John: Good afternoon. I’m here with Judy Bailey, the Executive Manager of Retail Services for the monopoly provider of water and sewerage services on the Sunshine Coast. It might seem remarkable to be having a conversation about customers with people associated with a monopoly, as they are often famous for disregarding them. However, there is an extremely interesting cultural change afoot at Unitywater. Headquartered in stunning Maroochydore in Southeast Queensland, this is the primary population growth corridor of Australia. I’m going to ask Judy about the changes happening to the culture and the organization and why. But before we do that, Judy, could you tell me a little bit about yourself—where you were educated, where you grew up, and the path that led you here today?
Judy: Sure. I was born in Nelson, New Zealand, and lived most of my life in Hastings. As a young mother and wife with two children, I moved to Canberra, which turned out to be a good time for us. In Canberra, I completed my postgraduate studies at the University of Canberra. I started working at the CSIRO in the typing pool, then progressed into HR. I studied while the children were young and then moved to the Health Insurance Commission during the era of Medicare and Medibank Private.
Later, I moved to the Australian Geological Survey, where I worked with teams at sea tracking the “law of the sea” and looking for oil. Science needs to find its own funding as well as doing research, so it was a very interesting world. After working with scientists and the health industry, I moved to the Quarantine Inspection Service. I held many roles there, starting in HR in Canberra, then moving to Brisbane to set up a national HR operation. I did a fascinating project with the CEO bringing all state quarantine businesses into the national body and establishing the enterprise bargaining agreement.
I then had the opportunity to run the regional part of Quarantine in Queensland as the Manager for several months before moving to Family Issues and Community Care. Moving from the Federal Government to the State Government was very interesting, especially at a time when the focus was on disability and families. Finally, I moved to Local Government, which was a bit of a shock. I returned to HR during a time of significant change and learning, which led to the opportunity to run the Infrastructure Services area. I wasn’t an engineer, but I was running all the businesses, including a large roads program and the Maroochy Interchange project. I managed Parks, Roads, Caravan Parks, Cemeteries—you name it. I wasn’t technically qualified for those areas other than as a leader. When the Councils underwent amalgamation, I was asked to bring the three water businesses together to form what is now Unitywater.
John: Fantastic. Regarding your current position, can you describe it and explain what you are responsible for?
Judy: I am responsible for the Retail Services Division. It is broken into several parts. First, we handle meter reading, sending out accounts, and collecting revenue—about $450 million. we manage bad debt, which we have successfully kept under 1%, a figure we are very proud of. I also oversee Communications and Marketing, including stakeholder management and community relations. Our goal is to be a part of the community and do community good. I manage all customer contact channels, including the contact center, account management, complaints, and the ombudsman. Finally, I oversee Customer Insights and Business Solutions, which is where we connect with the customer to make a real difference and ensure we are delivering value.
John: Most residents probably don’t give much thought to how they receive water and sewerage services, but it is an essential service, isn’t it?
Judy: It is an essential service, and we view our role as protecting community health. I recently wrote a paper for the Board regarding the state of the world’s water. It is quite sobering to realize that a massive percentage of the world does not have access to safe drinking water, and approximately 2 billion people do not have sewerage services. We take it for granted every day when we turn on the tap or push a button. We treat approximately 60 Olympic-sized pools of sewerage a day, and it just goes away from your house. People think about their water bill, but it is actually a water and sewerage bill. Across Australia, only about 40% of people acknowledge that sewerage is a part of the business.
John: Your CEO, George Theo, mentioned that it hasn’t been that long in human history that we’ve had this level of service available.
Judy: That’s true. You don’t think about us running out of water, but parts of Australia are really struggling with water quality and security. The dams look big, but the yields are often small.
John: Can you tell us about Unitywater itself? How did it come into being and what is the scale of the organization?
Judy: The organization was formed when six councils were consolidated into two water businesses, and eventually back to one as a result of the Queensland Government’s water reform. For Unitywater, that meant merging the Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast regions. We cover from Ferny Hills in the south to Noosa in the north, serving about 750,000 residents and 300,000 properties. Our capital works range between $80 million and $100 million a year, though there are peaks when we upgrade sewerage treatment plants. We have about 720 staff and $3 billion in assets.
John: This region is a major growth corridor. What is happening here and what will it mean for the future?
Judy: It is a massive growth region on three fronts: Federal, State, and Local. Commercially, we have the upgrade of the Sunshine Coast Airport, the Moreton Bay rail link, and SunCentral. The Sunshine Coast Public and University Hospital will be the largest health precinct in Queensland. There is an NBN undersea cable coming in. In terms of retail, there is a $140 million expansion of the North Lakes Shopping Centre and $350 million being spent at the Sunshine Plaza. SunCentral will include 2,000 apartments along with significant commercial activity.
This growth will make a significant difference in the years ahead. The region needs this because while we have many people, we haven’t had enough industry to support jobs for young people. Many families currently see their children move away for work because the industrial support hasn’t been there.
