Work Wonders
Back in late 2021, we decided that instead of chatting to each other about the challenges and triumphs of people management in small businesses, we should invite you to join the conversation. And the Work Wonders podcast was born! Managing people is serious business. We bring you all the latest, practical advice without the pain. The podcast is brought to you by Aster HR https://www.asterhr.com.au/ and your hosts are Angela Gauci and Susan Rochester
Work Wonders
Guest Interview: Divinia Eather from Eather Group
It’s interview time again!
In this episode, we spoke with Divinia Eather from Eather Group and it was a great discussion.
Eather Group is a family business that has been innovating cost-effective, sustainable solutions to traditional construction issues for 14 years in Western Sydney.
Divinia tells us about how their small business has grown from 2 trucks and just the business owner to today having a fleet of 20 trucks and more than 40 employees.
They have a strong committment to diversity, equity and inclusion and Divinia shares how they have seen this translate to engagement and retention amongst their staff. They are proud to share:
- 38% of their staff are women
- 25% of their staff are Indigenous
- 100% of their staff are local to Western Sydney
Eather Group are also the Winner of the 2024 Telstra Business Award for Indigenous Excellence, and Divinia shares a little about that journey.
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You can find the show notes for this episode here
Would you like to submit a question to the show? Let us know on our website or via LinkedIn.
Brought to you by Aster HR, the Work Wonders Podcast is hosted by Angela Gauci & Susan Rochester and is recorded at Launch Pad at Western Sydney University.
All information or advice included in this podcast is general, has been developed as a starting point for your business, and should be tailored to your specific requirements. It should not be considered legal advice. We have made every attempt to ensure the accuracy and currency of this information at the time of recording. However, references to things like employment laws are subject to change. For specific advice relating to your business, please get in touch with us.
Welcome to the Work Wonders podcast brought to you by Asta HR, where we simplify the human side of business. I'm Angela.
Speaker 2:And I'm Susan. Let's dive into today's episode and find out what you've been wondering about. Today's interview was with Davinia Iker. Davinia is a passionate representative and the second generation of a family business based in Western Sydney called Ether Group. The Ether Group is proud to focus on sustainability and diversity amongst their achievements on major infrastructure projects in New South Wales. We spoke to Davinia about managing and growing a family business. What happens when you need to step up to a larger organisation after growing from one truck with one driver, one employee, to now having 40 plus employees and being involved in some very major projects in Sydney? We also spoke to Davinia about the importance of diversity and sustainability to their success and how creating a culture that reflects you and your values can also engage your employees and improve your employee retention. So listen in. We hope you'll enjoy this interview.
Speaker 1:Hi Susan, Hi Angela, so we've got another guest interview today.
Speaker 2:Our favourite time.
Speaker 1:You're right. We're very excited to welcome Davinia from the Ether Group. Hi, davinia, hi.
Speaker 2:Thanks for joining us today. We usually start off these interviews by asking people a bit about their own career journey and also how their business has got to where it is today. So are you ready to tell us a bit about that, sure.
Speaker 3:So Ether Group is a family business. It was started by my parents, peter and Sally, and Ether, 14 years ago, so in 2010,. I was eight years old and I didn't want to share the attention, but that's okay, I've gotten used to it now. So, in terms of where we work, we're a transport and earth moving company, so we're on a lot of the big projects that are happening around Sydney at the moment and up the Hunter Valley too. A lot of people will be familiar with Sydney Metro and the traffic it causes at the moment and the roadways. So we're on some of those projects, lots of work to be done, and it's really exciting to be part of those really big legacy kind of works in the community. As I said, we started off when I was eight and that was with one truck. It was pink, it was old and it was difficult to get a driver for a long time there, so they ended up painting it white, which again devastated me as a child. We still have her. She's still in the yard, but 14 years later we now have 22 trucks, 20 machines and 40 staff. So we've grown pretty, I would say pretty quickly, but also, at the same time, you know, pretty steadily in terms of stepping up each, you know, at each new level, but we definitely get into talking later about that growth and how that's affected how we work.
