Our stories

The current troubled and uncertain times we are experiencing have unfortunately increased the need for some families to escape domestic violence, and Dulux NZ is here to help

Dulux NZ has recently partnered with Pet Refuge, who are building a specially designed shelter that will temporarily house dogs, cats and other small pets caught up in domestic abuse. It is the first one of its kind in NZ, with plans to build more around the country in key locations.

NZ has the second highest rate of pet ownership in the world, and unfortunately the highest rate of family violence in the OECD. Research has established that over half of women caught up in domestic abuse, delayed leaving out of fear for their pet’s safety. Their partners would often use abuse towards the animals as a way of controlling the victim, preventing them from taking any action.

Women’s Refuge don’t have facilities to house pets, so this creates a barrier for people wanting to leave, as they can’t face leaving their pets behind. By providing a shelter that works alongside Women’s Refuge, victims can leave with their pets, knowing there will be a safe place for them to go, and can be reunited once longer-term plans are in place.

It was a natural fit for Dulux and Pet Refuge, as we can leverage the iconic Dulux Dog, to help raise awareness for his four legged friends in need.

Dulux are contributing a significant amount of product and resource for the build of the shelter by supplying all the paint and coatings needed such as decorative paints like Wash&Wear, Weathershield and Aquanamel, as well as specialty coatings. We would like to thank Graham Gates and Kevin Hokopaura from Protective Coatings for their help in providing Fireshield and organising its specialty application of the product. We will also be providing technical advice and interior design expertise for the shelter.

In addition, Dulux are ‘sponsoring a brick’ in the name of every Dulux NZ employee to help with the build costs of the shelter.

Once the shelter is complete, we will be providing donations for ongoing support and working with Pet Refuge on creating fundraising opportunities.

To find out more about Pet Refuge, follow the link, and make sure you have tissues ready if you watch the video. https://www.petrefuge.org.nz/

If you would also like to sponsor a brick, follow the link: https://rebuildlives.co.nz/

The Gracefield Customer Service team in New Zealand are being kept very busy while in lockdown and are using some unique ways of keeping in touch.

The team were egg-cited about picking up and moving home.  With very little notice, they set up and got back to keeping our customers happy.  Along with the amazing customer service they supply, you may also get a terrible joke to go along with your query (the teams’ skills obviously lie in Customer Service – not comedy!).

The team have been working hard to ensure that they continue to egg-cell, and while they are used to the face-to-face support of their Team Leaders, they are egg-cellent at using tools like Teams, Skype and SharePoint to communicate and share information. This Cracker of a team can’t be beaten!

Since they can’t be together as a team, it was an egg-cellent opportunity to think outside the square and here we are!

The photo credit goes to the daughter of our Services Manager Bronwyn, and the credit for the bad jokes goes to the Gracefield Customer Services Team.

We are pleased to provide you with an update on DuluxGroup’s involvement with the “Impact21” Project, which aims to provide young adults living with Down Syndrome an opportunity to build their skills and obtain permanent employment in the workplace.

Our new employee Jonathan commenced work at DuluxGroup on March 11 in the role of Colour Room Assistant. He wanted to share part of journey.

Q: What do you enjoy the most about working in the Colour Room at Dulux?

A: Working in a room filled with lots of colours. Choosing the colour sheets and getting to know the codes and names of the colours. Getting to know my team.

Q: What are your favourite tasks?

A: Getting the order forms and choosing the colours. Doing the mailroom run.

Q: How has working changed your life?

A: It has given me more opportunity to try new things. Learning more skills. Share with family what l have been doing

Q:What are you saving your pay checks for?

A: A trip to New Zealand

Q: How do you prepare for a regular working day?

A: Make sure l have made my roll for lunch.

Congratulations to our Dulux Merrifield production team who recently participated in the 27^th Annual Australian Corporate Games.

The Corporate Games are a series of sporting events involving some 20,000 entrants from 3,000 different organisations.  The Games encourage organisations to support their employees pursuit of a healthier and more active lifestyle, with funds raised going to Beyond Blue.

Merrifield organised three teams for the Games - a female and male basketball team, and a mixed soccer team.  The teams approached the competition with varying levels of commitment. The most committed team (to their preparation), the female basketball team, walked away with bragging rights, finishing in overall third place. The other teams had a lot of fun and are committed to reflecting on their achievement with an aim to improve ready for next year.

There was an amazing effort from all who participated, and the teams showed great support for one another while having a great time.

Creating a difference in the community has always been incredibly important to Dulux so for this year's Jelly Beans campaign we elected to support Second Chance Animal Rescue.

For the 2019 Jelly Beans campaign Dulux will be donating $1.00 from every Jelly Beans tin to Second Chance Animal Rescue, equating in a $140,000 donation to fit out their new Animal Hospital with much needed equipment.

