RUGBY LEAGUE legend Robbie Hunter-Paul is spearheading a survey to find out exactly what Giants fans want from their matchday experience.
It is the first time the Super League club has embarked on such a project, which will also ask for views on the way the club is run in general, with the rugby league legend regarded as the ideal man to take charge.
The survey goes live from noon tomorrow on the club website and closes on Sunday (January 15) at 9pm.
And as a ‘thank you’ to all those supporters who take part, they will be entered into a draw to win a top rugby league memorabilia pack.
It includes signed home and away Giants playing shirts for 2012, a pair of Eorl Crabtree’s playing boots which were personally signed, a signed 2011 Exiles ball, two tickets to one of the Exiles two summer Tests and two player bar passes for the Giants home Super League XVII opener against Widnes on Sunday, February 12 when the winner will be presented with their prize.
It is former Giants and Bradford Bulls star Hunter-Paul’s first major assignment in his role of Giants’ business development manager, and he can’t wait to hear what the fans have to say.
“I’ve always been interested in this type of research as it gives you a strong foundation for moving forward,” he said the former New Zealand Test ace.
“It will allow us to understand how supporters feel about who we are as a club and what we mean to them as their club. It also shows we want to listen to them as well.
“So what I’ve been working on over the past week is the biggest, intensive sports survey the club has ever delivered.
“That’ll create excitement because feedback from supporters is incredibly detailed as they are on the ground and see things up close and personally.
“Hopefully, the survey will give us a massive amount of information so we can make improvements in the right places.
“Many organisations try to improve what they offer by looking to develop things which just aren’t important or try to fix things that aren’t going to make a difference.
“What we want to do is give our supporters exactly what they want. We want to take the approach that we are all in this together – the club, our partners and, most importantly, our supporters.
“We want to grow as a club and spread the rugby league gospel but first we will start at home.
“The key for us as an administration team is we don’t have any control over what goes on in a match, but we can control most other aspects of the ‘day out’ and this is what we are focused on improving for our supporters.”
Hunter-Paul has now spent a month in his new role at the Galpharm, and he admits that having been a Giants player between 2006 and 2007 has made it easier for him to settle in.
“It’s been really good. All the different department managers have been absolutely fantastic with me,” he added.
“They’ve really been patient and have given me the time to show me how each aspect of the club works. That’s important for me feeling comfortable.
“Once I get these projects out of the way, I’ll be getting into the full swing of other aspects of the business, but at the moment, we are just purely and simply working on our strengths.
“What has made it really enjoyable for me is to see how they do things.
“It’s been great learning the clubs processes and I’ve also been able to add to initiatives and also suggest new ways of approaching problems.
“I’m trying to figure out where I can support the current managers in what they do. For me, I guess that’s how I was on the field: watch, learn, adapt and innovate.”