Speaker 3:In terms of me personally, my career journey obviously I grew up hearing about the business and you know it was very much a part of my life since I was a child, but I came straight from school into working here as well, so I didn't actually get, I didn't go through like educational training in terms of what I'm doing now, but I really built a new understanding and respect for what my parents were building when I was younger and what we're trying to achieve. I started helping out with the admin when I first started, but I've always been a creative type. I love writing, I love telling stories, and so there was no marketing function when I started, but now that's what I'm doing. I'm the marketing manager, stepped into that. You know. I think I've always been doing really incredible things and my dad's pretty determined on the legacy that he wants to leave, but no one was really sharing what we were doing. So that became my job is just telling that story, showcasing the sustainability and the diversity that we've been passionate about since the beginning.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, more so. The presentations, the, the award nominations, press releases, um, creating a capability statement, a website. That's kind of been what I need to do. But being being a family business, you know those roles, kind of interchange and cross. I also help a lot with um, work with my dad for the sales, but also I pretty much handle the recruitment and some of the onboarding of new employees too. So it kind of crosses over into the HR conversation that we're having, because I believe that marketing and HR are pretty interlinked in our company and what we're trying to achieve.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'd agree with you, and I think there's probably a lot of people in our audience that are probably nodding their heads and thinking, yeah, that sounds familiar wearing all the hats and stepping here and stepping there and doing what needs to be done. So stepping here and stepping there and doing what needs to be done. So you talked about your awards and going for those awards. I'm aware that you really recently, in 2024, won a Telstra Business Award. Do you want to tell us about that? And congratulations, thank, you.
Speaker 3:Yes, that was. It's positive. It was a year of my life. I'll never get back Very thorough, Right? Tell us about that. Ever get back. They're very thorough, right? Tell us about that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there was probably I'm not sure if it was four or five rounds of judging. It started off with 22,000 nominations across Australia across the different categories a lot. And from there there's writing rounds. I think one round was, I think, 6,000 words on each of the questions, which was pretty shocking, goodness me. That's like a book. And then there was judging in person.
Speaker 3:Mum and dad had to go in and do a pitch to a panel as well, which, you know, public speaking is not their favourite thing, but it was good to get them out of their comfort zone. And you know, the one thing that you know everything about is your own business. So that's what the message was always you know, you know what you're talking about, you'll be fine. It was the Telstra Best of Business National Winner for the Indigenous Excellence category Great. So that was the full title, and it was recognizing the work that we're an Indigenous business. So the work that we're doing in community, in sustainability, in diversity, which we'll get into as well in terms of not just Indigenous employees but also women, local and young people, and that was how would I describe this.
Speaker 3:It was a real win for us because there were so many incredible businesses there and at every stage we were saying you know, we're just happy to get to this stage, or we're just happy to be here. We're just happy to get to this stage, or we're just happy to be here, we're happy to meet all these people. You know how incredible that a small business in Western Sydney can kind of be on this stage. Yeah, that was a really significant kind of moment for us to go. Oh, actually, this is something that interests not just people in our industry but also people across the nation.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Well, look to stand out amongst 22,000 people. I think I heard you say that's quite an achievement. So diversity and inclusion must be important in your business, as you said. Can you tell us a little bit more about why that's been identified as a really important factor for your business and how that plays out?
Speaker 3:Oh, good question In terms of why. What I would say is, look, a lot of our values come from you know, our family values and our own personal values, and I think that's, you know, common to a lot of businesses out there too. Yeah, we're people who like to give someone a go and um, where you know I was, we're soft when it comes to um, people who come in and really want to jump into a new career and unfortunately, there haven't been a lot of opportunities for people who haven't had a head start in our, in our industry. That then goes to, you know, minorities in our business, in our industry, sorry, in terms of women, indigenous employees, young people especially it's definitely an ageing industry as well and also trainees, people who are starting up.
Speaker 3:You know, it's always been a value, but there was a period of time during COVID where it was hard for anyone to get new employees and especially experienced operators and experienced drivers. So we had a moment where we decided that we were going to build our own, essentially, and really formalize our strategy. So you know, to start with it wasn't necessarily a strategy, it was something that was just happening, but we turned around and we said, okay, let's see how we can do this better and actually make this an integrated part of our business.
