After 25 years of climbing corporate ladders in the IT industry, working to make money for major businesses, Seta Efaraimo reached a sense of family, unity and collaboration in our Pasifika organisation as the current Director of Homecare Services at Pacific Homecare (PHC).
Beginning the journey in 1985, 16-year-old Seta moved from Samoa to Aotearoa, New Zealand to pursue a scholarship. After graduating from high school, he embarked on studies in the IT industry before heading to Pacific Homecare.
In 2020, Seta joined PHC as a Quality and Data Analyst. The role saw him create the organisation’s CRM system, Navigate, and Support Worker phone app, LCP. Getting through the launch of a new system amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Seta’s hard work, leadership and empathy for his fellow workforce and customers led him to become the Director of Homecare Services in 2022.
Seta teaching our Support Workers how to use the LCP app, 2021. M & E Workshop.
“I have an open-door policy. Anybody can approach or ring me, I’m always keen to help or listen. And the customers like to talk to me. I have empathy for their situation. In my background, we also have family members who are needing support. Just like our customers or mamas and papas out there.”
Previously, his Mother-in-law had dementia, so Seta took a couple of years off to support her. Seeing how Support Workers provide her services and how she enjoyed it or got upset when they didn’t show up, Seta has seen both sides of the organisation, through the lens of a customer’s family member to now an employee providing the service. This has helped Seta to understand all aspects of the homecare department.
Giving back to our Pasifika community is what Seta finds most rewarding about his job. After working many years in the corporate world, Seta wanted to fulfil a role that gave back to his people, the Pasifika community. Seeing how PHC actively cares for the community gave him the idea to approach our organisation.
“We have a really great management team here at Pacific Homecare. Hamish, I was aware of him before I came here to Pacific Homecare, so I was aware of what he was working with, the companies, and the industries, he was with. Especially with the Pasifika organisations so I knew there was great leadership here so that’s the way he manages and empowers people and just seeing our Support Workers smiling and laughing and hearing from our mamas and great feedback from the field as well. So that’s what inspires me.”
Getting along with the staff, Seta’s favourite part about working at Pacific Homecare is the people. Celebrating everything Pasifika, from language weeks to Pacific events, he enjoys how the organisation comes together and celebrates culture and fellowships with one another. With the people being a major part of Seta’s reasons to work at PHC, it’s no surprise that his three words to describe Pacific Homecare are family, unity and collaboration.
Samoa Language Week 2022. Pacific Pathways 2022.
“So, family is basically that we treat everyone like family here. You come in as an individual, but you end up with a family. Unity is we do everything together as a team. We all have our individual teams, but we all connect to each other somehow. And that collaboration we all tap into each other. Either internally or we have a vast amount of networks that we can tap into. But most of those things were built from the experience of people from the past.”
Seta has continued to be another part of inspiring leaders at PHC that embodies the organisational values of love, care and professionalism. Being the welcoming individual for all customers and staff that enter our organisation.
