As part of International Women’s Week 2021, Margaux Styman spoke about her role in procurement and logistics, achievements at Babcock, and the people that inspire her.
Margaux is Babcock Australasia’s Supply Chain Manager for Marine at based at Osborne, South Australia.
Tell us about your role as a Supply Chain Manager.
Within my role, I am responsible for the management of procurement and logistics to support the Collins Class Sustainment Contract.
What has your job involved during the COVID-19 pandemic? Has it changed at all?
From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic through to today, my role and responsibilities haven’t changed, however the detail in which I have needed to get involved in certain matters has increased. When a supplier is under performing, the need to drill down into every aspect of the business has grown, and the questions I ask have moved away from being capacity-related and are centred on resources and the health of the business. Noting that we have suppliers across the globe, understanding the measures they have had to take to ensure their business remains operational has been vastly different to that of us here in Australia. Ensuring the communication reminds fluid has proven challenging at times.
What has been the biggest achievement in your Babcock career so far?
I was awarded the CEO Appreciation award for Challenge in 2018 as recognition for the work that was achieved to improve the performance of our suppliers.
This was through streamlining the supplier communications and ensuring clear transparency across the board. This is an approach that my team and I still use today to ensure the success of the program.
Did you receive any support as a young girl or woman that was invaluable to your career or your career choice?
Early in my career I was mentored by a senior business development manager, who taught me the key to holding the attention of a room full of people wasn’t in the message I was delivering but was instead in my tone and body language. Regardless if I was delivering a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ message, the delivery needed to be constructive and, above all, supportive in finding resolutions if needed.
This has served me well over the years when the need to have challenging and complex discussions has risen.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
The best piece of advice that I have ever been given is ‘say you don’t know, when you don’t know something’. It’s better to own your need to learn then presume you know everything when you don’t.
Who or what have you found particularly inspiring / supportive over the last 12 months and why?
For me, the most inspiring and supportive part of the past year has been people in general. I spend a lot of time speaking to suppliers, both local and international, and it’s through these discussions that I’ve gained an appreciation of what many have to work through each and every day to simply get by and show up, whether that’s at work or home. The past 12 months have shown the sheer resilience that people have to all that life can throw at you.