North Hobart Football Club Business plan for 2018
February 2018
1 Contents
Introduction – page 3
Club organisation structure/chart page 5
Club governance page 6
Men’s football program page 7
Women’s Football Program page 8
Sponsorship page 9
Infrastructure and stakeholder engagement page 11
Events, Merchandise and Game Day Experience page 13
Communications and Marketing page 16
Memberships page 17
Volunteers page 18
Budget, Finance and Strategy page 19
2 Introduction
This document updates previous versions of the North Hobart Football club Business Plan for 2018 and outlines:
⦁ Each football club program and responsible Director
⦁ Key Focus areas for each program
⦁ Key activities for each Director
⦁ What success looks like for each Program
Following an overwhelming members vote to return to North Hobart the board and GM of the club have achieved a number of key things since taking over administration of the club in November 2017 these include but are not limited to the following:
At February 2018 we have:
⦁ Paid off all major creditors
⦁ An excellent board with 8 of 9 directors in place including appointing the club’s first Women’s Football Director.
⦁ An excellent, skilled GM.
⦁ Developed a club business plan for 2018
⦁ Put in place an organisational structure to deliver on the club’s business plan.
⦁ Got the men’s and women’s playing groups and all at the club looking forward and putting the past behind us.
⦁ Appointed an outstanding men’s coach and two outstanding D-League coaches who are performing well and enjoying their roles.
⦁ Retained the best strength and fitness coordinator in the TSL in James Rice.
3 ⦁ Ensured that we have a good playing list that will see two teams fielded each week with buy-in of the new coach’s approach excellent from the playing group.
⦁ Recruited two big bodied mature aged midfielders to replace those we have lost.
⦁ Re-appointed proven Women’s coach Greg Grubb and put in place support staff for our Women’s team.
⦁ Developed plans for improved infrastructure at the ground with a 300k commitment already in place from Labor.
⦁ Communicated regularly with members and more broadly via newsletters, twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
⦁ Sought out and got sponsors including a major sponsor in Harvey Norman Hobart for 15k.
⦁ Finalised the 2018 membership package which has gone out to members
⦁ Received 27k in donations through direct donations or via the ASF fighting fund
⦁ Initiated the ‘First 18’ concept with already around nine signing up.
⦁ Developed a calendar of events for 2018.
⦁ Repaired the badly damaged relationship with the Hobart City Council (principally by paying off the 16k we owed them but also by regularly engaging with them).
⦁ Repaired the badly damaged relationship with the Sandy Bay Junior Footy club.
⦁ Enhanced the relationship with the North Hobart Junior footy club and agreed with them on how we go about retaining out of area juniors at the Senior Club.
To ensure the club is sustainable the club must focus specifically on:
⦁ Financial sustainability
4 ⦁ Engagement with members and external stakeholders and
⦁ Enablement of the players to be their best.
5 Club organisation structure
Club governance
The new board of the club is:
6 ⦁ Craig Martin – President, Communications and Marketing Director.
⦁ Paul Gourlay – Infrastructure and Stakeholder Engagement Director
⦁ Jess Medhurst – Membership director
⦁ Peter Fisher – Football Director
⦁ Neville Howlett – Sponsorship Director
⦁ Andrew Finch Budget and Finance Director
⦁ Shelley Taplin - Events, Merchandise and Gameday Experience Director.
⦁ Jasmine McLeod – Women’s Football Director
⦁ Vacant - Volunteer Management Director
The Club General Manager is Paul Curtain.
Reporting lines
⦁ GM reports to the board and assists Directors achieve key goals/activities as part of their Key Focus area.
Program 1 - Men’s Football
Responsible Director - Peter Fisher
Key focus areas
7 ⦁ Develop playing list
⦁ Recruit players needed for club to be successful
⦁ Ensure that senior coach and assistants and D-League coaches have support and resources to enable them to excel at their jobs
⦁ Ensure that key footy department personnel have appropriate development opportunities so they can excel at their job.
⦁ Bring any issues that need addressing to the attention of the GM and board.
Key activities
⦁ Sign up promising junior players that are out of zone and where necessary sort out compensation to other clubs (Key priority).
⦁ Work with NHJFC and SBJFC to sign promising junior players at those clubs at age 15 onto our senior list and permit them back when they need to go back and play at those junior clubs (Key priority)
⦁ Sort out appropriate compensation for players leaving the club to go to Kingborough (Key priority)
⦁ Recruit older mature-aged players
⦁ Ensure that coaches are supported and have enough resources
⦁ Meet regularly with coaches to ascertain resources needed and where necessary provide that support
What success looks like for Men’s Football program
⦁ Good, talented and improving playing group in both teams.
