Episode Eleven - The Talent Development Facilitator
0:00:00 - (Nicole): Bring Your Kid to Work is being recorded in Meeanjin and we acknowledge and pay our respects to the Yuggera and Turrbl people as the traditional custodians of the land and waters on which we learn, work and play. And we extend our respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It's time to Bring Your Kid To Work. Hey, everyone, it's time to Bring Your Kid To Work.
It's the family podcast that explores the world of work through the eyes, parents and their kids. Each week, we interview one parent and their child to chat about what they do for work, what they like, what they don't like and how they got there in the first place.
Let's find out who we're talking to today.
Our wonderful guests today are Kristie and her daughter Madi. Kristie Thomas is a talent development facilitator at EY, a Big Four accounting firm whose purpose is to build a better working world.
0:00:53 - (Nicole): They employ over 8000 people across Australia, and Kristie's job is to help develop and grow those workers to be even better at their jobs and even better versions of themselves. She's like a teacher, but instead of kids as students, she has grown ups in offices as students. Kristie's dream when she was a kid was to work in a fancy corporate office in the city, and she loves her job. She has decades of experience developing and delivering programs for leaders and says the best part of her job is seeing those students growing as people and building their careers.
0:01:30 - (Nicole): She brings with her her daughter Madi, who isn't so sure about what she wants to do when she's big, as long as she gets to keep playing lots of netball. I think you're going to love this chat as much as I did, so let's get on with the show.
0:01:44 - (Nicole): Welcome to bring your kid to work. Today's episode is called the Talent Development Facilitator. I'm really excited to welcome our special guests, so I would like our first special guest. Can she please introduce herself?
0:01:57 - (Madi): Hi, I'm Madi.
0:02:00 - (Nicole): Hi, Madi.
0:02:01 - (Nicole): How old are you?
0:02:02 - (Madi): I'm twelve now.
0:02:03 - (Nicole): Madi, twelve means you're in grade what year?
0:02:07 - (Madi): Seven.
0:02:08 - (Nicole): So that's your first year of high school, right?
0:02:10 - (Madi): Yes.
0:02:11 - (Nicole): There you go. What do you love best about school?
0:02:15 - (Madi): I think I enjoy seeing different people from who I used to hang out with at primary school. And I like the change of scenery with each class, so going from subject.
0:02:26 - (Nicole): To subject is actually really fun because you get to see different classrooms and different teachers.
0:02:31 - (Madi): Yeah, I find that better than primary school.
0:02:34 - (Nicole): I did too. Special guest. Can she please introduce herself?
0:02:37 - (Kristie): Hi, I'm Kristie. What else do you want to know?
0:02:41 - (Nicole): Hello, Kristie. And you are a talent development facilitator. Does that mean that you go find people to be on Australia's Got Talent?
0:02:52 - (Kristie): I had the exact same thought today around how would people interpret that job title. And when the kids hear the word talent, I'm sure that's what comes to mind. But no, I recruit talent for the business world or develop talent for the business world.
0:03:08 - (Nicole): So when you say talent for the business world, you're talking about people who work in businesses, who are great talents that you want to scoop up and work in your organization.
0:03:17 - (Kristie): Correct. Or once they've onboarded into the organization that I work for, I help them develop their talent further and develop their leadership skills and their business skills in particular.
0:03:30 - (Nicole): That sounds like you're almost a teacher, but in a business, does that sound kind of right?
0:03:37 - (Kristie): Yeah. And that's how I've tried to describe my job to the kids, actually, and I think it was easier for them. Before the pandemic, I would pack up my bags and go into the city, and I would send them photos of my classrooms with flip charts and PowerPoint slide presentations. But then when COVID hit, it was very hard for them to understand how I could teach. Or maybe it wasn't hard, actually. They worked it out eventually, but I was on a screen a you know, that wasn't typically it looked like I was just in meetings all day.
0:04:11 - (Kristie): But we can do it on the screen as well. And yes, it is like a teacher for business.
0:04:17 - (Nicole): Awesome. Madi, your mum is a talent development facilitator. What does she actually do during the day in her job, do you think?
0:04:25 - (Madi): I mean, all I really see her doing is sitting at her desk all day and looking at videos and slideshows.
0:04:35 - (Nicole): Do you think she enjoys working at her desk and looking at videos and slideshows? Does she like her job?
0:04:41 - (Madi): I think she does, because she likes helping and teaching people, but at the same time, I sometimes think that she'd rather be in the city doing something else.
0:04:53 - (Nicole): So actually teaching people in person rather than being on the computer screen, maybe?
