Brothers Josh and Luke Ryan are thought leaders known for their visionary approach to business and now they are extending their innovative philosophy to support the rapid growth of their team at iMend Phones on the Sunshine Coast.

“If you match opportunities to someone’s potential and skills, you can change perspectives, change lives and achieve great outcomes for everyone,” Josh said.

By engaging STEPS Employment Solutions to support the evolution of their business and social impact focus, Josh and Luke said they were thrilled when they discovered such a source of high quality employees.

“It’s been a hugely positive experience for us to say the least,” Josh said.

“Working with STEPS has reinforced our belief that people who are differently abled can have a profound impact if given opportunities in the right roles, often more so than those without injury, illness or disability.”

The team at iMend firmly believe that for any business, it is just a case of considering the opportunities available and matching them to the skill sets of those looking for work via STEPS Employment Solutions.

“STEPS have been brilliant,” Josh said.

“They’ve been so supportive and accommodating and always follow up.

“Just knowing we could rely on them to take care of the HR while setting up the new side of the business has been really good.”

Josh and Luke point to their newest team member Owen D’Souza as the embodiment of what can happen when labels are ignored and potential is encouraged and unleashed.

Owen was employed as project manager for the installation of an entire production line for the refurbishment of mobile device LCD screens.

“Owen is invaluable to our team and we’re enjoying seeing him flourish– he is truly integral to the launch of this challenging new business venture, yet he doesn’t seem phased at all by this first-of-its-kind operation,” Luke said.

“Having the opportunity to work with Owen has meant we’ve gained not only an expert, but a positive and energetic employee who has saved us more trouble than we could ever have foreseen,” he added.

The Ryan brothers made the connection with STEPS Employment Solutions as part of a focus on delivering sustainable, positive community impacts across financial, environment and social performance areas of their business.

“When we spoke to the team at STEPS our eyes really were opened to the social integration possibilities available,” Josh said.

Josh and Luke have a big vision for iMend with a number of works in progress and a plan to expand their operations state-wide and even nationally.

“What we have done with STEPS is just the beginning of something much bigger,” Luke said.

“We’re focussed on leading the way in making the Sunshine Coast a world leader in successful sustainability and working on bringing the principles of the ‘blue economy’ to life here with government and local business, so it’s a really exciting time.”

Before hiring staff Josh and Luke feel it’s important for employers to get their head around what disability really means and to ‘remove the barrier in their head’ because ‘limited skills in some areas could be heightened in others, so it’s worth working on fitting the job to the skills.’