Directors’ Conference 2015 Wrap Up

For seven years, one of the biggest events on our calendar is the annual Directors’ Conference.  

As a Director of a Back In Motion practice, you’re invited to attend the annual Directors’ Conference (known as DC) where you have the opportunity to have time away from your practice, meet, connect and learn from other directors from across the Group, hear updates and learn from the National Support Office (NSO) and exciting external speakers.

Back In Motion Directors and National Support Office staff

The theme for this years’ conference, held Wednesday 25 February to Friday 27 February, was Metamorphosis – changing, evolving and growing.

A majority of Directors flew in on Wednesday morning, settling into their accommodation at the Mantra Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. In the evening all delegates attended an informal welcome of competitive lawn balls. Teams of four played a knockout tournament against one another with Steve Rodda (Back In Motion Woodville), Peter Eckhart (Back In Motion Hobart on Murray and Rosny Park) Josh Moore (NSO) and Mandy Lowe (Back In Motion Mentone) coming out as the champions. This was followed by a barbeque dinner and a group catch up.

Conference Day One

Day one of the official conference program commenced nice and early with a welcome from Group Director Jason Smith followed by snapshot style presentations from NSO staff members and Director Debbie Crawford (Back In Motion Hobart on Murray and Rosny Park). Vanessa King (NSO) took a Human Resource masterclass which was very well received by the audience. Part of this was a brainstorming session where directors were split into groups and came up with actionable ideas to attract high performing staff and retain our existing great workforce.

Human resources workshop presented by Vanessa King

Simon Holt, 2013 Most Inspiring Practice Director, spoke about his metamorphosis from leadership in his teenage years, his path to becoming a physio, joining Back In Motion and how he came to operate his successful practice, Back In Motion Blackburn.

The afternoon’s activity was a beach party where we had a range of activities included Segway’s, kayaking and stand up paddle boarding followed by a casual social dinner allowing directors to connect with their peers.

Conference Day Two

Day two was also bright and early with further snapshot style presentations from NSO staff before guest speaker Andrew Marty, a qualified psychologist with a great deal of human resource experience and managing director of SACS Consulting spoke about the topic Change Without Pain. He shared a number of great insights and tools to aid directors in managing change in their practices and also assist their recruitment process. 

Delegates at Back In Motion Directors' Conference

Directors then met with suppliers during the supplier showcase and during this time, were also able to experience a demonstration version of evo (our new practice management software).

In the afternoon, a first for DC was the Great Debate. The topic debated was By Introducing Complementary Health Services into our Practices we will Enhance Our Future Value Proposition for Clients, Staff and Directors. It was the opposing team of Peter Eckhardt (Back In Motion Hobart on Murray and Rosny Park), Simon Holt (Back In Motion Blackburn) and Max Kavanagh (Back In Motion Brighton) who provided the most entertaining and detailed argument winning the debate with the loudest round of applause. A special mention and thank you to the affirmative team of Gavin Corica (Back In Motion Bribie Island and Como), Dan Lee (Back In Motion Semaphore) and Jeremy Kestenberg (Revita) who put up a good fight!

Jason provided the official closing address to the directorship ahead of the masquerade ball. Directors and their partners in attendance, along with sponsors and NSO staff arrived in glamourous outfits with faces hidden behind some very creative and glamourous masks! During the evening awards were presented to Actif and Revita who ‘entered’ the Million Dollar Clubs (based on financial achievement). The award everyone had been talking about since arriving at the conference, was the Most Inspiring Practice Director Award. This year we congratulated Peter Eckhardt and Debbie Crawford (Back In Motion Hobart on Murray and Rosny Park) as the recipients! Read their story here.

Jason T Smith with Debbie Crawford and Peter Eckhardt

It might sound like there’s a lot of social activities – in between the structured program, there is! But this is for a reason. Think of just how important it is for all directors to gather in one place, once a year, and share stories about their practices successes and learnings, collect and share ideas for new and better ways to do this in their practices. Having access to peers, all working to the same goal is just one of many advantages of being a part of the Back In Motion franchise.

Maybe this has sparked your interest in becoming a director? Get in touch with Fiona, Brett or Kellie from our Network Development Team via opportunities@backinmotion.com.au