Happiness on the Horizon

Helping hands: Horizon Foundation’s Joe Gamblin, Michael Thornton, Sean Dawes and Nikki Louange

There are not many 25-year-olds that have had the same job since school. “I can only think of two out of my mates that have done that,” Horizon Foundation employee of 7½ years, Ben Weber says. That commitment is characteristic of how Horizon employees feel about their organisation, the only not-for-profit on the 2010 BRW Best Places to Work ranking.

Located in the south-eastern suburbs of Brisbane, Horizon aims to create opportunities for the area’s disabled community. Services include support for families with a disabled child, social and educational activities for young, disabled adults who have just finished high school as well as job placement programs. Horizon also employs 33 disabled people in two independent businesses: Wire & Wood, a timber manufacturer that produces hardware, garden and pet care products and is stocked in major retailers such as Mitre 10, and Marketforce, a mail house and packaging business.

Bringing fulfilment to the lives of those less fortunate must be a great job to go to every day but Horizon chief executive Joe Gamblin says he wants his employees to value more than just the joy they bestow on others.

“A lot of people when I tell them what I’m doing in my job, they say to me ‘it must be wonderful and you must have a great sense of achievement’,” he says. “I think meaning comes from more than just the work that you do.”

One point of difference Gamblin is proud of is the education and training available to his 130 staff. In four years with Horizon, Nikki Louange, an assistant manager at one of the job placement services, has notched up a shopping list of qualifications that a full-time student would do well to achieve. “I’ve completed my [TAFE] certificate II in business, certificate IV in mental health, certificate IV in workplace assessment and training,” she says. “I’m being enrolled in January for my diploma in business management and there’s a few short courses that I’ve been sent on as well.” Louange says the training sends a clear message from the top “that they’re trying to give us the best opportunity to learn more and better ourselves in the job”.

Weber, in his role as disability support professional for young adults, completes first aid, manual handling and resuscitation refreshers every year. “There’s not too many organisations I know that would shut down for a week and pay for the training and pay us to come and do that training,” he says.

Horizon has been operating for 30 years and started as a few parents getting together to organise activities for their disabled children. The organisation received income of $7.87 million in 2009, mostly from state and federal government funding and contracts but about $1 million of that revenue came from Marketforce and Wire & Wood.

Gamblin says providing a great place to work is not about perks. “Our staff are well paid, they’re not overpaid and they’re certainly not underpaid,” Gamblin says. “I guess the rewards come from the altruistic thing for sure but it’s about feeling like they belong, too.”

There is no just-add-water formula for creating a culture of belonging but businesses could do worse than listen to their employees’ suggestions. Family facilitator Geraldine McKinnon has worked at Horizon for 12 years, but she still has ideas on how to improve the service it provides to the community. After speaking with a young mother at a football game, McKinnon identified a gap in disability services: there was very little support for new parents suddenly presented with the news that their baby or young child had a disability. She spoke to her manager and after some research, McKinnon helped Baby Bridges, a pilot program based on her idea, come to fruition about one year later. Not taking employees’ ideas seriously can leave them disgruntled, McKinnon says.

“But Horizon doesn’t do that,” she says. “It makes you feel really valued.”

Working in disability services can also be tough. “You see lots of sad stuff,” McKinnon says. “I’ve lost clients who have passed away and they’re only young and that hurts. You can have parents who are just so angry and abuse you because you’re a sounding board but you know you can always come back and talk. You do get the back-up.”

Gamblin is proud of his troops. “They all seem to take responsibility for things,” he says. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a staff member say ‘it’s not my job’.”

Thinking back to his mates, Weber reflects on life as a Horizon employee.

“I think I have a bit more fun than some of them,” he says.

Go to Best Places to Work 2010 Index.

BRW

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