Sept 2022 DRAKEVINE
Your Executive Committee welcomes you to the August edition of the DrakeVine newsletter, connecting us all to share the very latest Drake news! As we approach the end of the Drake financial year, the EC is pleased to report that all divisions and branches are collaborating and communicating well in keeping with our values and OneDrake. With less than five weeks before the end of the Drake Financial year (30th Sep), we still have financial ground to make up and it’s all hands on deck to finish the year as close to our targets as possible. Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, we have functioned well as a business due to the hard work, dedication, and teamwork displayed by all. While our competitors slow down, we are ramping up and our enterprising teams have seen opportunities everywhere. This is resulting in better quality work at higher margins being secured, producing an overall increase in year-to-date performance. Well done to all on recognising the value of what we do and standing firm on pricing.
General Manager Drake Medox UPDATE
Daniel Parncutt
General Counsel
Paul
CFO
Unstead National Manager Outsourcing
A message from the EC
Christopher Ouizeman
Executive Committee
Frank Spizzo
Nick Polimenakos
EC MESSAGE
Pleasingly, we are growing as a company with new quality appointments being made across almost all branches. We are delighted to welcome these new additions to the Drake family. Most gratifyingly, we have seen a reduction in staff attrition. Our people are what makes this company great, and retention is key to our future success. We thank you all for your loyalty. We also welcome two new members to the Executive Committee, Daniel Parncutt and Paul Unstead.
Daniel and Paul will continue with their operational functions, but additional responsibilities will be added to assist the EC with overall companywide governance and oversight.
A message from the
The EC
As you know, we are increasing our investment in marketing initiatives designed to support the business in its client and candidate acquisition efforts. In addition, we are refining our products and services to better complement our suite of offerings and improve client retention, which is in keeping with our strategy of securing a “greater share of wallet”. We are eagerly anticipating the roll-out of our investment in Fastrack, which will herald a new era for Drake by reducing our cost to serve and increasing our efficiencies. Thank you to those who have participated in the user acceptance testing (UAT), which is essential to a seamless rollout. Lastly, we will be increasing our focus and investment in strategic HR with new training, development and succession planning initiatives being introduced throughout 2023. More on this later. We look forward to finishing this quarter on a high and commencing the new year as an even better, leaner, and more significant HR leader, not to mention employer of Keepchoice.up the great work team.
EC EC UPDATE
Bill was honored at the annual Young Presidents’ Organisation (YPO) Monaco Chapter event as the longest serving member of YPO in the world. YPO is the world’s largest leadership community of chief executives – over 30,000 extraordinary global members, coming together to become better leaders.
NEW
INITIATIVES
The longest serving member of the Young Organisation!Presidents’
During his time with YPO, Bill has met with some incredibly influential people, and has been heavily involved with expanding YPO across the world. Bill had some words to share about his involvement with YPO: “As Area Vice-President for the North-eastern area, I purposefully scheduled the next Area Conference in Switzerland rather than Canada to make it easier for the new European candidates to attend an Area Conference. I also opened up YPO in Melbourne and Sydney and assisted with opening Tokyo. I then started the first International Conference in Rome as Chairman.”
The honor also recognised Bill’s achievement of being the longest serving CEO of a multinational corporation in the world. He received this honor in front of 80 YPO Members and their spouses from Monaco and worldwide.
Congratulations Bill, what an incredible achievement! Bill Pollock at the YPO Monaco Chapter Event Bill Pollock gave a speech on behalf of YPO to the Pope
Congratulations to Bill Pollock
Bill pioneered YPO’s expansion into Europe and championed the very first European YPO Event. He was congratulated by fellow YPO’ers and everyone was impressed by his achievement and enjoyed meeting with Bill personally during the dinner.
CONGRATULATIONS
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Maldives, lying-in crystal-clear water and sipping a cocktail!
I’m excited to be a part of such a close-knit team and share my experience in Human Resources to help boost the employee experience from start to finish. Who is someone that inspires you?
Sarah has significant experience working in Human Resources and brings a wealth of knowledge to her role as Head of Human Resources!
