What We Do

Our Approach

We help our clients to help themselves.

From experience we know that having someone from outside the business to assist with process development, merchandise or staff reviews or consideration of the level and variety of products and services provided to your clients, can help you identify ways to simultaneously enhance revenue and client satisfaction.

At times we will be in a position to assist you directly. Alternatively we may help you to find another experienced consultant who can meet your needs. Either way you can be secure in the knowledge that if we cannot help you, we will find someone who can.

Our name is what we do

The name of the business reflects what we have done and continue to do.  Working as a senior executive within a variety of businesses our Director, Russ Allison, initially changed places from within.  In 2011 he became an independent consultant.  Looking into your business, from the outside, he is well positioned to

  • provide input, as required, into strategic decision making processes
  • make impartial, independent observations
  • identify opportunities for business enhancement
  • assist you with change management

With your help we Change Places and your bottom line and clients will see the benefits.

 

About Changing Places

This consultancy was created in March 2011.  It is not affiliated with any funeral director or cemetery.  It is an independent consultancy, established to provide you with access to the expertise and network of its Director, Russ Allison.  His experience within the industry spans more than 30 years.

Our approach is in many ways different to that of the large corporate consultancies.  We recognise that providing you with quality services and beneficial outcomes will generate repeat business and enhance our reputation within the sector.  From your own enquiries you will know that Changing Places treats client information confidentially, delivers quality outcomes and facilitates opportunities for strategic change process implementation.

 

Changing Places seeks to

Working alongside your team, we seek to enhance client business operations, governance and strategic planning, facilitating change management, improved financial viability and delivery of client services by

  • suggesting strategies to enhance the cemetery merchandise mix, tailoring it more closely to reflect local tastes, incomes and preferences, and modern cemetery practices
  • identifying opportunities to improve business processes and related implementation strategies
  • assisting with identifying appropriate cemetery software that can integrate with existing entity systems
  • ensuring alignment between policies, planned process changes and the actual implementation
  • working with team members to identify revenue generation opportunities
  • aligning proposed landscape design and infrastructure layouts with the functional requirements necessary for delivery of funeral and cemetery services
  • providing strategic advice, assistance with client complaint resolution, facilitating interaction and compliance with government department requirements
  • evaluating the likely costs associated with perpetual maintenance of particular cemeteries and strategies to accumulate related endowment funds
  • assisting you, when the time comes, with preparing your business for sale and bringing it to market or in reverse buying an existing entity or appraising a greenfield opportunity.

 

Changing Places is able to provide a wide range of business management services and solutions. We can work collaboratively with you, reviewing operational software and systems, developing business and strategic plans and objectives.  We also are able to identify opportunities to enhance business performance. Possibly this may involve facilitating mergers or even the disposal of business units.

At your request we can undertake independent staff and business operational reviews or mentor staff and board members.

In essence we facilitate performance enhancing change.

Sample Reports

Download the following PDF file to see a sample of our work