Staff Matters September 17, 2020 Issue 275 Week 12
CARING ABOUT OUR STAFF AFFORD’S FIRST VIRTUAL EXPO
In This Issue
Afford has made a huge splash online as we attended our first ever virtual expo with Customer Care Managers from all over Australia dialling in to join the online event. The focus for the expo was to bring together everyone in the disability sector in a safe online platform and promote services that enhance the lives of people with disability. The highly anticipated virtual expo was held by organiser ‘Social Impact Institute’. Afford is the Platinum Sponsor across many different events held by them every year.
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Afford’s First Virtual Expo Trivia Swag Selfie
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ADE Driver Training Staff Profile
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4 Weeks Of Wellness Mental Health Reminder
The expo platform was very different to the usual format due to COVID-19, however it was still an excellent opportunity for our Customer Care Managers to engage with the audience in a different way. Our CCM team did face a few challenges, as we all do when it comes to technology.
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“We had to work with what we had. If we had a choice in attending face to face or virtual we would choose face to face,” said Sulett Van-Wyk National Manager for Customer Care. It was such a great team vibe on the virtual booth with all CCMs from NSW, QLD, SA and VIC joining in on the action. Our new CCM Brenton Munzer from SA was also invited to join as this was an excellent opportunity for Brenton to practice and familiarise himself with a virtual booth, as we will be attending the KYD-X expo this month in Adelaide which is virtual as well.
How To Submit A Compliment Handyman Timetable Selfies Of The Week Upcoming Events Afford Trivia Answer
There were just under 6,000 registered attendees and Afford recorded a whopping 600 visits to our booth. Due to it being a virtual expo, the statistics can be tracked in more detail. The breakdown of attendees was 37% in each of NSW and VIC, with the remaining balance of 26% in QLD. The top number of leads per organisation was in the 60’s and the top number of visits was around 650 unique visitors. Afford received 60 tips from this expo which our sales team will be able to utilise. “Thank you for being part of the very first ever Virtual Disability Expo. It certainly was a unique event and very different experience to a face-to-face Expo! Although you don’t get that “buzz” of a full exhibition hall, the expo was widely attended with lots of activity across the two days, which continues now and will continue for 8 weeks post the live event days” said Kathryn Carey, Senior Advisor, Social Impact Institute. A week after our virtual expo, our QLD team were very excited to attend a reallife expo called the CARE Expo, which focuses on the general care for people with disability and also aged care. Afford attended as a public attendee. The feedback from the day was fantastic and this will be an expo we attended yearly moving forward. “It was amazing, very, very busy, especially on Saturday. It was a good thing we didn’t have sponsorship as there was a lot of aged attendees, but there was a good mix. The booth we had this year was perfect. It was such a great space to be back in and chatting to people,” said Sulett. We’re excited for our Perth team to attend the upcoming Live Your Potential Expo this weekend and our Adelaide team to attend the virtual expo KYD-X later in the month. Go, team!
www.afford.com.au
Staff Matters
STAFF PROFILE NAME: Ann Stork POSITION: Lifestyle Assistant LOCATION: Wellington Point QLD FAVOURITE MUSIC/SONG Teardrops by Womack and Womack FAVOURITE MOVIE? Love Actually FAVOURITE HOBBIES? Caravanning and decorating FAVOURITE FOODS? Lemon meringue and lasagne
September 17, 2020 Issue 275
ADE DRIVER TRAINING Recently our ADE’s took part in a great driver training course to learn the skills required for their new fleet of trucks! Afford is passionate about our staff being skilled and confident drivers. When you step into the driver’s seat of an Afford vehicle – you represent Afford. It was important for all ADE employees who are operating the trucks, both supported employees and supervisors to be able to navigate the trucks confidently and this was such an excellent opportunity for our staff to learn the skills required. The driver training included the following topics: • Correct use of the steering wheel • Mirrors and visual sightlines • Blind spots and vehicle design
IF YOU COULD BE AN ANIMAL, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? Bird
• Planning manoeuvres
WHAT IS YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY DESTINATION? Travelling around Australia in my caravan
• Parking in confined spaces
IF YOU HAD THE POWER, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT THE WORLD? Cure cancer and all diseases
We had supervisors and supported employees representing each site. “The guys had amazing feedback on the training and we will now have our trucks on the road with confident, happy drivers. These are the things that make Afford the employer of choice and best disability organisation to work for,” said Mariska Tribelhorn Minchinbury Factory Manager.