Second Chance Animal Rescue was founded in 2008 after vet nurse and shelter volunteer Marisa Debattista witnessed firsthand how many beautiful animals needed help, versus how few resources were available. The new hospital will help alleviate this pressure within the wider Victorian area. "Our new animal hospital aims to provide veterinarian support to sick and injured animals whose owners may not be able to afford to pay the bills." Marisa says. "We will also be offering a number of free services not readily available within the state - such as our Safe House for Pets program, where we house pets temporarily for owners who are family violence survivors."

In addition, some of our Dulux team volunteered their time and skills to paint the new hospital, with Dulux supplying all paint to complete the project.

Over the course of the next twelve months, Marisa and the team at Second Chance Animal Rescue have projected that through the animal hospital and its supporting programs they will be able to achieve the following:

• Adopt out 1400 homeless cats and dogs;
• Treat over 3000 public patients in the Community Animal Hospital;
• De-sex 300 animals for free via the Pet Outreach Program;
• Assist over 300 underprivileged pet owners with free veterinary treatments via the Pet Outreach Program;
• Hand out over 2000kg of pet food to underprivileged pet owners via the Free Food Bank;
• Run 45 responsible pet ownership workshops (inluding Pet First Aid and puppy school classes): and
• Offer free emergency respite care to more than 50 animals belonging to domestic and family violence survivors via the Safe House for Pets Program.

Stay tuned for more information on this year's Jelly Beans Campaign.

Flexibility comes in many different forms and means different things to different people. As we move to a more flexible world, one where work and life are more integrated and where we are expected to remain in the workforce for longer it’s important to understand the ways flexibility can be used and one such important use is in transitioning to retirement.

We asked Phil Jones, Technical & Specification Service Manager, in Parchem to share his experience as he transitions to retirement.

Phil started with Fosroc-Nonporite in 1984 and whilst the business has undergone many changes and owners, before being bought by the DuluxGroup in 2012, Phil has remained dedicated and loyal to the business, to the customers and to the products.

He has enjoyed a variety of different and challenging roles throughout his impressive career, initially starting as a Specifications Manager, before moving into a State Sales Manager role, then a Product Manager which lead him to the Technical Services Manager role and the Application & Training Manager position, before being appointed the National Specification Manager until his current role today. This tenure in a technical business has meant that Phil enjoys a deep and unique knowledge and understanding of the business and its products. Phil has enjoyed many career highlights but imparting knowledge and training are the two that Phil cites as being the most rewarding.

Three years ago Phil decided to approach the business with a request to work flexibly. Then in his early 60s, with both kids living overseas, Phil and his wife decided the time had come for her to return “home” to New Zealand. Phil wasn’t ready to retire but he was ready for a change. He approached his manager with his plan about working part time. He knew of others that worked part time so he thought why couldn’t he? At that stage he wasn’t even thinking of it in terms of “transitioning to retirement”. In approaching his manager, his manager suggested he review the transition to retirement material and work through his plan. Having done that Phil went back to his manager with his plan in two parts:

1)            Cut back to 3 days per week, initially working on getting the technical data sheets (over 250 of them) in order as well as providing the technical support and training to customers and staff. With that agreed, Phil then went ahead with part 2.

2)            Moving to and working remotely from Nelson, New Zealand.

Both were agreed to with a trial period to see how it worked out. Adjustments would be made if necessary.

Phil notes that essential to this arrangement working is the trust the business had to have in him. And it has worked out really well. Phil now spends 3 days per week working for Parchem, predominately on technical data sheets and working with the Brand Managers on New Product Development projects, but he also provides technical advice to the team and has a few customers to call on in New Zealand, just to give him some variety.

On his non work days he goes fishing, plays golf and rides his motorcycles. He also has 4 acres of land, planted with olive trees, to occupy his time.

Has Phil enjoyed the change? Absolutely! He has a role that keeps his brain active, a bit of money coming in and more time for himself. He does more travel now as well. For him the structure of 3 days’ work, 4 day weekends works well. He sees the situation as a win win – the business gets to retain his immense knowledge and experience and he gets to work at a capacity that suits his needs in life. He is not looking to grow his career but wants to contribute in a meaningful way to the business. In the next year or so he may look to drop back to 2 days per week.

Phil recommends anyone thinking of following his path to have a clear plan and know how they are going to spend their extra free time. Make sure they have thought through their finances as well but overall transitioning to retirement has meant he can stay active and keep working whilst having more time to spend on the things that really matter!

The Selleys team spent last Friday living the Selleys Brand Purpose ‘From Task to Triumph’ by partnering with The Bower Reuse & Repair Centre to bring DIY to life in the community. Together we experienced how Selleys products can be used to empower communities to repair and reuse - reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.

Who are The Bower?

