Annual Report 2012 - Lifeline Darling Downs

16
Lifeline Darling Downs & South West Queensland Ltd 2012 Annual Report
COO Corporate Services Report
by Helen Montgomery, COO Corporate Services
In August 2011, I officially took up the position of Chief Operating Officer - Corporate
Services. Part of my brief was to develop and implement the restructure of the Corporate
Services Division, including the realignment of the Administration Team (throughout
Toowoomba and SWQ) within that process.
As at today, Corporate Services Division provides the following services to all of the
Company:
Administration (HO and rural based);
Information and Communication Technology (ICT);
Workplace Health & Safety;
Human Resources;
Quality - incorporating both Quality Assurance and the broader development and
implementation of a Quality System as mandated in the current 5 year Strategic Plan for
the Company; and
As the COO - Corporate Services my "hands-on" work involves HR and Organisational
Development work, as well as working closely with Derek Tuffield, CEO and Board with
matters regarding Risk Management and Governance.
During the time we have realigned much of our administrative services, recognising the
need to maximise resources and service provision through Company investments in things
such as the centralised 1300 number. As at today, this is working very well, with some
continuous improvement initiatives responding to both positive and constructive feedback
received from staff (Toowoomba and rural based), clients and key stakeholders. The
number of calls we receive daily is huge and growing as community need throughout SWQ
continues to grow. However with a dedicated and lean team, we have a call response rate
that would be the envy of many commercial organisations. Often we have 100% call
response rate. Given that our callers may indeed be calling about a life and death situation,
or other very significant life situation, this puts a very human face on some excellent
Corporate Services support work that happens every weekday.
We have made major in-roads into the development of a Quality System, including paving
the foundation for ISO accreditation. In layman's terms, we are moving from Quality
Assurance accreditation with a number of State and Federal Government Departments, as
well as with Lifeline Australia as our national body, to a more over-arching Quality System
which helps augment, and make even more efficient use of limited resources, so that
ultimately we can provide more and even higher quality services to the wider Darling Downs
& SWQ community. It also strategically places us in an even stronger position when
tendering for Fee for Service type arrangements with Government, major Corporations and
for seeking more diversified income streams through Philanthropic Trusts, Professional
Partnerships and so on. Income diversification not only ensures the continued financial
stability of the organisation, and enhances ability to address unmet community needs, but it
also allows us to be in strong position when making decisions based on our Company
Values.
I want to make special mention of our Administration & Quality Coordinator, Mrs Sweta
Sharma, who not only brings a wealth of experience, skills and enthusiasm to her role, she
is a delight to work with. Sweta has been instrumental in the achievements to date of the
17