Have you ever had to move house for the job you wanted? Maybe to a closer suburb, maybe a new city altogether. What about moving to a whole new country?
At Whitehaven Coal, people come from far and wide to work with the organization. It can be a massive job to understand the logistics, the legal and visa regulations, and all the individual support people might need to make moves like this.
Anne-Marie is Whitehaven Coal’s Mobility Specialist and helps employees from across Australia, and the world, to join the team at Whitehaven Coal and get settled in their new home.
“The opportunity to be part of someone’s journey and to help them settle into a new country as wonderful as Australia means that I get to meet new people regularly, new employees and their families as well.”
“Supporting them to continue their life journey in Australia is very rewarding.”
Anne-Marie is about as people-person as you can get. And she says that Whitehaven Coal’s support for her work, and for her human-scale approach, is invaluable.
“Whitehaven Coal is there to help our people make that big shift.”
“STRIVE” for success
At Whitehaven Coal, STRIVE stands for Safety, Teamwork, Respect, Integrity, Values, and Excellence and it underpins everything Anne-Marie does.
“STRIVE in itself is the overarching value at Whitehaven Coal,” she says.
“It is the word that represents how I can contribute to the business, my team, to my individual aspirations as well as to the community and the internal and external stakeholders I interact with.”
These values build on a commitment to diversity and inclusion at all levels. This means leadership modeling towards these outcomes and mentoring programs that ensure the diversity and inclusion aims are firmly embedded in the company’s operations.
While all the STRIVE components resonate with Anne-Marie, and she uses each regularly, she says the ‘R’ and ‘I’ components are central to what she does in her people-facing work.
“Respect is something that brings us back to how we act as people and how we treat others just as we treat ourselves. Integrity too has always been very important to me.”
She is keen to promote a collegiate and collective vision at Whitehaven Coal through such values.
“We need to band together, and all remember that we are here to represent Whitehaven Coal and to understand how our contribution reflects on the overall outcomes the company wants to achieve.”
Want to discover more about Whitehaven Coal’s company culture and employee benefits?
The basis of STRIVE is trust and honesty at all times, Anne-Marie tells us.
“STRIVE culture at Whitehaven Coal is activated, for instance, when a team member feels comfortable to challenge another if ever the values are compromised.
“This indicates that the STRIVE values are important to every level in our organization, at all times.”
Anne-Marie is such a champion of these values that she has been named as a winner not only of a monthly STRIVE award for her display of Respect but has also been honored with two quarterly awards: one for Respect, and another for Teamwork.
“It feels weird to be rewarded for something I just want to do. But the team I worked with for the Teamwork award were an amazing group of people, and I just feel very blessed.”
Anne-Marie also regularly nominates people for these awards which can include monetary prizes.
“I think it’s important that people know they are appreciated.”
Strength through change
As so much of Anne-Marie’s work is shepherding change for others, it probably helps that her life has been one of constant movement.
She’s lived in various places around Australia, tried many jobs and careers, and it is clear
her background as well as her innate strength have been harnessed to a very positive effect at Whitehaven Coal.
Her role provides Anne-Marie with an outlet for her rare skill set with enduring benefits for those with whom she works.
“Whitehaven Coal provides me the opportunity to combine my social and soft-skill background and my love of interacting with people with the ability to draft up the necessary documents, and deliver presentations to shape this new role in Whitehaven Coal,” she says
A deep desire to learn and to ensure no challenge is wasted as a lesson is right where Anne-Marie lives.
“I am someone who is very focused and motivated. I love learning about anything and everything. And, I mean anything and everything!”
She admits she is driven by a sense of compassion and a desire to help out.
“I feel very deeply and feel with a sense of justice. Which means I am committed to assisting people to be kinder, to say ‘hello’, to care about others and to live and breathe the values of Whitehaven Coal.”
All-inclusive experience
Anne-Marie’s dedication to working with people, on their level, guarantees she is keen to be part of, and develop, Whitehaven Coal’s diversity and inclusion culture.
She has worked a lot with women and Indigenous employees, for instance, and she is passionate about Whitehaven Coal’s openness in the workplace.
“I have seen and heard first-hand how our cultural programs develop the women we employ for instance,” she notes.
“I remember I was at an Expo at Tamworth, and I met another amazing working mother and listened to her inspiring journey with Whitehaven Coal.
“Her story just blew my mind! Such a positive experience.”
She says everyone needs to ensure all women know they are valued in the workplace.
“I want to say to all the women at Whitehaven Coal that ‘the work you are doing is paving the way for all of us and for those who may not even know they will benefit from your efforts.’”
“We often forget that every woman can be an ally for other women.”
Whitehaven Coal’s Indigenous employee culture was Anne-Marie’s entry point to the company, she recalls.
“I remember I saw on LinkedIn that an Aboriginal Community Engagement Liaison Advisor heroine of mine at Whitehaven Coal won an award for her contribution to mining.
“This was probably the deciding factor in taking this position with Whitehaven Coal. I knew immediately that this company was (and still is) the one I wanted to work with.”
For Whitehaven Coal, it doesn’t matter where you’ve come from. The company’s solid values ensure there’s room for everyone who is prepared to STRIVE for success.
And when someone like Anne-Marie is there to greet you, how can you not?
