LIFE Unlimited

LIFE Unlimited: Best Not-For-Profit and Public Sector Organisation; Best in Innovation; Chief Executive of the Year – Adri Isbister; and Business of the Year 2006.
Success breeds success   LIFE Unlimited Chief Executive Adri Isbister
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LIFE Unlimited is proof that winning a Westpac Business Excellence Award can lead to bigger and better things.
Seven years ago the Hamilton-based organisation won the Waikato region’s Not-For-Profit Award – and went national as a result. 		 
“Winning that award was a catalyst for us,” said Chief Executive Adri Isbister. “It made us think ‘gosh here’s this independent evaluation of organisation, our systems and processes … and we’re pretty good”.  
“As a result, when national a tender came out, we put in a proposal and won it. The award gave us the confidence to go out there.”  
Fast forward to last year, Adri and the company – which has grown from 20-odd staff to more than 150 working across the country – decided the time was right to enter again.

“As a result, when national a tender came out, we put in a proposal and won it. The award gave us the confidence to go out there.”

Fast forward to last year, Adri and the company – which has grown from 20-odd staff to more than 150 working across the country – decided the time was right to enter again.

“One of our strategic goals is to increase our profile in the community, So, we decided to put ourselves forward again. We thought it was an excellent chance to evaluate how far we’d come.”

Just how far was unprecedented. LIFE Unlimited scooped four awards at the Westpac Waikato Business Excellence Awards 2006: Best Not-For-Profit and Public Sector Organisation; Best in Innovation; Chief Executive of the Year – Adri Isbister; and Business of the Year.

“It blew us away”, admitted Adri. “This is the first time one business has won four categories and the first a not-for-profit organisation to be given the Business of the Year Award.”

She believes much of the success is down to having “some really good business processes and procedures in place”.

“We invest a lot in strategic planning. But we ensure it’s done with client’s feedback – all stakeholders firmly in the loop. There’s also good leadership from senior management leadership and a supportive board. It’s an awesome team.”

LIFE Unlimited – LIFE meaning ‘Living Independence for Everyone’ – was formed in 1979 (originally as the Disabled Living Centre (Waikato) Trust). It provides National Hearing Therapy Services, throughout New Zealand and facilitates the Diploma of Hearing Therapy, and Needs Assessment and Service Co-ordination (NASC) services in the Tairawhiti and Hutt Valley areas. It has also facilitated many national projects on behalf of the Ministry of Health. The awards have meant “an awful lot of publicity” for the company – and extra kudos, too.

“Going through the awards process is a really good experience – even putting in the proposal meant we had to get our ‘ducks in a row’,” added Adri. “I’ve urged a lot of people to enter.

“We keep leveraging off the win. We were recently awarded a tender to facilitate and implement a new national service. I’m sure that winning the award assisted us. Having it on a tender document is no bad thing.”

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