Speaker 2:Do you enjoy listening to our interview episodes? As you can tell, angela and I really enjoy making them, so we're always on the lookout for interesting people we can interview. If you or someone you know would make a great guest for us, please get in touch. You can contact us through our website at astrohrcomau or via LinkedIn. We're always happy to have a chat about what we might be able to discuss. That can both inform our listeners and help you to reach a wider audience. Now let's get back to the episode. So, davinia, I know you've been collecting stats, you know the different groups that you're employing there, and I was really interested to hear about the balance of that within. You know what is essentially a small, as you said, small western suburbs business, so can you tell us a bit more in terms of you know the indigenous employees, women, that sort of thing?
Speaker 3:yeah. So in our business, as I, we have around 40 staff. 26% of our employees are Indigenous, 100% are local to Western Sydney, 28% are training or upskilling in some way, and that includes 13% who are under 25. And then 36% are women, which is a pretty outstanding number for our industry. The average is 13, but 2% on tools. So our drivers and operators are actually paving a new kind of path for women who want to come into construction.
Speaker 2:That's an excellent analogy in your industry, isn't it? Paving a new path, well done.
Speaker 3:I didn't even mean to say that.
Speaker 1:What benefits have you seen in adopting these practices and making that important in your business and within your teams? What benefits have you seen for the business?
Speaker 3:Benefits is an interesting question and it's one that is brought up a lot. We go to a lot of forums and conferences and the two biggest hot topics are sustainability in trucks and machines and all that. But then also diversity and why should we is a question that gets thrown because it's seen as something that's not necessarily accessible or easy to do. But the benefits that we've seen I know that there's been some studies done in terms of specifically women. You know they're easier on the machine. Usually they end up not needing as much maintenance. A secondary benefit as well is when you provide, not just attract diversity but then also retain it. And provide not just attract diversity but then also retain it and provide a supportive environment for different people to come in. That word of mouth spreads as well. So one of our goals has been to become an employer of choice for all people.
Speaker 3:So we've had the experience where we're not just a family business now but we're a family business full of family. The operators have brought on their daughters. We've had people. We've had one person bring on his cousin, his cousin's best friend. We've had sets of brothers come on, you know, mothers and sons, fathers and daughters. We've had sets of people. That's lovely, thank you. Yeah, it means a lot to us because in the end that must mean we're doing something right if people want to bring on their friends, their family. Absolutely, I find that being such a diverse team it provides all different perspectives, you know, different levels of experience and coming from different backgrounds also means that they're looking at things in a different way as well. You know, being in the business the longest doesn't necessarily mean you'll have the only way to do something. Someone might introduce a new concept that they've seen in a completely different industry. So in terms of benefit, it's also just more interesting companies.
Speaker 2:That's true, more fun to come to work when everyone's not the same. I think that Angela and I are thrilled to hear you say that you know your employees are bringing in other employees because you know that makes your job so much easier, doesn't it? If you've got people who want to stay and not only do they want to stay, they want to say, hey, this is a great place to work. You should be on board too, true?
Speaker 1:sign of people being happy where they're working.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so, given that I know that you've put in quite a bit of work around the organisational culture to Vinnia, you know it's obvious that there's a culture developing there, but as business owners, you want to be able to guide that. Yeah, you want to be in control of that, I guess is the best way to say it really. So can you tell us a bit more about what you're doing in terms of organisational culture and engagement?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I guess one of the as part of our people and culture strategy, one of the focuses has been defining our culture, because if we don't do it, someone will define it, someone else will. So we have to take control of that in our own business and I guess one of the key things that has aided that process is, you know, linking in the marketing side. We're very vocal about the things that we value. We're very vocal about what we stand for and what we don't. People know us as the sustainable business, as a diverse business in the industry, and our name is kind of out there now for those reasons. So when people are applying to work with us, they already have that knowledge. We don't have to try and convince someone or change someone's personal values because they're already on board, and that's definitely aided the process. Yeah.
Speaker 1:We're just nodding at each other going.