0:04:58 - (Madi): I think so, yeah. Every opportunity she gets, she jumps to go into the city.
0:05:03 - (Nicole): Well, I know there are good coffee shops in the city, and so that's a very big incentive for your mum, I think. Madi, you are currently in grade seven, and I'm sure you're doing some subjects at school that you like and you don't like. What are the ones that you like the most?
0:05:21 - (Madi): I actually have a pretty unpopular opinion well, least with my friends. But I really enjoy math because there's.
0:05:30 - (Nicole): An answer that's really fun finding an yep. Yeah. What do you think you want to do when you leave school?
0:05:37 - (Madi): I'm actually not sure yet.
0:05:39 - (Nicole): You know, that's perfectly okay. And it's also perfectly okay to not be sure when you are leaving school because you can change your mind. Kristie, you've had some changes in your career as well. What do you love about your it's?
0:05:52 - (Kristie): That people and human connection. I love helping people, even though the business world I suppose some people question what are we actually achieving? It's not just about profit, though, I hope. It's actually about leadership and being a great human in teams and respecting people at work. And I love it when I can help people have better conversations at work, when they can feel more motivated about their jobs, when they feel they've got a new skill. So it's all about that, helping people as well. And I just love talking to people. Nicole, you know me well enough to know I love a chat and I get to do it all day.
0:06:29 - (Nicole): And people have really interesting stories, don't they?
0:06:31 - (Kristie): They absolutely do. And part of my job is to set a tone or an environment in a session where they feel comfortable telling their stories. We have to create what we call psychological safety in a classroom, and that's what I love most as well, is hearing different experiences and different stories. And we learn from each other in the work that I do as well. It's not just about me teaching things at the front of the classroom or on my screen. It's bringing out great conversations so people can learn from each other. So that's fun, too.
0:07:04 - (Madi): Yeah.
0:07:04 - (Nicole): I do love a chat as well, for sure. Madi, you said you weren't sure what you wanted to do when you left school, but what about a first job, a part time job? Do you think you'll have one of those? And what do you think it might be?
0:07:17 - (Madi): Well, I've always wanted to work at a cafe or work in retail or something, but I really don't I'm not sure.
0:07:28 - (Nicole): All good choices. These are great things because you learn how to serve customers and that's really important, I think. Well, in Melbourne there are lots of cafes and there's quite a lot of retail, so I think you'll probably be okay with that. You'll find a job, no problem. Do you know what your mum's first job was?
0:07:42 - (Madi): I actually have no idea.
0:07:45 - (Nicole): Oh, it's a mystery. Kristie, can you enlighten us? What was your first job?
0:07:49 - (Kristie): The bakery. Mads don't you remember me talking about every Saturday? And baker's delight. I worked in two bakeries. Harry Styles also worked in a bakery. I'm a cool mum.
0:08:00 - (Madi): I know that.
0:08:01 - (Nicole): That is exceptionally cool, yes. What did you love about the bakery?
0:08:05 - (Kristie): I think, again, it was the opportunity to talk to people as you were serving them. But my girls will laugh at this. I'm also a bit of a clean freak. I get that from my mum. I actually really enjoyed organizing the shelves, organising the cakes and the slices and cleaning as I went, and I think that's probably why my bosses loved me as well. And there was a bit of maths involved, too. Mads at that time, I had to calculate everything in my head. There was a cash register to tally up how much people's order came to, but then I had to give change in my head and count the money back to them and I was using a lot of different skills in the bakery. I loved it all.
0:08:41 - (Nicole): Plus bread - can't go wrong with bread.
0:08:43 - (Kristie): My dad loved that. Saturday afternoons when I knocked off, I was allowed to take home. There's some leftovers. It was great. We had a great Saturday feast after my Saturday shift.
0:08:52 - (Nicole): That is the best. But it's a long way from the bakery to a talent development facilitator. So did you go to university?
0:09:01 - (Kristie): I sure did. I did a double degree with subjects that I didn't necessarily knew that I was going to like them, but I was good at them. So I got the career counseling to maybe just sign up to what you are good at. I tended to enjoy most parts of what I was good at. I did business and computing as a double degree and I majored in accounting and I did three years of university and then I had the opportunity to do my fourth year of university in the workplace. It was called industry based learning and I loved that. Once I stepped into the real world, I got to do my placement in a corporate environment and I knew that's where I wanted to go after uni.
0:09:47 - (Nicole): That's a very cool thing. I didn't know you could do that. That's fantastic. So you got a taste of it first and then you were able to work out whether that was actually what you wanted to do.
