Anchor’s Corporate Services spearhead notches up 15 years of service

We are thrilled to celebrate a tremendous milestone with our Executive Manager of Corporate Services, Fiona Nicholls, as she reaches 15 years working at Anchor.

Fiona has overseen a lot of growth and change over the years. We caught up with her to chat about her journey so far and find out what the key to longevity is.

Tell us about your career journey at Anchor?

I’ve always held this position; it has just had a few different names and responsibilities along the way. Originally it was the Business Manager role, which had an 0.8 FTE Bookkeeper reporting to me. Very finance related.

Since then, the role has grown along with the organisation. Anchor’s revenue has grown fivefold since I started, with staff numbers going from 20 when I joined, up to what we have now.

My role has shifted a bit of over that time. It started with a narrow focus, then as things grew, the team that I oversee housed roles for admin, marketing, learning and development, P&C, partnerships, IT and property. Then, growth got to such a point where it made sense for things like P&C, marketing and business to become standalone teams.

You previously worked in the education sector. What was the contrast like coming into Anchor after working at a private school?

It was a big difference going from working at a private school to working in the community services area.

I’ve been able to take a lot of experiences and approaches to work from my time there and apply it to what we work on at Anchor. Even things like planning, and approaches to business, just putting more structure and strategy in place to support our work.

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen at Anchor since you started?

The revenue turnover and staff growth are the most noticeable.

I’ve had two different experiences at Anchor, because I have worked under two CEO’s with very different approaches. Heidi is a very dynamic CEO; she has really powered our growth.

The sophistication of operations and business has developed immensely, even in just the last three or four years. We’re having conversations with the right people; we’re getting much smarter at planning for projects, and we have really improved the way we use information and data to inform our strategy.

How have you grown personally over those 15 years?

After a lot of consideration and persistent pressure from a professional coach, I completed a Masters of Business Administration (MBA).

It took me four years to complete. Undertaking the MBA has allowed me to bring ‘best of practice’ theories into the work that my team undertakes for Anchor. My fellow Managers were very supportive of me and genuinely were interested in the learning I would bring into discussion.

My professional coach has reframed a lot of my thinking, challenged many of my thoughts and helped me to slow my thinking down and be more considered which I try to bring that into my role and the work I do.

Looking back over your time here, what are you most proud of?

My longevity. This is my longest job ever. My longest previous role was around 3 years.

When I started with Anchor, the organisation was struggling to stay afloat. I am really proud of the role I have played in helping secure our sustainability. Through better financial management, and a range of projects that have made the organisation more resilient.

I was acting CEO for 12 months before Heidi started. That was really challenging professionally, and I developed a lot from that experience.

At the same time, Anchor’s Board of Management was seeing some changes and during this time I improved the way I built and nurtured relationships with Board Members.

I was also very proud of my efforts to harness a Corporate Sponsor for the 2013 Out of Home Care Children’s Christmas party, which also translated into further funding from the same sponsor that has supports our carers over the years.

It was an interesting time, and I’m glad that I was able to steer Anchor towards its next big chapter.

What knowledge would you impart to someone just starting at Anchor?

I would say that no matter what role you are doing here, you need to have the right values set to work at Anchor.

Whether you are a finance worker or a social worker, you must be behind the cause.

Having the right mindset helps you to get out of bed and tackle your work. Thinking “I’m not going to ask for stuff, I’m just going to give”. I think that will keep people in good stead for longevity.

There is definitely burnout. Client facing staff and back of house staff may have very different roles, but there is still pressure, and stress and crisis, these things just look different across Anchor.

So, pace yourself. Try to build an open and trusting relationship with your line manager.

Give time to developing relationships with people.

I always say, I spend more time with my team than I do my husband. I need to be building a good two-way relationship with those that I work closely with.

Let your guard down and let people in, shows people “who you are and what you are about?” People have lives outside of work so giving time to learn about them is really important.

Is there anyone that deserves a shout out for supporting you along the way?

Yes, a big shout out to Heidi, she has been my manager for almost the last nine years. She is really dynamic, and I believe we work really well together. She was a bigger support of my working towards achieving my MBA, encouraging me the whole way. It meant a lot to have that support.

She also gave plenty of time for me to talk through my ideas and thoughts that I had along the way, no matter how left of field they were.

Raj, the professional coach that supported me, was instrumental for me. Unfortunately, he passed away last year, and I was devastated as he made an enormous impact on my life.

Sharon Nixon, my previous Financial Accountant, saw me through thick and thin as Anchor was growing we worked together to develop new systems to improve the financial management of the organisation.

The EMT have also been awesome. I was just saying to Nicky last week, I can remember being on the recruiting panel when she joined us about 9 years ago. She has been a big support and we’ve grown together over the years.

All of EMT play a big part in each other’s roles, their support, motivation, and influence are really important to me.

And of course, any staff that have been a member of my team over the years. It has changed a lot, but everyone has helped me along the way and I’m grateful for their work, their loyalty, and their sense of humour.