2020 CEO Survey: Sarah Hunter, Officeworks

Our team really is our greatest asset, they’ve shown a lot of resilience as they’ve adapted to the environment, says Officeworks’ Sarah Hunter

Officeworks CEO Sarah Hunter in the Richmond store in Melbourne. Picture : David Geraghty for The Australian.

What are the three enduring lessons or changes to flow from COVID?

•Staying connected - We increased internal communication so all of team members had up-to-date information throughout the pandemic. Our team and customer’s safety were at the forefront of all decision making and we wanted to assure them of this.

We had access to the leadership team via regular virtual check-ins and regular virtual store tours across our national network of 168 stores. It’s been amazing to see the innovative ways our team has stayed connected using technology.

•Flexibility is key - We’ve embraced new ways of working after our support team members have spent most of the year working from home. We’ve made the most of technology available to us, encouraging video calls where it makes sense so the team can feel connected.

We’ve listened to our team about where and how they want to deliver their work in the future. We’re currently redefining our ‘flexible working’ policy and will see the role of the office change. We want it to be a space that is set up for collaboration, connection, inspiration, learning, reflection and networking with teammates but also suppliers and partners.

•Being agile and adaptable - Our team really is our greatest asset, they’ve shown a lot of resilience as they’ve adapted to the ever-changing operating environment and the ways we can help inspire our customers to work, learn, create and connect.

Our team remains passionate, agile and adaptable to meet customer needs as they continue to evolve. They created a national contactless click & collect service and turned countless stores into fulfilment points over night, particularly in Metro Melbourne during Stage 4 lockdown.

What are the three best growth opportunities for your company in 2021?

Continue to invest in our every channel business model. Our every-channel business model continues to resonate with customers. We have made a number of strategic decisions and investments over the years to create a strong digital proposition for our customers – with online already accounting for 27 per cent of total sales before this year. These will help set us up for further growth online. Our stores will also play a significant role in future growth, our customers have indicated that more than ever they enjoy the experience of shopping instore.

Continuing to listen to our customers and embrace opportunities for growth. We see continued opportunities for growth in our core business and Geeks2U business, and we think there will be chances to accelerate our strategy through 2021 for example as Australia continues to embrace working from home and staying connected.

What impact will digital transformation have on your company?

As a sizeable digital business pre-COVID, we were able to leverage our every channel model and scalable technology to ensure we could continue to meet our customers’ needs across Australia through 2020. Looking ahead, our investment in digital capability and innovation is only likely to grow as we embrace feedback from our customers and the opportunity to improve the way we work leveraging technology,