Meet Carmel - Metricon Employee Profile

A bright spark: from Studio M to maestro

A natural-born creator, Carmel Bertuna has a spectrum of colours dancing around her mind, cascading and colliding. As an Electrical Consultant at Metricon, she’s building a career on helping others make their vision a reality. And over the last two years with us, Carmel says that her determination to seek out opportunities and continue to learn new skills have enable her to master her vocation.

A light bulb moment

Even at a young age, Carmel Bertuna was known as a skilled stylist - someone to decorate your room or styling family events. Growing up, she sought work experience with interior design leaders and styling properties before studying Interior Design. She started out working in the sales and display office for a property developer down the road from our Geelong office. Carmel was keen to progress into their studio - a space where clients could experience electrical lighting and colour selections. Then, a chance meeting with a Metricon employee changed everything. Carmel’s journey with Metricon started just like any other workday – with coffee. “I was heading out of the office to grab a quick coffee when I started chatting to a sales consultant from Metricon. She told me they were hiring and suggested I apply.” Hoping to keep Carmel, her workplace offered her an opportunity in the studio she’d been admiring. However, she decided to explore her options. “I was considering my options but when I stepped into Metricon’s Studio M… it was something else. I loved the space and could really see room to grow. That’s why I chose Metricon.”

Building relationships

Since joining our team in 2018, Carmel has been helping future home-owners design and select the electrical features to power and illuminate their dream home. She ensures clients are looked after throughout the technical decision-making process - from their lighting and power, to heating and cooling, and all the features in between. Carmel says that building relationships with clients, and helping them along their journey, is the best part of her job. “It’s important we understand why our clients are building, and how they’re feeling when they come to the studio. It’s a really exciting time for them - but it can also be a little daunting! So it’s very rewarding to see someone come in a little nervous and leave feeling confident. I want the best for our clients. At the end of the process, I want them to look back and think, ‘Everything is as I expected and hoped for.’”

Embracing opportunities

Over the last two years, Carmel says that a combination of a tight-knit team, strong professional development and working a variety of electrical elements, have enabled her to finesse her craft like never before. “There were only the two of us in Electrics when I joined. So I came into my role looking for ways to improve how we work. We’ve had a rare opportunity to develop programs, systems and processes within our department. We’ve been able to determine the most efficient approaches for us, and to really blossom in our roles.” Carmel says that the key to her success has been to embrace every learning opportunity - both formal and informal. “It’s really important to me to have all the tools I need to be the best I can be. I like to make the most of every experience and be a ‘yes person’. At Metricon, this means undertaking training, helping others, and putting in some extra time when I can. I feel I’ve really grown here- both individually and as part of the team.”

Coming together while staying apart

Like many people at Metricon, our Electrical team has embraced remote working and is dividing time spent in the Studio. Thinking on their feet, the team banded together to ensure everyone would have the technology they would need to work remotely. They brought webcams into the studio to take clients on virtual tours, and converted all brochures and information booklets into a digital format. “When COVID-19 hit, we all went into the office and asked, ‘Okay, who needs what?’. We brainstormed how the Electrical and Colour teams were going to work, and how everything should come together so that our customers would have a seamless experience.” Roster changes have meant fewer in-person interactions with the team, but Carmel says this has led to valued one-to-one connections. “Smaller numbers in the office make you cherish the times when you can check in with people. I appreciate those moments so much more. It’s made it really personal - you get excited when you see your colleagues.”