Dillon Folker Stephens

 Dillon Folker Stephens – Town Planners

It’s the largest specialist town planning consultancy on the Sunshine Coast with 8 planners supported by two administrative staff.  Each of the three directors, Gary Dillon, Peter Folker and Kari Stephens is a qualified town planner offering the diversity of experience that ensures clients enjoy the best possible expertise and efficient service to bring their development, no matter what shape, size or format to fruition.

The scope of work conducted by Dillon Folker Stephens ranges from duplexes and two-lot subdivisions to multi-storey buildings and large subdivisions accommodating hundreds of allotments.  And not just on the Sunshine Coast.

Dillon Folker Stephens provides development application, expert court evidence, liquor license, strategic & master planning services across the state – Mt Isa, Innisfail, Gladstone, Bundaberg and of the course the South East corner.

This diversity of projects is matched only by Dillon Folker Stephens broad range of clients that include individual investors to major project developers involved in retirement villages & aged care facilities, child care centres, bulk chemist & pharmacy outlets, retail shopping centres, homemaker centres and showrooms, industrial developments, gymnasiums & fitness centres to tourist facilities and marina & waterfront developments.

Certainly over the past 10 years, Dillon Folker Stephens has grown from strength to strength - the result of considerable technical expertise, broad experience and effective systems that ensure that complex and lengthy assignments are efficiently delivered. 

However, ask co-director Kari Stephens and she’ll tell you that what really makes Dillon Folker Stephens the success it is today is more to do with working on business-planning than in town-planning.

“We have been guilty of being busy and working in, rather than on our business,” Kari said.

“With the help of Core we’ve improved our financial and administrative systems and we’ve learnt more about the ‘business’ behind Dillon Folker Stephens and the opportunities available to us. 

“As part of that process we, the directors, made a decision to share what most business owners would consider moderately sensitive information with our employees.  By sharing some of the financial and administrative responsibilities with our team, we also offered them greater benefits.  The result has been more informed staff members who have a greater appreciation for the key elements that make a business successful e.g. time management, cashflow, customer service,” she said.

Dillon Folker Stephens’ inclusive management model has resulted in numerous benefits, not least greater productivity.

“By sharing information with our team, we have succeeded in creating a more dynamic and smoother running operation, supported by a much-valued, strong and cohesive team who are all pulling in the same direction and enjoying benefits via salary packaging and in some cases, shareholding entitlements,” Kari said.

While it is to be expected that an accountant will provide tax minimisation and accounting compliance advice, Core Business have assisted Dillon Folker Stephens with so much more.

These services are what you would call business advisory services, but unlike an external business advisor, Core Business offers a professional service that has financial and accounting history with Dillon Folker Stephens that includes understanding the values of the directors and overarching cultural goals.  

Core’s ‘business advisory’ services have included advice for the merger and acquisition of another Sunshine Coast town planning practice; introducing employee shareholding and as part of that process, conducted a business valuation, salary and remuneration packaging, asset protection and information about financing.

Clearly Dillon Folker Stephens is a progressive and modern business that is not willing to sit and wait for opportunities to arrive.  The directors and team members have an ongoing agenda of initiatives that are thrashed out in regular staff meetings and often shared with a Core advisor who provide an informed, but arms-length professional advisor capable of providing unbiased discussion.  Core has provided comment for decision making on issues relating to sales & marketing, implementation and measurement of KPIs, human resources, service offerings, pricing advice and of course, identification of growth opportunities.

Given all this, it’s little wonder that Dillon Folker Stephens is sought-after both by prospective clients seeking expert advice and professional services in town planning but also by potential staff looking to work with a progressive firm that actively encourages and values the contributions of their team members.

For more information about Dillon Folker Stephens visit www.dfstownplanners.com.au