Organisation: Queensland Health
Job Title: Senior Administration Officer, Health Protection Unit
Word Limit: 2 page maximum
Location: Herston
- I have a strong understanding of the compliance environment that governs the management of records and information with the Queensland Government. In particular, I understand that Queensland Health has strict processes and procedures that must be adhered to that ensure that clinical records are created, managed, stored and disposed of correctly, and in accordance with statutory and clinical requirements. The primary legislation is the Public Records Act 2002, which is supported by specific records management, storage and security information standards, and a range of related policies and procedures. Throughout my professional career, I have worked in roles highly regulated by a diverse range of policies, procedures, standards and guidelines. It has always been part of my responsibilities to understand the information contained in these types of documents, interpret it, and have the conceptual skills to apply it to specific circumstances, processes and functions. In my most recent role I had a number of obligations related to the capture, management, storage, retention and destruction of both hard copy and electronic records. I was employed with Hobart Food Equipment (HFE), a large company specialising in food equipment and service. My role incorporated managing a diverse array of records relating to the company’s equipment, systems and services. I also oversaw this process for the Customer Service Team, ensuring their work complied with required procedures, and was the primary point of contact for the external auditors in relation to their review of the company’s record keeping and financial compliance practices. I also have a clear understanding of the other types of legislation that can impact on public sector recordkeeping, including the Right to Information Act 2009 and the Information Privacy Act 2009. I have excellent skills in maintaining confidentiality and exercising discretion and judgement. I have often worked in roles with access to confidential financial and personal details of clients and staff, and there were strict policies that governed the release and sharing of that information. I always showed the highest respect for the confidentiality of the information I dealt with, ensuring the physical security of hard and soft copy data, and seeing myself as being personally accountable for ensuring the privacy of our clients and staff. Another example that supports my ability to understand and comply with legislation and policy includes my role as the online coordinator of the extensive Principles of Conduct Training for HFE. All new employees had to complete the training, which covered every aspect of expected conduct within the workplace. In order to provide support and assistance to these staff (both in relation to the content and completion of the course online) I had to have extensive knowledge of the content of the modules and be able to provide advice and information concerning their applicability to the workplace. I also have extensive knowledge of workplace health and safety, and have undertaken significant training across all areas of legislative compliance.
I have excellent IT skills, with a proven record in utilising a range of business, client relationship, document and records management systems and databases. I also have advanced skills in MS Office products, in particular with Excel. In my most recent role I was the power-user for Pronto CRM and Sales Order Entry, and I also developed extensive knowledge across all the other modules utilised within the company. I was part of the implementation team for Pronto and spent several months working closely with System Designers and other power-users to develop and test the system for HFE before going live. Pronto is a complex, multilayered information and records management system that integrates all business activities, including electronic records, scanned hard copy documents, emails, correspondence, service activities, and tracking to paper based files. HFE viewed its records as critical assets of the company that supported strategic decision making and helped to ensure integrated, high quality standards of service across all functions. As supervisor of the Customer Service Team, I was responsible for ensuring the accuracy of all the data entered, scanned and attached by the team, as well as the commentary associated with a specific file. When the system became operational I also was the trouble shooter and problem solver for any issues that arose during implementation. For example, we found that when the system initially went live a number of sales order documents being sent to the printer in the warehouse were not being printed. This obviously had significant implications for fulfilling customer service requirements, and was causing delays and confusion in the warehouse. For several weeks I worked with both internal employees and Pronto technical staff to try and determine what was causing the fault. In the short term I developed a work around of running reports detailing orders sent to the warehouse and undertaking a manual reconciliation against received documents. In the long term we determined that the problem lay with the TrueForm Server (a Pronto function that allows users to design forms such as invoices, statements, purchase orders and credit notes). We made changes to the system to deal with the issue and the problem was resolved. Another example of my ability to resolve issues, recommend solutions and improve the use of data and records systems, relates to the work practices of a specific Team Leader in the service area. This employee had developed an extremely complex administrative system to manage her team and responsibilities that eventually took up nearly all of her to time to maintain. When she transferred to another position the General Manager asked that I undertake an intensive four day placement with the Team Leader to learn her role and all the processes associated with it. I then spent several weeks utilising Pronto to automate and streamline these functions to allow it to then be only a small component of the role. Following this, I developed a manual that clearly documented the functions and processes to facilitate a smooth changeover for the new Team Leader. At HFE I also coordinated the e-Learning function for the company, and was responsible for monitoring, reviewing and updating the website.
In many of the positions that I have held I have had to work autonomously. In my most recent role I was responsible for and supervised the Customer Service Team, working independently to review their performance. In particular, I was responsible for ensuring the integrity of the data they inputted and the records they developed and maintained relating to business activities within the company. In this role I reported directly to the General-Manager, who had very limited involvement in the day-to-day activities of my team. I also had a range of delegation responsibilities related to approving purchases, managing staff, organising travel and accommodation, and approving expenditure. As a power-user I also had high level system delegations and responsibilities, and worked autonomously to provide support and resolve a range of issues with Pronto. I also have a great deal of experience in working with diverse teams. HFE had a passionate commitment to employing and developing a multicultural workforce, which meant I had the opportunity to work with people from an extremely diverse range of culture and language backgrounds. I know that many factors influence people’s experiences, including a range of differences based on age, gender, historical experiences, cultural backgrounds and where they come from. I am interested in the individual person but I also respect their culture and background, and I take this into account when working in a diverse team or providing service. I always worked hard to build positive, productive relationships with other team members, treating everyone with respect and courtesy, sharing learnings, and providing support and encouragement as required. At HFE, if my team was short staffed or exceptionally busy, I provided whatever support they required, including assisting with data entry, liaising with customers or answering their phones. My team also knew that I was available for them immediately to escalate phone calls to if a client was being difficult or there was an issue they could not resolve. I fully understand how to both leverage the skills and experience of others and how to integrate my abilities best to meet the overall needs of the team.
I have exceptional time management and organisational skills, with a proven record in managing multiple priorities, while ensuring excellent attention to detail, in extremely busy work environments. At HFE I managed a range of events for the company that escalated from simply organising their participation in trade shows, to actually coordinating one solely for the company. I managed all aspects of the HFE only trade show, including developing a tailored email based invitation process (using Mail Chimp), sourcing and booking an appropriate venue, working with management to determine the appropriate equipment and products to showcase and what presentations to deliver, ordering and organising the transport and set up of the equipment at the venue, organising the presentations, and individually organising the travel and accommodation for approximately 135 “A” list customers. For these highly valued clients I also organised travel from the trade show venue to a night time event that incorporated dinner and entertainment (which I also coordinated). Organising this event required exceptional skills in juggling an extraordinary number of tasks and ensuring their completion by a set deadline. I also had to ensure the accuracy of a massive amount of details relating to selecting and shipping machines from an international location, organising domestic transport and coordinating the travel details of all the attendees, many of whom were travelling from interstate and had a range of individual needs and requirements. The trade show and the night time event were extremely successful for the company, and they intend to repeat the process next year with a trade show in every state. Another example of my ability to manage my time and deliver on deadlines relates to my role on the implementation team for Pronto. For months we worked extremely long hours to ensure that the system was working smoothly before the set go live date. Our focus was to make sure that the system change caused as little disruption or loss of productivity as possible. To achieve this we worked through every possible process and function, not only ensuring that they worked independently, but confirming that all processes that had impacts across multiple modules of Pronto were seamlessly integrated across the business. The implementation went smoothly, with only limited disruption, and considering the scope of the change, very few problems were encountered.
