At Sparrowly Group creating strong and connected industries and people is part of who we are. We believe that sharing collective knowledge is key to helping everyone and every place thrive. Over the past month or so the team has been out and about gathering and sharing knowledge across a number of industries including the Visitor Economy, Economic and Workforce development.  

Beyond sharing our knowledge, we also value the opportunity to learn from our peers. Here are our key takeaways.

So many think that culture is about free lunches, ping pong and setting up social committees. But, it’s more than that. It’s the care and consideration we put around the needs of each team member to thrive and it goes beyond the surface level perks of dinners and team offsites. Sparrowly Group's Managing Director Giovanna Lever shares her take on culture and the practices that she follows daily to drive a collaborative and positive culture.

You probably know or have lived this scenario - you need to develop a Destination Management Plan or a Visitor Strategy and you need data to understand what's been happening or to know where your destination has come from. If you work in destination management, data is the one area that we all know we need to do better and be better at collecting, tracking, analysing it and reporting on it. When we don’t measure, reflect and act, it’s difficult to tell a comprehensive story to inform stakeholders and build true advocacy and partnerships with them.

The nexus of workforce development, the visitor economy, economic development, and community development is a powerful one. They aren’t isolated efforts but interconnected pillars that support thriving communities and robust economies. And, if we really want to support thriving communities and economies, we need to stop working in silos. But why does Australia and the organisations and budgets that support these sectors still work in silos? Why aren’t we working all hands together?

Have you ever wondered how AI could transform your professional life? Could it be the game-changer you’ve been waiting for, or is it just another overhyped technology? In this piece, Sparrowly Group’s Federico Moreno shares some key messages and considerations about using AI to it’s potential without sacrificing human oversight and intelligence.

At Sparrowly Group, sharing our knowledge and giving back to the industries we work in is core to our values. This week, four of our team members ventured out to present workshops and panels across New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia. We spoke on a variety of topics including driving customer loyalty, sustainable gastronomy, building local and industry advocacy, and the adoption of data to drive business success.

The 2024-25 Federal Budget has been handed down, and it’s drawing mixed reaction and debate about the market-shaping approach of the Future Made in Australia Act. Sparrowly Group’s Federico Moreno unpacks these perspectives and as well as the implications of the Act in the context of a highly competitive global economy racing towards net zero.

Submitting an award application is an amazing opportunity to get the recognition you deserve. Sparrowly Group’s Justine Sinclair shares her top 10 steps to being award ready so you can demonstrate your strengths and achievements.

“I’d like to give you some feedback.” Seven words that can make a person feel uncomfortable or challenged. But how do you build your feedback muscle and how to run to it rather than run away from it? A realistic guide to accepting feedback and elevating your business and customer satisfaction by taking positive action.

The arts, culture and creative industries sector in NSW has the largest creative workforce in Australia. The creative industries are an important part of the economy, accounting for a fifth of services exports and 10% of the state’s workforce and with great potential to grow. Australia is facing a big issue with our creative trade – for every dollar we make by selling creative stuff, we end up spending eight dollars on importing similar things. This deficit shows the potential growth that the arts, culture, and creative industries could have to bring in a lot more money and boost our economy as well as the profile of the sector. To support this growth opportunity, the 'Creative Communities Policy was introduced by the NSW Government late last year to maximise the opportunity this sector presents and enhance the cultural and creative sectors. Sparrowly Group’s Justine Sinclair provides a practical framework for realising the opportunities of this policy.

By providing young people with exposure to the kaleidoscope of career pathways available in today's workforce, we equip them with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions about their futures. It's about empowering them to take control of their destinies and pursue paths that align with their passions and interests. Sparrowly Group’s Federico Moreno shares his personal and professional perspectives providing a guide to supporting the workforce of the future.

Discussions of whether or not one type of impact analysis - economic, social, or environmental - deserve precedence over the other are ill-founded and miss the fact that all three are necessary to inform good decision making and each other.

That said, economic analysis carries obvious advantages, being a robust way to weigh the impacts between different physical, financial, and subjective intangible effects for individual people, and then weight the balance of those effects between people. That dollars are only a convenient, but arbitrary, yardstick of relative preferences and therefore well-being is aside to the actual aims of economic analysis. Albeit one often poorly explained by economists, and therefore, commonly misunderstood by non-economists through no fault of their own.

Sparowly Group’s Senior Economist, Sam Miller provides a explainer to help demystify misperceptions.

The team at Sparrowly Group has witnessed travel trends come and go over the years some of which become mainstays. As we move into a new year, there are three key areas we recommend incorporating into your destination and business planning.  

While these travel behaviours are not the first to evolve and won’t be the last. What’s important is to be forward thinking, know your customer, understand their needs and listen to their feedback.

By making this an always on mindset in your destination development and experience design, you won’t need to wait to learn what the trends are…you will set the trend.

The ethical consumer demonstrates a shift in priorities in favour of purchasing from organisations that prioritise transparency and sustainability. Learning how to service this consumer will have lasting benefits for your business and the community in which you operate.

How we communicate as individuals and as a team has a significant impact on how we all perform. And it can be hard. Sparrowly Group’s Giovanna Lever provides insight into maintaining your communications A game.

In October, Sparrowly Group’s Giovanna Lever represented Australia at the United Nations World Tourism Organisation Gastronomy Conference. Here are her learnings and resources for colleagues in the Australian tourism, food production and hospitality industries.

Sensory Experience is the connection of physical senses including sight, touch, taste, sound and smell to an experience. In this article, Sparrowly Group’s Morgan Thorn explores how your every day activities or surroundings can be developed into a memorable sensory experience.

We as a society are moving into a new era of advancement, but one thing is for sure, if we don’t remain truly connected, we will never be truly connected; never be truly fulfilled. Sparrowly Group’s Giovanna Lever shares how she recognises and captures those micro moments to create meaningful connections and moments in life.

Social science delves into the complex and intricate realm of human behaviour, society, and culture. But it can be overlooked by many or avoided as being something that is hard to understand, boring or something left to the experts. Yet, without realising it, we are using it, or discussing it in some shape or form in our everyday lives.

The VET sector will play a leading role in Australia’s future economy and workforce. Sparrowly Group’s Federico Moreno unpacks why and how in reflection of this year’s National Skills Week.