⦁ Engaged, happy and motivated playing groups in both Seniors and Development League
⦁ Improvement by both teams during season.
⦁ Achievement of key activities above.
8 Program 2 - Women’s Football Program
Responsible Director Jasmine McLeod
Key focus areas
⦁ Develop playing list
⦁ Recruit players needed for club to be successful
⦁ Ensure that coach and team support staff have resources to enable them to excel at their jobs
⦁ Ensure that key personnel have appropriate development opportunities so they can excel at their job
⦁ Bring any issues that need addressing to the attention of the GM and board
⦁ Work with Board and GM to gain entry in TSL competition.
Key activities
⦁ Recruit players
⦁ Ensure that coaches are supported and have enough resources
⦁ Meet regularly with coaches to ascertain resources needed and where necessary provide that support
⦁ Work with Board and GM to gain entry into TSL.
What success looks like for Women’s Football program
⦁ Excellent playing group.
⦁ Engaged, happy and motivated playing group
⦁ Play Finals
9 ⦁ Improve on Preliminary Final finish in 2017
⦁ Achievement of key activities above.
Program 3 - Sponsorship
Responsible Director Neville Howlett
Key focus areas
⦁ Develop sponsorship template for club (done)
⦁ Sign a major sponsor (done Harvey Norman)
⦁ Sign other sponsors
⦁ Ensure that each sponsorship is serviced to what is agreed with sponsor
⦁ Along with President, GM and other directors maintain great relationships with sponsors
⦁ Put in place a team of people to get sponsors for the club based on the offerings in the template.
Key activities
⦁ Assemble a team of people (suggest Paul Curtain, Shelley Taplin, Peter Croswell and perhaps Jon Aufer-Heide) to target potential sponsors and pursue them.
⦁ We have signed Harvey Norman as a major sponsor and re-signed Les Lees and Wrest Point is back on board.
⦁ The Bank of Us (contact Jill Jetson-Shumbusho ph. 0408 501 698, email
10 [email protected]) has also expressed interest in receiving a proposal for Season 2019. This will entail reworking the Harvey Norman sponsorship document to suit Bank of Us which Neville has undertaken to do.
⦁ Meet with the Waggon and Horses Hotel to negotiate sponsorship for 2018 (Paul Curtain, Neville and Peter Crosswell).
⦁ Work out companies to target for sponsorship in 2019.
What success looks like for Sponsorship Program
⦁ $25,000 of sponsorship coming into the club during 2018 and contact made with other organisations to be sponsors the following year with a view to increasing the sponsorship into the club to $30,000.
⦁ Ensure that sponsorships are serviced to the satisfaction of sponsors.
⦁ Develop and maintain relationships with sponsors.
⦁ Review 2018 sponsorships at the end of the year.
⦁ Create a list of sponsors for 2018 and 2019.
11 Program 4 – Infrastructure and stakeholder engagement
Responsible Director Paul Gourlay
Key focus areas
⦁ Maintain good relations with ground owner Hobart City Council including getting agreement on a new partnership agreement with Council that has NHFC as the sole caterer at the ground.
⦁ With Paul Curtain and Craig Martin work on plans to improve amenity and infrastructure at the ground
⦁ Be the contact for council in the executing of these plans if funding is forthcoming.
⦁ Work with the GM and President on attracting additional content to the ground.*
⦁ Longer term work with council on a precinct master plan for the NHO precinct.
⦁ Explore the business potential of buying back the lease of the space in the Gorringe stand in Argyle Street.
Key activities
⦁ Meet regularly with council (Glenn Doyle and Shannon Avery) to discuss issues and how infrastructure at the ground can be enhanced.
⦁ If funding is forthcoming (at time of writing Labor is committing 300k for upgrades at the ground) work with the Council and Club GM to ensure that the work is done properly and on time and budget.
⦁ Negotiate lease renewals and determine if it’s cost effective to buy back the lease in the Gorringe stand.
⦁ Start discussions with HCC on getting a precinct plan done at the ground.
12 ⦁ Establish what additional content is possible at the ground and work with the GM and relevant organisation/sporting body to get them to the ground. *
What success looks like for Infrastructure and Stakeholder Engagement Program
⦁ Delivery of all key activities above in 2018.
*Ground content
North Hobart Oval lies idle for large parts of the year particularly in the summer. There are great opportunities to enhance ground content by working with the Council and a range of other stakeholders. We want to provide the catering at these events.
The following is by no means an exhaustive list.
