Harry Morton, the Marketing Assistant for MyPass® Global, sat down with Matt Smith, Managing Director for MyPass® Global, to discuss the vision for MyPass® Global in 2019 and the role we want to play in the resources industry. Here’s how the conversation went.
Matt, what’s one word you’d use to describe the focus or theme of the year for MyPass?®
Growth.
Growth… If that’s the focus for 2019, where would you like to see MyPass® grow to in 12 months’ time?
Growth to me at the end of 2019 is for MyPass® to be the workforce management platform of choice across Oil and Gas, and Mining in Australia. We want the market behind us and to get that traction we’re focused on continuing to build strong partnerships with government bodies, industry associations and of course, businesses to show how our platform delivers commercially and for workers. To do this I am focused on growing the team and empowering them to deliver for our clients and our combined objectives.
What are the steps we need to take to get there?
Well, we need to build a product that people love. This means continuing to evolve the product we already have to keep it at the forefront of the industry. You can expect more announcements about this in the coming months.
Makes sense! What else?
Gaining support from other industry associations by getting our name out there and talking about our value proposition. Discussions like this are already underway with leading Oil & Gas operators, encouraging them to play a leadership role in the industry by supporting systems like ours that have the potential for a strong industry-wide impact.
What are you most excited about for 2019?
I’m excited that our momentum is building and that the vision we crafted 5 years ago is now coming to life. The business model we set up (based on worker-owned & controlled data, connectivity and re-use without re-keying) has proven to create value for workers, their employers and the sites where they work. The result of this win-win-win model is that we get a steady flow of referrals for which I’m grateful. But in addition to those, we’ve also expanded our team to manage our growing pipeline, which is exciting.
Can you foresee any challenges MyPass® or the industry, in general, will have to overcome?
For MyPass®, it’s change management. Even the best initiatives, with the best of intentions, can be slowed down or blocked due to people naturally not wanting to change the way they’ve traditionally gone about their work. This is especially true in the resources industry. As an example, despite being able to show the obvious cost and safety benefits of using MyPass®, sometimes it can take people several months to get off spreadsheets and fully embrace the technology. This is a challenge that we feel will become easier as time goes on and digital investment becomes a greater priority. In fact, there’s a great article by EY on digital investment, it’s really insightful as to the momentum it’s gaining.
For industry, one of the challenges is to proactively make the right decisions amongst an uncertain global economic outlook. Some companies are reluctant to make changes, possibly due to the recent instability in the industry. Global commodity prices fluctuate and Oil & Gas prices have made it hard for organisations to know if the markets are up or down, and so whether to invest or save. Naturally, the safe move is to sit tight. However, it’s really key for companies to stay the course and take a long-term view on innovation and improvements to their business, rather than sit and wait. The opportunity for MyPass® is to help companies who reach out to us to navigate this journey.
If change is inevitable, how might the industry continue to evolve this year?
We are feeling a real push for ‘best for industry’ solutions, supported by growth centres such as NERA and METS Ignited, plus collaborative forums such as Safer Together and Project Symphony. Stakeholders in these growth centres and forums are uniquely positioned to effect lasting change across their industry that will not just assist Australia in becoming more operationally efficient but improve our competitive position globally. That’s why gaining the support of associations and industry bodies such as these are central to our plans in 2019.
You frequently attend industry events around the country: are there any worth people checking out this year?
There are a number of great events on the calendar this year. Three that I believe are always worthwhile are the AOG Conference in Perth, APPEA Conference in Brisbane and SEAAOC in Darwin. Any opportunity to collaborate and network with industry players is worthwhile to me. I’ll continue providing conference reviews this year so that even if people can’t make it they still get an idea of the key themes and takeaways at each. I’ll let you give people the specific event details if they are interested!
Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference (AOG), 13-15 March 2019, Perth.
The conference showcases around 250 brands and hosts over 8000 visitors from across the globe. It has a specific focus on technology and innovation that is changing the face of the industry.
APPEA 2019 Conference & Exhibition, 27-30 May 2019, Brisbane
The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) brings together the Oil & Gas industry to network and debate current industry topics in a healthy environment. It creates opportunities for businesses to collaborate and create value to feedback into the industry.
South-East Asia Australia Offshore & Onshore Conference, 4-5 September 2019, Darwin
This northern Australia’s largest and longest established petroleum conference, hosted in collaboration by the Northern Territory State Government & Informa Australia. It brings together major players from Australasia involved in the Oil, Gas & Petroleum industries.
That’s our wrap up for MyPass’ 2019 vision in the eyes of Managing Director Matt Smith. We’ll continue to provide updates as the year plays out and offer further insights into our journey.
