Organisation: Department of Immigration and Border Protection
Job Title: APS 3 Payroll Officer
Word Limit: 2000 character limit per response
Location: Canberra ACT
Contributes to Strategic Thinking
Provide an example that demonstrates your ability to contribute to a good outcome by
developing practical solutions to problems.
In your answer, please ensure you address the following:
What was the situation?
What were you working on?
What problems did you encounter?
What solution did you develop in order to solve the problem?
Were you successful in this?
In 2014 while I was employed in the role of Lending Administration Officer for Service One Alliance
Bank, occasionally my Manager gave me the responsibility of training new staff in the Lending
Department. Due to the exacting nature of the role, accuracy is essential, and there are a
considerable number of steps which need to be processed. An additional complication revolves
around the fact that each loan requires different processes. Some loans are new, some are
transfers from other loan facilities, and others first require the cancellation of an overdraft.
After training a few new employees I discovered that on numerous occasions there was at least
one part of the lending procedure which they failed to grasp or remember. This became evident
after new employees began to process their own workload. Errors and omitted data were causing
delays, and creating member dissatisfaction if they were not discovered in time.
After identifying this issue I endeavoured to construct a process to minimise these errors, and
created a detailed procedural checklist to which trainee staff could refer. The checklist was a cover
sheet attached to the loan documentation and each step, as it was completed, was checked off.
Staff used the checklist until they became familiar with the procedures.
The checklist has been implemented and is working well. Errors are reduced and staff managed to
work more quickly as they feel there is a back-up for their work. The result of the new
arrangement improves outcomes.
On further occasions I have used my initiative to implement improvements. Problems arose if a
staff member was sick or on unexpected leave and one of their cases approached deadline or the
member or another stakeholder contacted us with a query. There was nobody else in the office
au fait with the matter. After identifying this issue, I created a Review Sheet which we all attached
to each of our cases. The overall status of the case could be ascertained at a glance.
Achieves Results
Describe a situation in which you have showed initiative and have worked independently to
achieve a good outcome for an internal or external client.
In your answer please address the following:
What was the situation? What was your role?
What was the outcome you were trying to achieve for the client?
In what ways did you operate independently? In what ways did you show initiative?
How did your actions impact on the outcome the client received?
How did the client respond to what you did?
While employed as a Lending Administration Officer for Service One Alliance Bank I displayed
initiative, conducted research and achieved good outcomes. On an occasion when our Manager
was on leave, a member telephoned and enquired about deposit bonds, which was a new product
of ours. Our Manager was the only individual in our office who had knowledge of the product and
procedures. Deposit bonds are a type of loan underwritten by an insurer who guarantees the
vendor that the deposit will be paid in full at settlement. This facility saves the purchaser from the
need to pay the full deposit in cash when signing a contract. As the member wished to sign a
contract fairly quickly, the matter could not wait until our Manager returned from leave.
Even though I had no training in deposit bonds, I located our brochures and researched all I could.
From the brochures I traced the details of our third party agent and contacted them for more
information. The agent equipped me with knowledge I needed regarding the application process,
which I, in turn, supplied to our member.
By handling this situation in a timely manner and achieving a positive result, I was able to retain
the custom of this member. The client was satisfied with the customer service I provided and
Alliance Bank benefited from the commission. Upon the return of my Manager, we collaborated
and decided to incorporate training on deposit bonds for all staff, so queries in the future could be
handled professionally and knowledgably.
My position in the Lending Department required a large amount of customer contact. When
liaising with customers I provided good advice. If Alliance Bank published a promotion, I used my
initiative to give members a telephone call advising them of the details. While speaking to them
regarding any matter, I would look at their account details and offer to quote for insurance to save
them money or be a more suitable product than they presently held.
3. Supports Productive Working Relationships
Provide an example of a time when you have had to liaise and negotiate with other people in
order to achieve a goal.
In your answer, please ensure you address the following:
What was the situation?
Who were the other people and why did you need to liaise with them?
What strategies did you use to negotiate a positive outcome?
Did you achieve the goals you were working towards?
Throughout my work history, I have had the privilege of working in many teams to provide
excellent customer service, reach targets and achieve positive outcomes. At Alliance One Bank, in
the lending team, we work as a cohesive group to ensure loans and related financial services are
processed correctly and on time.
At one time, while I was employed as a Discharge Officer I had to liaise and coordinate many
stakeholders to ensure the process all came together correctly and was completed on time. The
loan would need to be paid out in full, the mortgage discharged, or no longer held as security, and
all related contracts and documents completed and presented by the deadline. I would have to
collaborate with personnel from other banks who were involved, the solicitor acting for my client,
and perhaps a purchaser and their solicitor, along with estate agents and my client. The
documentation would need to be correct, the payout figure precisely accurate and signatures and
contracts filled out perfectly.
To ensure this happened, I needed to have a full understanding of all processes over which I am
responsible, including the legislative requirements. On a complicated discharge, my team would
often be called upon for assistance and double-checking of the documentation. As so many
stakeholders were involved, communication would need to be clear and understandable, and
follow-up calls and emails would ensure everyone understood what was required.
If someone in my team was on leave, or there was a large number of cases, we would all work
together to support each other. Often this would require working back late, which I was happy to
do in order to achieve our goals. I work to foster good relationships with my colleagues and I
respect and encourage others.
