Kapiti Island Alive
Overview
Kapiti Island Alive was established in 1999 on Kapiti Island. The company’s mission is to be a profitable family business that contributes to tourism visitor numbers in the greater Wellington region. Five full-time staff perform marketing, administration, financial management, property maintenance and food and beverage management roles, and five part-time staff work primarily as guides. There are also eight trainees. Kapiti Island Alive was a finalist in the Wellington
Gold Awards in 2007 and the Supreme Winner of the 2006 Te Roopu Pakihi Maori Business Awards.
The PRODUCTIVITY CHALLENGE
Kapiti Island Alive’s business is growing at around 20 percent annually, with a high number of international visitors. Meeting the needs of more demanding client groups has put pressure on directors John Barrett and Amo Clark to adjust the style of business they operate, and the facilities and products they provide. The challenge for the organisation was how to manage customer growth within the staff and resource constraints typical of a small business, while developing and up-skilling staff for succession planning.
The Productivity Achievement
The growth in its customer base has led Kapiti Island Alive to take on more staff and find ways to grow the knowledge base of existing staff. This has required a substantial investment in people and skills.
- Management commitment to staff training is crucial.
- Staff expertise makes them valuable trainers.
- Teaming up with external training providers shares the cost of up-skilling staff.
- Providing training and career opportunities helps attract and retain staff.
The full Kapiti Island Alive productivity case study is available as HTML and PDF