Clive Joss tours North Queensland to help members get ahead with their super
1 November 2023
During the 2022/23 financial year, Brighter Super met with over 11,000 members through group presentations and individual meetings, thanks to our dedicated team of just over 40 people.
One of the people making this happen is Clive Joss. He’s a Member Account Specialist at Brighter Super. His job is to meet with our members across Queensland, in-person or online, to talk to them about the different ways to grow and manage their superannuation.
Clive tells us about his latest tour of regional Queensland to help some of our members.
Preparation is key
It’s 5 am on a cool August morning in Townsville. Clive is up early and packing his car for a 2,200 km trip across the Flinders Highway in North Queensland. He’s off to meet with some of our members working in councils and energy companies across the region.
Clive has spent the last few weeks putting together dates and times for his meetings, finding the best venues to be at and factoring in travel times across long distances. He’s prepared all his presentations on the laptop and has a pile of brochures, leaflets and other material ready to share with the members he’ll meet.
Clive loves a rural Queensland trip, it’s a beautiful part of the world. Because he’s touring around North Queensland, he’s aimed for the cooler winter months. He’s planned his itinerary around the schedules of the Human Resources managers at each of the workplaces he’s visiting. His accommodation is a combination of motels and small bed and breakfasts.
Part of Clive’s preparation has been spending time with two of Brighter Super’s team based in North Queensland – David Macri is our Relationship Manager in Townsville, and Jodie Marquardt is one of our financial advisers covering Townsville, Mackay and surrounding regions. Getting local input from David and Jodie has been essential to the success of Clive’s tour.
On the road
After all the planning, Clive is at last ready to set off. He’s in the car, and he’s heading west along the A6 Flinders Highway for 380 km to Hughenden.
‘I love the journey across regional Queensland. As long as you are careful at dusk and dawn, you can avoid colliding with the wildlife. Out here, the remnants of kangaroo collisions along the main roads are alarming, even the occasional pig and cow. They’re always a reminder that you really are in the bush. It’s important to limit your driving hours to avoid fatigue and to always stay alert,’ said Clive.
The journey to Hughenden takes five hours, giving Clive time at the end of the day to settle into his first stop and get ready for the next morning’s meeting.
First meeting on tour
Clive’s first meeting on this tour is with some of the staff who work at Flinders Shire Council.
While Clive often uses meeting rooms at the offices or depots where our members work, this meeting requires a bit more space. He’s booked the Diggers Entertainment Centre, which is a multi-purpose conference and sporting facility.
When meeting with larger groups of members, Clive will typically start with a presentation, followed by answering any questions that members may have about super. He’s there to provide insights and information, and discuss topics such as contributions, investments, insurance and beneficiaries.
These presentations are informal and friendly conversations, where Clive gets to know the members and develop an understanding of their different journeys to retirement.
The size of Clive’s presentations will vary. He can meet with large groups of people, or just a small handful. Presentations tend to be before or after their shifts, or during workday breaks.
After presenting to the group, Clive then meets with individual members who have booked a Super Health Check. This is a 30-minute meeting where Clive can help each person discover new ways to grow their super, and check that they are on track for a comfortable retirement. Super Health Checks are available to Brighter Super members at no additional cost.
Heading further west
After his meetings in Hughenden, Clive sets off again and keeps heading west along the Flinders Highway. He stops for meetings with council staff at towns along the way – Richmond, Julia Creek, Cloncurry and Mount Isa.
It’s the same routine for each stop – drive in the afternoons, aiming to arrive before dusk to avoid any drama with wandering wildlife, and then get ready for the next morning’s group presentations and Super Health Checks.
Clive runs two group presentations with workers at Mount Isa City Council. The morning’s meeting is at one of the council depots, and then over to the council chambers for the afternoon’s meeting.
After a highly productive first week on tour, Clive enjoyed a fun weekend at the Multicultural Festival Mount Isa.
‘I loved seeing the rich cultural diversity of Mount Isa. The music, performances, art and food were amazing. It was so good to see such a diverse population coming together to celebrate everything this great region has to offer.’
And back east again
Feeling refreshed and energised from his weekend in Mount Isa, Clive turns the car around and heads east on the Flinders Highway again, back towards Townsville.
For this return trip, Clive’s focus is on our members who work for Energy Queensland. These group presentations and Super Health Checks are held at depots which are in each of the major towns heading east.
Clive’s last meeting is back at Hughenden, where it all began two weeks earlier.
Seeing Queensland at work
In total, Clive clocked up 2,200 km and around 22 hours of driving over a two-week period.
‘The story of regional Queensland – resilience, hospitality, straight-talk, and endurance – is evident everywhere,’ said Clive.
‘And on the road, it’s great to see Queensland at work. The coal trains are incredibly long. On many occasions, I waited patiently at road crossings and counted more than 100 wagons going by. And there are so many ‘road train’ trucks towing up to four trailers of cattle or freight. It makes you stop and think just how productive Queensland is.’
Helping our members
Clive still finds the most typical requests are around the basics of superannuation. What it is, why it’s important, how to grow it, and how to manage it over the long term so they can achieve their goals. The most popular question tends to be ‘how much do I need to retire?’
‘When you live and breathe superannuation, you can sometimes forget that financial planning for retirement can be complex, and not something people think about most days. It’s often seen as a ‘set and forget’ product. I never get tired of helping members explore just how much the superannuation system can support them in achieving their dream retirement.’
While there are some set presentations for each meeting, Clive is having a conversation. ‘I’m here as a catalyst, to encourage members to be more active in their superannuation journey. Hopefully members recount their conversation with colleagues and mates to help spread the word, and they always know that we’re just a phone call or an email away.’
During Clive's two-week tour of workplaces across North Queensland, around 100 members attended his group presentations, and 65 members had Super Health Checks appointments.
Connecting with regional Queenslanders
At the end of his day helping members with their super, Clive always enjoys the hospitality of the locals. The local roadhouses, cafes and pubs are the centre of these thriving communities. Helping a local team win their pub’s trivia night was a special moment for Clive.
Spending as much time as possible with the people in each town helps Clive feel a connection to the local area and an understanding of its community.
‘Creating and maintaining human connections is the best part of this job,’ said Clive.
LGIAsuper Trustee (ABN 94 085 088 484) (AFSL 230511) (the Trustee) as trustee for LGIAsuper (ABN 23 053 121 564) (RSE R1000160) (the Fund) trading as Brighter Super. Brighter Super products are issued by the Trustee on behalf of the Fund. Brighter Super may refer to the Trustee or LGIAsuper as the context may be. This article may contain general advice which does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs. As such, you should consider whether it is appropriate in light of your own objectives, financial situation and needs prior to making any decision. You should consult a licensed financial advisor if you require advice which does take into account your personal financial circumstances. You should also obtain and consider the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before making any decision to acquire any products. A Target Market Determination (TMD) is a document that outlines the target market a product has been designed for. Find the PDSs and TMDs at brightersuper.com.au/governance.
This article contains information that is up to date at the time of publishing. Some of the information may change following its release. Any questions can be referred to Brighter Super by calling us on 1800 444 396 or by emailing us at info@brightersuper.com.au.