John: What is the projected population growth for this part of the world?
Judy: There is huge housing growth. As you come up the highway, you see what we used to call Caloundra South, now called Aura City of Colour; there will be 20,000 homes there. Caboolture West and Palmview also have extensions about the size of Gladstone. This represents massive population growth over the next 20 years. The region will not look like it does today.
John: Regarding Unitywater itself, why would a monopoly business even bother thinking about customers? After all, they are stuck with you regardless.
Judy: Our strategic vision is to be an operationally excellent organization. That involves a low total cost to serve and finding non-regulated revenue. We have a responsibility to be commercial and competitive. From a regulatory and customer perspective, we must be affordable and offer value for money. Yes, we are a monopoly, but we cannot guarantee that we will remain one forever. We are focused on being contemporary and customer-centric.
John: What was the spark that made Unitywater decide to focus on customer-centricity?
Judy: We conducted research and knew where customer satisfaction was high and low. We knew what people did and didn’t know about us. We started with basic satisfaction research and then looked at the analytics—what customers were saying, why they were contacting us, and what they were looking for. We focused on needing to be commercial and competitive rather than a “fat, lazy water business.”
Because affordability is always a priority, we set an internal goal to “get $100 off the bill.” We didn’t announce that to customers, but it drove a culture of critical thinking. We realized we were doing a lot of good things “inside-out,” but we weren’t taking an “outside-in” approach. We were designing processes that we thought were good, but customers still had multiple questions or frustrations. We realized that while we said the customer was at the heart of every decision, we weren’t living that culture. We are still in the early stages of turning insights into actions to ensure customers have a good experience.
John: How have you gone about better understanding your customers’ needs?
Judy: As I said, we were great at developing tools from our own perspective. Then we brought Komosion in. We have learned so much from your team about the emotional side of the experience and what the customer perceives as value. We achieved this by understanding where the “pain points” and “pleasure points” are, as well as the emotions attached to transactions. We had made a lot of assumptions. The work we’ve done with you provided amazing insights. For instance, we might have blamed a solicitor for a problem, but found it was actually a bank or another entity. The only way to understand the customer value proposition is from the outside in.
John: What has this process taught you personally and the organization generally?
Judy: You can talk about being customer-centric, but you aren’t truly there unless you are getting direct feedback and sensing the emotion and the need. You have to turn your organization around to ensure that when you say the customer is at the heart, you actually align your systems, processes, and—especially—your people. Everyone across the organization needs to understand that value.
John: How will this customer pivot combined with regional growth reshape Unitywater in the future?
Judy: We need to know what our customers need and keep an eye on future disruptors. Can we be a disruptor ourselves? If we do the right thing by the customer, they will be loyal to us. We cannot assume we will be a monopoly forever. Customer loyalty is important because it allows us to add value-added services. If we want to pursue non-regulated revenue to keep prices low, we need customers to advocate for us. For any business, if you are not focused on your customers’ needs and the services you provide, I don’t know why you are in business.
John: So, your customers are your greatest asset?
Judy: Yes. Internationally, water businesses are recognizing this. In some places, if you cannot prove to the regulator that you have listened to your customers and are providing a service they value, there are massive penalties. For us, it’s about hitting the “sweet spot” and bringing our staff on that journey. We also need to understand that internal customer service is just as important.
John: With all this change, what keeps you up at night?
Judy: That’s an interesting question. What keeps me up would be more about whether or not we are doing the right thing by the people in the business. I think we are on a good path. We have a strong digital plan and we are serious about putting the customer at the heart of what we do. So, not much keeps me awake, other than perhaps personal issues that might arise at work.
John: You mentioned digital disruption. What role does digital play for a business so grounded in the physical world?
Judy: It is a major factor. All the water businesses I know are developing digital plans. You have to know how your customers want to do business with you, including 24/7 access. The customers of the future are the children of today who live their lives on their phones. It is hard to describe what 2025 will even look like. We are looking for “seamlessness”—effortless, low-value transactions. Most of the time, our customers don’t want to deal with us unless something goes wrong, they are building a house, or they can’t pay a bill. We want to make it easy for them.
John: What are your top three tips for surviving in the “age of the customer”?
Judy: First, you need to intimately know your customer. You have to meet their needs on all levels—emotional, effective, and value-based. If you aren’t doing that across the whole organization, you won’t keep them. In a competitive environment, customers like choice, and they will only stay if the emotional experience is good.
Second, have a workforce transformation plan. You must build capability in your organization, from senior leadership to your processes and systems. You have to focus on the future and recruit for the skills you will need, not just the skills you have now.
Third, look and plan for disruptors. Have an eye on the horizon and decide if you want to be a disruptor yourself. If you aren’t looking ahead, you become complacent, and no one can afford to be complacent today.
John: That’s great. Thank you so much, Judy.