Staff Matters March 2023

staff matters

staff thanked for lifesaving donations

Ballina Shire Council staff have been thanked for their incredible support of Red Cross Lifeblood throughout 2022, with Mayor Sharon Cadwallader accepting a certificate of appreciation on our behalf.

Our staff really stepped up to help while Lismore Blood Donor Centre was being rebuilt following the floods.

For nine months, Lifeblood had a pop-up Donor Centre in Ballina, six days a week, to ensure patients still got the blood they needed.

Council was able to assist by making the Richmond Room exclusively available for the popup centre during this time, while Mayor Cadwallader and Council’s leadership team encouraged staff and the general public to donate. In fact, Ballina Shire Council team

members were responsible for 1 in every 6 donors registered in Lifeblood’s teams program in the region, and they made more than 400 donations in 2022. While the new Lismore Blood Donor Centre is now open, locals can still donate at the Ballina Richmond Room every fortnight on Mondays and Tuesdays throughout 2023. You can join our Ballina Shire Council Lifeblood Team at lifeblood.com.au download the free Donate Blood app or call 13 14 95

The Mobile Donor Centre is at the Richmond Room, 5 Regatta Avenue, Ballina on:

• Monday 27 March 12pm - 7pm

• Tuesday 28 March 9.30am - 2.30pm

For opening hours visit: donateblood.com.au/ blood-donor-centre/ ballina-mobile-donorcentre

from the gm’s desk

Hello everyone,

It is always satisfying to see examples of where our fellow employees are making a big difference to our community. The fact that our employees represented 1 in 6 blood donors walking through the doors at the Richmond Room last year is just phenomenal. Thank you to everyone who regularly gives blood, or who may have answered the call for the first time, last year. Your efforts are so important for our community and the broader Northern Rivers region. Never underestimate how important these donations are. They are called life-saving donations for a very good reason!

It is also pleasing to see so many of us embracing the Purple Friday campaign. The tragic domestic violence related death that occurred near the Salvation Army building earlier this year was a major example of where domestic violence can lead. This was an incredibly sad, and very troubling incident for our community and from the Police reports we receive, domestic violence is prevalent throughout the entire community. While I realise it’s a difficult and sensitive topic, I urge everyone who would like to get behind the ‘Say NO to family and domestic violence’ campaign to get your t-shirt (details on page 3) and wear purple on Fridays. If we stand together as a community we can send a very important message about what we will not tolerate.

On a much lighter note, we had our office and depot BBQs last week. It was great to see everyone relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. Check out the happy snaps on page 8.

Say NO to family and domestic violence!

This edition also features some important reminders, which are equally important whether you’ve worked here for 40 years or 4 months!

You’ll find Information about your record-keeping responsibilities, customer service standards, and how to recognise and report bullying and harassment.

Let’s keep up the momentum and fantastic service to our community as we head towards a well-deserved Easter break. See the Good News on page 9 for plenty of inspiration! Take care, Paul

Congratulations to the You’ve Been Noticed Award recipients for January and February 2023

Stuart Roach Risk Management

for assisting the People and Culture team by completing a large number of ergonomic assessments

Helen Joblin and

Officers

for their effort and dedication in completing the NDIS recertification audit.

Officers

for using creative thinking in retrieving a 6-metre length of plunger that had snapped off and was at risk of blocking our sewer network.

Matt Dunne Strategic Procurement Officer

for managing the workload of two people during recruiting process, making significant improvements to systems and customer delivery, and training new Store personnel.

STAFF REWARDSAND RECOGNITION

SCHEME you’ve been noticed!

Liam Roach and Steve Fitness Asset Investigation

Krystle Wells Human Resource

Other nomination: Daniel Gimbert

New staff morning tea

This week our Executive Team welcomed a large group of new staff.

If you see a new face around Council, introduce yourself and say welcome to our new team members!

Council supports Purple Friday

Ballina Shire Council is one of more than 70 local organisations and businesses that have signed up for Purple Friday, a campaign that says NO to Domestic and Family Violence.

Purple Friday is an initiative of the Rotary Club of Ballina-onRichmond in partnership with Cherry Street Sports Club. Ballina Shire Council was among the first organisations to join the campaign.

“Unfortunately, the first woman to die at the hands of domestic violence in 2023 was right on our doorstep. One death is one too many,” said Ballina Shire Council Mayor Sharon Cadwallader. “For staff and councillors, wearing a purple shirt every Friday for the remainder of the year is the least we can do to make a big statement that we say no to domestic violence and yes to healthy relationships.”

help us celebrate Earth Hour!

The world will “switch off” and take #TimeOutForNature on Saturday 25 March, as Earth Hour returns for its sixteenth consecutive year.

Staff across all Council sites will be encouraged to 'switch off' and unplug all non-essential desk devices on Friday afternoon, 24 March in support.