RAPID TEAM AWARD WINNER– Clinical Support Team RAPID EC AWARD WINNER– Payroll Team
Thanks to COVID, I have officially watched every TV series on every streaming channel, but I can’t go past my 2 favourites - The Office (US), and Arrested Development.
Mike Benedet
Do you have a favourite movie or TV series to recommend?
Congratulations to our RAPID Award Winners! HR UPDATEHR Update
Welcome to Sarah Colclough, our new Head of Human Resources!
Why are you excited to join the Drake team?
Cameron Douglas Nicole Jones Janet Ryder Matt Vido Gen Tope
Achievement Passion Integrity Diversity & Inclusion
My Mum, Dorothy, was truly inspiring. Mum worked as a schoolteacher and loved every second of her career. She travelled the world over and over, and there was never an option to tell her “No”, as that just made her more determined.
Respect
You can nominate a Colleague or a Team at any time CongratulationsD&I:INTEGRITY:PASSION:ACHIEVEMENT:RESPECT: to our RAPID Award Nominees! Thank you for all your hard work and support, and for living and breathing our RAPID values. For more information about our RAPID Award program Click Here Click Here RAPID TEAM AWARD:
Karen Chittick, Kevin Tuano, Kelly Hayley, Michelle Hillman
Roman Koester, Shelby Crameri, Cheryn Vilaivongse, Nicole Russon, Kristina Deverell, Elizabeth Johnson, Marianne Mayadunne, Patricia Cruz, Cameron Douglas, Mini Cainer, Mischell Aristo, Janet Ryder, Stephanie Osgood, Juhi Gambhir, Sahana Govinda Raju
Tegan Paltridge, Nicole Jones, Marianne Mayadunne, Jodie Bartram, Alana Blandford, Corbin Hannah, Nikhil Kachhadia, Sarah Ross, Danielle Smith, Jade Dodd, Sahana Govindaraju, John Law, Kelly Tickle, Shelby Crameri, Debbie Broadley, Danielle Smith, Daniel Hoang Maryanne Zrilic, Leanne O’Meara, Rudy Srahah, Victoria Hunt, Shanelle Balchin, Janet Ryder, Rebecca Ciappara, Sahana Govindaraju, Philippa Dally Matt Vido & Gen Tope, Toula Cilia Medox WA, Payroll Team, DI Wetherill Park, DI Laverton, DI Gold Coast, DO Brisbane, DO Perth, Credit/Receivables.
HR Update HR UPDATES
Introducing Lucinda Gamboni as our new National Process & Systems Trainer!
The new training will be incorporated into our onboarding programs, helping new starters understand the Drake recruitment process and the systems we use.
The Process & Systems training program intends to empower everyone with the skills, knowledge, and tools they need to perform their job to their best ability.
Lucinda will be implementing a Process & Systems training program that will assist us all in learning the current systems we use at Drake. The program will be self-paced and will allow staff to refer to training at any time.
Lucinda has moved into her new position as National Process & Systems Trainer. During this transition, she has been actively supporting the FastTrack team in the rollout process, providing assistance with UAT testing.
We can’t to see the rollout!
NEW INITIATIVESNew Initiatives
Future plans:
wait
New Initiatives NEW INITIATIVES FastTrack Update: Our UAT Testing is underway, and we have a number of staff using the system, familiarising themselves with FastTrack. Our payroll and finance teams are also busy testing candidate payments and client billings. UAT has been crucial in identifying any issues with FastTrack that have not yet surfaced. We encourage all staff to keep going with the UAT as it helps with a smooth transition when we go live. When Do We Go Live? Staffing Go Live is scheduled for mid-late September for Drake business units, and Medox is scheduled for early November. What’s Next? We’re busy working on other initiatives that align with FastTrack and more will be revealed on these as we go through the UAT process. Online quoting, terms of business and ENTO integrations will all be coming up soon! Resources Here are some great resources staff can access on some Front Office features in FastTrack that will be available for everyone: Watch Video Watch Video Watch Video Watch Video ShowMeHow The productive learning tool in FastTrack360. Job Order Bulk Fill Easily and quickly create and fill job orders in bulk. Google Maps Can view a job location and candidate’s home address for comparison. Recruiters can be smarter about placing candidates, considering proximity. Preferences and Exclusions Never place a (known) bad candidate again. Claire Alcock
Cultural Awareness Training: EC, D&I Committee, Senior Leadership, and Managers are all attending Cultural Awareness Training in October that will be delivered by Koorie Trust Heritage.
