In a world where traditional business practices are rapidly evolving, the team at Vantaset have pioneered a groundbreaking approach to performance that transforms not just how companies operate but how their employees engage with their work. Founder Craig Steel discusses Vantaset's journey from developing a high-performance pathway for athletes to revolutionising corporate culture and productivity across industry. He discusses the challenges and successes that have defined the company’s progress and shares how their innovative solutions have enabled organisations to unlock their true potential.
In the world of performance enhancement, Craig and the team at Vantaset have charted an impressive journey, evolving from a focus on elite athletes to transforming the way businesses operate. Craig's early work centred on developing a high-performance framework that significantly boosted athlete’s performance but the turning point came around 25 years ago when executives noticed the effectiveness of the methods and asked if they could be applied to businesses. Early trials prompted CEOs to say, ‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ this led to the development of a commercial variant that has since been implemented in over 60 organisations across New Zealand and Australia.
“At first, organisation’s would approach us wanting to improve their results but what that required wasn’t necessarily clear. However, when we dug deeper, we discovered the real challenges they faced which were more or less the same across industry. Many companies, despite having competent employees, were struggling to connect them with their aspirations. They were also trying to lift their sights and productivity but often getting nowhere. However, once we got into those deeper discussions, it became clear how we could help them which often led to a radically different way of working.”
Once they had perfected their process, Craig and his team spent the next seven years reimagining their services, eventually turning it into a platform-as-a-service offering. Something Craig says was a monumental step for the company.
“It enabled us to turn our process into a performance-focused operating model that organisations could deploy across their business to support every person. What we’ve ended up with is essentially a plug-and-play high-performance framework that any business can use to unlock its potential.”
Craig attributes part of their success to the changing landscape post-COVID, where traditional command-and-control management styles have lost their effectiveness.
“Staff don’t want to be micromanaged; they’re looking for people-first solutions. The gap in the market became evident as we saw businesses looking for more modern approaches to enhance both performance and employee satisfaction. Once organisations get our framework in, they often say, ‘they’ve never seen anything have this level of impact before.’”
Despite their successes, Craig acknowledges the obstacles they've encountered along the way.
“One of our biggest challenges has been enabling customers to leverage our learnings across their business. Although we’ve spent decades examining performance, we knew we needed to package it in a way that everyone could understand.”
This challenge extended to ensuring their model retained its integrity while being digitised to increase its scalability. In this respect, the software enables organisations to bring their process to life thereby connecting everyone to the strategic goals of their organisation.
“Instead of issuing KPIs that are typically static, we clarify the purpose of people’s roles so everyone understands what success looks like for them. This empowers managers and employees alike, fostering a culture of commitment and shared success. As a leader-led process, it also encourages leaders to be responsible for their teams' performance, shifting their focus from managing up to enabling their people to succeed.”
Vantaset’s impact is evident in many sectors but notably their partnership with New Zealand Police. Craig recalls how their framework was implemented under the leadership of former Commissioner Mike Bush.
“We had the opportunity to help the Commissioner transform the organisation which he was committed to doing following significant scrutiny over cultural issues that occurred years before. The programme was rolled out to all 13,000 staff, helping them clarify their objectives and what it meant for every person. For the Commissioner, it was about ensuring every member of the Police knew what the public were looking for and how they could help the organisation achieve it.”
As Vantaset looks to the future, Craig is excited about the opportunity to expand their reach globally.
“We’re in the process of establishing partnerships to assist future-focused organisations in new territories including the UK and North America, and while I am sure there will be challenges in terms of scaling, we'll keep focussing on delivering impactful solutions that can genuinely transform organisations.”
Reflecting on their journey to date, Craig emphasises the importance of community and connection, particularly in the Kiwi business landscape.
“There’s a desire for Kiwis to see each other succeed, so people are willing to reach out and collaborate which is fantastic.”
With Vantaset poised for significant growth, Craig and his team are ready to take on the challenges of a rapidly changing world, all the while staying true to their mission of enabling organisations and their people to reach their full potential.