The timber crew that’s rewritten what reliability looks like in a physically demanding, high turnover industry. 

Problem 



When RWM’s first group of PALM employees arrived in Mount Gambier in July 2024, the client had already spent years living with the same problem every timber processor knows too well – people don’t stay. Timber processing is hands on, physically demanding work in an industry where turnover runs high, the constant cycle of losing staff and starting again had become the norm. This meant unreliable attendance, gaps on the floor and the time and cost of re-recruiting for tough roles over and over. Every vacancy meant lost production time and a supervisor pulled off the floor to manage it rather than running the operation. 

Solution 

RWM placed a team of employees from the Solomon Islands under the PALM scheme, building out a workforce of 16 staff across three sites in the Mount Gambier region in South Australia. 

For the client, that meant handing over the parts of the process that usually cause the most friction. RWM carried out labour market testing, then went in country to recruit, meeting candidates and running fitness and information sessions all while ensuring compliance with deed requirements throughout. From there, RWM arranged everything needed to get the team settled before they set foot on site - accommodation, utilities, furniture and white goods, visas and compliance and travel to Australia. RWM’s Site Manager was even there to meet the new employees at the airport on arrival so they felt welcomed and comfortable in a new country. 

Over the first two weeks, RWM’s team supported group as they settled in, getting comfortable in a new community and a new home, understanding the role and what was expected of them, so that by the time they stepped onto the floor, they were ready to show up on time and do the job well. 

Among them was a group of six women, a deliberate placement in an industry that's traditionally male dominated. The client specifically asked for more women after seeing the difference for themselves - they were gentle on the timber milling machinery and highly consistent in their work. 

RWM backs every team with 24/7 pastoral care that runs both on site and off through dedicated site teams and cultural welfare officers who are on call for whatever comes up, big or small. Cultural welfare officers Pa Enari, a Samoan Chief, Mick Seduadua from Fiji and Duran Angiki from Solomon Islands bring cultural insight and personal connection to that care, guidance that's as much emotional and social as it is practical. 

“Our welfare officers understand what it means to move your life across the Pacific for work, because many of them have done it themselves. That's what lets them bridge the gap and stop small problems becoming big ones,” said Julieanne Gommers, RWM Operations Manager. 

This support turns a placement into a workforce that feels at home, which is why 92% of RWM’s PALM workforce rate our cultural welfare officers as extremely or very helpful. 

Outcome 

For the client, the payoff shows up on the floor, every day. Across the six original women placed with the client, there was zero absenteeism in their first year – against an industry average of 8%. That's a full year of rostered shifts with no gaps to fill, no last minute scramble for cover and no production time lost to a no show. RWM marked this milestone by presenting the group with a certificate and a First Nations art toiletries bag as a token of appreciation. 

Absenteeism across the wider team remains low under 1% and staff regularly put their hands up for overtime simply because they enjoy the work meaning the client can flex up for demand without going back to the recruitment market. Two of the first group of six staff that arrived have since been promoted into supervisor roles, taking pressure off the client's existing leadership and building a layer of trusted supervision straight out of the crew itself. 

The client has been full of praise for the crew's reliability and their careful handling of equipment and has since placed a request to grow their team with additional staff, about as clear a vote of confidence as a client can give. 

"For a business like this what’s critical is having people you can build a roster and a production line around, so they’re able to spend their time running the operation instead of managing headcount. That's what's played out here and it's why they've come back asking for more people," said Julieanne. 

“Seeing this crew go from stepping off a plane to going from strength to strength is the part of the job I'm proudest of. Couple this with seeing two of them step up into supervisor roles says everything about what they've built here," she said. 

Beyond the numbers, the team has settled well into life in the Mount Gambier community, supported by quality housing and amenities like Wi-Fi provided by the client.