⦁ Make NHO the home for Tasmania’s AFLW team – the ground is one of the few available in Tasmania and the only one in Hobart available from November to March each year.
⦁ Negotiate with the SFL to hold prelim and Grand Finals at NHO for next 5 years. It’s critical to get a contract in place to provide surety for the club and the SFL. Negotiate with Madeleine Ogilvie as soon as the club name vote is over. (Paul Curtain is doing this).
⦁ Approach Football Federation of Tasmania (FFT) to host state league matches at the ground when it’s not being used for footy. Two games will be played at NHO in 2018.
⦁ Also talk with FFT about hosting an A-League warm up or season proper game at NHO.
13 ⦁ Gridiron Tasmania has indicated they would like to hold matches at the ground in 2018-19.
⦁ NRL pre-season game regularly at NHO.
⦁ Carols by Candlelight - HCC
Program 5 – Events, Merchandise and Game Day Experience
Responsible Director Shelley Taplin
This program potentially has the greatest workload and Shelley will need significant assistance with it.
The club organisation chart has a committee underpinning this. It’s strongly suggested that Jess Medhurst, Laura Curtain, Mandy Jenkins and Carol Fisher be approached to serve on this committee and that others will need to help out where required including other directors.
We will also need people to sell membership and merchandise at a stall on game days at home games particularly in the first part of the season.
Key focus areas
⦁ Deliver these events during the year
⦁ Season launch of rebirth of North Hobart, new jumper and merchandise in
14 late February 2018 at club.
⦁ President’s lunch on Good Friday as part of first game of the year at NHO v Kingborough Tigers.
⦁ Major celebration around the club playing as North Hobart again. Brunch at Wrest Point on Saturday morning 14 April before second home game against Clarence. This has been pencilled in for the Derwent Room. Given Carlton play that night at Blundstone Arena we have approached 2003 North Hobart Premiership Coach Brendon Bolton as a guest speaker. It may also be possible to get Martin and Richard Flanagan. This event will be a major fundraiser and include auctions and raffles.
⦁ Celebrate all the 2017 premiership milestones that went uncelebrated by the club this year – 47, 57, 67 and 87. Find a date and invite them all. Wrest Point auctions and major raffle.
⦁ Life members’ dinner where we present life membership to all new life members and recognise all our life members. At the footy club perhaps in the Plaister stand as part of a President’s lunch.
⦁ Red and Blue Ball on a Saturday night with a bye to follow so people can let their hair down. At Wrest Point.
⦁ Best and Fairest dinner October at Wrest Point.
⦁ Develop new club merchandise and ensure that people can easily purchase it on line and through our office and on game day.
⦁ Improve game day experience at NHO.
Key activities
⦁ Create a committee to organise events and plan and deliver them. This will include sending out invitations, liaising with venues and organising content for auctions.
⦁ With Craig, meet with Tubes Taylor to discuss what he may be able to do to improve the game day experience at NHO.*
15 ⦁ Each game day should have a running sheet as we have done in the past for the Rugby league and Rugby Union games at NHO.
*An improved Game Day Experience
People need to be engaged from the moment they walk in, to the playing of the club song when we win, to catching up with the players in the social rooms after the game.
We want our supporters and members to be able to mingle with the coaches and players after the game. This means they need to be in the rooms sooner after home games than they currently are. The players should be encouraged to mingle with supporters and members after home games and not stand around in groups with other players.
Supporter engagement is critical to building support for our club.
We also need to take a leaf out of what AFL clubs do and other sports and have competitions at home games, for example but not limited to:
⦁ Goal kicking,
⦁ Longest kick,
⦁ Marking the ball,
⦁ Beat the Demon (participant gets drawn out he/she is given a head start and has to beat an athlete dressed in Demons gear over say 200 metres for a prize).
⦁ Let’s have the same sort of ground announcing that Tubes Taylor does at junior finals including regular updates from other games and what’s happening in the AFL.
⦁ Run highlights and replays on the new digital screen on the scoreboard.
⦁ See if we can get Martin Duffy’s people to do commentary - people buy a set of headphones for $5 on the way in like they do with cricket.
⦁ Let’s have Auskick at half time at all home games.
⦁ Get Foxtel in the social rooms so people can watch the AFL footy in the bar and also watch the races on another screen. Remembering that people can now bet
16 easily on their phones. (Neville is working on this).
⦁ Playing of the Melbourne Footy club version of Grand Old Flag (it’s easily the best) when the team runs out and at least three times when we win after a game.
⦁ Jumping castles/ face painting for kids anything to make the day more of an experience than it currently is.
What success looks like for the Events, Merchandise and Game Day Experience Program
⦁ Mobilising committee and volunteers to execute key activities.
