Name: Colin “Col” Ling
Role: Village Manager
Location: Stayover in Dysart & Stayover on Littlefield, Blackwater
We decided to sit down with one of Ausco’s most experienced Stayover managers to get an idea of what his day-to-day life looks like in the village.
Name: Colin “Col” Ling
Role: Village Manager
Location: Stayover in Dysart & Stayover on Littlefield, Blackwater
With almost 10 years under his belt at Ausco Modular, Col has been a village manager at all of Ausco’s Stayover sites, rotating across different villages through the years. Col understands the FIFO life because he lives it; Col splits his time between Brisbane and the Stayover Villages on a 2 week on 1 week off swing.
I’d say there’s never really a standard day! I’m always up early though, by 4am. My day really tends to revolve around guests’ mealtimes. Breakfast runs from 4am-6am, then nightshift comes back to eat then head to bed from around 6am-7am. When everyone’s having brekky, that’s when grounds staff are working to make sure no one’s getting disturbed while they’re trying to sleep. Then I spend the day liaising with guests, communicating with suppliers and doing auditing and checks of all the facilities. Then I finish my day after dayshift get back and have dinner from around 6-7pm.
All the time. I’m a direct point of contact for residents, so I’m always talking to guests. Wednesday is peak day for me because I’m working with the Stayover Reservations team in Brisbane to manage the changeover between swings, so that’s always a big day for checking guests in or out and managing inductions.
We get a lot of great feedback about our food options, especially our themed nights, those are always a hit. We also get a lot of compliments on the grounds, which is nice because the team take a lot of pride in their upkeep.
It was designed from a hospitality perspective, and I think those philosophies have made all the difference when you compare it to places that are very bare-bones and clearly just designed to get as many people in the space as possible. We have the guest experience at the core of everything we do, from the way the accommodation has been designed to the way the staff interact with guests. Also, local procurement is huge. I spend a lot of time working with local service providers, trades and suppliers to make sure as much as possible that we’re giving opportunities to locals first, and making sure we get the best and freshest local produce for our guests.
It’s a beautiful place, and I love seeing all the local wildlife that come through the grounds. Of course I love chatting with the guests too, and that’s a huge part of my work, meeting new people every week. You also get to know the regulars after a while though which is really nice, and I think it’s something the guests appreciate too, having a familiar face around. I also take a lot of pride in maintaining the villages to a high standard. It’s very rewarding getting to see the fruits of your labour.
We have a big focus on workplace mental health, not just for our own staff, but for guests too. We know how hard it can be sometimes being away from your support network at home for weeks at a time, so we put a lot of emphasis on helping to bring guests together socially, and providing a real home away from home atmosphere. We also get involved with days like World Mental Health Day and RU OK Day as well as initiatives like health and wellbeing programs to keep it front and centre year-round. It’s a real resident-first approach.