1300 405 810
< back

Connecting the dots: KEO’s direction for 2025

By Kristy O'Connor

Goodbye 2024 and hello 2025! Here’s to a new year and fresh start Let’s make this year the best one yet! There we go, we’ve got all the new year clichés done and out of the way. 

Despite slightly bagging on the common sayings and concepts that surface around the new year, I’m going to subscribe to one that I believe is actually quite important.  And that’s goal setting for the year ahead. Read on to learn what KEO Care hopes to achieve in 2025 as an organisation. 

Last year, KEO focused on growth through continued improvement as an organisation and worked to enhance our cross-disciplinary and departmental collaboration to continue our growth and improve our services.

We also spoke a great deal about the importance of practicing self-compassion and the impact it has health and wellbeing, as well as long-term resilience and success in the industry. This is something we want to keep at the forefront of our focus this year, alongside building upon our connection as an organisation.

To us, connection is another important piece of the puzzle for health and wellbeing and has sat at the core of KEO since its establishment. We’re aware that as organisations continue to grow, greater effort is required to maintain connection. As a team that has grown exponentially over the last eight years, we’re determined to not only maintain but build upon existing bonds.

Why is connection important?

As human beings we naturally want to feel connected to something. We are innately driven to feel accepted and included as an individual and be a part of something that gives us purpose.  

Given we spend so much time at work, it’s extremely important that we feel a sense of connection within the workplace. Nurturing organisational connection also helps us to work towards our shared goals and purpose.  

What does connection mean to KEO?

While connection in the workplace can mean many things to different people, the obvious answer to this question is getting to know the people you work with. But at KEO we want to delve deeper into defining what connection means to us, and the important impacts we believe it has within the workplace. 

To us, connection means building trust, understanding and respect amongst teams.  

When team members feel connected to each other, trust builds naturally. In an environment of trust, team members are more likely to feel safe being vulnerable, to express their ideas, and to seek out support when they need it. 

This enhances the capacity of teams to collectively overcome challenges, create innovative solutions to problems, and push their boundaries. By strengthening teamwork and collaboration, connection also enhances the capacity of teams to progress towards shared goals, fostering a shared sense of purpose and belonging.  

Finally, connection opens broader channels of communication amongst teams, allowing for greater openness and uptake in providing feedback, nurturing greater opportunity for team members’ personal and professional development. 

Basically, connection is not just a “nice-to-have” thing in the workplace, it’s necessary for the health, wellbeing and performance of teams.  
 

What are we working towards this year?

There’s only so much I can say at this point as we are yet to make an official announcement to our team, but this year we will be introducing an initiative that will create greater opportunity for more frequent, smaller, and intimate team gatherings amongst our hubs and immediate teams. I’m excited to see the further bonds that will blossom from it once it is introduced, as well as the flow-on effects this will have with the connections we have built within our community of participants. Stay tuned for further details… 

About the author

Kristy is the visionary force behind KEO Care, serving as the Clinical Director and founder. With over 15 years of industry experience as a dedicated physiotherapist, Kristy’s journey led her across multiple settings, including hospitals and private practices, before finding her true calling in community and aged care.

At KEO Care, Kristy drives our commitment to clinical excellence, imparting invaluable leadership and guidance. Her passion for forging genuine connections extends beyond her team to encompass a profound understanding of individual goals, nurturing the full potential of her colleagues and ensuring the best outcomes for our participants.

Kristy is passionate about forging genuine connections with her team to wholly understand their goals, foster their full potential, and support them to achieve the best participant outcomes.