In January, we asked our people from various roles across the business what they were most looking forward to personally and professionally in 2024. Here’s how they progressed…
Featured L-R: Michael Munro, Holly Jenkinson, Terri-Lee Morris, Alex van Koersveld, Nick Brown.
Michael Munro
Materials Characterisation Service Area Lead & Senior Associate Engineer
Goal: Welcoming the second little one into the family.
We are delighted to welcome our adorable new bundle of joy, Amelia Rose Munro, to the family!
Goal: Successful implementation of the new Business Strategy to expand and advance ATCW’s laboratories.
The team have made big strides towards implementing new procedures to simplify laboratory operations and advance capabilities with numerous equipment purchases.
Goal: Expand my professional network by attending more industry events and joining professional organisations.
Due to paternity leave and a busy schedule, I didn’t attend very many events, but I’ve researched key opportunities and plan to incorporate them going forward.
Holly Jenkinson
Marketing and Communications Manager
Goal: Completing my graduate certificate studies followed by a long holiday!
It was a big first half of the year. Studying was somewhat harder than I expected, but I made it through and passed with distinction. In the second half of the year, I was lucky to go on two holidays. I took a speedy trip back to the UK in June and then three fun weeks in the USA in September.
Goal: Increasing our newsletter readership. Did you tell all your friends to read The Groundwork?
We have increased the number of subscribers to The Groundwork newsletter and focused on creating engaging LinkedIn content to reach an even wider audience.
Goal: Increasing the number of exciting technical articles we publish. Giving you more knowledge and more insights from our technical leaders, as well as helping you stay up to date on the latest developments in the industry.
We have doubled the number of technical articles we published in 2024!
Terri-Lee Morris
HSE&W Manager
Goal: I am really looking forward to listening to our people and making improvements based on their feedback and experiences.
2024 has been a great year for HSE&W, and I am so grateful for everyone’s support. HSE&W conversations are becoming the new normal, and people are embracing the safety shares within their teams. It looks like we will reach our target of >200 Shares reported in 2024, which is huge.
Goal: Allowing people to talk openly, trial new forms and documents and provide feedback on how we can improve HSE&W across the business.
Implementing the People at Work Survey and facilitating the Focus Groups was a career highlight for me. The experiences people shared so openly and honestly will help shape ATCW.
Goal: Identify and address systemic organisational issues and develop systems and programs that are simple and meaningful.
Our people identified the systemic issues and shared some truly brilliant ideas on how we can address them. I could not be more proud. All we need to do now is agree upon and take action to make ATCW an even better place to be.
Alex van Koersveld
Victorian Operations Manager & Principal Engineer
Goal: I am very excited about taking on the role of operations manager for Victoria.
2024 has been a challenging year with numerous changes implemented across the business that will serve us well as the company grows. Staff are now settling into a new normal as the changes are embedded into the way we go about our daily tasks.
Goal: As the Victorian office has expanded, I would like to consolidate the team, improve knowledge sharing and mentoring to benefit all our staff and increase the emphasis on project management.
I believe we have done well in consolidating the Victorian team. This is primarily evidenced by staff utilisation, which has picked up significantly throughout the year across all designations. In fact, we are now looking to bring on additional mid-level staff to assist in the workload.
Goal: Providing the necessary training (internal/external) where required.
The more structured approach to training has allowed us to ensure staff are acquiring necessary and pertinent training to further expand their knowledge and help with providing better coverage of work types throughout the office. That being said, there is a continued focus on staff development so we can continue to develop well-rounded technical staff across all work types we undertake.
Goal: We pride ourselves on the quality of work we produce and have done so for many years. I want to maintain these standards, and this is only possible collaboratively, capitalising on our in-house knowledge base to assist staff development and training.
Our in-house knowledge and technical ability sets us apart from our competitors, and to maintain this key differentiator, we have to keep our focus on staff development, collaboration, mentoring and knowledge sharing.
Nick Brown
Sunshine Coast Operations Manager & Principal Engineer
Goal: Weekends with my wife and kids – you can’t beat them.
I’m happy that we got away camping a couple of times, chasing nature and bushwalks. We had a long weekend with the kids in Sydney to watch the Sydney Street League Comp, and the kids got to meet many of the pro skaters. We went up to Bunya Mountains a few times to switch off and reconnect. There were a few day trips to the beach north of Noosa, and we did a fair share of family activities like the movies, markets (the Friday night markets were a real winner), and picnics at the beach or botanic gardens.
Goal: The rollout of our new Project Management software.
Loving it!
Goal: Listening more.
I have definitely improved, but I certainly haven’t mastered this art (yet).
Featured L-R: Sam Wijayasinha, Nicholas Reynolds, Alex Arroyo, Meri Sadeghipour, Tracey Rose.
Sam Wijayasinha, IT Manager
Nicholas Reynolds, IT Support Officer
Goal: We are working on implementing Intune endpoint management and Software Portal, which are expected to improve software installation and configuration efficiency and security. Achieving the Essential Eight cyber security standards.
We just went live with the Company Software Portal for all users, so that’s a big step toward Essential Eight compliance, as everyone now has 365 premium security settings and updates.
Our next steps are to get all software packages loaded into the portal and do an external audit to check our work.
Alex Arroyo
QMS Procedures Analyst
Goal: Spending Christmas & NY with my family in Colombia.
I’ve got my tickets booked for late December till mid-January, so it looks like this is happening—yay!
Goal: Achieving my Australian Permanent Residency.
We submitted the application for Permanent Residency in September 2024, and I’m currently on a bridging visa, eagerly waiting for the good news! I can’t wait for it!
Goal: Taking on increased responsibilities in QMS management and embracing more management tasks.
I’m grateful to have taken on the responsibilities of QMS Manager this year following our successful recertification audit. A big thank you to Alex VK for his support and mentorship throughout this journey.
Goal: I would like to develop and improve my leadership skills.
This is an ongoing item, but I’ve noticed significant growth in my leadership skills over the year. I’d like to acknowledge our fantastic Quality team, whose collaboration and support have made this progress possible.
Meri Sadeghipour
Associate Engineer
Goal: Getting my Australian citizenship.
Done and dusted! I am proud to call Australia home now.
Goal: Planning a cool trip to Canada.
Change of plan here — Europe it was instead!
Goal: Engineers Australia Chartered Member status.
In progress.
Goal: Taking on the challenge of Risk Assessment.
On track.
Goal: Balancing work and life better—making it real.
A work in progress.
Goal: Boosting mindfulness and living my best moment-to-moment life.
On track and loving it! Looking forward to what 2025 has in store!
Tracey Rose
Sunshine Coast Business Support Officer
Goal: I am hoping to travel to America to visit my son. He has just had his first baby, and I want cuddles!
In June this year, my partner and I traveled to America for an unforgettable adventure. We began in Los Angeles, spending a few days exploring the city before setting off on a two-week road trip. Our journey took us through Las Vegas, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho, before looping back to Utah. Along the way, we visited incredible landmarks like the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Monument Valley, and Yellowstone National Park. We experienced motocross at Thunder Valley and enjoyed the soothing hot springs in Thermopolis. After the road trip, we spent a wonderful week with my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson in Salt Lake City. Time spent with my American family was definitely a highlight. It was truly an epic trip!
Goal: Continue to be part of a great team here at ATCW.
Being part of the Sunshine Coast team is incredibly rewarding. I love having the opportunity to grow through professional development while also benefiting from the extensive expertise and support of the Business Support team. These aspects, along with so much more, are why I truly enjoy my job!
Thank you to our people for your bold goal-setting and sharing. Congratulations on the gold you have achieved personally and professionally in 2024.