By committing to developing a Reflect RAP for Drake International, we can continue to create meaningful partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, groups, and communities. Some key areas we are focusing on with our Reflect RAP include: Education: Building greater awareness across the business on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and culture and providing staff with access to resources.
The Diversity and Inclusion Committee has been working hard to create Drake International’s first Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)!
Acknowledgement of Country: To show our respect, we are incorporating welcoming and acknowledgement protocols into official meetings and events to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners of land. You can find resources for Acknowledgement of Country relevant to your area here Link Here To keep up to date on our D&I initiatives and to access resources, please visit our SharePoint page!
Diversity & Inclusion Committee Update:
NEW INITIATIVESNew Initiatives
OUT AND ABOUT RAPID Award Presentation – a great turnout of staff in our Melbourne office Out and About RAPID Award Presentation: Sarah Ross (National Marketing Manager) & LeanneTheO’MearaMarketing & Tenders team got to catch up altogether and went out for lunch in Ross,GarrettHanna,Andrews,Hanenbergh,JessieMelbourne!Drane,IrenaTeganCorbinMikeBenedet,Overend,SarahandKateBehar. Drake Medox AU & NZ were a proud sponsor of the NZ Wheelblacks, who competed in the National Wheelchair Championships on the Gold Coast. Danella Williams (Brisbane - Branch Manager) and Brinda Jamnadas (Recruitment Coordinator) attended the event to cheer on theWheelblacks!Linfox RDC 10-year anniversary
Out and About OUT AND ABOUT
Farewell to Steve Fletcher with the DI Gold Coast Team: Nathalie den Doelder, Steve Fletcher, Maria Bakarich, Mel Cummings, and Abbey Blenkinsop.
Marianne Mayadunne, Vanessa Drysdale, and Milly Vassallo from DO promoting the Carers Employment Support Program with our fellow Partners - Neighbourhood Houses and Carers Victoria. Anne Archer & Karina Hammer attending the Bendigo Job Fair
After 2 years of TEAMs catch-ups due to COVID, Anne Archer, TL of Bendigo, was able to come and meet Steph and Mick from the Albury Branch!
Farwell to Steve Fletcher: Steve Fletcher & Nicole Jones (GM of Drake Industrial)
Nick Polimenakos (GM of Medox) attended an AFL training session with the Sydney Swans and QBE!
Congratulations to Irena Hanenbergh (Website Manager), who showcased one of her collaborations at a Melbourne art gallery in Collins St. The marketing team went along for a preshow viewing – L to R - Tegan Andrews, Sarah Ross, Irena Hanenbergh, Mike Benedet, and Corbin Hanna.
CONGRATULATIONS!Congratulations!
-Gay Barton (GM – NZ Drake Medox? Big congratulations on 20 years Danella! Thank you for your positive energy, laughter, and endless support. What an incredible achievement!
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Congrats Gay. I have learnt so much from you in the last 11 years and look forward to the next decade of working alongside you. You’re a true inspiration!
– Kellie Warner (Perth Branch Manager) “ “ BartonGay WilliamsDanella
– Nick Polimenakos (GM Drake Medox) Congratulations for 37 years with Drake! You have been huge a support and wonderful role model to me and many others, and I’m so grateful that we all get to work closely with you!
– Liz Gois (Medox - National Compliance Officer) Thanks for your guidance, support, and friendship over the last 20 years that I’ve worked with you. There have been a lot of challenges to work through in the business in that time, but also a huge amount of rewards shared in all our travel! I’ll say two words that’ll make you smile - Turkish Bath!
