At Chorus, we encourage everyone to walk a day in someone else’s shoes as a way to help staff and volunteers have a better understanding of the business.
People and Culture’s Donna Brown stepped into Dan Minchinâs shoes for a day. She even got to host a Chorus Voices podcast session.
âDanâs day was as busy as I thought it would be, with lots of moving from one place to the next,â said Donna. âIt was good to spend time with Dan and just get to know him a bit more and although I was dreading it, the podcast was quite fun, much better without a camera in front of you – radio is the way to go for me.â
Donnaâs colleague Peta Chaytor also spent a day away from the office, joining staff and volunteers at the Bull Creek Multicultural Centre. Peta worked alongside a team of volunteers in the kitchen to prepare morning tea and lunch for the centreâs customers, and later helped to clean up. She also took part in an exercise class and enjoyed a beautiful, Italian lunch with everyone.
Peta was moved by the experience, saying: âI was so inspired by the wonderful customers who came into the centre and the fabulous staff and volunteers who support them to ensure that their activities for the day are infused with culture, history and tradition, but also incorporate some exciting and new elements.â
We love that our staff and volunteers show their appreciation for each other.
On International Womenâs Day we acknowledged the amazing work of our colleagues at Chorus. We celebrated the hard-working women who lead and support us, while continuing to bravely face gender bias challenges.
Complimenting Chorus Multi-Skilled Home Care Support Worker, Paula: âA gentleman told me that when Paula takes him out for social support, she is a top person, always helpful and goes the extra mile in helping him to pick groceries and with the trolley. He feels very safe with Paula. She truly is a wonderful person and a fantastic assistance to him.â – Chorus Admin and Service Scheduler, Lisa.
Thereâs nothing more powerful than women recognising other women.
In keeping with our name, we decided to write and record a song. We even travelled to our sites to record a film clip.
We are Chorus was a true Chorus community effort. It was written and performed by a huge mixture of staff, volunteers and customers from all over Chorus.
We are constantly striving to make Chorus a great place to work and in 2018-19 we continued to invest significantly in culture. We continued to use the Human Synergistics model, which identifies red, blue and green ways of working. We introduced a range of initiatives to help us be a constructive or âblueâ culture, including our unique Culture Optimisation Groups (or COGs).
We continued our bi-annual Culture Pulse Checks, to find out how Chorus people rate our culture, felt about change and whether we felt supported at work.
COGs worked on activities and projects to make Chorus a better place for everyone, including staff, volunteers and customers. COGs were represented by all Chorus areas and levels and there was no hierarchy in how they worked. Every 12 weeks a rotating group of staff and volunteers met for two hours to work on a COG project. At the first COG we worked on âreward and recognitionâ and âsafetyâ was the focus on the second and third COGs.
People from all across Chorus got to spend the day unleashing their inner rebel by attending a day with the Corporate Rebels, Joost and Pim. We talked about how we make Chorus a greate place to be and how we can remove barriers and make work more fun!
“I have heard lots of commentary about culture since we all came together as Chorus. I have pondered this question but never having experienced it I didnât think it existed.
Until this week that is.
I was on my knees weeding, feeling sorry for myself. It was Monday morning and I had been fighting Bronchitis, sometimes referred to as man flu, for about five days. l had already smiled at the customer before I got stuck into the weeds, so all the niceties were taken care of and I had two hours weeding in front of me.
Then a car pulled up and someone got out. I lifted my head and there was a lady wearing a Chorus polo shirt smiling at me. ‘Good morning,’ she said, then told me how happy the customer would be to have their garden beds weeded.
I introduced myself. Again she gave me a big smile then started to walk towards the front door. I turned to get back to the weeds.
Then she turned around and said: ‘I usually make the customer a cuppa first up. Would you like one?’
‘I would love one,’ I replied. After all I am fighting the worst man flu since the last one.
She appeared a few minutes later with a big smile and a cup of tea and by this time I was smiling, too.
That cuppa really helped me with my Monday morning blues and I thought if this is Chorus culture I like it.”
A Chorus gardener
We celebrated our staff and volunteer contributions to Chorus, including years of service milestones.
Jamin Hirte and Tina Newman facilitated two wellbeing workshops with the Albany team, discussing experiences of the change process, and exploring opportunities for professional improvement.
Jamin was inspired by a customer who shared a response about traumas in his life:
âWhen I am feeling really negative I grab a rock, I hold it tight as tight in my hands, I squeeze all the negativity out of me â into the rock â and then I throw that rock as far away from me as I can; that way I can walk away having left that negative energy within the rock and not in meâ.
Jamin gave each person a rock, and after squeezing all the unhelpful energies into the rocks, they went to the town harbour and discarded the negative energy into the soothing sea!
Following on from this healing experience, the Albany team worked with Chorus leaders to put positive vibes into the Albany office space by discarding old furniture, 80s motivational wall prints and broken office items. These were replaced with a simpler, cleaner and overall better functioning work space including a communal meal area, comfortable sitting/customer area and modernised wall art.
