“I saw the benefits tenfold, having staff trained at Careerforce Level 3”
From left to right:: Sue Grover, Tracey Dimmock-Rump
Amberley Rest Home and Retirement Studios is set in a small rural community just north of Christchurch, with the 21-bed facility run by a dedicated team of 22 staff.
“It’s an absolute honour and a privilege to do what we do,” says owner/manager, Tracey Dimmock-Rump. “This rest home is built on love really. The staff love their jobs and it reflects on our residents. Our residents are happier and healthier.”
Tracey bought the rest home in 2013, and learnt early on the value of training, and having skilled staff in her team.
“I wanted the best from my staff. I wanted my staff trained, competent, and I needed them to be the best that they could be,” says Tracey.
“Back in 2016, I said I’d pay for everybody to do their Level 3 [qualification] and most staff took up the offer. We also trained our on-site RN to be a Health and Wellbeing Careerforce Assessor to support them.
“It was a stepping-stone and though it was a cost to me, I saw the benefits tenfold in having staff trained at Level 3, through industry training organisation, Careerforce.
From Level 3 to Leadership
Senior Carer, Sue Grover has been at Amberley for three years.
“I just saw something in Sue. She just stood out for me and I thought she’s got leadership skills,” says Tracey.
Sue completed her New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing Level 3, followed by her Level 4 and Tracey suggested they look at a leadership/management programme to understand that facet of the business as well. Now Sue is well on her way to completing her New Zealand Diploma in Business (Level 5) Leadership and Management qualification with support from Careerforce.
Now, with seven of her own staff to manage, as well as looking after residents, whilst working on a shift rota, Sue still finds time to study every day.
“The Health and Wellbeing Level 3 programme is quite hands on, more practical, according to Tracey, but Level 4 was quite a step up. At Level 4 you’re getting into the more cultural, more analytical areas and delving deeper into it.”
Mentoring helps keep things on track
Tracey has a ‘super casual’ approach to mentoring. “Staff don’t need me towering over them and telling them what to do.”
According to Tracey, Sue just needed to realise she had the ability and that’s my job, to help push her. She has a lot of these cool natural attributes – it’s empathy, a sense of humour, it is so many different things that encompasses management in this industry. It’s not just knowing the spreadsheets and your budget.
Tracey’s approach to mentoring is to “break it down, stop over-thinking it, bring it back to what you do.”
Sue values Tracey’s input. “For there to be a good relationship between a mentor and mentee, you’ve got to trust each other and support each other. We’re like good friends, I’m really lucky.”
The business diploma programme is teaching Sue all about a lot of what’s going on behind the scenes, “I understand why we can or can’t do certain things because of that. I’ve learnt about constructive criticism. I didn’t really feel comfortable confronting someone before.”
Sue also gets support from Careerforce’s assessor, John Kenny. “We catch up for a coffee, just to see how we’re ticking along, and these are really valuable.”
More information about the NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing Level 3 and 4 programmes and the NZ Diploma in Leadership and Management (Level 5).