MILESTONESMilestones
colleagues have shared some words of congratulations!
celebrate these fantastic anniversaries, Gay & Danella’s
– Danella Williams (Brisbane Branch Manager) Congrats on an amazing 20-year career with Drake. You have shown amazing versatility in the various roles you have taken on and are very much looked up to by everyone else here at Medox. Keep up the amazing work and here’s to another 20!
– Nick Polimenakos (GM Drake Medox) My best memory of Danella is at a Turkish Bath in Istanbul when she attended her first 100% club. Such a great time with an amazing lady! Danella is the backbone of Medox Queensland, working in all facets of the business. She has wonderful empathy with the clients who remain loyal to Medox and her. Her quick wit, dedication and kindness are so admired. Thank you Danella.
A huge congratulations to Gay Barton for 37 years at Drake, and Danella Williams for 20 years at Drake! To
Paul continued to maintain a professional relationship with the HR Manager by regularly catching up. Through Paul’s patience, and Drake delivering an e xcellent tender proposal, Kraft Heinz offered Drake the opportunity to become a Tier 2 Pro vider. Becoming a Tier 2 Provider has put Drake in an excellent position, as we d on’t experience the same pressure as a Tier 1 provider, but we can come in to save the d ay when required. Paul and the team were also able to negotiate a much higher margin for this partnership, which has been beneficial for Drake.
CLIENT SUCCESS
Whilst we don’t know where this partnership will lead, Drake is very excited for future opportunities with Kraft Heinz, and we look forward to an ongoing relationship!
ClientSTORIESSuccess
Kraft Heinz Partnership – the start of something great! We are thrilled to share the wonderful achievements of Paul Marshall (Drake Recruitment Services - Client Service Manager), who through patience and excellent relationship building, was able to secure Drake as a Tier 2 Provider for Kraft Heinz!
Paul has exhibited exceptional relationship-building skills and shown how hard work and dedication can bear amazing opportunities. How it all began: Paul identified that Kraft Heinz had a steady stream of jobs ava ilable on SEEK and started researching the company. Paul began connecting with various HR Managers, eventually connecting with the company’s HR Manager for AU/NZ, who he invi ted to a Teams catchup. Prior to the meeting, Paul researched the HR Manager and le arned they had both worked previously at the same company in different branches. Pau l used this shared experience to establish common ground with the HR Manager and b egan successfully building a working relationship. Paul was persistent in catching up regularly with the HR Manage r and slowly began to talk more about Drake and what we do. Kraft Heinz invited Drake to pitch for a whitecollar tender’s opportunity for AU and NZ. The tender process w as extensive and resulted in a 45-page document to meet Kraft Heinz requirements . Drake completed the tenders process and came in 2nd out of 25 tenders. Despite not winning the tender, Paul and the team were incredibly proud of their hard work and these results.
Congratulations to Paul Marshall and his team, this is a fantastic result!
Stories
Success Stories
ALDI CONTAINER CREW Michelle Kaiwai & the Clayton DI team have done a fabulous job supporting their candidates to gain employment as Container Unloaders with Aldi. The crew are all incredibly hardworking and can unload anywhere from 8 – 16 40ft containers in a day, working from 4.30am – 3pm. The role is very physically demanding, but they all band together as a team and get the work done. As a bonus, the team also have lots of fun working together!
ALBERTA Alberta is a proud Aboriginal woman and has been working for Drake Townsville for the past 5 years. She undertakes daily cleaning duties of the education campus and is adored by all staff. Alberta works hard every day and arrives for work with a big smile on her face. Alberta loves her job at the TAFE and wears her Drake shirt with pride. We are so proud of Alberta’s efforts, and she is a joy to have as part of our Drake Townsville family!
DOUG Doug is a proud member of the Drake Townsville family. As well as teaching at the TAFE campus, in his spare time, he undertakes casual cleaning shifts through Drake. Doug is loved by all on campus and takes so much pride in his work. We are so lucky to have Doug as a long-term contractor of the Drake team.
