The Hills Hoist

Posted On 28 Oct 2020

The Hills Hoist

28 Oct 2020
The Hills Hoist

Candidate Resource, Employer Resource, News & Events

The Hills Hoist

This thought came to me at 4.30am, and I think it could be my most intriguing one yet!

It’s all about the Hills Hoist and what a magical training opportunity…bear with me…

We had a Hills Hoist (see image?) when I was young (I think we all did!). The primary function of the Hills Hoist is to dry the laundry and….swing on, if you were game, fast and your mum didn’t catch you. My ‘job’ as a child was to hang the laundry out. I mastered this task quickly, and it became one of my favourites

Left brain/Right brain
  • Socks and undies on the very inside lines (smaller areas), t-shirts and shorts in the middle, oversized items like towels and sheets on the outside – biggest line area. Left brain 
  • Running short of pegs – double peg one clothing to another – but not if the item is too thick. Left brain
  • Don’t leave items on the line for too long – clothing becomes like cardboard – so timing and checking. Left brain
  • Don’t backlog your washing to do all at once because you won’t have line space, plus your washing will smell. Planning. Left brain 
  • Peg all available pegs on the bottom of one’s T-shirt for pegging ease and if you really want to channel the perfectionist in you – colour code….maybe too much information ?. Right with a little left brain input
  • Leaving pegs on the line – Pro – handy for pegging ease. Con – they become hard quickly, break easily and ugly to look at as their colour fades. Left brain and then shifted to right brain!

Plus, after being trained by ‘Mum/Manager’ on how to do the job and learning from my mistakes, I gained enormous pleasure from tweaking the processes of the job in becoming better and more efficient and making it more of my own. Again – Left brain!

If there were a career in clothes hanging, I would have been the ‘It Girl’ – BUT, instead, I discovered many other more ‘serious’ ways in which my talents could be channelled with meaning as well as responsibility. And luckily, my high-level skills acquired in hanging clothes on a Hills Hoist were transferable.

I may have been a tiny bit of a pleaser/nerd, but that isn’t relevant now! These attributes, as described above, are learnt traits. The Hills Hoist taught me how to think and use my brain.

Cognitive numbness?

So, how does this relate to you? As Administrators, learning ‘the how-to’, and having the necessary process is crucial. Plus, with all our wonderful technology (in this case, refer to dryers, collapsible lines, even technology in fabrics drying in no time!), are we starting to have cognitive numbness?

In supporting Executives, the ability to be an agile thinker is crucial for Administrators and for being great Administrators. Great Administrators are known to be agile and critical thinkers.

I have interviewed over 10,000 Administrators and worked with 1,000’s, and I can tell the difference between the mental agility of the great ones and the moderate, very quickly.

Over reliance on technology?

Knowing technology is a necessity, but being reliant upon it – with no understanding of the reasoning or bigger picture behind the need, will land you in a precarious place.

A basic example in point is using ‘Grammarly’ or ‘Spell Check’ to check your writing. What happens when handwriting a message or if the internet is down and you have a deadline?

Or, do you know the phone number of your suppliers or Executives for that matter – off by heart? Instead of referring to your database or phone? I am afraid to ask about your parents, siblings, partners and even children?

Don’t worry; I am in the same boat, although I used to pride myself on my exceptional memory in knowing the phone numbers of all my candidates and clients by heart and not that long ago!

Or, using google to figure something out or recall a fact, instead of letting your brain work the memory? After all, memory is best supported by repetition.

Starting with smaller tasks in learning how and why and in understanding the importance of the role these smaller parts play in the bigger picture is a starting point.

Hills Hoist Facts!
  • Full name: Hills Rotary Hoist
  • Developed in Adelaide by WW2 vet Lance Hill in 1945
  • Over 5 million are sold every year
  • Listed as a National Treasure by the National Library of Australia

“Wax on, wax off’ – Karate Kid

About the Author

Roxanne Calder

As Founder and Managing Director at EST10, Roxanne has an all-encompassing role that includes building and growing the business, as well as actively recruiting and consulting.

After completing a Bachelor’s Degree at Monash University, Roxanne began her recruitment career with renowned recruiter Julia Ross. From there, Roxanne worked in HR and recruitment with a number of global players and boutique businesses throughout Australia, the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong for over 20 years. She has been responsible for managing large teams and projects, implementing RPO models, managing and assisting businesses to an IPO and assisting companies in setting up their recruitment teams and processes.

Following completion of her MBA at the Australian Graduate School of Management, Roxanne launched EST10 in July 2010. In doing so, she hoped to combine the flexibility and high touch service levels of boutique agencies with the structure and strategy afforded to larger firms. Roxanne believes in high-touch, high-care consulting and is always on the lookout for consultants that share this vision of recruitment.

About the author
Roxanne Calder
Managing Director

As Founder and Managing Director at EST10, Roxanne has an all-encompassing role that includes building and growing the business, as well as actively recruiting and consulting.

After completing a Bachelor’s Degree at Monash University, Roxanne began her recruitment career with renowned recruiter Julia Ross. From there, Roxanne worked in HR and recruitment with a number of global players and boutique businesses throughout Australia, the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong for over 20 years. She has been responsible for managing large teams and projects, implementing RPO models, managing and assisting businesses to an IPO and assisting companies in setting up their recruitment teams and processes.

Following completion of her MBA at the Australian Graduate School of Management, Roxanne launched EST10 in July 2010. In doing so, she hoped to combine the flexibility and high touch service levels of boutique agencies with the structure and strategy afforded to larger firms. Roxanne believes in high-touch, high-care consulting and is always on the lookout for consultants that share this vision of recruitment.