March 2017

8 APAC / March 2017 , 1703AP08 Richard Fiddis: Inspiring a Committed Team Can you tell us about what your firm does? Civica is a market- leading IT firm that specialises in digital solutions, critical software, and outsourcing services that help organisations around the world transform the way they work. Civica’s vision is to help businesses achieve better outcomes by providing more connected and efficient ways of working, enabled by digital technology and automation. Civica has a strong focus on the community with many services providing support to education, health, local government, central government and other regulated sectors. Civica’s products and services provide business critical management solutions across a number of functions delivering support for operational management, customer service, operational efficiency and finance functions, amongst others. How long has the firm been going for and where are you based? Civica was established in 2001 but some of the companies that make up the group are over 40 years old. Civica has achieved an unbroken 15-year track record of growth. The head office is based in London, and various offices are located around the world: including Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, India, Ireland and the US. Outside of its home market, the International division generated revenue exceeding A$100m in 2016, which was up 6 percent from the previous financial year. These results reflect the ongoing successful execution of Civica’s clear strategy, which is delivering value for all stakeholders. The APAC region claims Civica’s biggest contract win to date, secured late last year with Australia’s Victorian State Government’s Department of Justice. Civica has been appointed by the Department of Justice to implement a replacement infringement management system, worth AUD$ 103.6 million over the initial 8 year contract. What sets your business apart from the competition you face? Civica’s global presence and capabilities clearly set it apart from its competitors. The key differentiator is the strong commitment of its people driven by the benefits it delivers to the societies in which it operates. Despite operating on a global scale, Civica is still able to maintain a local focus, with many new products and solutions tailored for each market. Civica’s global reach and broad range of capabilities are able to tackle a large number of client opportunities with various office collaborating in order to provide the best solutions for clients. Since coming on board in 2014, my aim has been to help the team standardise Civica’s offerings and processes to provide consistent superior customer service, while providing tailored products for individual customers and increasing global cooperation. By encouraging a high level of collaboration between various parts of our organisation, Civica has been able to harness the advantages of a global company with localised expertise. For instance, software solutions that are developed by Civica’s Australian team have often been adapted to suit the unique needs of individual businesses from other regions. Spydus, for example, is an award winning library management system that is developed in our Melbourne office. It has been implemented in various countries including the UK, US, Taiwan and Singapore, and has been localised to suit individual needs. Such levels of cooperation provide Civica with a unique edge over its competitors and fully utilises the global component of our company. Since 2005, the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) has utilised Civica’s library software and outsourced services capabilities. Civica centrally manage the library software, staffing, programmes, and book collections of over 300 school libraries across Singapore. This is made possible by the strong collaboration between Singapore and Australian teams. During my time at Civica we have successfully secured a third consecutive contract to support the MOE, which means some of the largest contracts that Civica has, are managed by the businesses here in Asia Pac. Civica’s people and culture set it apart. Our specialist expertise and commitment to do well for customers and colleagues are a key differentiator. Civica recognises this and remains committed to investment in developing and supporting employees, while maintaining the Civica culture which underpins its position as an employer of choice. We have a particularly strong track record in attracting talent from within the industries we serve, so they come with subject matter expertise, and an understanding of customer challenges. Civica has invested significantly into key initiatives set to develop and support the team all around the world, from the US Code Academy programme to UK graduate and apprentice scheme and the annual Raising the Bar programme for all professionals across the business. This supports effective employee development and talent management. During 2016, Civica’s people benefitted from 98,000 hours of training, with a strong focus on leadership development. Consequently, the company has witnessed a very high employee retention rate. Lastly, Civica’s global strategy puts us ahead of the competition. Civica has a focus on providing products and services that enable clients to maximise full value from their investment. Increasingly these days those solutions include digital transformation initiatives and outsourcing services. Are there any specific developments and/or challenges in your industry sector you would like to discuss? There are great changes occurring in terms of customer expectations as significant cultural, economic and technological developments are altering many of today’s norms. Specifically, the digital revolution is driving great and far-reaching changes which are set to re- shape the customer experience and also the underlying business model. Civica is already seeing signs of such changes with major upheaval occurring across the public sector; there is an increasing recognition that re-designed digital services,