Despite having offices spread across Australia’s regional and Metroplitan areas, Acclaimed Workforce is a tight-knit team dedicated to providing industry-specific workforce management and employment solutions.
Our State Managers work closely together to service national clients and support peaks in demand. Here, we provide more insight into our leadership team, learning about how they arrived at this point in their career, what they love about their work, and what they’re excited about next for Acclaimed Workforce.
Q: Hi Mike, tell us a bit about your role as one of the State Managers at Acclaimed.
A: I would say the major component of my role is about maintaining good relationships with our current client base and developing those with new clients coming on board. A lot of this usually involves expanding their workforce as they grow, whilst also understanding their unique needs and tailoring our workforce management solutions around this. We currently have a diverse range of active clients and are onboarding an average of two per month – so it’s a big job!
Of course, I also manage the consultants working within our offices in Sydney, Griffith and Brisbane, and ensure they feel supported in the great work they’re doing.
Q: What’s your process when it comes to identifying and pairing the right candidates with employers.
A: It really comes down to understanding the needs of our clients and what they require in an employee. Research is critical, so I usually have a long line of questions to get to the heart of what they need, then leverage my networks to find the ideal candidate based on what I’ve learnt. It’s also really important to me that I’m placing individuals in a business where they’ll enjoy the work and gain professional fulfilment.
Q: What are you excited about for the next 12 months at Acclaimed Workforce
A: I’m really excited to see us expand our permanent placement services. We have a lot in the pipeline at the moment, particularly for administrative roles, and have a very clear strategy on how we can assist our clients in finding the right employees.
Our team prides itself on being in the right place at the right time, so we can really be at the forefront of establishing these professional relationships between an employer and a talented individual who will be the best fit for a permanent role.
Q: What's your favourite part of the work you do?
A:
It’s definitely the diversity; of what I’m doing on a daily basis, the kind of clients we work with the candidates we meet and the interesting roles we’re filling. There’s never a dull moment and it’s incredibly stimulating and rewarding!
Acclaimed Workforce also has a great culture for career progression and development. Everyone is treated as though they could be a future leader within the company, so mentorship is something that occurs very organically within our offices. We want our clients and candidates to know that no matter who they’re dealing with from our team, they’re in very capable hands.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your role as the South Australia State Manager?
A: I became State Manager earlier this year, and there is quite a difference in what I do compared to my role as a Senior Consultant. I manage the day-to-day running of our offices, our budgets and governance obligations, as well as speaking directly with clients to address any urgent requirements or concerns they may have.
At the moment, staff shortages across the state are a major challenge for employers, due to the skills and labour shortages – the latter largely brought about by Covid-19. I’m working hard to ensure our clients are aware of how we’re navigating this during the tight labour market, and the alternative solutions we can provide, such as training and upskilling.
Q: Tell us a bit about your areas of recruitment expertise.
A:
Prior to beginning work with Acclaimed (then CozWine) I was largely working with clients and candidates within the manufacturing and trades sectors. I was responsible for a lot of shutdown recruitment, which meant sourcing and on-hiring staff such as mechanical fitters, electricians and service technicians for plants that have seasonal shutdown periods.
Upon moving to CozWine in 2017, I began to work a lot with local wine producers, providing them with employment and workforce management solutions, particularly during the busy vintage months! I’ve been building relationships with clients and expanding networks in this area ever since, while still continuing our work in manufacturing and trades.
Q: You’ve lived in the Barossa all your life. What do you love about living and working in this area?
A:
The Barossa is a fantastic wine region – and I love a good red wine! I really am spoilt for choice here. I also feel like Nuriootpa is a place where you get the best of everything: you’re an hour’s drive from the city and the sea, and it’s just half an hour to the Murray River.
Working here also means that we’re very close to our clients, with our furthest only 15 minutes away. This means we can quickly arrive on their site if needed, whether that’s to perform a drug and alcohol screening, complete a general compliance check, or just chat with our candidates to see how they’re going. The proximity allows us to offer, what I believe, is an unparalleled level of support to both our clients and workforce.
Q: What's your favourite part of the work you do?
A: Something I still try and make time for in my role as State Manager is visiting our client sites, as this is something I’ve always really enjoyed about working at Acclaimed. It gives me a chance to create meaningful relationships with our clients, while ensuring our on-hired workforce know we care about them. This is a part of my job that I really love, so I try get out to site visits whenever I can.
I would say that working with the South Australia team is also incredibly rewarding. Working through the pandemic wasn’t easy, and the labour market we’ve been left to work with is far from easy. But we’ve built an incredibly competent, strong and positive team that thrives on a challenge and is ready to work hard for both our clients and workforce in the coming months.
Q: Tell us about your experience working as Acclaimed Workforce’s Afterhours Manager
A:
My time managing the afterhours team really gave me a deep understanding of the business nationally, because I was interacting with clients and our on-hired workforce across our wide range of specialisations. It meant I needed to quickly be across the unique role requirements across the business, including wine, trades, manufacturing and warehousing.
It was also a very high-pressure environment, particularly given that some of our clients have a 24/7 rotation. This meant I had to be constantly switched on and ready to meet staffing demands around the clock. I was often dealing with instances where an on-hired employee would hit a kangaroo on their way to work or be going through a personal tragedy. In these instances, I might get a call at 2am and need to fill their shift within the hour, but also ensure they were safe, supported and that all correct protocols were followed. It was challenging, varied and interesting work and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Q: Tell us a bit about your process for building relationships with clients
A: In creating long-term professional relationships with our clients, I believe it all comes down to having a really strong understanding of what they do and why they do it. If you understand the different roles within their business, their mission and values, you’re able to find candidates that, not only have the technical skills required by the role, but are also the right cultural fit.
I find site visits the most effective way to build on these relationships and gain insight into their internal culture. By embedding ourselves within their business, we’re able to provide a higher level of service and build trusting relationships.
Q: How do you facilitate these site visits?
A:
Acclaimed Workforce has a few offices across Victoria, which gives our team a good base from which to visit our clients. Each week, the team will base itself in either our Laverton or head office, which means we can easily drive to our clients both in the north-west and south-east.
Now that restrictions have eased, I’m making a real effort to get all of our consultants out on site engaging with clients and interacting with our on-hired workforce.
Q: What are you most excited about at Acclaimed during the next 12 months?
A:
I’m a very team-oriented person, and I’m really looking forward to growing and building on our current team. We’ve hired some new consultants to meet increased demand and training and mentoring them will be a priority over the coming months, so we can continue to provide the best service possible.
It’s also a very tight labour market at the moment and this, coupled with absences due to illness, is placing a lot of stress on our clients and workforce. I’m looking forward to providing them with our tailored solutions that meet expectations and assist them during this time.
