Kirsty Christensen loves people and loves her job, which is clearly what made her stand out to the judges at the Mid North Coast Regional Business Awards … announcing her the winner of the 2018 Outstanding Young Employee award.
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“It was a surprise and a wonderful feeling of support,” the 31-year-old business manager of Fresh Dental Care in Urunga said.
“There were lots of businesses from our region there – I was on a table with people from Norco and the local Chamber of Commerce, which was lovely.”
Kirsty began as a receptionist with Fresh in 2012 before quickly rising (after one month!) to become the manager of the Urunga surgery. Her role has grown with the business, which now also has surgeries in Coffs Harbour, Grafton and Macksville), all of which Kirsty oversees.
Leading a busy life, Kirsty says finding a healthy work/life balance is important and one of her first initiatives was to introduce the four-day week or nine-day fortnight for those who wanted it.
“Having that flexibility is important. I also introduced the SMILE program, which is all about staff engagement – we do things like share morning teas, compliment each other or celebrate certain days like May 4 (May the 4th be with you!).”
Another initiative has been a collaboration with Dr Kate Amos setting up a weekend on-call dental phone service for the Emergency Department at Coffs Harbour Base Hospital.
“We now have 28 dentists on a 12-month roster. I transfer the phone to one of them on a Friday afternoon and they are then there for the Emergency Department to contact over the weekend if they need advice about dental injuries that might turn up. Patients are encouraged to follow-up with a visit to a dentist during business hours if needed.
“It is a first for Coffs and is something that was badly needed.”
In her spare time snorkelling and basketball are her passions … “I love the water and I love the beach.”