0:09:55 - (Kristie): Yeah, and I got uni credit for it as well. It was part of the business degree and the computing degree. I think it was part of the double degree offering was to go out and learn some skills in the workplace and I got some credit for it.
0:10:07 - (Nicole): It was great because I think the other thing that we do is we go, oh, I see this job and it looks like something I might be interested in, but you don't actually generally know what people are doing day to day and whether that's something that you would like. So being able to go in through university is a pretty cool option to give you that taste.
0:10:24 - (Kristie): Yeah, it absolutely was for me and they ended up offering me a graduate position in that organization that I did my trial or my placement at and I stayed there for ten years. So that was a great opportunity for me to start my career.
0:10:39 - (Nicole): Wow, there you go. So, Mads, what do you love that's outside of school?
0:10:44 - (Madi): I am very into netball. I love netball and that's usually all my time after school, but I also really enjoy painting and drawing.
0:10:54 - (Nicole): What kind of painting and drawing do you like to do?
0:10:58 - (Madi): Mainly I just like painting on canvases, just having fun with it.
0:11:03 - (Nicole): So do you like to say, for example, I'm looking right now at my teacup, is that something that you would like to paint? Just a teacup that you can see, or do you like to paint things that are abstract, that come from your mind?
0:11:15 - (Madi): Well, usually I just have a random idea and think I could paint that. So usually I just go online and find inspiration and copy an image from online.
0:11:25 - (Nicole): Oh, amazing. I love that. That is not something that I am talented with, so I appreciate those talents. What do you think makes a good job?
0:11:33 - (Madi): Something that you enjoy, but also makes good money? Yeah.
0:11:38 - (Nicole): What do you think you're going to need money for when you're an adult?
0:11:42 - (Madi): Buying a car, buying your first house, food and water and being able to survive.
0:11:48 - (Nicole): Yeah, there's a lot of bills that come in, that's for sure. Kristie, what did you want to be when you were little? What was your dream job when you were a kid?
0:11:56 - (Kristie): I think I had this vision of working in an office. I've got a year ten assignment where I wrote about it. I don't know why I wanted to work in an office. I think I just loved the idea of dressing nicely, going into a sleek environment, and I had no idea what I'd be doing in the office. I just knew I wanted to work in an office.
0:12:17 - (Nicole): Wow. There you go. And was that inspired by your parents? What did your mum and dad do?
0:12:22 - (Kristie): Not at all. My dad is a panel beater by trade. I grew up around a lot of cars and a lot of car racing, and Dad's ran his own business for many, many years, ever since he was, I think, 17 or 18, he's had his own business repairing cars, restoring cars, and that's grown to be quite a big thing in our family. Mum, on the other hand, was the traditional stay at home mum. For the start of my childhood, I probably didn't have that many role models in terms of women working, to tell you the truth. As we got older and went to high school, mum got a few retail jobs so that she could have extra money for treats in the household. But Mum was a bit of a people person as well. She did a lot with us in the community at school as well. So Mum had mostly unpaid work, but was very, very good at it.
0:13:11 - (Nicole): Wow, that's awesome. Madi, what are you most looking forward to when you leave school and I don't know, do you want to go to university?
0:13:20 - (Madi): I think I'd be interested in going to university and I'd still want to play in, like, a fun netball team, but I would also want to get a degree so I could work somewhere that I enjoy.
0:13:33 - (Nicole): And do you want to work inside or do you want to work outside or do you want a bit of a combination of both?
0:13:39 - (Madi): I probably prefer a combination of both.
0:13:42 - (Nicole): Because obviously netball is an outside pursuit, but maths is an inside. You know, you might be able to figure out how to combine those two things. Is there anything that you think is going to be different about work in the future? Madi, what will work look like in the future?
0:13:58 - (Madi): Different hours to school and not working every single day and having some days off.
0:14:05 - (Nicole): And do you think that the workplace that you end up in, do you think you'll be doing work that is you by yourself, or do you think you'll be doing work in a team? What do you prefer, do you reckon?
0:14:18 - (Madi): I would hope that I would be working with other people but also still be able to do some tasks and assignments by myself.
0:14:27 - (Nicole): Yeah, I like that. I need to have my little cave by myself for a bit and then I want to talk to people for a long time and then go back to my cave. Kristie, you obviously like to talk to people and get your energy from other people. So you like that office environment where there's people around and you had to get a university degree to get your job. Was that something that your parents encouraged you to do?
0:14:48 - (Kristie): Yes, I think generationally I think our parents weren't given the same education opportunities that we had presented to us. So my parents definitely encouraged me to go to uni. They almost made me feel special in a way that I had the opportunity and that I was smart enough to go, kind of thing. So I really looked forward to uni because of my parents'encouragement. Definitely.
