industry & reform
“ I learned early on when I came to Australia to just network and contact people and reach out and ask for help .”
In between juggling motherhood , completing a masters of business administration , and her role at Signature Care , Tanvi credits her ambition with keeping her focused .
One day , she hopes to help develop innovative new software or run a nursing home designed for people belonging to diverse communities .
Allowing more opportunities for women to progress in the sector , she says , will be key to the future of aged care .
“ It does strike me that the majority of the population that works in aged care is female , but when you look at the executive roles and the CEOs and the board roles , it ’ s all dominated by males ,” she said .
“ There is a discrepancy somewhere where the women are not given that opportunity , they are looking at filling the roles of carers and nurses , but we need to start to offer more at the top level .”
MICHELLE JENKINS , CHIEF EXECUTIVE , COMMUNITY VISION AUSTRALIA Michelle Jenkins ’ move into the aged care sector was an exercise in stretching her capabilities .
After a career in finance and having done a masters in business leadership , she wanted to see if her skills would work in a completely different sector .
That was in 2012 , and Michelle hasn ’ t looked back since .
Based in Western Australia , Michelle is now the chief executive of Community Vision Australia , a not-for-profit entity , as well as heading up Community Vision ’ s forprofit arm , Fortis Consulting .
And although her career in finance is , for the moment , behind her , she sees parallels between her old line of work and what she is trying to achieve in aged care .
“ I think there ’ s two aspects to it and one is that it ’ s a business just like any other ,” she says of the care sector .
“ And you have to look at the organisation as a business . If you don ’ t , if you ’ re losing money year after year , you ’ re not going to be sustainable . So you ’ re not going to be able to provide services to consumers .
“ You ’ ve got to have some business drivers in there . And that ’ s not to say that you need to rape and pillage the balance sheet , but you do have to have an eye over what your business drivers are .”
And that outlook should filter down through the organisation , she says , because that is one of the best ways to put the clients first .
“ You ’ ve got to allow your staff to have a certain amount of autonomy , but also to understand the impact of that . So for example , if they want to provide some extra services to somebody and not charge that person for it , then they need to understand there ’ s a financial impact on the balance sheet ,” she tells Aged Care Insite .
“ So it ’ s about educating your staff . It ’ s about training your staff to understand those sorts of things , as well as then looking at the needs of the consumer . So in times of crisis , as we ’ ve been through for the last two years , you ’ ve got to go back to your mission and you ’ ve got to say , ‘ Right , okay . We need to make sure that we ’ re looking after those customers .’
“ And one of the things that I ’ ve always done is said to my staff , ‘ We have to put the customer at the centre of everything that we do , because if we do that , we ’ ll never ever get this wrong .’”
Education comes up a lot in our chat with Michelle . A voracious reader with a big appetite for upskilling , ever since she got her career start in financial planning back
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Educate yourself . Don ’ t wait for your employer to do it .
Michelle Jenkins
in her hometown in Yorkshire , through her banking career in the UK and here in Australia with the likes of St George and Westpac , knowledge has been at the centre of her rise to the top of whatever she throws her hand to .
As she navigates the aged and wider care sectors Michelle continues to look for that knowledge which will help her deliver the best for consumers . She ’ s kept busy during the pandemic with a course at the Stanford Business School , and more recently with studying a masters of counselling . And for any women looking to progress in the aged care sector , her advice – learn .
“ I would say educate yourself . Don ’ t wait for your employer to do it . Don ’ t believe that it ’ s your employer ’ s responsibility to do it . Do it for yourself . Trust yourself . “ Pitch yourself well , because
I think women are not good at making a play for what they want . If you think that you can do it , you ’ ve got skills to be able to do it , then back yourself and do it .
“ Females are just as good . Females can make the change that the sector needs , and females can be dominant and I think should be dominant and should be given equal consideration .”
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