Staff Matters 219

Staff Matters August 23, 2019 Issue 219 Week 8

CARING ABOUT OUR STAFF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY GIVES DARRYL HIS INDEPENDENCE Afford proudly offers life changing Allied Health supports in Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Psychology, and Physiotherapy.

This week, we had yet another fabulous example come through about Allied Health making a truly life changing difference. Darryl lives in Queensland and was connected with Afford Occupational Therapist, Nicole, to work on his goal of living independently.

In This Issue 1

Occupational Therapy Gives Darryl His Independence Joke of The Week Afford Trivia

2

Afford Makes Greg’s Dream Come True Reminder

Before joining Afford, Darryl was living in residential aged care. He was just 48 years old.

With such a vibrant personality and love for life, Darryl was not suited for aged care and Nicole's efforts have ensured him a better quality of life.

After receiving a referral, Nicole quickly got to work building Darryl’s independent living skills in preparation for moving into more age-appropriate accommodation. This included increasing and diversifying Darryl’s daily activities, and with Nicole’s support, Darryl has been given the opportunity to get back into the pool to go swimming. It has been a very long time since Darryl has gone swimming, but as soon as he got to the entry of the pool, the beaming smile on his face conveyed just how ecstatic he felt.

3

Step Up To The Challenge!

4

It's A Buzz!

Handy Helper

Welcome New Appointments Upcoming Events Afford Trivia Answer Selfies of the Week

Thanks to Afford's whole-of-life approach to disability services, supported accommodation was found for Darryl in one of Afford's group homes in Coomera, Queensland. This means that Darryl has moved out of his unsuitable residence in an aged care facility, and into a loving Afford group home with his peers.

The Afford Lifestyle now provides a range of opportunities for Darryl to live life on his terms.

Nicole worked closely with Darryl and his family to ensure his new home was suited to his needs. Nicole prescribed assistive technology to increase Darryl’s independence. She also designed the complex home modifications to include a new wet room, ramp entrance with rails, new flooring in the bedroom and the removal of the walk-in wardrobe for better accessibility into his bedroom.

These modifications reduced environmental barriers, improve liveability and increase safety for Darryl. All these home modifications were made to ensure that Darryl has every opportunity to live the life he has always wanted.

Darryl’s story is one of many examples of cross-unit collaboration and team work, to assist clients to achieve their NDIS goals and life their best life.

AFFORD TRIVIA

In 1985 our Sheltered Employment Enterprises adopted a new name.

What was the new name?

www.afford.com.au

Staff Matters

STAFF PROFILE NAME: Larry Olateju POSITION: Lifestyle Assistant LOCATION: Beenleigh, QLD South FAVOURITE MUSIC/SONG? God's Plan - Drake FAVOURITE MOVIE? Fantastic Four FAVOURITE HOBBIES? Football & rugby FAVOURITE FOODS? Chicken & salad IF YOU COULD BE AN ANIMAL, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? A monkey WHAT IS YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY DESTINATION? Dubai IF YOU HAD THE POWER, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT THE WORLD? More love in the world IF YOU HAD TO TEACH SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD YOU TEACH? Love SOMETHING NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT ME? How much I love my family

August 23, 2019 Issue 219

AFFORD MAKES GREG’S DREAM COME TRUE

As part of Afford’s partnership with Hawthorn Hawks, Afford client, Greg, was chosen to have a very exclusive #1 fan experience as part of the Hawks Inclusion Match at Marvel Stadium.

Greg is a passionate AFL fan and barracks for his favourite team, Hawthorn. The day before the game, Greg proudly wore his Hawks guernsey at the final training session for the Hawks at the Ricoh Centre in Mulgrave. He then got to meet the coach and get up close to some of his heroes while he took water to the players during training.

On match day, Greg had exclusive access to all that goes on behind the scenes before the game, during warm-up and in the dressing rooms at Marvel Stadium.

As with all our clients, Greg is supported to get involved in activities that he loves under the NDIS. He regularly attends our healthy lifestyles program, Club Afford, and has made great friends through this program. Greg has also barracked for the Hawks during many Afford outings to the football throughout the season.

Greg's involvement in the Hawks Inclusion Match was made possible as part of Afford's partnership with Hawthorn to promote inclusivity for people of all abilities.

Afford, in partnership with Hawthorn, also established an Afford Sensory Friendly Space at Marvel Stadium for the Inclusion Match. The space allowed people of all abilities to take time out if or when they need it throughout the Hawks v Suns match.

