Pens down
The closing days of this year bring back memories of school exams . Can ' t we have just a bit more time to finish things off … I had some great things still to get down !
Hopefully , that ’ s a sign of a good year ! That we did not run out of puff . That we will finish strongly , and that we will start the new year with purpose and direction .
How do we answer the question - “ are you happy with the year ?” Perhaps the easiest way is to ask ourselves if , in January of this year , we had known what we would achieve in 2024 , would we have been satisfied ? While that sounds simple , we did start the year with lots of plans and new projects , and ambitious targets that we wanted to reach . So our expectations for the year ahead were high - as they should be .
We can say that if in January , we were offered the year we have just had , we would have grabbed it with both hands . Across all three of our primary metrics , we posted some powerful numbers . We finished the year with our sales volumes up overall by seven per cent , and our properties under management up by six per cent , and our Australia / New Zealand market share reached a new high of 14.57 per cent which was up nearly seven per cent on the year . We hope all our members are proud of these numbers .
They are not only a result of hard work and perseverance month after month . They are a product of being prepared to take risks to keep improving and moving forward . It is natural to avoid taking them and playing it safe - fortunately we have a very long history in the industry that warns us of the pitfalls of doing so . Whether it be moments like opening new businesses , adopting new technology , taking on an associate , or undertaking personal development , such investments not only define our collective potential but measure how much we truly love what we do .
One of the key lessons of the year was the need for us to embrace the opportunities and challenges posed by increased expectations of transparency by both our customers and regulators . This need is not unique to our industry , and many other industries are well ahead of ours in terms of changing their communication and connection with customers to be more personalised and transparent . Uber has set the standard not only in car hire , and its global use has raised expectations universally . I recently flew with Qantas on a night flight to Sydney . At lunchtime I received a text to say that the flight would be 20 minutes late , and then another in the afternoon to say it would be delayed another 30 minutes . For a customer that values certainty on travel times above all others , the delay was disappointing but was mitigated by being told in advance and using that time to do other productive things . Then on the flight , the TV screen on my seat consistently updated the arrival time . The plane landed an hour late but my perception of Qantas was enhanced .
Our Pulse suite of technology products were built to create stronger relationships with our members through personalisation and transparency . Turning the vast amount of information we collect to build stronger connections , and ensure everyone in our group is recognised and celebrated , as are their efforts and progress . It still has enormous potential to improve its personalisation and transparency across every part of our group , and be more predictive and tailored . The Pulse suite is not , nor will it ever be , a finished product .
In the same way that Pulse builds connections between our corporate teams and our members , the prospecting tools in NurtureCloud builds connections between our business owners and salespeople through transparency and personalisation . Its real-time reporting provides a basis for honest conversations on performance and effort , and a chance to celebrate this effort and also identify areas holding us back . NurtureCloud leaderboards vividly display what ‘ great ’ looks like and what is possible .
NurtureCloud is challenging us to move toward the opportunities to build trust with our vendors through transparency . We have always collected lots of information on the work we do for every vendor and the interaction we have with buyers , but for the first time this information can be shown and accessed directly by our clients in real-time . For some of our members , this is a very challenging concept because it invites a higher level of scrutiny on our work , and requires change of habits to ensure what we do is recorded in our digital systems . But what an opportunity we have to build much stronger relationships with our clients if we do make this change . There will be no question in their minds that we are unquestionably on their side , and doing everything humanly and technologically possible to find them the best price in the market !
Finally , regulators in most markets have increased their level of scrutiny of our industry , and insist on more transparency on our work . In some cases this extends to accessing paper and digital files , as well as communication channels such as phone and WhatsApp . This has come as a surprise to some of our members , but is not inconsistent with regulatory activity in other industries .
We thank all members for your relentless energy and commitment throughout the year . You once again taught us to believe in ourselves and those around us , and to show courage and chase our potential . Those qualities remain at the heart of our story .
We hope our members have a very happy and enjoyable holiday season with family and friends , and we wish everyone all the best for the new year .
2025 will be our 124th year . Join us in continuing the tradition of making it our best year yet .
Dan White Managing Director Ray White Group