4. Displays Personal Drive and Integrity
Describe a situation in which you have learnt from making a mistake or error at work
In your answer please address the following:
What was the situation? What role you were performing?
What mistake or error did you make at work?
What did you learn from making the mistake or error at work?
What was the outcome? How did you apply what you had learnt to future work
situations?
On one occasion, while working as Lending Administration Officer I made a small error in
calculating the payout figure of a loan while on the telephone with one of our members. The
member enquired about breaking up their mortgage which was currently a fixed rate loan. They
wanted to adjust the facility to include a portion at the variable rate and the remainder with other
products which we offered. In calculating the early repayment payout figure I relied on our
computer system to provide me with the exact amount. The specific calculations fluctuate each
year and we use a different formula depending on many variables. I should have physically
removed the loan folder and double checked the terms and conditions which applied to the loan.
With this information I could have applied the correct formula and done a manual check, which
would have identified the error.
After this mistake became evident I made myself a reminder to double check the figure the system
produces, against a manual calculation based on the original loan documentation. By using this
more methodical, careful approach, I ensure the information I provide to members is always
correct.
In playing my role as a cooperative team member, I occasionally discover errors made by other
staff of Alliance Bank and I tactfully bring it to their attention and use the mistake as a learning
exercise, not an occasion for censure. Each day we receive a lot of paperwork from the branches.
One of my fellow staff members ordered extra credit cards for a member and when they came
through the post I had to delete the additional cards. I contacted the staff member by telephone
and advised them of where to locate the correct procedure for next time. In this way, I assist
others to learn, an atmosphere of camaraderie is fostered, and mistakes are reduced.
5. Communicates with Influence
Provide an example of a time when you have had to give accurate and clear advice to another
person or an external area.
In your answer please address the following:
What was your role in this situation?
What was the nature of the advice you were giving?
What did you do to make sure your advice was accurate?
What steps did you take to present your advice in a way that was clear?
How did the client respond to you? How did you know whether or not the client
understood the advice you gave?
As a Finance Officer for Alliance Bank, one of my responsibilities each day is to peruse a Visacard
Report and check transactions made by each of our members. In overseeing these figures I
attempt to locate and investigate any suspicious entries.
On one of the Visacard Reports I found a large amount pending against the card of one of our
members which had been processed from overseas. I flagged the figure as irregular and decided to
double check the authenticity of the transaction with the cardholder. After speaking with them by
telephone, the member confirmed that they had not made this transaction. The client was
distressed and concerned. I was able to allay their fears by calmly advising them of the process,
letting them know what our responsibility was, and what was required of them.
Immediately I cancelled the card and issued a replacement. Following this I promptly emailed a
claim form and began the reversal proceedings. In communicating with the member, I ascertained
they understood my advice when I asked them to access their account details from their own
computer and they could see the pending transaction. I followed the claim as it was returned to us
and ensured the matter was dealt with to the satisfaction of the client. Afterwards, this client sent
an email to my manager and myself, especially thanking me for finding the fraudulent transaction,
pacifying his fears, providing excellent advice and dealing with him nicely.
On another occasion I received an email from a customer with whom I had previous dealings. The
customer had an issue with a transaction in her account and asked for my help in rectifying the
matter. Although this request was not in my scope of duties, rather than pass her straight onto the
correct department, I managed the resolution of this issue by liaising directly with the transaction
department and ensuring a quick, satisfactory answer for the customer, who was extremely
thankful for such a high level of service.
6. Demonstrates professional/technical proficiency
Describe a situation in which you were able to apply your specific knowledge and skills to a new
work problem
In your answer please address the following:
What was the situation? What role were you performing?
What new work problem did you face? What specific knowledge and skills did you have
that were relevant to the work problem?
How did you apply your knowledge and skills to this specific work problem?
What was the outcome? What impact did your actions have on the work problem?
In 2011 I completed my master of business administration degree and since that time my entire
career has consisted of member services, administrative and finance roles. In carrying out the
responsibilities of various roles, I have continually added to my knowledge and skill.
On a part-time basis I work as bookkeeper and payroll officer for a cafe employing approximately
six staff. Before undertaking this responsibility I had to research how to use MYOB to carry out
these functions. I learned from publications, websites and by completing a short online MYOB
course. By adding knowledge of this program to my finance education background I have been
able to process all accounting aspects of the business independently.
A further challenge I faced in my employment which caused me to research information and add
to my knowledge was while I was employed in the Lending Department at Alliance Bank. A
married couple were separating and needed to transfer their property loans into the name of one
individual, being the elderly wife. In order to complete this transfer, I had to ascertain the financial
situation of the wife as a single woman. There were several properties involved and essentially I
needed to calculate whether the client could afford the loan on her own merits, by documenting
her income and liabilities. Dealing with the client was taxing as she lived interstate, was distressed,
quite disorganised, and unable to use a computer. She missed the deadlines a few times. I had to
mail her the documents and even though I allowed an extended time period for the mailing
process, she continued to return the paperwork late. This necessitated that I reprocess all the
documentation with new dates and figures. My overall knowledge of lending and the procedures
in place in our Bank, and my understanding of the legislation which impacts in various loan
situations, equipped me to work through the transfer and establish the new facility successfully.
