Hire and Rental News - May 2019

EVENTS IN FOCUS I really encourage other events industry members to become involved and to encourage others they may know in the industry to also consider joining the team. Every effort helps, even if it is only what you may think of as ‘small’. Truthfully, there is no small effort... Events industry Focus Group off to a great start T he first Events industry Focus Group was held early in February with a really good cross section of industry in attendance. That was really heartening and helped us get off to great start. With our focus very much on how we could achieve best possible outcomes, we decided to pick a few key issues to begin so we can show favourable outcomes and continue to build on our team’s successes. We came up with key objectives for the group, to build a value proposition for members and to start working on the key identified initiatives. I really encourage other events industry members to become involved and to encourage others they may know in the industry to also consider joining the team. Every effort helps, even if it is only what you may think of as ‘small’. Truthfully, there is no small effort; everything we do is a contribution. We’re all volunteers working to achieve for our industry. Topics discussed at our meeting and which formulate the basis of our first few initiatives, included: 1. Modern Award. We are now working with MST Lawyers (HRIA industry partner) to determine the feasibility of in establishing an Enterprise Agreement/Award specific to the Events industry. While we are establishing a timeline for this initiative, we expect feedback within a few months and can offer input to members on how that is coming along. I know there a lot of events industry members paying under the Retail Award and it is cumbersome and not really specific and or pertinent to our market. I know I am keen to discover what we can put in place here. 2. HIRE19 Workshop. We would love to broaden our Focus Group input and so will be hosting a workshop during HIRE19 where we can involve as many Events industry members and attendees as possible to brainstorm on what they see as the important issues for our industry. I look forward to meeting everyone there and having some great discussions. 3. Safety initiatives. We also started working on safety initiatives specific to the events market. For many small events companies, it is difficult to get up to speed and maintain knowledge and policies around safety, especially when there is such a large volume of information that is ever changing. It is a big job and can be completely overwhelming and as a result, our industry can suffer from a lack of compliance in this area. We are working to develop some information to provide direction and a safety starting point for all members. We were all keen to get these initiatives off and running – and now they are all in progress. We also plan to have some updates for our market very soon. The Focus Group definitely believes by working together we can achieve more for our entire industry. We’d love to hear from you. I will be at HIRE19 and look forward to meeting our events industry members and colleagues. Please come say hello and - let’s talk. Erin Johnston Events Division President P46 HIRE AND RENTAL NEWS • EVENTS IN FOCUS MAY 2019 President’s message