MBCM Strata Specialists franchisee Emma Glazebrook has won the prestigious franchise woman of the year award from the Franchise Council of Australia.
The Franchise Council of Australia is an association open to any franchise business including groups like McDonald’s, KFC and ANZ, making the achievement all the more remarkable.
Ms Glazebrook is passionate about providing professional body corporate or strata management services, however she said the real art of her role was in people skills and management.
“I’m a natural problem solver. That very much is my personality,” she said.
The franchise woman of the year award focuses on what she has done for women in her industry and beyond.
Ms Glazebrook’s business prioritises the development of her largely female employees. She provides regular training and development to help them progress from administrative roles up to strata managers.
“I absolutely love helping my team do the best they can. There’s a lot of reward that comes out of that,” she said.
“I put so much focus on my team because I realise in the service industry you are only as good as your people.”
Allowing employees to thrive in a comfortable and welcoming environment is important to Ms Glazebrook, who has even introduced a dog-friendly office policy because all her staff have dogs.
“You don’t live to work, you work to live. It’s about recognising that,” she said.
Ms Glazebrook is also proactive in the advancement of women's opportunities outside the office.
As the inaugural sponsor for Northern Country Women’s League (NCWL) for the past five years, she is passionate about creating opportunities for women’s involvement in AFL.
“There was resistance to setting it up because clubs were fearful of losing their netball players,” she said.
“This actually was not the case. In fact, it attracted women who were not playing sport because they wanted to play footy but it was not available to them.
“In the first year they had five teams. In the second year it grew so fast they split into two leagues.”
Ms Glazebrook said despite having previously won awards with the MBCM group, this award felt particularly special being something she was so passionate about.
“I was absolutely blown away to be recognised in amongst such a prestigious group of finalists,” she said.
“Winning this award is an amazing honour that will take some time to sink in.”
After her win regionally, Ms Glazebrook has become a finalist for the national award, which will be announced in mid-October.