Speaker 2:Nodding and smiling and saying you know, that is great and it really, I think, points to, as you said, that intersection between marketing and people in your business.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's become harder to manage the larger that we get, because we're not just employing now family or friends of family, but also people who have no idea who we are personally, and we have to define that and get them on board then as well. So part of that strategy has been things like team building events, but around causes that are important to the business. So, for example, we brought everyone to the local NAIDOC ball that was happening, which we sponsor each year. So getting people involved in community that we work in and we have a family fun day coming up as well. There's not a lot of opportunity for us to bring kids to work. No, it's very much.
Speaker 1:Especially in your field. Yeah, it's very much not allowed.
Speaker 3:Yes, no, so a lot of people, and not just the children, but then also their partners. They don't know what they do every day, they don't know who they're working for. Um, the way I've always heard my dad talk about the team hasn't been you know, staff or like a group of people. It's always how am I going to generate work and opportunities to feed these 40 families? So he really takes on the responsibility, I guess, as a head of the household for 40 different families.
Speaker 1:That mindset around that is really admirable. It is isn't it?
Speaker 2:And I'm thinking, you know, for your mum and dad, as the business has grown, you know that's a lot of extra pressure. Oh, absolutely, dad. As the business has grown, you know that's a that's a lot of extra pressure, you know it's? Oh, absolutely. So now you've reached the stage where you know you're needing to take that pressure off them, I guess, or share the load across the organization or, you know, even outsourcing some of the functions. We've got businesses listening, I sure, who are at that stage of just stepping up that next step, but you've had a few steps along the way. What advice would you have for them around meeting that challenge?
Speaker 3:I think a lot of businesses will be familiar with the idea that the business has been represented very much by my dad, the managing director, peter, and we call it Peter Group sometimes.
Speaker 3:But you know our business has been built on, you know, beer and a steak and handshake. And so people want to work with Ether Group because they trust Peter the leader, they trust that he's going to look after them and they trust that he's going to make sure that the job gets done and it's going to get done well and right. And you know they want to work with him continually and that's because of that relationship. But now we're at a stage where that can't all fall on just one person. We have, you know, multiple clients and we have, you know, a lot of work happening all at once and a lot of places to grow and a lot of things to be looked after. That can't just all be handled by one person or overseen by one person. So we're at the stage now where we're handing that off and bringing in more operational middle management to support that work that's getting done.
Speaker 1:That's an interesting piece, isn't it? I'm sure there are, again a lot of our listeners thinking, yeah, I'm there, or I've been there or that's in my horizon. You know, because when you're a business owner, you are the one that has the passion and the drive, you're the one that started the business for a very good reason, and yet you can't copy and paste yourself always. You know, and people do develop that relationship where it all began. Yes, I can. I can sympathize with that. That bringing in that values piece that you talked about and knowing those values really well, bringing that into your recruitment strategies and so on, can help copy and paste, if it's at all possible, and find someone that's just like Peter yeah, so not, not identical but aligned as we can, yeah if today's episode is giving you some light bulb moments, why not leave us a review?
Speaker 2:We'd really appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Look, we've talked about engagement, Davinia, and look, ultimately engagement is something that can be quite intangible. You know you can't always think, oh well, my employees are or aren't engaged, because how do we measure it? Do you have any ways that you track that sort of data, if you have it, or just tap in and have conversations with your staff to really measure how engaged they are and whether that's leading to retention and things?
Speaker 3:like that.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So, leading up to, I'd say, this year and last year, a lot of our employee check-ins have been very informal, either phone calls or just an open-door policy. You know, come in and have a chat. We're finding now, especially as we've grown and now that we're rolling out our people and culture strategy, that the process needs to be a lot more formal and standardized and that gives people a framework as well to know who to go to when, how they can, why they can, and not just then for negative things, like we've rolled out performance improvement plans and really making verbal warnings and things very formal and having them recorded, because that isn't something that we were necessarily doing before. We were just giving people advice and then trusting that they'll work on it, but sometimes that doesn't always work out. That can bite you in the end on it, but sometimes that doesn't always work out and that can bite you in the end. So, yeah, not just for those kind of improvement pathways, but also providing opportunities to to talk about the career pathways and the plans and you know what they're looking to achieve. That might be something as simple. As you know, I want to work a few Saturdays because I want to be able to buy a new couch in a month and that's okay, great, we have something to work towards. We can work with you on that, rather than, you know, I'm not getting enough Saturdays, this job thing. They can give me Saturdays but we don't actually know that you wanted them because a year ago you didn't want them. So, giving people the opportunity and time to be able to do that, we've also you know it's a simple thing, but had suggestion boxes, something that really surprised me coming out of that. To be honest, I was very shocked that we had, I think, about five or six separate suggestions of we want more team building activities, we want more weekend barbecue. And I didn't expect that because I kind of thought, oh, you know, no one really wants to stay on the weekend for barbecue, they want to get home to their family.
