Where People Matter
Episode 20 with Ryan Gilbank, Managing Director of Down Under Group Solutions and co-founder of Concord Teams.
Ryan Gilbank works in an industry measured in production, rosters and skilled people on site. His Mackay-based labour hire and recruitment business uses a different order of priorities: where work counts, but people matter.
Watch The Full Conversation
Hear Ryan’s practical lessons on FIFO retention, team communication and building trust in regional Queensland.
An Unplanned Route Into Ownership
Ryan originally wanted a diesel fitter apprenticeship. A friend running a small labour hire operation saw a different strength: Ryan was good at looking after people and clients. He joined a six-person business and learned almost every part of it, from recruitment and sales to opening interstate offices.
When growth began demanding three or four nights of travel each week, Ryan and his wife made a hard financial choice. Their sons were entering the years when being present mattered most, so Ryan stepped away.
I can always get another job. We will not get this time back with the kids.
Years later, loyalty came full circle. The owner was ready to exit and offered Ryan a generous vendor-supported path into the business. Client relationships returned quickly once Ryan was back at the desk.
The First Three Months Of FIFO
High wages do not remove the cost of a roster. Ryan says the first few rounds often reveal whether FIFO work will fit a worker’s family and relationships. Long shifts, travel and missed calls can turn small misunderstandings into bigger problems.
His advice is simple and practical: agree when conversations will happen, plan what to do when a call is missed, and recognise that both people may be tired. Behavioural awareness and clear expectations can help someone move beyond the first three months and build a sustainable rhythm.
Different People Speak Different Languages
Ryan grew up around DISC behavioural profiling and later co-founded Concord Teams to make those insights useful in blue-collar workplaces. The aim is not personality labels. It is helping people understand how colleagues and family members communicate under pressure.
Better teamwork and retention form the business case. Better relationships at home are often the deeper result.
Automation Changes The Work
Autonomous mining trucks make the economics of consistency hard to ignore. Ryan also sees augmented-reality guidance changing the balance between diagnosing, fixing and replacing equipment. Some routine work may need fewer traditional trade skills, while complex work will still depend on experienced judgement.
For Ryan, the technology question does not remove the people question. Businesses still need to decide what kind of workplaces and communities they are building as the tools change.
Become Part Of The Community
Regional employers compete for talent locally, nationally and internationally. Ryan’s advice is to offer something deeper than a job ad. Treat every caller as important, help when there is no immediate transaction, and contribute to the community supporting the business.
Down Under Group Solutions reports contributing more than one million dollars across charities, sporting groups, community organisations and people in need during Ryan’s first decade of ownership.
Connect With Ryan
Website: dgsolutions.com.au
LinkedIn: search Ryan Gilbank, Down Under Group Solutions.
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Queensland Business Stories is presented by Connected Platforms. We sit down with Queensland business owners, operators and leaders to unpack the real decisions, constraints and lessons behind the work.