CANDIDATE SUCCESS CandidateSTORIES
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What has been the biggest challenge you have faced and how did you overcome it? The current labour shortage coupled with the steep incline in candidate salary expectations has created an unstable and competitive market. We have navigated these challenges by working closely with key stakeholders to educate them on market trends, and to identify strategies to ensure the retention of existing and new employees. We have also helped businesses develop a strong employee value proposition plan, highlighting the critical areas that have changed since the pandemic.
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Matt Vido attended the 11th Annual VIC Major Projects Conference in June. The conference is an opportunity to network with key stakeholders and listen to the exciting infrastructure plans for Victoria over the next 10 years. Trades Technical
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-Matt Vido, Victorian Trades Manager, provides us with insight into Drake Trades & Technical
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In the Spotlight – Drake
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Drake Trades & Technical are industry specialists that recruit for high-quality trades and technical positions. We operate nationally across the following industries: Manufacturing Construction Engineering Automotive Mining Utilities Rail Oil Gas Maritime What do you think the key selling points are of Drake Trades for a potential customer? Our proactive and fluid approach to recruitment defines and separates Drake Trades & Technical from our competitors. Our consulting team and Managers have extensive ‘hands-on’ experience in the industry and bring knowledge across the sectors we recruit for - leading to higher quality recruitment outcomes.
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Drake Trades and Technical are working hard to ensure Diversity and inclusion play a critical part in the brand. We aim to further support gender diversity, veterans, and the Indigenous community to gain meaningful employment across the sectors we operate in.
What are the future plans for Drake Trades and Technical? We are currently developing strategies to continue growing nationally, focusing on the construction and manufacturing sectors. We plan to support the full life cycle of critical industries, from shop-level employees to senior engineers and management.
How would you describe Drake Trades & Technical services? Who is your customer?
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MARKETING
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MARKETING UPDATE
The pendulum has swung as we focus our marketing efforts on candidate attraction. We have two new candidate initiatives which go live this month. The first is the new Drake Job Resource Centre. This is a centralised hub where job seekers can download a CV template, cover letter, and resignation letter.
This year we have seen some incredible results from our digital marketing efforts. We have three exciting new digital projects we’d like to share with you in this edition of DrakeVine.
High rankings online with Search Engine Optimisation
To further drive our online success, we have appointed a new digital marketing agency that will be working with marketing to improve our ranking and visibility across key search engines like Google. This process is called search engine optimisation (SEO) and is an essential part of any successful marketing strategy.
There is also a series of new candidate-focus articles including “How to answer your salary expectations in an interview, “Top tips for success in your job hunt” and “Prepare for a VIDEO interview like a pro” etc. We will be running a social media campaign over the next few months to promote the new Drake Job Resource Centre. the site here
Marketing Update Explore
Introducing the Drake Job Resource Centre
By having a sound SEO strategy, we have the potential to make a huge impact on Drake’s most important goals, like increasing our leads and sales opportunities as well as candidate attraction. We will be focusing on our key vertical markets to drive more traffic for each business.
your
Contact
We
A new streamlined Drake Job Board The other major development on the candidate front is the redevelopment of the Drake job board and job application process on our website. The changes will improve the candidate journey and reduce the number of clicks and data entry points in the application process, resulting in more applications from candidates. The new job board will go live at the start of September. We are also looking at mirroring the job board onto the Drake Medox site going forward! are always looking for new ideas and welcome any suggestions from the wider Drake teams to support efforts. the marketing team!
MARKETINGMarketingUPDATE Update
The new brand will launch in the first week of October and all current Drake WorkWise customers will transition over. We are looking forward to everyone’s contributions toward the successful rollout of this new Drake brand.
Drake WorkWise Drake WorkWise is gearing up towards the launch of Drake WellbeingHub, Drake’s brandnew wellbeing brand. To offer a more holistic, integrated and substantial well-being offering, the new brand is a symbol of our vision - to help people thrive.
