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Former Xero Canada country manager Will Buckley takes up the reins in Australia with a mission to listen.
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Xero’s incoming local boss will have ear to ground
08 September 2022
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Freshly appointed Xero Australia manager Will Buckley will spend time gathering feedback from customers to inform the next generation of products, he said.
Mr Buckley, who brings experience from time as Canada country manager and head of mergers and acquisitions, spoke to Accountants Daily on the opening day of Xerocon in Sydney this week.
He said that Australia’s affinity for Xero meant his role here was completely different from his time running Canada.
“Coming to Australia and seeing how much love there is for the product and the brand already, it’s more a case of just carrying on the baton and working with a team to go into the next chapter,” said Mr Buckley.
He would prioritise spending time with customers and partners to understand how Xero could move forward and provide products and advancements that accountants want.
“Projecting ourselves outwards into the community as much as we can possibly do to get that feedback, and then feed it back into our product development teams and tech teams, is the primary responsibility,” he said.
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“It’s making sure that our teams are very much on point and always keen and eager to get out into the community and hear first-hand from customers, which is the best part of the job.”
His focus would be on Xero’s 1.3 million Australian subscribers and the future requirements of small businesses, he said.
“It’s what more can we do to enrich their lives, get them close to adopting new emerging technologies like e-invoicing so that they can save even more time by being that connected business,” said Mr Buckley.
“But by the same token if you look at the number of small businesses that are going to be starting up in the next 10 years there is still a huge opportunity for growth there as well.
“So, it’s what more can we do for our existing customers that have been loyal to us as well as identifying and looking for opportunities for us to continue to grow.”
One step in that direction was a partnership announcement between Xero and workforce management platform Planday at Xerocon 2022.
Xero said the partnership would provide customers with retail clients a platform for managers to set up rostering with built-in award interpretation. Planday enabled businesses to handle employee rostering, leave and expenses, benefiting both staff and management, it said.
Mr Buckley said additions such as Planday should be embraced by businesses confronted by the labour shortage because it made pay, filing expenses and applying for leave straightforward for staff.
“How businesses owners manage their staff with the skills shortage and businesses working through all kinds of cost pressures and how they set up an efficient and well-structured workforce for their business is really important,” he said.
“What Planday is coming to offer the retail industry initially is to really look to try and simplify and create a more seamless experience in what can be quite challenging with complex sets of award standards for business owners to understand.
“It’s all about making that awards interpretation that flows through to how they manage their people, as simple as we can possibly make it for them so that it’s not a burden.”
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