Building a better rail industry workplace

For many years, industry education provider Training Ahead Australia (TAA) has been training workers to enter the rail workforce.

And now TAA founding director Dannielle Walz has put her personal experience into practice by setting up Mainline Consulting, an organisation to help clients build a better workplace.

“We help you to build a workplace where everyone wants to come to work,” she said.

“Our approach to recruitment is to help all businesses achieve their ideal working environment – no matter your industry or needs. For us, this means placing the right people in the right job – where they’re a good fit for the team, do exceptional work and you can create outstanding results together.”

Mainline Consulting’s recruitment services cover permanent placement, temporary placement and contract positions through the following fields:

• Rail

• Construction

• Business suppor t

• Education and training

• Engineering

• Finance

• Logistics

The company recruits for a wide variety of roles, with some of the most common being:

• Accounts – graduates, assistants, finance controllers and qualified accountants

• Administration – receptionists, assistants (admin, personal, executive, C-level), officers, senior administrators and office managers

• Engineering – project engineers, site engineers, digital engineers, industryspecific engineers

• Human resources – administration to managers, HSEQ managers, OH&S coordinators and managers

• Management – site managers, industryspecific managers (for example construction, rail), superintendents, supervisors/foremen

• Sales and marketing – customer service, client support officers, sales support, marketing assistants, event managers and commercial managers

• Project management – team assistants, contracts administrators, project and program officers, project coordinators, surveyors, estimators, project managers, project directors.

“After co-founding a business that grew to 200 staff within two years, I understand how crucial it is for a business to get the right person for the right job, and the effect that “wrong” recruitment can have on the business,” Walz said.

“Years of experience in recruitment helped us to develop and refine a system for attracting, reviewing and placing potential applicants – to help both parties achieve the result that they are looking for.

“We don’t believe in poaching, and instead take an outside-the-box perspective of recruitment – including cross-skilling employees from different industries and upskilling graduates to find the right fit, alongside skilled workers in your industry.

“We believe in our process so strongly, that we offer a 90-day guarantee. If someone is not the right fit and you discharge their employment – we will recruit a suitable replacement at no extra cost.”

Walz outlined the steps involved in working with clients:

• Discovery – “Once you get in touch with us, we’ll set up a discovery call to find out what you need and how we can best help.”

• Interviews – “We screen potential recruits to suit your requirements, and provide you with a shortlist of applicants.”

• Selection – “You select your preferred candidates from our shortlist, and we arrange interviews for you so that you can make a final selection.”

• Pre-employment – “Once we contact your successful applicant and organise a start date, we will execute the employment contract and complete any additional preemployment screenings required.”

• Placement – “Once your new employee commences working with you, we will check in with scheduled follow ups to ensure that the placement is successful.”

Business Beginnings

Walz grew up in central Queensland on a cane farm, and started her career working in finance in the construction and mining industries.

“My husband and I moved to Melbourne in 2016, where my business partner Tom Scash and I started TAA,” she said.

The business has a number of services, including assisting clients with rail training, pre-employment medicals and providing consulting services for those entering the rail industry.

“Alongside TAA, I co-founded and was chief financial officer for one of Victoria’s largest rail safeworking providers, Track Protection Australia,” Walz said.

“My entrepreneurial interests started when I was 16 – I would purchase and resell items off eBay, noting what sold well and learning about customer service.

“This sparked my interest in business and, over the years, I’ve honed my ability to see gaps in the market and ways we can improve the service to a client.

“That continual improvement on service and being able to anticipate customer and market needs continues to drive me in business, alongside working with our wonderful team.”

Walz said it was rewarding to watch a team grow professionally and personally.

“In the same way that our team members are helping our clients to successfully (and safely) achieve their rail work goals, I love coming into work each day to help them achieve their own dreams,” she said.

“When leading a team, you need to speak less and listen more. Give everyone the opportunity share their ideas – leaders should be the last to speak, once they have listened to their team.”