Customers have since responded that the office doesnât just look different, but it feels different. Positive. Joyful. Calming and Pleasant.
We came together to celebrate our great work and catch up with our colleagues at our annual Chorus Day event.
Our executive team works towards the common goal of connecting people with communities, and our core values – responsive, practical, empowering and respectful – define the way the team works every day.
Pictured: CEO Dan Minchin, Head of Enabling Services Fionnuala Franey, Head of Customer Operations Jamin Hirte, Head of Brand and People Louise Forster and Head of Finance Ryan Chapman.
Dan joined as our inaugural CEO in February 2017. As a community leader and social entrepreneur, Dan is gratified by the opportunity to steward the creation of Chorus, building on the legacies of Volunteer Task Force, Community First International and Care Options.
Previously, Dan was Silver Chainâs Head of Strategy and General Manager, East Coast. Through this role he lead Silver Chainâs expansion beyond WA, to now a national innovator in community healthcare. He has also worked as a strategy advisor and consultant to some of WAâs best-known organisations.
He is a member of the Council of Methodist Ladies College, and has previously been Chairman of Primary Care WA and the WA Music Industry Association.
Dan has been fortunate to complement his practical experience with study at Harvard Business School, Melbourne Business School, the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the University of WA.
“We are doing something special at Chorus. enabling customers to live the life they choose, and showing a real impact on the community at large.”
Louise joined Chorus (then Care Options) in June 2016 as the Executive Manager Business Development. Soon after starting, the Chorus merger was in full flight and she was appointed to the role of Head of Brand and People in May 2017. Her current role oversees People and Culture, Marketing and Communications and Volunteering with the purpose to provide strategic, tactical and collaborative leadership to align our people and culture to our Chorus brand promise.
Louise brings extensive experience as a senior manager within the community services sector. She has worked at many leading organisations and has led projects in innovative areas such as consumer directed care, co-design, experiential learning and contemporary media (including audio, digital and social media and film).
Louise holds Bachelorâs degree in Anthropology from the University of London and an MBA from the University of Western Australia for which she was a BHP Billiton MBA Scholar.
“I want to make a positive impact on the future of our community and in this role at Chorus I can do that.”
Jamin Hirte is an experienced executive with expertise is in customer experience, digital, operations, financial analysis, strategic planning and business intelligence.
His role at Chorus is Head of Customer Operations, with responsibility for the customer service delivery and supporting operations.
Prior to joining Chorus in August, he had spent 14 years at RAC, where he held senior management and executive roles within Sales, Roadside Assistance, Motoring and Digital and Information.
His major achievements at RAC include optimising Roadside Assistance, building a needs based sales culture, and establishing the first start up accelerator in Western Australia. For Roadside Assistance he utilised existing insight to better manage the member expectations, leading to improved net promoter score, 10% reduction in expenses and greater workforce optimisation. Prior to RAC, Jamin worked in Investment Banking and Retail Banking, where his area of speciality was pricing and financial analysis.
He is a graduate of Harvard Business School (Advanced Management Program), University of Western Australia (Executive MBA) and Curtin University (Bachelor of Commerce â Finance).
Fionnuala joined Chorus in February 2018 as Head of Enabling Services, responsible for developing strategies to deliver optimum solutions in technology, assets and procurement and operational excellence.
With a diverse background which spans over 25 years in the health and social care industries, her roles have included health service development and management, not-for-profit leadership and advocacy. Originally from Ireland, she has a clinical background as a Registered General Nurse and has combined this with her strong academic base to carve out a career path in the management of community and health services both in Ireland and Australia. Fionnualaâs background and experience give her a particular focus on driving value for money whilst striving to deliver on improved customer outcomes.
Since coming to Australia, Fionnuala built her not-for-profit experience as Executive Officer for the Motor Neurone Disease Association of WA before joining HBF in 2015 where she spent three years leading HBFâs health programs and services provision. There, she developed a reputation as someone whose calm and empathetic approach led to success in leading organisational change.
Fionnuala is a graduate of University College Dublin (Masters of Development Studies and Diploma in Economic Science) and the National University of Ireland, Galway (BA in English and Economics).
“I strongly believe in the power of community and connections to deliver better health and social outcomes. At Chorus we work to help individuals build stronger connections with their own community, and the potential for positive impact is boundless.”
Ryanâs role as Head of Finance at Chorus has the responsibility for the finance, legal and governance functions.
With over 15 years experience as a strategic finance executive from a broad range of domestic and international roles, his career has spanned a number of industries including aviation, construction and mining. Ryan has over two years of experience in the care sector, where he was most recently Executive General Manager Strategy and Growth for one of Australiaâs largest privately owned home care groups.
In addition to his core finance disciplines Ryan has also had extensive involvement in product and service development, brand and marketing, sales, mergers and acquisition and information technology.
Ryan is a graduate of CPA Australia and Edith Cowan University (Bachelor of Commerce â Accounting and Finance).