The Bower Reuse and Repair Centre is an environmental charity committed to reducing landfill. Their range of services and programs are all based on the ethos of reuse and repair to reduce the amount of waste entering landfill and empowering communities to engage in repurposing. To date The Bower have saved more than 190,000 Kilograms from landfill, repaired over 2,600 items, on sold items to more than 33,000 happy customers & helped over 270 families though donation of furniture to charitable causes. A third of all pieces in The Bower network end up in the House to Home network to help furnish the homes of disadvantaged members of the community.

And through it all Selleys products have been a trusted ‘go to’ brand in The Bower tool box to assist them in their everyday operations.

What we got up to at the Selleys Brand Purpose Workshops?

We had a fun filled day, stripping back layers of paint to bring back to life the natural beauty of tables and bedroom drawer suites. We removed dirt and grime to expose the hidden gem of what would have been a discarded piece of furniture and rescued a full set of dining chairs that were originally destined for landfill.

The furniture pieces we helped restore will now go into The Bower network where they will be rehomed. The money made will help continue to fund and support the reuse and repair environmental efforts of The Bower.

At DuluxGroup we love to develop and invest in our people. We also love to recognise our people for the exceptional work they do. Adam Husband is a great example of this. During his time at Cabot’s as State Sales Manager, Adam gained a reputation for achieving great business outcomes through empowering and delivering through his team. Whilst Adam has been recently promoted into the role of National Account Manager for Dulux working with Bunnings, today we wanted to showcase his achievement’s during his time with Cabot’s. Apart from receiving national recognition in being awarded both the Cabot’s Sales Manager of the Year and Decorative Sales Manager of the Year for 2018, Adam also and more importantly created a diverse and dynamic sales team during his time in the role, one of his proudest achievements to date.

Adam knows diversity in a team doesn’t just happen, rather it took a deliberate and considered approach.

When Adam took on the Cabot’s role, he knew he was leading a group of employees with long standing service and experience. They knew how to get the job done so Adam’s initial focus was on making sure they remained engaged during the change in leadership to continue delivering exceptional results. When movement occurred within the team, Adam used this opportunity to mould and shape the team differently. His vision was to create a diverse sales team (in terms of experience, gender, age and backgrounds) to truly drive team performance within a supportive environment. Adam’s goal was to foster a high performing team culture where everyone felt empowered to step up and deliver no matter what their experience was. There is no doubt – it worked. It took time and patience which eventually paid off. Individual members of the team have since been singled out and recognised for their outstanding performances, including three members being recognised as National Sales Professional of the Year, while two have achieved further career advancements, all under Adam’s leadership.

The team now comprises a mixture of long serving experienced Sales Executives; their wealth of knowledge invaluable, as well as graduates; fresh and eager to learn, to employees new to the industry, with a host of ideas on how to do things differently; and finally employees advancing their career and moving up into more challenging roles.

Whilst Adam has been with DuluxGroup for over 14 years, he has enjoyed the benefits of working for a large multi-branded organisation. The State Sales Manager role was his first foray into people leadership and it was very much a deliberate move. He was clear from the get go that he wanted to create an empowered team with a strong culture who could add value to their customer's businesses, and he knew he would have to lead from the front in order to make that happen.

When asked about his leadership style Adam explains his approach was to coach his team to their strengths, giving them every opportunity to demonstrate their skills and abilities within a supportive environment. They needed to be challenged, supported and empowered to come up with new and different ways of delivering value to our customers.

Ultimately, Adam measured his individual performance through his team’s success.

Earlier in May, we welcomed a new cohort of graduates into the DuluxGroup Graduate Development Program. Our Graduate Program includes graduates from a number of disciplines, such as Sales, Marketing, R&D as well as Supply Chain, Finance and HR across our many varied brands.

Instead of a day in the classroom learning about DuluxGroup, we gave the new cohort 24 hours and a small budget to create a video and social media campaign to communicate our Employee Value Proposition. It was quite an experience for them! To learn more about their experience check out some of our behind the scenes footage.

Miranda Harmon started with DuluxGroup in 2016 working as an Executive Assistant for the Executive General Manager of B&D Doors. The brand really stood out to her when she saw the role advertised and importantly so did the fact that she could do the position flexibly! When she started she worked 3 days in the office and 1 day from home. Having all the right tools of trade meant she could work from home seamlessly, changing her schedule as required to ensure she successfully met the needs of both work and family. Miranda has supported two senior leaders within the Group, both very different, but both have supported flexibility whole heartedly.

She then welcomed her second child into the world in 2018. After her parental leave she felt excited to be getting back into the workforce but also slightly conflicted about leaving her babies. The biggest assistance to her was that she was able to transition back into the business incrementally, initially starting at 1 day a week, then increasing to 2 before finally working 3 days per week. Importantly knowing that she has also the same career opportunities as her colleagues ensures that she continues to feel invested in and valued.