Working as a consultant in emergency management, Richard’s job takes him all over Sydney, training and advising on building compliance and fire safety.
The four-hour daily round trip from his home near Wyong to head office in Crows Nest used to leave little time on weekdays for Richard to spend with his three year-old daughter and four year-old son.
“I felt like I was missing out on seeing my kids grow up,” Richard says. “I had to drop them at childcare at 6.30am and by the time I got home at 8pm, they were fast asleep.”
Richard now uses the Smart Work hub at Wyong to write reports and perform sales and marketing tasks, doing away with the need to go to the office at Crows Nest on a daily basis.
“I found I could do 90 per cent of that work remotely,” he says. “Instead of going back to Crows Nest after seeing clients, I go back to the hub. I only need to visit Crows Nest a few times a week, instead of starting each day there and going back at the end of the day.”
That gives Richard up to four hours extra each day to spend with his family. Without the usual interruptions of a busy office, Richard gets more done when he works at the hub. “The quality of your interactions improves because instead of going to colleagues throughout the day, I bundle a few things together for visits to Crow Nest,” he says.
Another advantage of the hubs is that they allow users to interact with people outside their industry. “There is a lot of opportunity for collaborative work and there are also potential clients,” Richard says. “I have already done some consulting for people I have met at the hub.”
NAME: Richard Batty
POSITION: Senior Client Relationship Manager in emergency management consulting firm.
USES: Nexus Smart Hub at Wyong
REGION: Central Coast
SAVES: 3 hours 40 minutes per day
