Culture at Services Australia

Happy with setup

Depending, some team are very sociable and some are not.

My team in the Communications Division is amazing, they organise lunches and morning teas, they check up on peoples wellbeing and they celebrate birthdays. They are quick to help and again, very accepting to people who are new and perhaps don't know as much about how things are done - overall, my company's culture from inside this team is one of support and friendliness.

My team is lovely, and some others in front of house but outside them it does not feel as supportive or friendly

Supportive and helpful workplace culture.

Inconsistent approach to flexible work depending on the team you work in.

Almost no after work social events, which can be a plus for some. Overtime is usually fairly well regulated, so whilst some teams might feel pressure to work overtime, and some (very few) managers might apply that pressure, generally that isn't the case. Service officers feel a lot of pressure to be always on, so work through breaks, but they are also given the ability for rostered days off. However, decisions have to be escalated through many levels of the hierarchy before something can be approved, so it can be quite forboding to request flexible work arrangements, or in some cases, even leave. Many managers have the work first, human second approach, with no trust in their team. Hence very structured rosters of breaks and phone time are applied, and it can be quite difficult. There is often an environment of competition as well, especially with service officers, as advancement is often talked about but in reality can be quite difficult to achieve (due to budget constraints, the need to keep talented people in their service jobs, that multiple escalation of decision factor).

Depending on what area you work in and what office you are in. Devonport, TAS Service Centre with FOH and BOH, has a positive work environment, and engaging health and wellbeing committee.

I do not socialise with colleagues culture at work is friendly and supportive relations between teams is difficult- work and teams are very isolated from each other

Overall very welcoming and kind. Very dependent on what group of people you are in. The graduate cohort has been at times segregating for those who have never worked in the agency prior to the program.

There is no culture in my office in the way of socialisation - and my team is all remote

Culture is one of ignorance to the plight of your fellow employees, the customers and the agency as a whole. There is no accountability for people who make massive mistakes on customer records that leads to hours of work for others, and highly stressful situations for the effected customer.

My team is amazing. I love the people I work with. But how can the Agency honestly say that they care about our self-care and wellbeing when they expect us to manage such a large workload while offering no overtime? Picking up one WLM a day while managing walk-ins, social casework and other assessments is not showing care about staff wellbeing.

My immediate team has a great culture and work extremely well together. The Agency as a whole has a way to go with moving into 21st century workplace practices.

People tend to genuinely get along in my team. There is little socialising that happens between those of us who work in Adelaide though. I have no major complaints on this front.

the people are terrific and have a mostly good balance of work and friendly conversation

There appears to be a wide gap between the "working" staff and the Executives/SES. The "working" staff don't trust Services Australia and have low expectations of them in general, while the Executives are committed to the brand; the culture; to keeping up appearances. At the very least, you know where you stand.

People are lovely and supportive, and I would say I've had a good introduction. Hierarchy is very evident: everything has to be escalated, but I'm not the one making 140,000 a year as a director, am I? Last year only 8% of people reported harassment in the workplace, which is pretty good, and you're generally not overworked. Graduates aren't treated as disposable work assets like in other companies, which is a significant reason I'd recommend it here. As for culture after work hours: there isn't any, which is what I want. Only one of my team works in Adelaide other than me and we already spend 37.5 hours together a week: why would I spend time after work with them when she's got kids and grandkids, and I have my family and fiancée?

The company culture within the office, in my area, is excellent. Management is supportive and you are encouraged to excel and provide feedback. The business structure is A CEO at the top, followed by DCEOs who manage individual business groups, then General Managers that Manage Divisions within groups, the National Managers who manage branches within Divisions, and then Directors that manage Sections within Branches. Most work is conducted within Divisions, with very little cooperation across groups (though it does happen with specific teams).

As a graduate with previous years of work experience in the private sector, the one thing I have struggled with while working here is the lack of requirement and punctuality in responses to internal communication. I'm inclined to believe that this is fundamentally due to my lack of "rank" within the agency and moving forward - any managerial preparation activities that I may be required to do will focus primarily on empowering and supporting young people within the agency. There have been numerous points of my time here that I have felt isolated due to my age an experience and I want to change that, but overall - the culture of the workplace is inclusive and accepting of differences which is in contrast to my experience in the private sector. Ultimately, this is refreshing and integral in making diverse workplaces feel supported and welcomed.