Speaker 3:But actually the feedback we were getting was oh, you know, we want more opportunities to get to know the other people in the business. You know, truck drivers are in their own kind of area, their own truck, for, you know, 12 hours of the day, five and a half days a week, they don't really get to meet the operators. The operators don't necessarily get to see us when they're working at the office staff when they're working out on site, because they send us their dockets and they go home. So people wanted to have more of a connection with everyone else in the business and that really surprised me. But it also, you know, that's now formed the basis of what we're trying to do with having more opportunities for people to get together around a common cause.
Speaker 3:We had our first town hall meeting it was called, which was everyone in the business gets invited to come in. We put on a feed and everyone was able to contribute to. We had a beautiful Indigenous artist come out, jess, who helped lead a workshop, and everyone got to paint one part of this canvas. And so now we have this beautiful painting that hangs in our boardroom and I love it, I think it looks great.
Speaker 1:I've got tingles, that's lovely.
Speaker 2:We're going to come and work with you. That's fantastic. Do you want to drive a truck? I could learn.
Speaker 1:What I'm hearing, davinia, is you know you're bringing all those pieces of the puzzle together. You've got your values that you know really well, that are important, and brought throughout. You're listening to your staff and talking to your staff and accepting their feedback and making changes and really listening and being open to what each individual needs is what I heard you saying you know and what their career might be, or you know their needs, and that is really the fundamental pieces of engagement. It's gold.
Speaker 1:So you're getting that back in people staying, bringing other people to you and, you know, wanting to tell you things like I want to be around my co-workers more and be part of the team. It sounds like you've got such a lovely culture. Well done, thank you.
Speaker 3:Look, we don't always get it right, and we know that yeah.
Speaker 2:And not everyone's going to be the best fit for you either.
Speaker 3:No, and that's right. And when you were asking about retention, I was in kind of two minds, because people who do leave do so pretty quickly because they see that they don't necessarily fit, and that's just. You know how that works. But that's also partially what you want as well. You don't want people to stay if they're not going to be happy and there's kind of nothing you can do to fix that.
Speaker 2:That's no good for anyone, them or you.
Speaker 1:Davinia, we always like to end our interviews with our final question, which is around. If you could just leave our listeners with one thing that people could do to affect change with engagement in their teams or retention of their staff, what would that be?
Speaker 3:So a lot of people might look at what we're doing and where we're at now and kind of say that's not something I'll be able to do. I can't do that, that won't work for our business. But what I would say to that is it doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can just start small start in the one place that you are passionate about, or you can afford to start with and then build on from there.
Speaker 1:Excellent, that's great advice.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:And I think that's so true for our listeners. If you're not at the stage of business like the Ether Group, starting somewhere is a great place to start. You just have to take one step. Yeah, absolutely. Look, it's been a pleasure getting to know you, Davinia, and thank you so much for sharing information about Ether Group with us. It's been a pleasure to talk with you.
Speaker 3:Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2:You're more than welcome. Thanks a lot. So if you'd like to know more about Ether Group and what they've achieved, what's the best way for people to find out more, Davinia?
Speaker 3:The best way would probably be to follow our socials. So we have LinkedIn, instagram, facebook and TikTok. We post them sometimes and that's ethergroup one word E-A-T-H-E-R-G-R-O-U-P, but you can also look at our website ethergroupcomau. Awesome.
Speaker 1:Well, we'll be sure to put those links in the show notes for today. And yeah, check it out. You're doing some wonderful things. Thanks again, see you later. Thanks for listening to the Work Wonders podcast brought to you by Asta HR. Hit the subscribe button now to never miss an episode, and if you'd like to continue the conversation with us, you can find us over at astahrcomau. See you in the next episode.
