Friends, Flexibility and a Great Workplace Culture

Q&A with Aimee Hunt, Payroll/HR Officer – Narromine Shire Council

Q. Prior to starting with Narromine Shire Council, what did you think working at council would be like?

A. I really didn’t know what to expect, I remember in the interview they asked me what I thought council’s role in the community was, and I just had to be honest and say I wasn’t sure. As a 17-year-old you just don’t have any idea what council does!

Q. What has surprised you the most about Council since you’ve been on board?

A. I was surprised about just how much Council does in the community – and the amount of people behind the scenes. Narromine has a staff of 80, which in a town of just over 3000, makes us the biggest employer.

Q. When you started as a Trainee with Narromine Shire Council nearly 11 years ago, was it your intention to stay for as long as you have?

A. Definitely not! I was leaving school and didn’t know what I wanted to do as a career. I was lucky enough to go through a Business Administration Traineeship in the Finance Department.  I definitely didn’t think it was going to become my career!  

Q.   What has kept you here at Narromine?

A.    I’ve stayed because of the workplace culture – I’ve made some amazing friends here. My colleagues are definitely a big part of why I’ve stayed so long.  The other thing would be the work/life balance. We work on a flexitime system here which means we can take a day off if we want to. It’s so valuable. And of course, working in the town that I live in is pretty convenient.

Q. Can you explain what your role entails?

At the moment there’s no average day – we’re really busy! I look after recruitment, staff inductions, and the payroll every fortnight. Right now, I’m working on the staff awards night that we have at the end of the year, and I’m also organising the Christmas party.  

Q.   What do you enjoy the most about your role?

A.    I’m really enjoying the recruitment side of the job – it’s really involved but it’s so rewarding when you offer someone a job and they get really excited about it.

I also really value giving back to the community. Next week we’re heading out to Trangie to conduct mock interviews for students at the high school out there. It’ll help to equip them for interviews in the real world. So, when they go out, they’ve already been through the interview process and had feedback, they will know how to conduct themselves. I think it’s a really good initiative.

Q.   What are some of the challenges you face in your role and how do you overcome them?

A.    Sometimes it’s a challenge to attract people to apply for jobs – trying to get them to a small town can be difficult. I really focus on selling the job, but also talking to candidates about the work/life balance that we offer, and lifestyle you get being in a rural region, but only 30 mins from the city. You can take Friday off and head to Sydney for the weekend if you want to.

I also tell them that we’re also an amazing bunch of people here at Narromine! 

Thanks, Aimee, for taking the time to share your story with us. It sounds like you’ve found a great place to live and work and develop your career!