Devices like hard drives, phone chargers, and USB stations still use electricity, even if they are switched off. Switching off and unplugging all adds up!

How can I show my support?

Grab a free promotional T-shirt from Janelle Snellgrove, Stuart Roach, or Neil Smith. Although we have most sizes, some are on back order and we hope they will arrive shortly. Call Janelle on 6686 1474 to see if we have your size currently available or to place your name on the waiting list.

You can wear your T-shirt at work each Friday throughout 2023, proudly displaying the messages when out and about in our community to help bring attention to the issue of Domestic Violence and Family Abuse.

To take it a step further, Council’s Energy Management Group will continue this campaign throughout the year with the aim to make switching off and unplugging business-as-usual. As well as the environmental benefits, this also has the potential to save Council a significant amount of electricity.

what else can you do?

You can celebrate Earth Hour at home on Saturday 25 March from 8.30pm – 9.30pm

Turn off your lights and take this time to think about how climate change is affecting our planet, and what we can do about it as individuals and communities.

There’s plenty of ways to spend your time during Earth Hour. Why not have a candlelit dinner, host a board game or quiz night, get outside and go stargazing, or practice your nighttime photography!

To sign up and for more information visit earthhour.org.au

POSITIONS VACANT

The following positions and closing dates have been advertised externally:

• Plant Operator - Specialist (backhoe) 17 March 2023

• Trainee Town Planner 17 March 2023

• Project Manager 17 March 2023

• Building Surveyor 24 March 2023

• Construction Officer –Concreting 24 March 2023

• Stormwater / Floodplain Engineer 24 March 2023

• Town Planner 26 March 2023

• Airport Operations and Compliance Manager 26 March 2023

• Construction Carpenter 31 March 2023

For further information please contact People and Culture or download the position description from ballina.nsw.gov.au/careers

bullying and harassment

What is classed as bullying and harassment?

The LG (State) Award 2020 defines bullying behaviour as that which may involve, but is not limited to, any of the following types of behaviour:

• aggressive threatening or intimidating conduct

• belittling or humiliating comments

• spreading malicious rumours

• teasing, practical jokes or initiation ceremonies

• exclusion from work related events

• unreasonable work expectations including too much or too little work or work below or beyond the employees skill level

• displaying Offensive Material

• pressure to behave in an inappropriate manner.

Bullying and harassment is defined as any form of repeated, unreasonable behaviour that is not wanted by a worker and which humiliates a worker or a group of workers, offends them or intimidates them and creates a hostile environment.

Welcome Billie

Billie Baker has recently been appointed to the position of Gallery Services Officer at the Northern Rivers Community Gallery. Billie is a multidisciplinary artist hailing from Melbourne, who has lived in the Northern Rivers region since 2020. She has worked in photographic studios and gallery spaces, and held both solo and group exhibitions in galleries across Melbourne and Sydney. If you see Billie around, make sure to say hi!

Effects of Bullying and Harassment

Workplace bullying and harassment can have harmful effects on both the employee, their team and Council.

Employee effects can include:

• high stress levels, anxiety, sleep disturbances

• ill health, severe tiredness, panic attacks, impaired ability to make decisions

• incapacity to work, loss of selfconfidence and self-esteem, reduces output and performance.

Taking action

If you do see, or are the subject of, bullying and harassment please report the matter to your immediate supervisor, section manager, Director or People and Culture. Where bullying behaviour is alleged, Council’s Bullying And Harassment Prevention Procedure will apply: Infonet > Documents > People & Culture

Protocols & Procedures

what council projects are in the pipeline?

Here’s some of the topics the Project Advisory Team recently discussed:

• Bus Shelter – Tamar Street

• Waste Water - Sewer Pumping Station Renewals

• Ballina Flood Study Update 2023

• Playground Equipment Replacement

Who is PAT?

The Project Advisory Team (PAT) was created to help improve the way council delivers large and capital works projects. The team oversee current council projects to ensure they are meeting our Project Management Framework. The group helps to ensure projects are consulting and planning effectively to better meet the needs of our community.

are you a good record keeper?

All council officers are responsible for registering information that is a corporate record in CM (Content Manager) as part of their duties.

A corporate record may not just be a document such as a PDF, Word, Excel document. A corporate record could be in any format - an email, text message, social media post, photograph, telephone call, video, file note, diary etc.

If the answer is yes to any of the following questions, the information is a corporate record and should be saved in CM. Does it:

• Approve or authorise actions or expenditure?

• Commit council to an arrangement or business deal?

• Relate to council’s official business or include legal advice?

