Case Study: Caleb Male from Kenai

Caleb Male is the owner of Kenai, a civil construction company based in Rotorua.Full-time Employees: 13.5
Progamme: Owner Manager Programme (OMP) 63

"I wanted to create a sustainable business, not just financially sustainable but also something that has an enduring environmental and social impact. Being a young business has been tough. It’s meant getting buy-in from my team, customers and community leaders. The Owner Manager Programme has given me the strategic direction to create a managed growth path for the business."

| What was happening in the business when you joined the Owner Manager Programme?

We are a young business and so the first three years have been hard work, focusing on getting the right people at the right time. I’ve had to find clients and team members to believe in the business, want to get on board and believe in my aspirations.

It’s been tough, not just making a dollar but also turning the dial on change which is why I got into business initially. I wanted to achieve environmental outcomes that I feel aren’t currently being reached in the sector and growing up in a small family business in Rotorua, I wanted to create value for that wider community.

It’s been a bit of a lonely journey at times, so getting into the OMP and having the support of the other business owners has been great especially because the owners are from such a wide range of industries and backgrounds so there’s been so many different angles and experiences to learn from.

| What have been some of the learnings you’ve adopted being in the OMP?

I have come away being much more strategic about what I’m doing. It’s given me structure and a gameplan to work from and now I can see where the weaknesses are, and it has identified opportunities for learning. It’s brought up ideas that I would never even have thought of! I come from a project management background which I find relatively easy, but running a business has been a sharp learning curve so having the support of the experts in the Owner Manager Programme and a different lens has been so helpful.

Learning about IP is something I hadn’t thought of before and getting basic trademarks. Knowing your numbers was also valuable for me, learning how to read the balance sheet, where to get better performance and highlighting what I need to look out for to make improvements. And it’s not just number crunching but also looking at the resilience piece, asking the questions like, how are you? And how are you affecting the people around you?

| Are there any specific improvements that have helped “turn the dial on change” you were looking for?

We have recently done our 90-day implementation session and as a group we have all gone away and reflected on what we can do better. For me, we have picked up the ESG section (environmental social and governance principles) and while those principles were there in the business, it hadn’t been brought to the surface and OMP has helped us shape that up. We have now rolled it into the value proposition for the company. We have introduced it into our tenders, and we are workshopping this with our customers.

We have always had the cost quality time triangle, sustainable performance metric as part of our BAU but having the extra layers in there for a better environmental and community outcome allows us to differentiate ourselves.

| What does the immediate future look like?

We are really excited to have been selected to deliver a socially procured contract for Auckland Transport, which has been in negotiation throughout the time we have been on OMP. We sorted out our value proposition in that tender through those ESG principles and how we can deliver broader outcomes for AT. Our environmental impact and the suppliers we are using and the park we are creating for that community will shine through as part of our values alignment for the business and we will be able to showcase that alongside Auckland Transport.

This is a great first rung on the ladder to achieving our goals for the next ten years. It’s really important to me that I can lead our team to be on board with the Kenai journey and that they are aligned with our values and our client’s values going forward.