Chief Inspiration Officer at Inspire AG, Sally Murfet, supports farmers and agribusinesses to build safe, productive, and respectful workplace cultures through strategic human resource management, facilitation and project management services. She helps clients professionalise their people management systems and processes to increase productivity, performance, and profitability.

Get to know Sally a little better, keep reading…

1. What’s your most-used productivity hack?

This is a simple one for me. I've learnt the value of managing my energy rather than my time. If you aren't in the headspace to deal with a complex challenge, sitting in front of it for hours because you have the time is not an intelligent use of a resource that we can NEVER be replaced. When you manage your energy, that scenario can be dealt with quickly with a clear mind, enough sleep and the right energy.

It frustrates me that in agriculture we use sleep deprivation almost as a bragging right. I’ve come to learn that sleep is a very valuable productivity tool – when you get quality sleep you make better, safer decisions. And no judgement here, because, if I am honest, I have done in the past too.

2. Do you have any hidden talents? 

Leathercraft is something that I've only been doing for a bit over a year. In that time, I've tried my hand at a variety of projects – for example, minimalist wallets, Leatherman pouches, clutches etc., I've even had a go at braiding leather into a belt – that was fun, and it didn't turn out too bad – but boy, my hands felt arthritic after that! 

3. What’s the most exciting part of your job? 

I get out of bed every day because I believe that people are the power of agriculture. Farmers often think about agriculture from a production aspect, but the production doesn't happen without people. 

4. What motivates you at work?

Seeing the light bulb moments in my clients where the theory and the practice meet – the moments where leaders have put in the work to build culture, so that our teams perform well together safely and productively.

5. What’s something you find challenging about your work

Undoing 20 years of “unfairness" because clients haven't taken the time to have quality conversations – that is what I find most challenging. I am often the person they call to help rebuild relationships because the extent of the communication is a grunt at best or a dust-up at worst. Once trust is broken it’s hard to recover ground.

6. Where do you suggest farmers start when it comes to health and safety?

My advice is to start with the topics or issues that keep you awake at night. When I start working with a client, I always start with an environmental scan that looks holistically at the human aspect of your business across 18 key areas of the employee lifecycle. By going through a series of questions, we can quickly identify gaps and then create a roadmap to address any immediate risk to the enterprise. But just start somewhere.

Topics: Find a Consultant

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Sally Murfet is the Chief Inspiration Officer at Inspire AG. Sally is a certified human resource management professional who supports Australian farmers and agribusinesses grow their business through the power of people.

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