Women of IMPACT: Front office team delivers service with a smile

If you are making use of IMPACT Community Services, chances are the first people you see or talk to are receptionists Natalie, Anita or Tracee. These very capable women put people in need in touch with the people they need.

Natalie Toms divides her time between HR and admin, and answering queries at the front desk.

She started in hospitality, has done lots of admin work, has worked in sales and customer service, and even managed a Telstra store.

Natalie has been at IMPACT for three months. “I love it,” she said.

“What makes IMPACT special, is they genuinely encourage your optimum work/life balance. It has a family feel to it. At the other places I worked you were just a number, but here, you’re part of a family.

“You know it’s a good place to work when you are greeted everywhere you go by smiling people. It just doesn’t happen in other companies. It means people love what they do.

“Because of the kind of work done here, it means you have to be a people person and everyone is. It’s a very supportive environment.”

When Natalie learned IMPACT had a female managing director, she felt a certain amount of pride, but says equality is all about the right person getting the job, male or female, so it doesn’t matter.

“Tanya O’Shea is the best person for that job, and that’s why she got it.

“What did matter was that she started in my job, which means that there’s a great career pathway for me. If you have the ability, you can go right to the top, regardless of gender or background.

“There will always be great opportunities here.”

Tracee Houlahan has also only been at IMPACT for three months, and like Natalie, also loves her job.

She shares the reception duties with Natalie and also manages the company resources – cars, rentals vending machines, maintenance and also the purchasing of supplies.

Tracee has worked at lots of small companies. She worked at Superior Pak for 4½ years and 3M for 15 but loves the family atmosphere here. “There was a good atmosphere at 3M and I felt that same family feel here as soon as I started.”

Tracee likes working for an organisation that isn’t just about sales. “We’re not just selling products to improve people’s lives, we’re improving people’s lives from their very foundations.”

Tracee loves the working conditions here, and that IMPACT genuinely cares about their employees. “You can really feel that. And the flexibility of the working hours is great.”

Though she calls her work in resources “behind the scenes” she knows that if “behind the scenes” isn’t working smoothly, then the frontline workers aren’t either.

“It’s important to keep things running smoothly. You’re a small cog in a big machine, but you’re still contributing.”

Anita Duke started around the same time as Tracee and Natalie which makes them all a tight team.

Anita spreads her time and expertise across reception duties, accounts and logistics. And loves the work she does at IMPACT. “It’s so interesting. No two days are the same. It’s impossible to get bored.”

Anita came to Bundy from Noosa via Cairns to be close to her parents. And she’s glad they made the move and she found herself at IMPACT working for the local community.

“You’re not just dealing with, say, retail,” says Anita, “you’re dealing in people’s lives. It makes a difference when you get up in the morning.

“It’s a very friendly place to work.”

Natalie, Anita and Tracee may well be the first amazing women you meet at IMPACT, but they won’t be the last.

This profile is part of our Women of IMPACT series. Each day during Queensland Women’s Week we share the story of one of our amazing female team members whose work helps make such a big difference in the lives of so many in the Bundaberg and Burnett regions.