Chorus is governed by a Board whose role is to set the strategic direction of the organisation. They monitor performance against our strategic plan and government contracts and are responsible for organisational governance.
Moira is an experienced company Chair and Director on a range of Boards with a background as a senior leader in ASX listed companies and as an executive director in government and senior leader in academia. Moira is the Associate Dean Quality Standards and Accreditation and the MBA Director in the School of Business and Governance at Murdoch University and formerly was the Managing Director of Chutzpa
Moira holds a PhD in business management, is a graduate and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, and a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia. Moira is also Chair of Diabetes WA, Chair of Parkinsonâs Australia, Councillor with HBF, a Director with Diabetes Australia, and a Director with Diabetes Australia Research Limited and is an appointed member on a range of government advisory groups.
Moira was originally the Chair of Volunteer Task Force, appointed in November 2013.
Ray is the Principal of From Left Field management consultancy, supporting the Aged Care and Social Enterprise sectors. Formerly, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Amana Living and prior to that CEO of the City of Fremantle. Ray was the winner of the WA Excellence Award for Aged and Community Services in 2017.
Ray is currently a Member of the Statutory Planning Committee of the WA Planning Commission, the Deputy Chairman of writing WA, a Director of United Way WA, a Director of Ocean Gardens Inc and Chair of Tiller Cycles Pty Ltd. Formerly he was a Director and Deputy President of Aged and Community Services Australia, Chairman of Aged & Community Services WA, President of the Fremantle Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of Therapy Focus Inc. and Chairman of the West Australian Maritime Museum Advisory Board.
Ray was originally a Director of Community First, appointed in May 2016.
Craig is a finance executive with more than 20 years of experience gained from a broad range of roles in both Australia and UK leading finance teams through strategic change, international expansion and corporate re-structuring. He is experienced in financial services, media, retail and production sectors. Roles have included extensive involvement with sales, brand and marketing, product development, operations and IT in addition to core finance disciplines.
A Fellow of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants since 2007, Craig is currently CFO Technology and Transformation for Bankwest.
Craig was originally a Director of Volunteer Task Force, appointed in April 2014.
Ian is an IT leader with 20 years of diverse strategic and hands-on experience in the technology, finance and health insurance industries both in the UK and Australia. He has demonstrated strengths in setting strategy, leading cohesive teams and in the delivery of value. Ian has led large teams and been accountable for managing large budgets. With superior analytical skills he delivers organisational benefits, using both operating model and IT solutions to provide business outcomes.
Ian is currently Regional IT Manager for Tronox.
Ian was originally a Director of Volunteer Task Force, appointed in December 2015.
Tony has significant international commercial experience having held senior operational and finance roles with Tate and Lyle PLC, a UK multinational corporation as well as being a director of the Tate and Lyle Group subsidiaries and related companies.
Tony has 17 yearsâ experience as a Director. He currently holds non-executive directorships at The Geraldton Fishermenâs Co-Operative Ltd, Ngarluma Ngurra Ltd and Collaborative Research Centre for Honey Bee Products.
Tony was originally a Director of Community First, appointed in May 2016.
Geoff practised in the accounting profession for some 35 years and on his retirement from practice in 2005 was an Audit and Assurance partner and former managing partner of the Perth practice of BDO. He was National President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2002 and awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 2007. Geoff is a Director and chair of the Audit Committee of Poseidon Nickel Limited, and was formerly a director and chaired the audit committee of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd and AVEA Insurance Ltd.
He was until recently a member of the Companies Auditors and Liquidators Disciplinary Board, and was previously a Board member of the Small Business Development Corporation in Perth and chaired a trustee aboriginal corporation Gumala Investments Pty Ltd.
Geoff was originally a Director of Care Options, appointed in September 2015.
Stuart has held executive positions in the public, private and not for profit sectors and currently operates a successful corporate and communications consultancy. From 1998 to 2013 he was Chief Executive Officer of Southern Cross Care (Western Australia) Inc., a leading provider of services to the aged, those with a disability and people with mental illness. Previously he had held CEO positions in the not-for-profit sector and was a senior executive in the public sector having been a regional director of health in two Australian states. He also worked for 10 years as a tenured academic at UK and Australian universities.
Stuart has held a number of board and committee positions in the human services and is currently a member of the Western Australian Mental Health Tribunal.
Stuart was the inaugural Head of the WA Council of Official Visitors and received the Prime Ministerâs Centenary Medal for outstanding service to providers and clients in the mental health sector.
Stuart was originally a Director of Care Options, appointed in September 2015.
Barbara has over 25 yearsâ experience in community services and development management in local government and currently holds the position of Director, City Engagement at the City of Kwinana. In her previous role at the City of Fremantle, she was responsible for managing a range of diverse services similar to those offered to the community by Chorus, and as a consequence has considerable knowledge of and a commitment to ensuring quality service delivery to the community.
Barbara was originally the Chair of Care Options, appointed in 2009.