The Afford vans also provided shuttle buses for wheelchair patrons to and from the game, and Afford also sponsored Auslan interpretation services on the day, to ensure that the match was truly inclusive in every way.

Go Afford!

Reminder!

Reimbursement procedures for ALL Staff!

• Only Kilometres reimbursements go to Payroll.

• ALL other personal reimbursements go to Accounts Payable.

This is very important to ensure we are not bombarding payroll with unnecessary requests. After all, we all want to get paid on time!

www.afford.com.au

August 23, 2019 Issue 219

Staff Matters STEP UP TO THE CHALLENGE! P EM

OF

LOYER

CHOICE

Step-up! Step-Up to one of the best Employer of Choice initiatives that we offer our staff. The Step-Up program is one of many career progression initiatives we have here at Afford, to provide all our staff with the opportunity to access career growth and professional development opportunities.

The Afford Way is a culture that we are proud of, one where our staff are engaged and supported to meet their personal and career goals. Goals are important because they give you drive and something to work towards.

They help with our development and successes and give us a great sense of achievement when we meet them!

take on new higher duties positions, as they arise.

Afford is always encouraging our staff to strive to be better and expand your knowledge, which is why we have so many options with tertiary studies, and programs like Step Up. Through our Step Up program, we provide opportunities for existing Afford staff to

The new round of candidates are about to start their journey into the latest Step-Up Program.

Maureen Brown, National Training and Engagement Manager, has over 30 people that are currently going through the new Step Up process, which is so exciting for the future of Afford!

The process will start with standard telephone interviews, then after staff complete their telephone interviews, a training day will be held on the week of the 26th of August. For all successful Step-Up candidates, they will transition into further training and mentoring to help prepare them for their new role.

Are you interested in rising to the challenge?

Check out below how the program works!

• Every quarter, an Expression of Interest goes out to all Client Services staff to apply for the Step-Up Program. The program prepares and mentors staff who wish to move up from Lifestyle Assistant to Team Leader or from Team Leader to District Manager.

• From the Expression of Interest Applications, HR then selects applicants for interviews. Those who are successful in the interviews can then go into the program, where they receive relevant leadership training and are given hands on knowledge both formally and also on-the-job.

• This sets them up to take on temporary acting positions that arise while an existing staff member is absent. This provides Step Up participants with the relevant skills and experience to decide if the career move is right for them.

So why not put your hand up next time?

Challenge yourself!

Handy helper

Our Handy Man, Tahier, will be at the following sites this week: - 26th August: Marrickville ADE, Bexley, Ashfield - 27th August: Belmore - 28th August: Lakemba, Guildford - 29th August: Canley Vale

www.afford.com.au

August 23, 2019 Issue 219

Staff Matters IT'S A BUZZ!

Buzz nights are a part of the Afford Way and are essential in keeping the team culture alive in our busy work life. It can be easy to get engrossed by work commitments and not take the time to relax and let off some steam.

Afford is expanding under the NDIS, with new properties, programs, and clients.

This means you may have some new team mates around your site or office and Buzz Nights are great opportunities to get to know them! Our culture fosters and promotes a teams and tribes vibe, where everyone works together to get the job done – we spend a lot of time with our work colleagues, so it’s important to know and respect your colleagues.

Having great working relationships with your colleagues can be the key to making coming to work fun alongside our amazing clients!

P EM

We want to see you vibing with your tribe! Send us your buzz night stories via marketing@afford.com.au

OF

LOYER

CHOICE

Check out some of these pictures from some of our sites enjoying BUZZ NIGHTS this year!

We would like to congratulate the following Affordians on their new appointments: • Ashleigh Lambert - Speech Pathologist, QLD South • Kayley Simmons - Provisional Psychologist, NSW • Taryn Upton - Training Officer, QLD South

SELFIES OF THE WEEK

Pawsome Se berg lfie Ab A Krystal Hecken Selfie Above: LS bargain Brown, LSA NSW, ove: Jaimie e, us Ho rs he nt with fur bab Pa Z m az fro u! ul Pa th wi y, g. shoppin

UPCOMING EVENTS DATE:

EVENT:

1-31 August

MS Readathon - One month challenge

25-31 August

Speech Pathology Week

30 August

Tracky Dack Day

1 September

Father's Day

Afford Trivia Answer: Fodi Industries

www.afford.com.au