MWAV Virtual Toolbox

Date: 18 May 2026, 4:19pm AEST Format: Virtual (all-staff) Links: Video of meeting · Slide deck · Suggest future topics

Summary

Leadership reviewed economic challenges via cost-cutting measures and prioritised strategic operational changes for sustainable business growth.

• Economic challenges and restructuring — Declining bookings and rising costs necessitated broad expense reductions including selling the Cranbourne depot. Management shifted focus to internal training and operational efficiency.

• Operational strategy and technology — Cranbourne depot to be sold to improve financial viability. New initiatives include an AI phone agent (under debate) and transition to a modern booking system.

• Market competition and employment — Maintain quality service to compete against cheaper alternatives. Staff can now request permanent status after 6 months of tenure.

Decisions

Aligned

• Cranbourne depot divestment — sell the building, move operations to a leased/rental property within 3–6 months.

• Staff training role pivot — Jack Tandy's role shifts from training/induction to improving existing staff performance (advanced furniture-protection seminars, 3- and 5-month testing regime).

• Manager phone shift integration — managers take phone shifts into their daily schedule to reduce reliance on casual phone shifts.

• Single-mover (V1) service reinstatement — restart V1 moves; website starburst and operational rules prioritised to capture lower-end market segments.

• Website infrastructure optimisation — proceed with a website redesign optimised for AI machine readability and search performance.

• AFRA withdrawal — withdraw from the AFRA accreditation program (prohibitive cost, no realised business value).

Needs further discussion

• AI phone agent — under evaluation; customer perception vs business efficiency. Will identify itself as AI, remain optional, and only launch if effective and non-annoying. Union (Steve) noted job-security concerns and a strong preference for personalised human service.

• Lower-tier service expansion (mid-week / single-item moves) — strategic goal, but blocked on completion of the new booking system.

Rejected

• Friday pricing adjustment — proposal to shift bookings away from Friday rejected; too risky in a fragile market.

Action items

1. Send Cranbourne update comms to the team (plan for the building and future operations) — Matt Windsor

2. Restart single moves — done: "pop-up" added to website booking options (Tim Bishop)

3. Discuss single-mover safety & operational rules at the next OHS committee meeting — OHSC

4. Deploy beta booking software to the field (Thursday 21/05); verify integration alongside legacy system — Mark Putter & Sam Haughton-Greene

5. Confirm meeting attendance via email/text to the office for payroll — all attendees (Matt Windsor coordinating)

6. Review breakfast policy — resolved: breakfast will be the first cutback restored when the financial situation improves

7. Suggest future meeting topics via tny.mwav.org/agenda — all staff

Details

• Economic outlook — Difficult conditions, no government support this time (unlike COVID). Bookings bottomed out over Easter, running 10–15% below last year. Rising interest rates, inflation, war-related cost increases.

• Operational metrics & cost-cutting — Phone inquiries down 50% vs pre-COVID; diesel still 25% above pre-war. Measures: changing banks, refinancing, reduced director pay, office cleaning one day/week, reduced advertising, cost discipline on repairs and customer reparations.

• Cranbourne depot — Building to be sold (original investment no longer viable at current land tax/interest rates); operations continue in leased space; 3–6 month project.

• Staff training — Jack Tandy instituting 3-month and 5-month testing for new staff; advanced furniture-protection seminars to cut insurance-claim costs.

• Labour & efficiency — Managers covering more phone shifts and holiday rosters internally; depot spares reduced; staff seeking more work should contact leadership.

• Amenities & morale — Apology for the uncommunicated breakfast cut; limited Friday barbecue; reduced office supplies list. Harrison Schulz raised the morale impact; reinstatement taken under advisement (first cutback to be restored).

• Single mover (V1) — Recapture the lower market tier lost to cost-of-living pressure; requires strict safety rules and capacity guidelines as pre-COVID.

• AI phone agent — After-hours lead generation. Concerns (Jake Joyce, Harrison Schulz): customer perception, errors, "robotic" feel. Commitments: identifies as AI, optional, only ships if effective.

• New booking system — In testing with Sam Haughton-Greene and Jake Joyce; targets operational drag like slow end-of-job payment processing.

• Marketing/SEO — Search volume and rankings plummeting as Google AI summaries absorb traffic; consulting local and NZ firms; full website rebuild considered necessary for AI-crawler optimisation.

• Service diversification limits — Current system can't reliably express varied pricing models; new system must land first.

• Local pricing — Jake Joyce suggested reduced travel charges for Richmond/Abbotsford/Collingwood; margins too thin to discount carelessly.

• Employment status — Casuals may request permanent PT/FT after 6 months; ~15 transitions accommodated; caution as requests approach 20–30 (roster flexibility).

• B2B development — Recurring partnerships (e.g. mattress companies) need a reliable product and a consistent client contact.

• Fleet — Aging trucks retained; replacement not financially viable now; may reconsider if conditions worsen.

• Scheduling — Friday now the primary busy day (previously Fri/Sat/Mon).

• Attendance & pay — All attendees paid per the Enterprise Agreement; verify identity via text/email since chat logs are deleted.

• Union view on AI — Inevitable shift, but job security and personalised human service emphasised as the differentiator.

• Competition — Alex Morris: work exists but competitors (incl. Airtasker segment) are capturing it; compete without cutting customer service, repairs, or casual phone staff.

• AFRA / certification — Expensive, generated no customers (despite enabling insurance sales); withdrawal confirmed; revenue ideas needed, not just cuts.

• Market positioning — Premium pricing justified by staff quality; staff costs rejected as the cause of difficulties; find smaller/cheaper move options without compromising the model.