0:15:13 - (Nicole): And so is that something in your household that you talk about with the kids, about these are your options?
0:15:19 - (Kristie): I think we've started those conversations because where Sierra's at in her year nine journey? They're thinking about subjects, they're thinking about pathways to uni, et cetera. But in our household, we're trying to take the stress out of it. The whole idea of locking in these subjects in year nine for Sierra, once she'd done it, she was happy and comfortable, but the whole thinking process to start with was like, I don't know what I want to do, and it was a little bit stressful. So we're trying to take the stress out of it in our house and just have fun with education, follow your passions, follow your heart in terms of what you're good at and what you like. So, yeah, I think they're the types of conversations we're having in our household at the moment.
0:16:01 - (Nicole): I love those conversations, but work hard as well.
0:16:05 - (Kristie): We do say work hard. We like our kids to put a bit of effort in because they can be good at anything with a little bit of effort.
0:16:10 - (Nicole): Yeah, I think that's the first thing that I look at when the report cards come in, the effort and the behavior. Don't really care about the result so much. I much prefer to figure out whether they've contributed and that they've put in some effort.
0:16:24 - (Kristie): Exactly. Same in our house.
0:16:26 - (Nicole): Yeah. Kristie on a hard day at work, what makes it hard?
0:16:31 - (Kristie): Oh, sometimes in the work that I do, we can have I call them passengers in the classroom, and it's hard because and the kids will be able to relate to this because they're the disruptors in the class or the people that just look bored and don't want to be with you. And initially, that's hard. It's a bit of an energy supper for me, and I have to work pretty hard to either kick them out of my classroom or convince them what's in it for them and draw them in to what we're talking about or what we're learning together.
0:17:11 - (Kristie): So I do find it hard when people don't want to be there. They've been told they have to come to our class or develop this skill for their job. But you can turn that into a challenge or the most rewarding thing in my job, if you can get them over the line to enjoy it, enjoy it.
0:17:26 - (Nicole): In the end, that was definitely the hardest part of teaching, was when you had people who didn't want to be there and you were trying to convince them that it was the greatest place in the world.
0:17:37 - (Kristie): I tell you what, teaching on a screen is really hard because it allows people to be passengers even more so they can be doing something else on their screen or not talking to you. And I found it really hard since we started taking all of this online. It's yes, easier for people to not participate online. They can just turn their camera on or join the meeting button, and they think that's enough and it's not enough.
They've got to do more than that to actually learn through the experience. Absolutely.
0:18:05 - (Nicole): And I think that's really important, too, for kids to remember, is that you have to participate in your learning. You can't just let it all come and wash over you. If you want to learn something and make it, as they say, sticky, sticky learning, you have to actually participate. So, yeah, that's a good message. Thank you for that. Kristie, when you leave work at the end of the day, what are you most looking forward to?
0:18:26 - (Kristie): That's funny. The kids might say a glass of wine, but for me, it's that transition between office Kristie and family Kristie. I absolutely love walking in the front door and seeing Mark and the kids and the dog and just enjoying family time at the end of the day.
0:18:44 - (Nicole): Madi, is there anything that worries you about leaving school and going out into the world?
0:18:51 - (Maddie): Not right now, but I could picture myself being worried maybe about finances or about what job I'm going to get or how I'm going to make friends in university with a whole new school and a bunch of new people.
0:19:08 - (Nicole): Well, I think you'll have the finances covered, though, with your expertise in maths, so I reckon you'll be okay. Is there anything that I should have asked you or that you want to tell the world?
0:19:17 - (Madi): Not really.
0:19:19 - (Nicole): Awesome. Kristie, what is your advice for people who are about to embark on a career?
0:19:26 - (Kristie): I think we keep coming back in our family to advice that I hope will help others. Follow your heart, follow what you enjoy. Be passionate about work, I suppose, and you can't go wrong.
0:19:39 - (Nicole): That's really good advice. I like that. Kristie, would you do anything differently? Would you start a different career if you had a chance?
0:19:48 - (Kristie): Great question. I think I'm very lucky with where I've ended up now, because facilitating learning in a big organisation wasn't where I started. It kind of found me, and I think that's true in life sometimes as well. Sometimes people will tap you on the shoulder or you'll be recognised for something that you're good at, even when you don't know that you're good at it. And opportunities can come from that. And I feel like I've been lucky enough to be tapped on the shoulder, and that's why I've landed in the learning and the facilitation role that I do now. And I probably wouldn't change it because I was very lucky that someone else recognised that I would be good at it. And that's been the second half of my career, has been the teaching element and helping others in their work lives. My first half of my career was doing the jobs that I'm teaching other people to do now. So, yeah, I suppose no changes on the horizon for me because I feel like I've been very lucky and been tapped on the shoulder and recognised for something that I'm good at, and I'm still enjoying it.
