Staff Matters
December 18, 2015 - Issue 35 Week 25
Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year! In this Issue As 2016 draws to a close I would like to pass on my sincerest thanks to all for your efforts in the past year. It has been a year of great success and change as we prepare ourselves for the completely new world of the NDIS.
The NDIS will be fabulous for our clients and people we support, but will require us to reinvent our internal processes and expectations. To make the added requirements of the NDIS easier we have implemented CIMSability and NAV. Under the NDIS we will need to invoice our clients for each shift in most cases and the new system will make that possible without having many manual systems to do so We have also implemented eLearning using ELMO as we will need to deliver training in a very different way under the NDIS. ELMO will make many topics easier to train across our many locations and will help us offer more training opportunities to all staff. We will still provide face to face training for First Aid, GIRT, Manual Handling & Driver Training and will increase the amount of training we provide We also rebranded to a more colourful and modern looking logo. The response to the logo has been overwhelmingly positive and we will do many new fun things with the logo to improve our brand recognition and company pride Our financial position has improved dramatically in the past six months which gives us security in our jobs as the NDIS rollout commences. There are many stories circulating across our sector, and indeed some companies will struggle to survive under the NDIS. Our financial position means we are not only secure, but that we can start to plan for new and exciting opportunities in 2016 Now that we have the foundations set for the future I will be out and about a lot more in the new year. Like our competitors we will need to focus even more on customer service and delighting our clients every day. It does not mean a huge change as I believe Afford already provides great customer service, but we always need to strive to be better and have a sense of urgency as our surroundings start to move at a faster pace In 2016 we will complete our 10 new Group Homes, continue in our fight to guarantee the future of ADEs, expand on our new Holidays and Afford Active programs, commence providing Childrens’ Services and the list goes on and on. As we do this, our mission will always remain our main focus along with continuing our rich heritage as one of the leading service providers in Australia. Presenting 40 year Service Awards today to a number of ADE employees reminded me of just how rich this legacy is and how proud we should be to be a member of the Afford team Have a Merry Christmas everyone, and roll on 2016! Take Care,
Steve
T 02 8805 3700 E info@afford.com.au 12 Marieanne Place, Minchinbury 2770 afford.com.au
Page 1 •Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year!
Page 2 • Staff Profile • TTW Trainees Graduate In Style • Afford Gets Its Groove On
Page 3 • Afford Staff Strive For Success •Daryl’s New Home Delight
Page 4 • Oh What A Night, Oh What An Adventure! • AFFORD Selfies • Have A Laugh
AFFORD Fact In 2007, The Afford packaging site at Prestonsis opened. Day Program sites were purchased or renovated at Green Valley, Campbelltown and Windsor.
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December 18, 2015 - Issue 35
Staff Profile
Charles Stephens Supervisor Minchinbury Factory
Favourite Song: Lots, Rock ‘N’ Roll Favourite Movie: Shawshank Redemption Favourite Hobbies: Drag races, working with cars Favourite Foods: Most foods If you could be an animal what would you be: A dog What is your dream holiday destination: Off the beaten track If you had the power what would you change about the world: Make money less powerful What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you: Lots of people have done nice things for me, can’t name them all! If you had to teach something what would you teach: Life is to short take a chance and believe in yourself Something no one knows about me: I have been on TV
TTW Trainees Graduate In Style
Afford TTW 2015 Graduation was an amazing night yet again, 29 trainees received their Certificates of completion from Vocational Services manager Paul Thomas. The night consisted of lots of fabulous food followed by trainees, their families and TTW staff displaying lots of fabulous moves on the dance floor. Steve Herald also took the time to let families know the direction in which Afford are heading and showed off our brand new logo. A big thank you to the staff for all the amazing table decorations made, they looked wonderful and congratulations to TTW graduating trainees on another fantastic result!
Afford Gets Its Groove On
On the 3rd December Afford attended the GroovAbility Festival at Burwood Park celebrating International Day of People with Disability. The festival featured fun-filled entertainment with films, a free bbq lunch, a range of activities including a photo booth, airbrush tattoos, face paint and a look inside a firetruck. All clients who attended had a great time celebrating with everyone while participating in the festivities, making plenty more great memories to share with their families and friends. Thank you to all staff who attended the festival, making it a special day for our clients.
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December 18, 2015 - Issue 35
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Afford Staff Strive For Success
Afford would like to congratulate the below staff for successfully completing their Cert IV In Disability last year Suzana Bazika- Jamisontown , Laura Elliot- Jamisontown , Victoria Kemp- Kings Park Kristina Kokos- Chipping Norton, Kristianto Kristianto- Ashfield, Katarzyna Ross- Guildford , Tasnim Sandford- Ashfield , Donald SearlJamisontown, Katharina Stemmer- Ashfield and Chatchanok (Kay) Wongwai- Kings Park We have contacted TAFE and the certificates are being posted to us this week and you all should receive them before Christmas Closedown. Well done everyone! Also an applause to all the staff that have submitted their final assessments in July/August and are receiving emails from TAFE to check their results online. Please be advised HR will receive separate results from TAFE. All the staff will receive an increase based on the results. Staff will be back paid for when they passed. We are in transition of payroll systems and these increases may not be applied until the New Year. To all staff who have requested review of the TAFE timetable and new sign ups, We are already working with Kylie Somalis (TAFE teacher) organising on the job training to avoid any delays. We will be handing it over to Bridget and we shall come up with a new plan in the New Year. For any queries please do not hesitate to contact Nikita Gupta on 8805 3742 or email Nikita.gupta@afford. com.au.
Daryl’s New Home Delight The construction of the new group homes for our current Cherrywood residents has been a long time coming and for resident, Daryl Buckley, it’s been a life changing experience worth waiting for. Daryl is a shy reserved man and usually keeps his thoughts to himself; the process of being involved with the selection of different items for his new home has taken his disability and transformed it into an ability. The morning Daryl was going to pick furniture for his new home, he told his brother, Steven Buckley, “When I got out of bed I started jumping up and down and laughing to myself with excitement”. Daryl talks about his new home all the time and walks around with a huge grin whenever you mention the new house. His brother would like to thank all of the team from Afford for the journey given to Daryl, he will now move into the home feeling a strong sense of ownership.
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December 18, 2015 - Issue 35
Oh What A Night, Oh What An Adventure! On Friday the 20th of November 13 eager campers all set up camp at the Afford Windsor site. Our campers partied the night away having water fights, telling scary stories, dancing to their favourite songs, followed by watching a movie. What is a camp night without a Barbie, marshmallows and ice cream to cool everyone off after a hot day! It was such a memorable night for all who participated leaving them eager to stay and camp the day after. It was the very first time some of our clients had been either to a camp night or away from their parents. The laughter, enthusiasm and fun that was had really showed the spirit at Afford is alive and well. Big thankyou goes to Staff members Kim Mitchell, Greg Beckingham, Belinda Howle and Marlene Guion for their efforts making it a memorable night for our clients!
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In this Selfie Above: Afford clients with the firemen at GroovAbility.
Please send in your selfies
Have a laugh