The CEO of Sydney’s International Convention Centre has provided the events industry with some valuable insights into the venue’s blueprint for customer and community success.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) 2019 in Melbourne, Geoff Donaghy highlighted the important role of leaders to not only take responsibility for delivering their company objectives, but also to look over the horizon and share industry challenges with the teams, cities and stakeholders that they represent, imparting knowledge on the next generation of leaders.
Donaghy reiterated that this mindset underscored ICC Sydney’s operational success while strengthening its community relationships and simultaneously helping the venue to achieve its vision to be an employer of choice, equipping the next generation of talent with extraordinary training and development skills.
“Ultimately, leadership in action enables organisations like ours to build the best possible teams and deliver the most successful outcomes for our customers,” he said.
For ICC Sydney, success in 2018 translated to the delivery of more than 700 core events, which attracted more than 1.3 million delegates and increased visitor spending by four per cent on 2017.
“We’ve had another successful year of operation, meeting our financial and economic obligations, which is in turn enabling us the opportunity to focus on delivering more than just great numbers,” Donaghy said.
“Our work in the local community and investment in our people is equally important.
“We launched the first Reconciliation Action Plan in an Australian convention centre last year, celebrated the people of Australia’s First Nations and improved diversity and inclusion within our workforce alongside our understanding of Australia’s mixture of cultures.”
ICC Sydney’s achievements extended to its 1,700 strong team – equivalent to 900 full-time jobs – who undertook almost 20,000 hours of training and enjoyed a staff retention rate of 93 per cent.
This was coupled with 123 promotions and 63 casual progressions into full-time roles.
Donaghy said ICC Sydney’s approach to leadership and training underpinned its strong culture and added to the premium performance of its people.
“Investment in our people is the foundation of our world-class operation, and this is mirrored by our delegate satisfaction rating which hit 99 per cent, and our client satisfaction rating which increased to 97 per cent.
“This is a direct result of the priority we place on developing careers for our people – not just jobs.
“We are proud and privileged to be entrusted with such a vital piece of Sydney’s infrastructure and look forward to delivering even more in our third year of operation.”