⦁ High quality delivery of events and revenue targets met.
⦁ Revenue targets met for selling of merchandise
⦁ Enhanced game day experience resulting in improved attendance at games and increased membership.
17 Program 6 – Communications and Marketing Program
Responsible Director – Craig Martin
Key focus areas
⦁ Communicate key club activities, membership, merchandise and events via the media, social media and directly to members via email.
⦁ Produce regular club newsletters
⦁ Get media coverage for key club initiatives as and when required.
⦁ Ensure that the club’s brand and reputation is enhanced.
⦁ Respond where appropriately to issues facing the club and where relevant the TSL.
⦁ Assist in the production of marketing and sponsorship documents.
⦁ Engage in face to face communication with members and playing group as and when required.
Key activities
⦁ Write regular newsletter.
⦁ Communicate key club activities, membership, merchandise and events via the media, social media and directly to members via email
⦁ Write media releases as and when required.
⦁ Manage any club issues that may arise.
⦁ Write or assist in writing documents as required.
What success looks like for the Communications and Marketing Program
⦁ Strong satisfaction from members with club communication (could survey
18 members at year’s end).
⦁ Strong buy-in from members regarding purchasing of merchandise, memberships
⦁ Enhancement of club brand.
⦁ Communication and marketing resulting in increased revenue for the club.
⦁ Club members kept informed of key issues.
Program 7 – Membership
Responsible Director – Jess Medhurst
Key focus areas
⦁ Develop membership categories
⦁ Promote memberships by liaising with Communications Director and GM
⦁ Keep track of who is a member of particular membership categories
⦁ Develop a new North Hobart branded membership card
⦁ Ensure that new members receive a signed letter from the Club President along with the new card.
⦁ Ensure that members receive what they are entitled to as part of the package they have bought
⦁ Review memberships at year’s end.
Key activities
⦁ Ensure that memberships are available on our website are promoted and easy to buy
⦁ Be responsible for sending out membership cards and letters
19 ⦁ Write letters for each membership categories
⦁ Liaise with Shelley to ensure that First 18 and other top end members get invited to all official club functions.
What success looks like for the Communications and Marketing Program
⦁ Increased membership.
⦁ Increased revenue through membership.
⦁ At least 90 per cent of last year’s members signing on again.
⦁ Strong satisfaction with what was received by member through membership.
Program 8 – Non football department Volunteer Recruitment and Management
Responsible Director – Position vacant
This role, when filled, will ensure that our volunteer resources are properly managed, appropriately deployed (especially during peak times such as when events are looming), rewarded and developed.
Volunteers are non-paid employees of the club and deserve to have clear role definition, development opportunities, have feedback provided to them and be recognised and rewarded.
Key focus areas
⦁ Ensure that volunteers have clear role definition. This may include writing a very brief position description for them.
⦁ Ensure, by liaising with other directors and the GM that we have the human resources available, where necessary to execute this business plan and its key activities.
20 ⦁ Reward, recognise and develop our volunteers.
⦁ Recruit new volunteers so there are enough resources and we have succession planning.
Key activities
⦁ Mobilise volunteers as and when required.
⦁ Clarify roles
⦁ Keep a register of volunteers and their skills and what they like doing.
⦁ Provide feedback and deliver where appropriate development.
⦁ Recruit new volunteers.
What success looks like for the Non-football department Volunteer Recruitment and Management program
⦁ Strong pool of committed, happy and motivated volunteers and achievement of activities as above. Again it would be prudent to survey volunteers at year’s end and get feedback from them.
Program 9 – Budget, Strategy and Finance
Responsible Director – Andrew Finch
Key focus areas
⦁ Provide timely and robust advice to board in accordance with the principles of sound financial management.
⦁ Provide strategic advice on raising revenue and saving money to ensure sustainability and success.
⦁ Provide ongoing advice to Board on club’s balance sheet.
Key activities
21 ⦁ Frame club budgets.
⦁ Monitor club revenue and expenditure against budgets.
⦁ Revenue is collected and creditors are paid in a timely manner.
⦁ Ensure compliance with ASIC and ATO regulatory requirements.
⦁ Produce monthly and annual financial reports.
What success looks like for the Budget, Strategy and Finance Program
⦁ Excellent advice provided to board and GM regarding club’s finances.
⦁ Budgets developed that enable effective monitoring of club’s finances.
⦁ Effective management of club’s finances in accordance with key controls.
⦁ Club balance sheet improving.
⦁ Maintain zero debt position.
⦁ Board and GM notified well in advance of any financial issues.
22