To say Liz Stevenson is driven and passionate about her new role as New South Wales’ (NSW) Business Development Manager is an understatement. Five months into the role, Liz is making her way around the regions of NSW that house TurfBreed’s grower communities. Liz’s past managerial style has given her the professional ability to grasp a strong knowledge of the Australian Turf Industry and most importantly TurfBreed’s marketing and production systems.
Liz is a career professional with an Applied Science degree specialising predominately in operations and project management for the last 30 years in both the supplier and customer arenas. Her considerable experience in merchandising, establishing businesses, program development and training have all put her in good stead to take on the role. Katie Fisher speaks to Liz about her life before TurfBreed and how that is helping to lay a strong foundation in her new role.
- While it has only been five months, to date, how has your previous professional career helped you in your new role?
Over the past 20 years, all my working roles have been about helping the customer and/or supporting them so they achieve their desired outcomes.
At the end of the day, it does not matter what group of people (retailers, tradies or growers) you are working with, or even the product, it is about making better returns. It’s about achieving the desired result (for the customer) and, of course, having a laugh along the way! That is what I want to do alongside our NSW TurfBreed growers – work with them to help them, ultimately, achieve their desired results.
- You seem to have predominately worked in operations and management – why has this area appealed to you?
My previous roles in operations and management were at a completely different pace. For instance, at a pace that is not sustainable for someone like myself, at this stage of my life, where I have elderly parents and teenagers (can you tell I am trying to avoid saying I’m old!).
My role prior to TurfBreed, was as a project manager where I always had multiple projects underway spread across the Country. And often, operations and works were happening at night as well as during the day. It was becoming increasingly difficult to manage and juggle, particularly with COVID being thrown into the mix.
I was friends with the predecessor of my role – Ann McKeon – who spoke so highly of her job, the growers and TurfBreed. She would continually explain to me what the role involved and how much crossover there was between my existing job and being a BDM.
She also spoke with admiration of the team (internally and externally). When she asked if I would be interested in the role, it seemed to have the foundations of an arranged marriage with longevity!
I actually knew a lot of the people by name (again internally and externally) before I even meet them just by talking at great lengths with Ann about her work.
Above: NSW BDM Liz Stevenson (left) with Anna Fraser and Andrew Coombe from Lorn Turf.
- Tell us some of the “standout” elements of your previous work life especially when you were with the company Masters?
I have been blessed with the opportunities that I have been given in my working career.
For example, I was involved with establishing an electronic retail chain in India – trying to fit out a store in a Sari is an accomplishment let me tell you!
I was also the buyer for a Music Retailer’s flag ship store in Sydney during the 1990s. Being the flagship store, we were asked to close the store early on some occasions so visiting artists, to Sydney, could come in and shop. I have met Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Michael Jackson, Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan, Elton John and Stevie Wonder to name but a few artists.
I always got asked to show them around the shop because I had the best knowledge of albums. The regional manager stopped requesting me for the job when they asked me one night to show Stevie Wonder around the shop, and I giggle profusely. I was only 20 and apparently too immature for finding that request funny.
From a Masters perspective, I was asked to transfer from another division of Woolworths and work with the Masters’ installation team.
This team was put together to develop a portfolio of offers to customers if they did not fancy DIY. When I arrived, they told me that the first installation program they wanted developed and implemented was for splashbacks. On my first day, I sat with a group, listening to what they had to say and remained very quiet. I was too embarrassed to ask what a splashback was! Twenty minutes into the meeting, I excused myself to go to the bathroom and quickly googled what a splashback was.
It took four months to develop and launch the Masters’ splashback program. It was my first project at Masters and the most successful.
In total, during my time at Masters, I developed 12 installation programs.
That is also how I met Ann. Ann was the Green Life Buyer for Masters and wanted to launch a Lawn Installation Program.
How has your transition been into TurfBreed across the past five months?
Like any job – regardless of how long you have been with them – you have good days and bad days. Fortunately, to date, I have not had too many bad days. The circumstance as to why the role was offered, and is to some degree still is, emotionally very hard. Especially knowing the person that did the job before you. I find myself saying on a daily basis: “How would Ann handle this?”
It is also a different role being the lone soldier in NSW. But what I am finding is the more turf growers I meet on a face-to-face basis, the more contact I have with them on a daily basis.
Also, the support I have received, especially from the growers and what I have learnt from them about turf has been phenomenal! If I could package all I have learnt into a box – I think I would be suitably impressed.
- What have you learnt from visiting so many of the different growing regions within NSW?
That growers are by far nicer people to deal with than the tradies I dealt with in my previous role!
I also love the fact that most of the farms are family businesses and will continue to be run by the same family. It is also fantastic to see most of the growers in regions working together to help one another. This was, and still is, very evident in the Hawkesbury Region following last year’s floods.
I am a BIG advocate of networking which basically means helping one another out in times of need.
Above: NSW BDM Liz Stevenson with Wayne Griffis from Agland Turf.
- After spending a lot of time out and about, what do you want to achieve to better service your NSW growers?
I’m finding that a lot of growers are trying to wear too many hats, particularly when they are a just a two-person operation.
Growing and selling turf and trying to manage technology (Website updates, Facebook, Instagram etc…) and organise add-on sales – Lawn Care products.
I firmly believe that these growers need, and can, call on the TurfBreed Team, as we have solutions to most issues and can help. I am a big believer in that if more than one grower has said the same thing, you can guarantee that there are more out there with the same issues.
I also love the fact that there are some great innovative ideas happening. When I was recently in the Hunter Valley – I saw some great ideas that I believe could benefit other growers. Watch this space for more details!
- What has really stood out for you since joining TurfBreed in terms of your role as NSW BDM?
I have worked for a company that nationally employed over 200,000 people. I then went to work for a company that nationally employed about 150 people. With that last role, I had to have several different caps apart from being a project manager. This well and truly set me up for working for TurfBreed, where the lucky number of people that I work with directly is a total of seven!
I have a joke with my family every night that I am managing director material because I have spoken to everyone in the Company today! Not many people can say they do that, can they?!
All jokes aside, the skill set and the achievements of the TurfBreed Team and what they have achieved in such a small space of time is absolutely mind blowing!
Also, every single one of them is so helpful ALL THE TIME! They are so genuine and thoughtful with any blips in the road. This was very evident with the passing of one of their team members.
- You were a colleague and close friend of our dear former colleague Ann McKeon. What did you learn from her before we lost her last November?
I knew Ann for over 10 years, and, to this day, I am eternally grateful that we became friends outside of work as well as at work. And then put my name forward as her successor to work at TurfBreed.
It is such an honour and a privilege, and I can honestly say, what I learnt from Ann, started from the day I met her and not just the month I had with her when technically we were sharing the role.
Ann’s advice for this role was to “just be yourself, use your common sense, get back to people and have a laugh!” To date, I think it’s working!
- Looking ahead – what are some of your goals and aspirations your role holds over the next 12-months?
Over the next 12-months I want to visit all of my growers on a regular basis, support them as much as I possibly can by listening to them. In turn, I want to work on ideas with the rest of the TurfBreed Team that aid our growers so they can concentrate on what they do best – growing premium quality turf.
I would also like to see growers look at improving key marketing tools – their websites and social media exposure, especially now the new Marketing Manual has been released.
Above: NSW BDM Liz Stevenson with Peter and Brad Littler from Boambee Turf.