Strata Expert of the Week - Greg Haywood

Wednesday, 10th August 2011

Chief Executive Officer of BCS, Greg Haywood

Greg Haywood is not only the Chief Executive Officer of the largest strata company in Australia - he is a visionary. Recognised at Body Corporate Services (BCS) for his time generosity and calm influence, he always envelops himself in the big picture. He knows his business is about people and he knows his people - all 460 of them.

Greg Haywood is not only the Chief Executive Officer of the largest strata company in Australia - he is a visionary. 

Recognised at Body Corporate Services (BCS) for his time generosity and calm influence, he always envelops himself in the big picture. He knows his business is about people and he knows his people - all 460 of them. 

There is no ivory tower or mahogany row at BCS, Greg rolls his sleeves up and gets involved. 

By being so closely connected with his team he hears what is needed and wanted in the industry and ultimately the strata business is about you, each and every lot owner. Yes, Greg Haywood has your back and that makes him a great leader.

Since joining BCS in 2001 as Chief Financial Officer before becoming Chief Executive Officer in 2003, Greg has lead the strong growth of BCS to its position today as the market leader in strata.

Today, BCS has experts that can manage every aspect of strata including residential, commercial, mixed use, resorts, aged care, company title and community association properties.

"Customer service is always first and foremost at all times," Greg said.

"We would like to get it right 100 per cent of the time but you have to accept, albeit begrudingly,  that it is not always going to be the case.  Anyone who promises that, is unrealistic.  All we can do is keep striving to be the best and that is through our company's focus on its staff and systems and we are now at a point we can be proud of the service we deliver."

To get to this point, Greg says that BCS went through various stages including putting all senior managers through a leadership program which was aimed at strategically aligning the business to where it wanted to go.

Training and development has provided the key professional competencies all staff are required to have to meet the objective of delivering the goal of great customer service.  Greg's personal drive has been to ensure training and development is open to all as this is the key to getting the best out of people and retaining good staff.

Training is ongoing with BCS developing it own Certificate IV courses.  Currently 260 staff are undertaking a Certificate IV course in Frontline Management, Business and Administration.

"Giving tools to better leaders in the company encourages people to do greater things as well as building confidence," Greg said.

"A more confident team means they are able to provide good internal and external customer service."

More recently the business has been focussing on the clients needs and engaged a branding company to assist it identify ways to develop client relationships.  Greg says this provided BCS with a new model and branding around the purpose of "enhancing community living".

As part of the focus on client needs a client survey was conducted where two key things emerged. These were that clients want leadership from their strata managers and they want quality trades people to undertake their repairs and maintenance.

The focus therefore for BCS could not be simpler. 

"People make an organisation," Greg said.

"If they are well-trained and have support from their employer they can provide their clients with that leadership and ensure they attract quality suppliers who also share the same vision."

Greg has also ensured that throughout the company's growth it has put back into the strata industry by supporting the various industry associations now under the Strata Community Australia (SCA) branding.

BCS provides support through sponsorship of the organisations as well as conventions and events, in NSW, BCS is also sponsor of the Education Award.

Greg has been an active Director of SCA NSW for the last four years to provide support and direction for the strata industry along with other BCS senior managers as board members in other SCA states.

All staff, including assistants, are members of their state SCA and BCS covers the cost of Certificate of Registration training for each staff member attending the course.  As Greg points out, up skilling people is great but they also need to be engaged in the industry.

With people like Greg driving successful companies such as BCS, apartment owners can be assured that they are getting professional service from people who are supported by their employers, well-educated and passionate about their roles.

For more information, you can contact BCS on 1300 665 480 or info@bcssm.com.au.  You can visit BCS at www.bcssm.com.au

Footnote by Cindy Martin, owner of Stratalive

When I first made the decision to start this website, I spoke to a number of people including Greg Haywood. I wanted the site to be free to lot owners and that required sponsorship from industry leaders and suppliers. BCS is one of our major sponsors and Greg was happy to be involved. In fact, he probably inspired me to start the site. Having worked at BCS with Greg we were only too aware that communication with lot owners had to be better. Lot owners needed their own portal where they could come for advice and information. A place where they could ask questions and get support from the industry. A place where other lot owners in similar positions could also help. A site about everything to do with apartment living and a site just for lot owners. In consideration of their own lot owners, BCS became a major support in establishing this site and continues to support its development . Their contribution to this site reflects Greg's continued commitment to the industry as a whole.

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