0:20:52 - (Nicole): That's amazing.
0:20:53 - (Kristie): Happy for now.
0:20:54 - (Nicole): Yeah. And that's awesome. And one day you might decide that you want to be a ballerina and you could try.
0:21:00 - (Kristie): That funny you say that, because I did do ballet as a kid. I think I had a glimpse in time where I thought maybe I could be a professional ballerina. But that office, shiny office, and the suit was calling me harder at that point.
0:21:15 - (Nicole): You'd preferred high heels over point shoes.
0:21:19 - (Kristie): For a short time in my career, it's all about the flat comfy shoes now. Me, too.
0:21:24 - (Nicole): I think the pandemic actually helped us with that as well.
0:21:27 - (Kristie): Absolutely.
0:21:29 - (Nicole): Mad, what's the funniest story that Mum's ever brought home from work? Putting you on the spot?
0:21:40 - (Kristie): We've been lucky enough to have the kids at work conferences that I've been running as part of my facilitation role. And, Mads, I've had instances where my computer doesn't work and dad had to come in and save the day at my work as well. I don't know if you remember that that's a funny story or not.
0:21:58 - (Nicole): You got to go to conferences with Mum. You did bring your kid to work, Kristie. So, Madi, you went to conferences I.
0:22:05 - (Madi): Don'T remember any of them.
0:22:06 - (Kristie): You don't remember?
0:22:07 - (Madi): All I really remember was Mum getting fancy holidays in Broome and us getting the tag along so that's Mum's job.
0:22:15 - (Nicole): Is fancy holidays in Broome. Guys, this was amazing. Thank you so much for making this time, Kristie. I hope I didn't keep you from your wine for too long.
0:22:28 - (Kristie): All good, Nic. All good. We love talking to you. Maybe I should have done this with wine.
0:22:33 - (Nicole): Yes, I should have done it with tea because I finished mine earlier. Thanks so much, Kristie.
0:22:38 - (Kristie): Thank you, Nic. It's very exciting to see you doing something different and you've had a career change now, and we're so excited for you to be talking to you in this context, and we're so excited to see where this will take you. So it's been great talking. Thank you.
0:22:53 - (Nicole): Thank you so much, Madi.
0:22:54 - (Madi): Thank you, Nicole.
0:22:56 - (Nicole): Bye.
0:22:57 - (Nicole): Coming up next week, we'll meet Nathan and his daughter Peytn.
0:23:01 - (Nicole): This episode is called the Intergovernmental Relations Manager. And that's what your dad does, isn't it, Peytn?
0:23:07 - (Peytn): I don't know. I don't really know what he does for work.
0:23:12 - (Nicole): Well, good. We're going to find out. You and I together can work it out. What do you reckon?
0:23:17 - (Peytn): Sure.
0:23:18 - (Nicole): Okay. Was that your first job?
0:23:20 - (Nathan): No.
0:23:22 - (Peytn): He did KFC before he did his other two jobs, I think.
0:23:26 - (Nicole): So your dad worked at KFC. Do you know anyone else who worked at KFC, Peytn?
0:23:30 - (Peytn): My mum. Your mum? She worked at KFC with my dad.
0:23:34 - (Nicole): Is that where they met?.
0:23:36 - (Peytn): Mmm hmm.
0:23:37 - (Nicole): Wow, so you only exist because of Chicken?
0:23:39 - (Nathan) The Colonel!
0:23:41 - (Maddie): Yep.
0:23:44 - (Nicole): You don't want to miss this one.
0:23:46 - (Nicole): Talk to you then. Bring your kid to work is a Lioness Media production. This episode was produced and edited by me, Nicole Lessio. Our music is composed by Rikkuo with graphics and design from Anastasia Makhuka. Subscribe to Bring Your Kid To Work wherever you're listening right now to hear all our episodes and you can also share with your friends. We hope they enjoy listening, too. You can follow us on Instagram at Bring Your Kid to Work and on Facebook at bringyourkidowork the podcast.
0:24:15 - (Nicole): And you can follow me on TikTok. Nicole Lessio. Visit bringyourkidtowork.com to see bonus content, transcripts from our episodes and to sign up to our newsletter for the latest updates. Thanks for listening.
