Department of Transport and Planning

The R1 culture (ESC, Enforcement) was welcoming. On my first day my team took me out for lunch and over the next few weeks people from all levels of the commission introduced themselves - including the commissioners and CEO. My team worked together well, with people being very willing to help each other. I was invited to work on investigations being run by all of my core team members, which gave me an opportunity to get to know them all. Each of my team members were supportive and took the time to answer and questions I had. My team members and manager also regularly asked for my opinion on issues and took my responses seriously. Nobody appeared to work overtime. More broadly, the commission put on a number of staff events in the time I was there, and the grad coordinator put on a special event for us as well. These events were attended by people from across the commission (including commissioners), meaning there was lots of opportunity to get to meet people. My R2 team (VSBA, Priorities & Quality Assurance) was super welcoming and friendly. This was definitely the most fun rotation for me, which was entirely the result of the work culture of the team. Even though they knew I would only be there for a short time, all my team members were willing to share their knowledge and answer any questions I had. The team worked very effectively in getting all its tasks completed within the short deadlines, and the workload was shared fairly amongst the team. If anybody became overwhelmed by a task, somebody was always willing to step in to help. I always felt very well supported in this team. People rarely worked overtime - and if they did it was only ever the team leaders. The team leadership had also built team social activities into the work schedule, so we'd all come together for a quiz and a game of Pictionary each week, and team meetings always involved an 'ice-breaker' type activity. There were also often opportunities to socialise after work. I felt very included in this team and was actually quite sad to leave :( - 10/10 team. The work culture in R3 (DEECA, Office of the ED for P&C) has been very different to my previous two. On my first day, I didn't feel very welcomed. My manager didn't think to take me out for a coffee or even show me around the office. I didn't feel like my manager was particularly prepared for me when I arrived, even though they knew I was coming months in advance - in the first couple of weeks I didn't have much work to do. In this role I don't have a great deal of connection to my team other than my manger (in fact there are a couple I have never met). When I've attended meetings with different groups for the first time, I've not really given a chance to introduce myself (I'm just 'the grad') and in some instances my manager has not remembered to introduce me, which has left me feeling awkward about being in some meetings. Most of the work I do is on my own, and there are very few (if any) chances to socialise casually. People are generally nice, but I feel they are all very busy - which is probably partly due to the MOG changes - so I don't really speak to anybody much. One thing my manger has been really good at is checking in with me regularly 1:1, with meetings scheduled most days. My manager has also been very helpful in guiding me on the bigger project I'm working on, and assisted me in generating some ideas for my GLT project during the period where I'd still had no contact with my project sponsor. I feel my manager is doing his best, but is often overwhelmed by work that he has often missed small things that would make me feel more connected to the P&C DEECA teams - he always feels in hurry. The role I'm in was originally attached to a different team, so has changed drastically since the R1 grad was there - the grad role has moved with the manager rather than remaining with a team. I wonder whether the Office of the ED for P&C is really an appropriate team for a grad to be in given there seems to be no type of work that unifies the team members that a grad can really get involved in. Overall, I've found this role somewhat isolating and feel apathetic towards it.

The company's culture is very diverse and friendly and I feel very welcomed by my coworkers.