Drake WorkWise has their Q3 wellbeing event “Optimising Wellbeing During Financial Hardship” coming up on Tuesday 30th August. If you haven’t yet registered, please click the link below! Sign Up Now
MARKETINGMarketingUPDATE Update
Drake WorkWise celebrated National Pet Day in March with a competition highlighting the role of people’s pets in supporting their mental health. The competition gained a lot of visibility, with 42 entries and 3 winners, including our very own Lead Designer, Mike Benedet.
Drake WellbeingHub offers EAP and critical incident management support, as well as the valuable ancillary services that help organisations and their workers to thrive in today’s complex world.
MARKETINGMarketingUPDATE Update Drake Medox has seen an increase in social media growth! Medox has been working on several initiatives to grow its reach and followers on social media. This has included trailing several sponsored campaigns in the backend of both Facebook and LinkedIn. We have also had great success in getting Medox team members to become admins of a page, where they invite their network to like our page. This initiative has seen a strong increase in new followers: LinkedIn +8.45% growth for the quarterlast Facebook +10% growth for the last quarter
EMPLOYEEEmployeeWELLBEING Wellbeing
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The webinar will cover: Definition and facts about stigma Types of stigma Why organisations need to focus on stigma Tips/steps towards eliminating stigma Establish a psychologically safe working environment How to start a conversation at Teamswork can join virtually, or you may want to host a morning tea in the office. We’d love to see the teams wear a splash of yellow to symbolise R U OK? Day too!
Company-wide webinar and morning-tea: As a team, we are going to come together for a webinar and morning tea on the 9th of September presented by Drake WorkWise. The webinar topic is De-stigmatising Mental Health in the Workplace, breaking down the barriers to mental health as well as empowering us all to have regular, meaningful conversations to support anyone struggling with life’s ups and downs.
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The message this year for R U OK? Day is that you don’t need to be an expert to have an R U OK? conversation. Listening and giving someone your time might be just what they need to help them work through their struggles.
R U OK? Day is on the 8th of September and encourages people to start a meaningful conversation when they spot the signs that someone might be struggling (RUOK.org.au, 2022).
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There will be digital assets made available, including posters, and a new R U OK? Day Teams background. We will also be sharing some valuable mental health tips each day between the 5th and 9th of September. Make sure to follow. Make sure to follow Drake WorkWise on LinkedIn for more health and wellbeing tips throughout the week. Please accept the meeting request, and if you have missed it, please email sross@au.drakeintl.com who can onforward the invite.
Drake branches can produce their very own TikTok for our Drake page. The videos can be fun & light-hearted, with content aimed primarily toward our candidate market!
1. Each branch can enter a maximum of 2 videos.
Join a huge community of over 130 000 Australians and complete 10, 000 steps a day to support people living with cerebral palsy. You can create your own Drake team and STEP UP together, all while raising money to make a meaningful impact for people living with cerebral palsy. Register your team today!
The winning branch will receive a lunch out on Drake! Time to get Tik-Toking team! Click here Need some inspiration? Check out our current Drake TikToks here!
5. Keep it short! Remember, TikTokers love to consume content quickly, so make sure the video is no more than 60 seconds!
We challenge Drake staff to a branch vs branch TikTok competition!
Guidelines:
TikTok is a unique platform that hosts lots of fun videos, which you can scroll through quickly.
3. The competition closes on the 16th of September, and winners will be announced shortly after!
TikTok Competition
STEPtember is a fun and inclusive event that challenges you to STEP UP from 1-30th September!
COMPETITION CORNER Competition Corner
4. The winning Tik Tok will be posted on our page, as well as others that are a good fit.
STEP UP for STEPtember!
6. Please submit all videos to Corbin Hanna at channa@au.drakeintl.com
What’s the prize?
The Competition:
2. Videos should be primarily candidate focused. Have fun creating the TikToks, but keep in mind they need to be relevant to our target market!
COMPETITION CORNER Competition Corner Wordle Challenge Try crack our Drake Wordle! The aim is to crack the 5-letter word in 6 guesses. After each guess, the colour of the tiles will change to show how close your guess was to the word. Play now! Submit your answer here Correct answers go into the draw to Win a double movie pass!
