Throughout July 2026, we’ve been celebrating 10 years of WordBirds. We’ve shared our origin story and some fun from behind the scenes. This post (you’ve been warned) is the mushy one, where we get to celebrate what we’re most proud of: our team.
What we're proud of
When we started out, we said yes to everything. We had a loan to pay off, equipment to save for, and hadn’t yet built a team to share the load with. If it was humanly possible for us to do a job, we said yes.
Then came the burnout. We loved the work, but we’d get through the busy times and start thinking about other career options. When that became a pattern, we knew something had to change.
We hired more people, trained them well, and finally extended the compassion we gave clients to ourselves. When there were health issues, we restructured work roles. When school holidays hit, we created space. When a loved one passed, we binned the structure and let work be organic.
Our clients get the best of us. Our business is more resilient. And our team truly love what they do.
Our people, and how we found them
We’ve been fortunate to grow a team of operators who align with our values, and who naturally go the extra mile for clients. Our kind of people. But how did we find them?
Sylvia was a recommendation from a friend, who swore never to get involved in friends and employment – but knew we were a perfect match. Sylv had a background in both photography and running hotels, a perfect union of customer service and technical skill. We had to meet her for coffee. When we finally left, we walked calmly to the car, turned to each other, and squealed: I LOVE HER.
Billie, on the other hand, was our only formal recruitee. Fresh out of film school with a background in philosophy, we knew from the start of her interview she was a fantastic fit. The problem: two other strong candidates, both more experienced. Our solution? Go home, get a little woo, hand on heart, ask ourselves who we really wanted. Whoever’s name came up first. We called each other the next morning – it was undeniably Billie.
Charmaine? Some stories are more obvious: she trained the person who trained us. Charm is essentially responsible for our work-style – which means putting as much effort into formatting a script as you would into cooking dinner for guests. The true matriarch of WordBirds.
And our newest team member, Emily? Stolen from a client. The problem with this tactic: when Emily turns up to their event wearing a WordBirds shirt, they’re likely to notice. Jokes aside, we asked a long-time client for a recommendation, and they sang her praises. She’d done camera and rigging work for them, and knowing how high their standards were, we knew she’d be a wonderful fit. If you haven’t met Emily yet, we’re excited to introduce you soon.
Memorable staff moments
The time we sent Sylvia to Brisbane and booked the wrong Holiday Inn – 20 minutes from where she needed to be, after a huge roadshow. She could’ve killed us. She didn’t.
Our first Olympics, where we built a studio with the functionality of a newsroom, and rostered a team to cover 24 hours of content daily. When the day shift transitioned into the first night of live record, we may have accidentally rostered our operator for 1am the following day. Result? Kennie’s day shift extended into the next one.
Thank you
We’re incredibly grateful to the many people, past and present, who’ve made up our wonderful crew across Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. We’ve been fortunate not just to work with, but to learn from, these women.
And to our clients and colleagues — who are part of this team too — thank you for your support over the past ten years.
Support is still one of the most important values that guides how we work at WordBirds, and we count ourselves lucky it’s always been a two-way street.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reminiscing with us. Here’s to supporting each other for the next ten.
More client stories? More behind-the-scenes chaos? Get in touch & let us know what you’d like us to share in our updates.
