More than a name change: Customer Care at the heart of Enliven

A renewed focus on care, not only for clients, but also for support workers, whānau and everyone across Enliven, is behind a name change for the former Enliven resourcing team based at the O’Rorke office, Penrose.

Formerly known as the Resource Coordinating or Rostering Team, the unit has now rebranded into the Customer Care Team.

Customer Care Manager Cynthia Sy says everyone the team interacts with is a customer, so it made sense to align this focus into a new name.

“The team has a relationship with a wide range of people including clients, their family members, and various Enliven teams. We often know the small details that matter, like birthdays, pets’ name, and when and how people prefer to be contacted.

“We have a great rapport with people, even though many of our interactions happen over the phone.

“It made sense for this focus on care to be reflected in the name of the whole team, rather than continuing with the different resourcing names we had previously.”

The Enliven Customer Care team is made up of 25 staff including afterhours and casual team members covering most of the PSN rohe from Waitematā to the Taupō region.

The team plays a key role in coordinating service delivery between clients, whānau, support workers, service coordinators and internal teams.

They organise schedules, match support workers to clients who have specific needs, balance support worker’s annual leave with service delivery, support responses to quality concerns, and work hard to ensure client needs are met safely and consistently.

With more than 3000 clients and around 600 support workers, the Customer Care Team is kept busy coordinating hundreds of client visits each day.

“It’s a lot of work and you have to be good at juggling priorities,” says Cynthia. “There’s also a lot of puzzles to solve, so it helps if you enjoy problem-solving and can think outside the box.

“But what makes this team special is their manaakitanga, which means care, respect and kindness. They show that every day, not just when things are easy, but especially when things are hard.

“We have been through some challenging times as a team, from being short-staffed, managing service pressure, cyclones, emergencies, and all the unexpected things that come with working in community care. Through all of that, this team has continued to show up. They keep going, they support each other, and they do their best to keep clients at the centre.

“That takes resilience, but it also takes aroha - love and compassion, and kotahitanga, which means unity and working together. That is the real strength of this team.”

Cynthia says that no two days are the same but it’s a rewarding job and it’s a critical job.

“We help ensure our clients receive the service they need, which is really the heart of Enliven – it’s what we do….and we do it with care.”

Photo caption: Members of the Enliven Customer Care Team, from left: Isaac Newbigging, Kerwin Marnce, Raiha Wilson-Toki and Cynthia Sy.