Intake Coordinator Ashleigh Smiling

Customers come first for Ashleigh

by KinCare — 31 March 2021

With almost nine years of service under her belt, Ashleigh is very experienced and passionate team member. We talked to her recently about working for KinCare and what it means to support older Australians to stay living in their own homes.

“I started with KinCare straight out of school, once I finished Year 12. A family friend was actually working for KinCare and got me in as a casual. Two weeks later, I became full-time and I have been there ever since,” Ashleigh explains.

“I love my job and I love KinCare. It’s a great company, but I also like working here because its main focus is caring for the elderly in their homes, to keep them independent.”

Ashleigh says she knew very little about in-home care until she started working for KinCare. She’s now a big supporter of caring for the elderly in their homes and always putting your Customers first – something she has learnt first-hand with KinCare.

“KinCare is very passionate about their Customers, and ensuring Customers are their number one priority – which is something I really like. When I started, I was working in the Contact Centre, so I grew to love my Customers. I got to know them, especially the regulars who would call in asking about services or sometimes, just to have a chat,” she says.

After working in the Contact Centre, Ashleigh moved into a Coordinator position where she was working directly with Customers.

“I got to build really good rapport with most of the Customers that I already knew from working in the Contact Centre, but also with new Customers that were coming on board with KinCare. That was really rewarding.”

Ashleigh’s current role is Intake Coordinator in the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) team. She is responsible for onboarding new Customers who are accessing KinCare’s CHSP services. She is also part of a team conducting annual reassessments and home safety checks for existing Customers – a role where she works closely with colleagues from other KinCare teams to ensure Customers are getting the best services for their needs while living safely in their homes.

Career Opportunities at KinCare

If you’ve been looking for a career that will balance study and work, a career at KinCare could be the perfect option for you. With a huge variety of jobs available, there’s never been a better time to move towards a fulfilling career in home care.

In all her roles, Ashleigh says communication with Customers has been a key priority.

“Whether it’s between myself and the Customer, myself and the family member or next of kin, or myself and KinCare’s Scheduling team. If we don’t have the communication lines open, that’s when things can go wrong.

“My main priority is to always communicate with Customers about what is happening with their services and what we’re doing for them. That level of care is very rewarding because the Customers are very thankful.”

With experience across several teams throughout her career with KinCare, Ashleigh says the organisation has a great team culture and supportive environment for its staff.

“I might be in the CHSP team, but I can go to our Private Care team or our Scheduling team and work closely with that team to ensure that we get a great outcome for our Customer. We all work together.

“I also love my team. I am one of the youngest, but I’ve got great role models within my team.”

When we spoke with Ashleigh, she was preparing to start her second year of a Bachelor of Nursing degree at Western Sydney University. She admits that working in the aged care sector and with nurses at KinCare had given her the push to finally take the leap and start studying in 2020.

She said juggling work at KinCare while studying full time was busy but the rewarding role and flexibility at KinCare make all the difference. With a love of the aged care sector and years of knowledge behind her, she’s certainly not ruling out becoming an aged care nurse.

As for advice for others considering a career in aged care, Ashleigh says, “If you’re a person who is very nurturing and who likes to care for people, do it. It’s probably one of the most rewarding things that you can do.”