Maria Norton is our Account Manager for the Workforce Services & Solutions Team.
Helping people help other people
Maria brings industry knowledge to her role here, having worked in homelessness, drug and alcohol, and child, youth, and family services back in Ireland after she completed her Bachelor of Social Care.
“I’ve seen how destructive drugs and alcohol can be to families,” Maria says. “What drives me is wanting to help others move on from that and better their lives in any way possible.”
Working in the recruitment side of the industry is equally close to her heart, as she sees her role as “helping people help other people”.
Look after your staff, and they’ll look after you
Maria’s stellar interpersonal skills are pivotal to managing her wide portfolio of casual and emergency staff.
“Where my experience lies, and where my skills are best,” Maria says, “is building relationships with my candidates. What I find is if you look after your staff, your staff will look after you. That’s my motto, and that’s the stance I take.”
“The kind of strategies I use that differentiate me slightly from other consultants is really keeping that two-way communication open – not just looking at staff as another number, or just another person to fill a shift when I’m stuck.”
Maria likes to keep in regular contact, noting down important dates, sending texts, and chatting to staff about their lives and how things are going for them.
“People really appreciate that,” she explains. “It’s showing you care. That’s how I’ve been able to maintain my staff as much as I can.”
For example, when a staff member had to cancel a shift to go to her friend’s funeral, Maria didn’t just mark it down and move on to find a replacement. She set a reminder for herself for the date of the service so she could send a message to that staff member and express her condolences and check whether she needed any more time off.
“She really appreciated that. Then in turn, a few days later, when I was really stuck for a last-minute shift, that staff member did everything she could to help me out. She went and found childcare so she could do the shift for me – so those little efforts do make a big difference.”
A lot of the staff have remarked on Maria’s personable approach, which is just one of the many reasons she experiences high retention rates.
“It’s just that kind of quality piece ensuring staff feel like they’re heard and listened to. That’s the difference I think where I’ve been able to grow this portfolio quite fast.”
Happy staff lead to happy clients
High staff retention isn’t the only benefit of Maria’s relational approach to her role. Clients also experience positive outcomes.
In one case, Maria was tasked with pulling together a support team for a child who’d been removed from his family. Unfortunately the government department had exhausted other accommodation options so the child was placed in a hotel.
Maria drew on her knowledge of the staff she managed to put together a solid team for this child within an hour.
Even though hotel placements aren’t the ideal accommodation for children needing specialist care, this child experienced such incredible support from Maria’s team that the department extended his time there. They told Maria he’d thrived more in those eight months with Maria’s team than he had in any previous placement.
Maria’s seen this pattern time and time again in the clients she works with, who appreciate her extra efforts to match staff who really suit each role.
Get in touch today to discuss your needs with Maria or one of our other friendly team members. Or if you’re looking for casual and emergency shifts in social care, contact us now to get started.
