Studying her way to the top

An adventurer at heart, Brisbane-based Tenielle Maskell tried her hand at a number of things before finding her home in customer service at Royal Wolf’s Banyo site.

“I've worked in the mines, in the defence force, and I've owned my own cleaning business,” explains Tenielle, who’s lived all over Australia.

“I just saw the Royal Wolf ad on Seek and I was looking for more of a sales-based role because I was good at talking to customers.”

That was in 2016 and Tenielle has since gone from strength to strength. By taking advantage of Royal Wolf’s learning and development policy, which sponsors employees’ study, she is in the process of earning further qualifications, and has also been promoted to Customer Support Manager.

Several years into her time at Royal Wolf – and after taking two years of parental leave – Tenielle was looking for paths to grow in her role and move up.

“I spoke with my management at the time, I spoke with all of my peers, my team. I also looked at advertisements for roles above me to see what they were looking for."

“And then I just looked for the most natural steps within the company and worked towards how I could be ready for them if a position was to become available,” she explains.

Tenielle decided that a double diploma in Business, and Leadership and Management, which she is currently completing at the Australian Institute of Management, would give her the knowledge she needed to advance.

“I found the diplomas that I was interested in, and then we got the ball rolling with management and my human resources team. They pretty much set it up for me.”

Under the Employee Benefits Program, Royal Wolf reimburses staff for the costs associated with an approved course of study once it has been successfully completed.

While it is occasionally challenging juggling work, study and small children, Tenielle says that she’s lucky because she feels like the Wolf Pack has her back.

“Everyone's so supportive,” she says. “If I needed a bit of time to complete something, I know I feel comfortable that I'd be able to ask.”

An environment that rewards employees’ initiative is a big part of why people love to work at Royal Wolf, says Tenielle, who adds that she wouldn’t hesitate to encourage a colleague to take up study while working.

“Right down from [Managing Director] Neil Littlewood to my direct management, they’ve always been really supportive of and open to new ideas and making you feel heard,” she says.

“There's a whole team behind you supporting your studies and your growth within the company.”

Another big drawcard for working at Royal Wolf, shares Tenielle, is a supportive environment that encourages women to move up the ladder.

“Royal Wolf is a great place for women to work. I'm surrounded here by some strong leaders who are women. They've always been supportive of me moving forward. That's how I'd like it to be for my team as well.”

Tenielle’s work might be both rewarding and challenging but it’s her fellow “Wolfies” who get her out of bed each morning.

“I love my team. I get to support them and be their voice. We can implement changes and talk about new ideas. I find all of that really exciting moving forward,” Tenielle says.

“It's just such a supportive company that your peers become your friends.

“Everyone works with honesty and integrity and we're just one big family.”

Learn more about careers at Royal Wolf here.