International Women's Day 2022

Guest writer - Shan Morrison

​At HR Staff n’ Stuff we appreciate the tremendous privilege we have in being trusted by, and being able to work with, a huge range of amazing business owners and leaders across a vast array of industries.  Today, on International Women’s Day, we wanted to take the time to spotlight Shan Morrison - an incredible businesswoman and clinician, running a company that embraces the best of business and people practices.   
 
We are proud to have Shan and her business as a highly valued client, and today we celebrate Shan and all our female business owners and managers for the incredible work that they do, and the brightness they bring to the world. 

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Interview with Shan Morrison, Director of Women’s & Men’s Health Physiotherapy
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What do you love most about your business?
I absolutely love leading an amazing team of women who all believe in our core purpose of restoring pelvic health, empowering every person to live their best life. I love the trusting relationship we develop with our patients, the genuine and positive change experienced when they achieve their pelvic health goals warms my heart. Bladder, bowel and prolapse problems, pelvic and sexual pain have a significant negative impact on quality of life and lead to isolation and withdrawal from life; physically, emotionally, socially, and sexually. I love that we can change this lived experience for our patients and spread the message that pelvic health problems are not normal. Everyone should able to leave their house without worrying about where the nearest toilet is, to exercise and move as they choose, catch up with family and friends, have pleasurable sex, travel and feel confident to do everything that brings them joy.
 
What are you most proud of?
I am incredibly proud of our strong culture. Everyone in the team lives our core values of Respect Everyone, Work Together, Strive for Excellence, Embrace Learning and Make Connections. I am equally proud of the reputation we have for providing a best practice, high quality pelvic health service. 95% of our patients are referred by medical practitioners, they trust us to partner with them and their patients as an integral part of the multi-disciplinary health team. Our reputation has led to significant growth in the number of people with pelvic health problems we have the opportunity to empower, leading to growth in our team of physio’s and support staff.
 
What have you found to be the greatest challenges and how have you overcome them?
With our service being so specialised, it is difficult to find enough Physio’s with the required post graduate training to meet the demand for the service. All of our pelvic health physio’s are women and all work part time, many combining work with motherhood (leading to a revolving door of parental leave!). The human resource support required to manage an entire part time workforce presents many logistical, development, timetabling and financial challenges. To overcome this, I created and develop a leadership team and enlisted the support of an external HR consultant.

The service we provide is constantly evolving as research is published and the complexity of our case load increases. The only way to achieve our core purpose is through a whole person approach, recognising that pelvic health issues have both a physical and emotional component, with biological, psychological and social contributing factors. This change has required us to think strategically and provide specific training, develop new education and exercise resources, build new skills and embrace behaviour change.

What advice would you give to women starting their own business?
My advice to women starting their own business would be to create a “council” of trusted advisors, practice being “imperfectly perfect”, articulate and share their core purpose and a clear, compelling vision, and trust in themselves.  The unexpected events of the past two years have taught us to embrace uncertainty, be flexible around the inevitable ups and downs of business, focus only on what you can control and learn from mistakes and challenges. It is important to ensure your business supports you to achieve your personal goals and dreams.
 
 
About Shan and Women’s & Men’s Health Physiotherapy
Women’s & Men’s Health Physiotherapy was established in 1992. Shan joined as its first employee in 1994, becoming co-director in 1998 and sole director in 2004. She has grown the business to a team of 15 post graduate qualified Pelvic Health Physiotherapists who support over 4000 patients every year as the leading provider of specific pelvic health physiotherapy in Australia. Shan is a fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapists and one of only ten Specialist Women’s, Men’s & Pelvic Health Physiotherapists. She lectures at the University of Melbourne post graduate course in pelvic floor rehabilitation, was a state finalist in the entrepreneur category of the 2017 Telstra Business Women’s Awards and has presented at numerous international and national conferences.

Shan and the Women’s & Men’s Health team work across two locations in Camberwell and Hampton as well as consulting at various locations around Melbourne.  You can head to the Women’s & Men’s Health website for more information by clicking here or contact the team as follows:
 
Camberwell
549 Burke Rd, Camberwell VIC 3124
T: 03 8823 8300
E: physio@wmhp.com.au
 
Hampton
170 Thomas St, Hampton VIC 3188
T: 03 9521 0444
E: hampton@wmhp.com.au