API’s National Property Conference is one of the biggest gatherings of property professionals in Australia. Every year, the impact of this conference reverberates throughout Australia as delegates take home with them new ideas, business realignments and future initiatives. That is why this event is very important to WBP Group. Ideas and realisations taken from this yearly conference may have directly or indirectly influenced the way we shaped our company, most of which is to get WBP Group a step ahead in today’s property standards and to work towards becoming a better property valuation leader as the future unfolds.
This year is no different. In fact this year, our work with the Australian Property Institute started months before the National Property Conference took place. We partnered with them in inspiring women leaders in the property industry by presenting API’s Women in Leadership Series, a national program driven by breakfast tours held in major cities all over Australia. This culminated to Greville Pabst presenting The Lesley Bennett Women in Property Award during the final night of the conference.
During the conference, we ensured that WBP Group team members are well represented in sessions that talk about the current status of the property valuations sector and where it is heading in the coming years. These sessions also prepare us to create measures when markets are down and how we can provide valuation services better even when the outlook is not that sunny. It is about being front and centre in understanding the economic drivers, industry disruptions and technological advances then translate it to customer focused services. Services that care for individual customer pain-points and how we can meet needs with a service that fits their circumstance.
Technology is now playing an even bigger role in valuations. As one of the first companies to create custom technology for property valuations, it is but natural for WBP Group to collaborate with new technologies to further improve our efficiency. “For me, this year, it’s about data management”, says Jonathan Millar, State Director for WBP Group QLD. He also added that “Data is going to be a large player in the immediate future and we as a group need to understand the challenges that come with it and its future use. I am all for engaging technologies that help us manage data better and so we can deliver outstanding offerings.” Peter Fallon, Residential Valuations State Director for WBP Group NSW agrees with Jonathan’s observation. He said, “Ensuring the reliability of data and the accuracy of the algorithms that drive big data is essential”.
Mentoring runs through the fabric of our company’s culture that’s why this event is not only an eye-opener for our valuers, it widens their perspective. Matthew Jobson, said that “the talk about economic values and the driving forces behind it gave me deeper understanding on the property market and the role we play as valuers”. Sacha Millar, Business Optimisation Manager for WBP Group QLD ensured that we had good representation in the conference specially in attracting interest in careers that we offer, our company culture and our impact in the property industry.
But one of the best things about this as well, is meeting new and old friends. Since our WBP Group family is spread throughout Australia, this is a once-a-year event where we can share insights face to face and empathise with prevailing sentiments from each other’s locale. We get each other ready to face another year, full of insights and bouncing with fresh initiatives to take WBP Group to a better place from where it is this year.