WHAT’S ON meetings

WHS Committee

Wednesday 5 April 2023

Consultative Committee

Thursday 6 April 2023

Council Ordinary Meeting

Thursday 23 March 2023

Council Chambers

Learn more

To view current project information, login to PULSE and view the Project Management module. To view PAT’s terms of reference or for more information about our Project Management Framework visit Infonet>Documents>Project Management

community events

Earth Hour

Saturday 25 March 8.30-9.30pm

Sign up at earthhour.org.au

The Cliff Richard Experience

Thursday 13 April 2023

11am to 1pm

Lennox Head Cultural Centre

Daniel Champagne Live

7pm Sunday 16 April 2023

Lennox Head Cultural Centre

For more information and tickets visit communityspaces.com.au/ tickets

• Detail a policy change or development?

• Contain advice or is a formal communication with external persons or organisations?

• Require you to act upon it?

• Contain information used to make a decision?

• Relate to a matter which may be reviewed, report on or audited later?

To help you get the most out of CM refer to the info sheets at Infonet > Helpdesk > CM Info Sheets or contact the Information Management team for assistance.

Ballina-Byron Monopoly is back in stock!

The last lot sold like hot cakes, so if you’re keen to get your hands on a copy of the Ballina-Byron Monopoly, act now! To purchase, pop into the Ballina Visitor Information Centre at 6 River Street, Ballina 9am-5pm Monday to Saturday and 10am-2pm Sundays or give the team a call!

spotlight on safety

WHS Committee meeting key points

Key messages from the March 2023 meeting include:

• Hats that can be worn with hearing projection are now available in the store.

• All staff must use store-issued PPE when representing Council in the field and community. Staff must not wear personal hats even if they are wide brim hats. They must be store-issued.

• Seeking Expressions of Interest for new WHS Committee Members to represent the ‘Administration/Customer Service’ workgroup. If you are interested, please contact Daniel Boonham, Committee Chairperson or Laura Woolcott, Vice-Chairperson.

• Conduct Pre-Start Checks to prevent avoidable injury and incidents. Care should be taken to check toolbox drawers and cupboards are securely fastened.

• Pulse WHS Incident reporting module Thank you to all staff who have been reporting online. Positive staff comments on use of the model include the ease of use and timeliness. Incidents are instantly reported and actioned, which helps WHS staff and others immediately address safety concerns, injuries, and near misses. Program training continues and all Sections will be invited to schedule training in coming weeks. Contact WHS Officers or People and Culture team with any questions regarding the module. Reminder – paper-based reports are still accepted during the implementation of this new reporting approach.

• Your Safety Matters This Committee is committed to the safety of all staff members. We want everyone to be able to go home safety and enjoy their life outside of Council. We need you to look out for and support new staff as they learn and understand processes and best practices (such as pre-start checks and Take 5s) so they remain compliant and safe.

For more information and full copies of meeting minutes visit Infonet > WHS > WHS Committee

Incident Report

1 February – 21 February

There were 7 injuries and 3 incidents of damage to Plant or Property and 4 near miss hazards identified.

Total recordable incidents increased from 10 to 14, while total recordable plant and property damage decreased from 8 to 3.

it's so quick and easy to report an incident online using PULSE

consultative committee and their role

The Consultative Committee is an advisory body with the responsibility of making recommendations to Council’s Executive Team on matters within the Committee’s aim and scope outlined in the Award.

The committee meets quarterly in a forum that is designed to provide consultation between staff and management. These meetings are important as they encourage a free and open discussion on matters such as job redesign, organisation restructure and the staff appraisal processes.

who are they?

Consultative Committee has both office-based and field-based employees, including union representative and members of management who are nominated by the General Manager.

If you’re interested in nominating a new committee member or yourself contact our Committee Chairperson. Your current Consultative Committee members are Belinda Fayle (chair), Ingrid Jensen (vice-chair), Peta Atkins, Alistair Weallans, Emma Browning, Naomi McCarthy, Greg Loomes, Brad Mansfield, and Chris Kinna

what's on their agenda?

In the past few months the committee has reviewed and provided feedback on:

• Recruitment and Selection Procedure

• Health and Wellbeing Procedure

• Emergency Services Leave Procedure

• Flexible Work Protocol

• Draft Procedure Christmas and New Year Arrangements

• Organisational structure changes to Civil Services and Open Spaces

Committee feedback was an important part of each of these reviews as it provides further insight into staff impacts from each change.

got something for the agenda?

If you have a suggestion about our workplace, speak with a Consultative Committee member who can add it to the agenda for discussion at the next quarterly meeting.

More information about the Consultative Committee can be found on Infonet > Staff Matters > Consultative Committee

How quickly should you answer a phone call?

How soon do you acknowledge emails?

What about responding to a social media message?

If you’re not sure, check out Council’s Customer Service Charter. The charter outlines our customer service standards, commitment, and expectations. This includes performance standards for answering the telephone, responding to, and acknowledging voicemails, correspondence, emails, and social media messages.

