Relationships are everything in business. I truly believe that. It’s why relationships are one of our core company values at Reckon, and we’re a technology company.
Often today it sometimes seems that relationships aren’t as important as they once were, and so often technology is blamed for causing this. But we believe technology can improve relationships. In business the relationships we form with advisors, partners and even our customers that have an enormous impact on future success, technology enables us to connect more closely with these people.
NAB launches new community hub
It’s interesting to see the National Australia Bank (NAB) put such a big emphasis on relationships this month with the launch of The Village, a new workspace and online community hub in Melbourne. Designed to be used by small businesses and community partners as a workspace and online hub to connect, learn and help make the most of opportunities for their business in a supportive and informative environment.
I attended the launch in Melbourne and was blown away by the diversity of the event, it featured a traditional Aboriginal welcome and dance, live music and 300 community members. I had some great conversations with enthusiastic small business customers; one business owner said to me, ‘I walked into the village and it was like walking into an art gallery, and then I realised that I was in a bank and thought how much is this going to cost me. But it’s all free.’
Beyond being a place to meet and mingle, the Village is kitted out with drop-in workspaces, meeting places and a Customer Interaction Centre which would provide information sessions for interested customers.
This initiative is ideal for building relationships and as a proud partner of many SMEs the team at Reckon and I are keen to get further involved.