IF YOU HAD TO TEACH SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD YOU TEACH? For everyone to treat people equally SOMETHING NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT ME? I'm not as innocent as I look
• Identifying obstacles and reducing hazards • Importance of driver perception and hazard awareness • Load restraint • Key defensive driving principles
As part of our ongoing training opportunities, Afford offers driver training sessions for staff to brush up on their skills in a relaxed team environment. To book a driver training session, ask your Team Leader who can then contact HR to book it in, it’s that easy!
www.afford.com.au
September 17, 2020 Issue 275
Staff Matters 4 WEEKS OF WELLNESS - MENTAL HEALTH The Afford Way promotes positive health and well-being initiatives throughout our organisation. Looking after your mental health is essential to personal wellbeing, family and interpersonal relationships. Having good mental health is critical to be able to do your job right too and now more than ever it’s vital that we do look after our mental health as we continue to live in this new ‘normal’. A lot of us are experiencing so many changes at the moment and might be finding the stresses from the pandemic overwhelming. Here are a few quick tips and easy things you can do to help clear your mind and declutter your thoughts for a better mental state. Tip 1: C lean up! It’s no secret that a cluttered desk, home or bedroom makes for a cluttered mind. Clear your space and you’ll be surprised how great it makes you feel.
Tip 2: E at well and drink plenty of water. When you fuel your body with the right things, it will reward you with a healthy body, energy and good mental health. Tip 3: Exercise is such an easy way to feel accomplished and helps clear your mind as you focus on the exercise. A 30-minute walk around the block can make a massive difference to how you are feeling! When you exercise your body releases chemicals called endorphins – which make you happy! For Affordian’s who need support, please be reminded of The Employee Assistance Program (EAP). EAP is a voluntary, confidential and complimentary counselling service that we offer for all employees as part of our Employer of Choice benefits. If you need assistance with personal, family or work related concerns that are impacting on your health or quality of life, you can contact EAP and make an appointment for face-to-face, online or telephone counselling services. Contact EAP: 1800 81 87 28 / (02) 8247 9191 or info@accesseap.com.au
Reminder! Staff, please be reminded about the importance of wearing masks: • Please note that all New South Wales and Victorian staff need to wear masks while working – inside and outside. Afford masks are available now, if you have any doubts or issues with stock, please discuss with your Team Leader or Manager. Staff, please be reminded about the importance of how to contact IT for support: • For IT support, please email your request to this address: helpdesk@afford.com.au
www.afford.com.au
September 17, 2020 Issue 273
Staff Matters HOW TO SUBMIT A COMPLIMENT It’s important to celebrate our wins and share positive feedback about our services at Afford. Sharing compliments with your team and your management is precisely the type of motivation people need to know that they are doing a good job! Did you know that we have a procedure on how to submit a compliment? It could be a comment on Facebook, a verbal statement or a letter.
Read below how to share the good vibes with everyone the next time you receive a compliment: Step 1: Compose an email message on your phone or desktop to compliments@afford.com.au. Step 2: Write the compliment and include as much information as possible. Step 3: Click send! It’s that easy! 3 Reasons why it's essential to accept and share our compliments with grace: • It honours others, taking what they say at face value. • We can store up the positivity. We remember the negative more often than positive, let’s celebrate the positive! • We can see ourselves more clearly, other people don’t see us the same way that we see ourselves. When we see ourselves clearly, we are more confident and more creative. Got a compliment on your sites Facebook page? Got a letter from a carer? Email it through! Verbal compliments can be typed and emailed. Let’s get those positive vibes going!
Handyman Timetable
Meet Our Handyman Tahier
Our Handy Man, Tahier, will be at the following sites this week: - Monday 21st September: Campbelltown & Leumeah - Tuesday 22nd September: South Windsor & Bligh Park x3 - Wednesday 23rd September: Jamisontown & Butterflies - Thursday 24th September:
Narellan Vale, Narellan & Glen Alpine
- Friday 25th September:
Glen Alpine STA & Urgent Requests
SELFIES OF THE WEEK
Allan iver me timbers! Selfie Above: Sh ces rvi Se t Pawsome Se ien Cl r nage lfi Sio, Executive Ma tting out of QLD LSA, H e Above: Southport ge ing rat leb Ce ayley Lindsa Queensland. ducky friend y with a little . . isolation in Perth
UPCOMING EVENTS DATE:
EVENT:
18 September
Live Your Potential - NDIS Expo 2020 WA
21 September
World Alzheimer's Day
23 September
International Day of Sign Languages
29 September
World Heart Day
A: She took a photo of him and developed it in a dark room.
www.afford.com.au