The charter is an invaluable resource for every staff member. After all, customer service is not a department. It is a philosophy to be embraced by everyone in every department. Why not save a copy, or bookmark the online link, so you can always refer to it?

For more information see our Customer Service Charter at ballina.nsw.gov.au/aboutcouncil

Staff BBQs were held at the office administration building and at the Depot last Wednesday 8 March. Judging from the happy snaps, it looks like everyone was enjoying the yummy food, the conversation, and a good laugh!

Top of the morning to you!

It’s rare for the Community Facilities team to all be in one place, as they are always on the go and work across multiple sites. This happy snap from Mark’s farewell includes new team members Olivia Daly-Tallon and Gavin McGongle (far right), who keep our facilities spic and span throughout the week. Liv and Gav are on a working holiday from Ireland. They’ve quickly become known for their no-fuss attitude, as they say, ‘nothing is a bodder’. If you see them around be sure to say hi!

Goodbye Ranger Joe

We recently bid farewell to Ranger Joe Monks who, at 76 years of age and after six years working with Council, is now enjoying his well-earned retirement. Thank you Joe for all of your hard work!

Mark moves on

Last month we farewelled the magnificent Mark Roberts who, after more than 3 years of juggling work between both the Community Facilities and People and Culture teams, has moved on to a new chapter with the NSW Department of Education. Congratulations Mark!

Twinning It

Our Manager Public and Environment Health, Kerri Watts, and Communications Officer Catherine Jost were recently captured sporting the same leopard-inspired attire. The pair were all too happy to pose for a happy snap with their matching outfits/ Catherine is now on maternity leave and the Communications Team is excitedly awaiting news of Baby No. 2’s arrival!

Farewell to Karen

Our marketing guru and ‘make it happen’ superstar for the Community Facilities team, Karen Hirst, wrapped up her role with Council this week. Karen is moving on to an exciting new chapter as Destination Coordinator with Lismore City Council. Congratulations and best wishes Karen!!

good news stories ,

Chris O'Brien called to say that the woman who served her at the Visitor Information Centre on Sunday was wonderful (Emma Williams). She went beyond the call of duty as she was closing at 2pm but stayed back to help with their accommodation booking. She was very, very pleased with Emma’s exceptional service.

Thank you to the road crews, the ones who mow our road edges all the way to the beach and to Wardell. Another repetitive job we do appreciate. Also the crews who cleaned up the road debris after the flooding and who repaired all the potholes and replaced damaged sections of road. When I travel the back road to Lismore, I sure notice that our road repairs in Ballina are better than our neighbouring Council. Often the public just complain about what’s not done but your Council and its crews deserve our gratitude. Susan and GeoffSouth

Ballina Beach Road

Gail Elliott wanted to pass on thanks and say how helpful Krishna was when she served her. She also mentioned that she gets great service from all the other Customer Service Officers.

I would just like to say that my latest experience with Ballina Shire Council staff was above reproach. Krishna went above and beyond. Krishna explained, guided and assisted me with completing an online service. I would appreciate my regards for her service to be acknowledged by senior management.

Brad Swan

Simon called to say thank you for the wonderful work Joe Kearney did to assist his mum with her water meter issues at Byron Street. They are both very happy.

I'd like to thank the managers and staff who were recently involved in the roadside mowing and slashing of Dillons Lane, Alstonville. This is really appreciated. The overgrown grass and roadside weeds have been hedged back, making it safer and an improved situation for the community. Rik

Whitehead

I am writing to thank you for operating the Burns Point Ferry and especially the ferrymen who run it. They are there morning, noon, and night, whenever we need to cross.

They are all friendly and efficient and while we enjoy the river once or twice a day, they have to do it many times, rain, hail or sunshine. We really appreciate their dedication.

Susan and Geoff Smith

Again I wish to commend Council for the great job you do in maintaining the easement alongside my property in Cherry St. Today Steve arrived with two other workers to trim overhanging trees in this easement. I did not request the service - the attitude and energy of these three workers is exceptional. I have lived all over Australia and overseas and your Council continues to impress me.

Bob Galloway

The attitude and energy of these workers is exceptional!

For more information and tips on how to best connect, support and encourage one another to talk about our feelings and challenges, check out www.livin.org

#ITAINTWEAKTOSPEAK

may be struggling?

Life is full of ups and downs - this is all very normal in small doses! Warning signs and symptoms can vary a lot from person to person. Some warning signs and symptoms might include:

Loss of joy

Prolonged sadness

Nervousness

Change in sleep

Social withdrawal

Loss of self-esteem

Substance use

Dramatic weight or appetite change

Poor concentration

REMEMBER...

These are important to know. But what seems to be most important is knowing and understanding the people around you. A change from what is normal behaviour for them is often the first sign of struggle street.

(This goes for knowing and understanding yourself too!)