This month we spoke to Naomi Molloy, Improvement Specialist at the City of Playford to learn more about her, what she does and what she has planned for 2019.

What is your current role at the City of Playford and what does it involve?

I’m currently on secondment as an Improvement Specialist. My role involves working with different stakeholders across the business to review, design and improve systems and processes in consideration of expectations, desired outcomes and the customer experience. The role has allowed me to expand my knowledge of the intricacies of Council business and has given me valuable insight into how other departments and teams operate. It’s also allowed me to work with people in a variety of fields and has given me a greater appreciation for the value of our LG staff.

How long have you worked in local government and what is your career background to date? 

I’ve been in local government for 5 years now, all at the City of Playford. Prior to that I worked for a state government not-for-profit organisation and have worked for family businesses within the building industry as well. My background is in payroll, finance and human resources, which are surprisingly complementary!

What do you enjoy most about working in local government? 

Local government is an incredibly meaningful industry to be working in. We’re very fortunate to be able to deliver such great services to our communities and to see the benefit these services provide.

Another thing I love about LG is that there is no competition between Councils so we have a unique opportunity to share knowledge, skills, resources and ideas between our networks. The benefits of this can ripple across the sector and I feel as though we’re heading towards a stage of greater collaboration that will see our communities thrive.

You will be participating in the 2019 Emerging Leaders Program.  What are you most looking forward to about the program?

I’ve been looking forward to this program for almost a year now! Unfortunately I first became aware of it when the registrations were full for last year so I’m very excited to have made it in to the 2019 course.

I’m particularly interested in the organisational culture, sustainability, change and leadership modules and since I grew up in country NSW, I’m also keen to explore the insights from a rural perspective. I think it will also be great to go through the course with other local government employees in similar (or different) phases in their career as well.

I really should have just said I’m looking forward to all of it!

You are a new member of both the Continuous Improvement Network and Women’s Network - what important role do these networks play in facilitating learning and sharing of ideas across the sector? What prompted you to join these networks?

I’ve attended events run from both of these networks and can honestly say that I’ve made some great connections and heard fascinating stories at these events. For me, joining the networks was really a no brainer after that!

The CI network has been a valuable resource, allowing me to see how other Councils are running their CI programs, what improvement opportunities they’re working on and to share my own experiences and findings. The network has people with brilliant minds who have some great initiatives and programs happening in their respective Councils. The network provides the platform to facilitate easier sharing of these which can only lead to greater learnings across the sector.

The Women’s network is such a powerful network to be a part of. I attended my first Women’s Conference last year and was incredibly inspired by the speakers who presented on the day and managed to catch a few of them for a one-on-one chat. I’m excited to see what the network drives and inspires in the future and for women in the sector to not only break through the glass ceiling, but to shatter it completely.

What motivates you? What are you most passionate about in local government? 

I like to challenge the norms while keeping sight of the bigger picture. I enjoy coming up with solutions that make it easier for people to perform their job or to provide another service over and above the status quo. I think that local government has started shifting to an innovation phase not only in how we operate externally, but our internal services as well and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next few years have in store!

One of the other things that motivates me is one of our greatest assets - our people. We have people who have been at Council for longer than I’ve been alive and some who started just last week. Across that spectrum there’s so much knowledge and varied experience on offer and I have a lot of respect for the amount of value our people provide.

Finally – what do you enjoy outside of work?  How do you spend your leisure time? 

I have two beautiful children (an adult teenager and a threenager!) and a husband who’s pretty good value too, so I actually quite like spending time with them! I enjoy going to the gym as well and I have come to admit that I love (but sometimes hate) running. I’ve branched more into trail running recently so will often spend early mornings and weekends clocking up some kilometres either on the road or on some of Adelaide’s finest peaks. Since life is all about balance I also like to wind down with friends and a glass of wine or two, or with a good tv show or movie and the comfort of my trackies.