Community

When I started at The Newstead Residences, it was brand new. It's been great to see all the residents move in, connecting with them and their families and building relationships so they feel more comfortable in their new homes. It means there’s a familiar face on arrival and demonstrates our community's welcoming atmosphere.

Working together as a team is paramount to our community and creates a positive experience for all. In maintenance, my main priority is to ensure the building is running smoothly and this means I can spend extra time looking after residents and their specific needs. Time restraints can be challenging, but good communication makes residents feel heard, their needs addressed and happy with the outcomes.

I always approach people with positive energy, a smile and a hello, as this is all it takes to create happiness in one's day and, hopefully, filter through to the next person they engage with, creating a friendly and joyful community we strive for.

Being a caring and compassionate person comes from my mum. She's always wanted to help out, whether in her job or life generally and this has been instilled in me since childhood. I've held many jobs, but I'm the happiest at Aveo.

If you're open to opportunities, there is always more you can do at Aveo. For the last five years, I've been hosting two weekly exercise classes outside of my maintenance shifts. This came about after being asked, "What else can I offer?". I thought I could use my personal training skills to help others have a better life through fitness. It’s another way that I enhance the residents' retirement, by creating a strong mindset and adding to the community atmosphere. They love it and we all have a good laugh!

The best part of my role is making residents and their families feel at home because that's how I would want my mother to feel and how I would like to be treated if I was coming to visit her. To know that she was being looked after and enjoying retirement. Aveo embodies this. I'm glad I'm a part of this community and the residents can enjoy retirement more.

I love learning. Aveo has been incredibly supportive in giving me opportunities to take on new challenges to continue my growth. I started working as a gate attendant during the pandemic. Following this, I moved into the housekeeping team with flexible hours to support my studies. After this, I took on supervisor and senior administration roles.

Now, I am the Assistant Community Manager at Taringa Parkside Retirement Living. It's been great to leverage skills from previous roles, and it has helped me to adapt and work flexibly. Additional training and mentoring from the business make me feel supported and instills confidence in me.

The part I love most about working at Aveo is the connections. I connect with residents in the village daily. Building these connections helps residents feel supported and reassures them that Aveo's employees genuinely care and are here for them. Giving my all at work, and being rewarded with the connections I make and the improved experience of the residents, is truly uplifting.

I believe collaborating with your team members helps to improve workplace satisfaction. Sometimes, team members may have a larger workload than usual or personal challenges, so it's important to help where possible. Going on holiday and returning to a large workload can feel stressful, so I show my support by helping manage additional responsibilities while they are away and return to their role with ease.

I thrive on balance, flexibility and variety in my role. A typical day starts in the office, actioning tasks and emails. Then throughout the day, I engage with residents in our community centre, talking with them, participating in activities, or socialising. And then back to the office for invoicing, levies and staff management. I enjoy having the flexibility to complete my tasks and be active in our village. Each day is fun. I have a great social connection with the residents and love having tea with them.

My hotel, hospitality and operations skills have transferred well into retirement living - in particular, my customer service skills. I'm very passionate about providing a high standard of service and ensuring residents have a great experience in their communities. Our communities are their homes and livelihoods. Making a difference for residents in their homes greatly impacts me and gives me a sense of achievement every day.

I oversee ten villages, so my days are always varied. I love the broadness of my role and wearing 'many hats.' On a typical day, I'm generally on the road, visiting our communities, meeting residents, supporting and developing Community Managers and employees, reviewing finances and budgeting and overseeing new development sites. Every day is different!

There are a range of stakeholders I deal with regularly. It's been important to build resilience and my sound communications skills enable me to tailor messages to all audiences, including residents, employees and contractors.

The key in my role is supporting my team and providing them with the tools and skills they need to excel in their roles and communities. This creates a positive workplace and to see residents happy in their living environment first-hand is evidence of this.

When I'm onsite, I like to be active in the communities; meeting residents, listening to their stories and ideas and attending events. I enjoy engaging with the Community Managers and their teams and supporting them in any way I can to help them make an impact and enhance the lives of residents.

I am always touched by the impact we can make on a person's life - to see them happy and thriving in their community. Experiencing how the residents meet new people, build friendships, being involved in activities and events and make Aveo their new home is heartwarming. The collaboration, support and innovation from employees and residents fills me with a sense of achievement every day.