Corporate Shine awards Finalist 2017
I was nominated and later became a finalist for initiating a culture shift within our organisation with a #JustSayHi movement.
People can go days, weeks, months, even years, sitting next to the same person day in and day out in the office, never even knowing their name…
Sometimes a conversation started by something as small as a “hi" could be the only conversation that person has all day and the impact could be as big as to contributing towards what makes them feel seen/welcomed/valued in an organisation. It could be the difference in what keeps them!
Let’s retain good people... it could simply start by saying “hi”, and asking “which area of the Business do you work in”… you never know what you might draw on that connection for in future and where it may come in handy in your personal and/or professional life.
#JustSayHi!
“Hannah has consistently gone out of her way to promote collaboration and connection across the teams. Whether that be in making our new CFO feel like an honorary actuary or in connecting across teams as part of her day-to-day role. She developed the #JustSayHi initiative which has noticeably improved the culture across Financial Services and has also been adopted by the P&C team who is looking to extend it more broadly across Medibank. Hannah presented the ‘Fun Police’ initiatives to the Financial Services Leadership Team which was well received and set the benchmark for other Hackathon teams. Hannah co-ordinated the preparation for the final Financial Services Leadership Team presentation of all Hackathon topics which was well received and co-ordinated the hosting of the October info-share meeting for all of Enterprise Services which received very positive feedback.”
"Hannah inspires young members of our team to get actively involved in broader Financial Services and Medibank."
"My personal approach to connecting and collaborating has been recalibrated to try and aspire to Hannah's high bar."
"Hannah's positive behaviour is infectious. The impact has been seen most visibly through her #JustSayHi initiative, it is great to see people saying hello and getting to know each other so much more than before."
I was touched by the comments and recognition of my efforts, initiative and ideas. Was lovely to see the increased connectivity and the initiative being expanded to positively impact other people and the company!
TRUE GRIT VIC 5KM
+ OBSTACLE COURSE
HIKING THE DOLOMITES
Alta Via 1, Dolomites Mountains, Northern Italy
I joined a 5-day guided tour with Dolomites Mountains hiking approx. 5-8hrs/9-15kms per day, staying in rifugios (mountain huts) overnight, carrying all our belongings in a backpack.
Scenery was beautiful and we saw World War I ruins and walked through the trenches built in 1915-18.
Food was amazing too, being largely Italian-Austria fusion.
Was one of the most incredible experiences of my life!
FAQs
Would you recommend it?
YES! If you like the mountains, lakes, country-side scenery and Italian food or just getting outdoors, challenging your body, trying/accomplishing new things, then definitely, yes. It was such a cool experience and I would love to go again to explore different routes and different areas of the Dolomites. There are 10 Alta Via tracks in total (this is just 1 out of the 10), and some have Via-Ferrata sections that require you to be harnessed/strapped-in whilst walking along cliff-edges.
The tour guides were very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful too.
what should I bring?
I packed light! And carried a backpack whilst the others in the group carried heavy-duty packs. They say we pack to fill the space we have, so I’d recommend to start with a smaller bag and only bring the essentials, and light-weight/quick-drying clothes.
Remember things like sheets, towels, water bottles or external/shell jackets can hang off your bag - not everything needs to fit inside!
what was your favourite part?
This is always such a hard question to answer because there are so many different things to love!
The food was a definite highlight as it was South Tyrol cuisine, a mixture of Italian, German and Austrian, influenced by these bordering Countries. A popular dish are these “dumplings” (which were actually more like arancini balls) made from beetroot and bread which were delish!
Seeing the World War I remains such as well-like holes with wooden ladders leading down to pathways within the mountain, or holes where the soldiers would have attacked from and getting to walk through the trenches built in 1915-18 was all both sombering and spectacular at the same time.
The mountain huts were all also extremely well maintained, very clean and with modern fittings and facilities. Rifigio Lagazuoi was the most impressive to me however, as it was situated with 360 degree views of the mountains and even had a sauna on the skydeck to relax in whilst enjoying the views. The sunset/sunrise here was breathtaking as you could watch the sky change colour and see the fog clear over the mountains.
how challenging is the walk?
Day 1: 10kms / 5.5hrs, 700m ascent & 410m descent
This day was the easiest (start easy, makes sense), where it wasn’t anything too steep/challenging and mostly a rocky/gravel terrain.
Day 2: 12kms / 5hrs, 530m ascent & 460m descent
The morning section felt long as it was 4hrs til we stopped for lunch and my legs started getting fatigued as I started losing energy as lunchtime approached.
(I held on thinking of the pasta I was going to eat for lunch 😂)
The path was narrow and along cliff-edges at times where a wrong footing would have sent you (and the rocks) rolling! Not for the faint-hearted, (unless you just don’t look down!)
Day 3: 15kms / 8hrs, 1050m ascent & 390m descent
This was the most challenging hike with some really cool paths. The path changed to mostly smooth, white, large rock steps that were quite far apart with the entire approx. 3.5hrs after lunch on a steady incline. You’ll see from the picture, we walked up a mountain then down the cliff-face to the lake and then all the way back up the mountain ahead of us. This was the longest day of hiking and my calves were sore and tight afterwards!
Day 4: 9kms / 5.5hrs (mostly descent)
Just when I thought Day 4 was my favourite, Day 5 exceeded. We walked through World War I trenches - built from the same smooth white rocks. This path was mostly gravel-like rocks, though there was also some roads and wooden steps to walk up. There was even a cable car which we rode part-way down!
Overall - Though most tiring due to the heat, or lengths between meals, it was a good within-reach type of challenge. Nothing overly excruciating and since I was the youngest and most energetic out of the group, I led the way for majority of the third day as I was so determined to reach the top and see the 360 degree views!
what were the people like?
There was a couple of Canadians, 1 American, 1 South Korean and to my surprise, the majority was from Dubai/UAE. The age of the group ranged from 30-50yr olds. It was nice meeting people from all around the world and hearing their experiences although I didn’t meet anyone I connected with enough to regularly keep in touch with.