gap,” said Effie Zahos, independent director InvestSMART.

“Right now, Australia is facing a skills shortage, and there may never be a better time for women to exercise their workplace clout and be paid what they are worth,” said Ms Zahos.

Among the other key findings on women’s economic progress: 

• the gender gap in underemployment is now the smallest it has ever been, reflecting that strong labour market conditions combined with greater work flexibility during the pandemic has improved employment opportunities for Australian women. 
• there was also an improvement in the number of monthly hours worked by women (6% gain versus a 5% gain for men in the December quarter). 
• the number of women on ASX 200 boards increased over the latest quarter to 34.5%, as of January 31, according to the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Nicki Hutley independent economist said she is “optimistic” that changes in the unpaid work balance will stick after the pandemic passes.

“There is still a lot of work to do and it’s concerning that some areas have worsened, especially the gap in graduate salaries. A gap right from the start tends to expand over the years and sets up a lifetime of inequality,” she said.

The remaining sub-indices of the Women’s Index such as Superannuation and Education will be updated in the March quarter of 2022.

Dr Shane Oliver, chief economist AMP said Australia needs to work harder on to getting gender equality right.

“The pandemic and associated lockdowns have shown a path towards greater gender equality through more flexible working – the key is for business, governments and workers to grasp the opportunity and push forward long after we leave the pandemic behind,” said Dr Oliver.