David Woolsey might not know a lot about hair dressing and salon management, but with more than 17 years involvement in superannuation, his presence is being felt at Salon Super, previously known as the Hair Fund.
Woolsey, who is Salon Super’s operations manager, knows his way around superannuation, having worked in the sector with Zurich, Prudential, and ANZ Investments before moving to Salon Super.
In fact, Woolsey’s appointment at the fund 12 months ago followed the decision to change the fund’s name from the Hair Fund to “Salon Super” — a name the trustees believe “better reflects the work environment of current and potential members”.
The name change and Woolsey’s appointment represented a fresh start for the fund which had experienced its share of challenges through the late 1990s, culminating in its exposure to the severe market down-turn experienced in 2001-02.
Salon Super is the industry fund promoted by the Professional Hairdressers Association and, given the highly mobile nature of the sector’s workforce, membership retention has been a critical issue for the fund almost from the outset.
This was something reflected in concerns expressed last year about how the fund would handle explaining returns of -5 per cent for 2001-02 and the capacity to handle the level of member queries generated by such a poor return, in circumstances where the fund at that time had just three full-time staff.
These days Salon Super still boasts only four full-time staff, but Woolsey has overseen a substantial upgrading and modernisation of the fund’s procedures, including automating client communications, and implementing service standards and complaint handling procedures.
Woolsey, a Sydneysider who grew up on the northern beaches, is suitably modest about the turnaround in the fund’s fortunes since he joined it, and notes that in many respects, it is attributable to the close attention being paid by trustees, including their monthly reviews of investments.
He says the trustees listen to their advisers and staff, have a positive approach and ‘can do attitude’, which has helped reap benefits for members despite the continuing challenging investment environment.
In fact, Salon Super was among the leading industry funds when it came to generating positive returns through the past financial year, producing an earning rate of 4 per cent for the year, and a 6.6 per cent return over the final quarter.
In material being provided to members, the fund points out that in a recent pooled fund survey, Salon Super was ranked number one for the March 2003 quarter and third for the current financial year against 43 superannuation managed funds.
Asked what his major contribution has been since joining Salon Super, Woolsey lists the implementation of new structures and membership retention procedures, including improved marketing and communications.
At first blush, the membership retention procedures appear to be working. Salon Super has been recording steady growth and now boasts a membership of more than 14,000.
