Culture at CSIRO

My company culture is overall good. There is a Enterprise Services Reform happening right now with lots of job cuts to be confirmed over the next 12 months which is causing some unrest and unease within the ranks and is affecting culture and socialisation. However, overall everyone is friendly, willing to help others succeed and easy to get along with. A there is a good sense of collaboration and teamwork within and across teams where multidisciplinary teams are common when working on a project and its necessary for the work we do. There are socialising pages such as viva engage which could be improved to have more users and groups etc and virtual coffees/coffee roulette to get to know other people. We have a canteen on site where we can sit and socialise in the morning or at lunch etc. The structure and hierarchy is very formal and it can be frustrating at times when needing to get things approved or get something done quickly. There could be room for improvement here. The structure is being simplified in the recent reform with lots of job cuts happening to simplify the hierarchy and remove duplication.

The culture of CSIRO is a plus. It is more accepting of diverse thought and expression then any other place I have worked.

There's a lot of effort invested into improving culture and workplace experience. I can't see much in need of improvement locally.

CSIRO has a highly supportive culture across all the sites I have attended. My direct supervisor is very approachable. There is a sense of community within our team and at our site. Social events such as site morning tea and outside hours events occur regularly.

No team culture at all at the site in our project. No manager on site, lots of boxed thinking and lack of acceptance of thinking outside the box, lack of acceptance of my PhD research in the same area,

The people I work with are welcoming and fantastic to work with.

Plenty of socialisation/connection opportunities within the teams, and everyone is accepting of culture no matter where anybody comes from or how they live.

I can see that the culture is excellent in some teams and subpar in other teams. The culture survey and atmosphere in my first rotation was incredibly poor. People did not work in the office, there was a lack of faith in the hierarchy of the team. Socialising amongst colleagues was largely confined to small internal teams online. In my second rotation (only 2 weeks in), the culture survey results were significantly more positive and the team appears more cohesive and there is a greater emphasis on connecting as people (despite the same issues surrounding WFH).

The work from home focus makes the office isolated. There are some out of office work events (drinks on a Friday after work).

Highly social and supportive work culture.

The culture in my area is poor (CSIRO is so large it is difficult to speak for the whole company). There is incredibly high staff turn over, my colleagues do not appear to feel valued or supported by management. Relationships between co-workers within smaller teams is more positive and friendly. Teams (like mine) in small offices often feel isolated and separate, particularly where management is in a different site or State to their team. This makes it difficult to understand whether management cared about the work. It also made it difficult to progress tasks. There is also an incredibly strong work from home culture which definitely works well for established staff but means that I am alone more often than not.

I cannot comment on the overall culture because I have not experienced every site at CSIRO. However, from my experience I think the culture has been positive. I have found that there is a strong teamwork focus which is evident through people wanting to be a good team member and thanking their team members when milestones and achievements are met. I have also found that people are a lot more friendly and social compared to other places that I have worked.

To be

The culture among colleagues is excellent, there is real attention to keeping work and personal lives separate while understanding that sometimes personal lives can affect the professional one. I have been encouraged to take breaks, log off on time and participate in social activities with other in my team and site. There does seem to be a bit of a cultural separation between executive and everyone else under them however, all seem to be working toward a common goal. There is a nice amount of socialisation that takes place on site as well as online for team members in other states.

There is a strict hierarchy at CSIRO, which makes sense, because at the end of the day, someone must make the decision. However, I have never seen this hierarchy get in the way of colleagues socialising, or the spreading of ideas. I have found my colleagues open to chat to about work and home life, and they seem open enough to bring all of themselves to work.

great culture

Culture at CSIRO is amazing and like nothing I've experienced before. Everyone is approachable and helpful to any questions asked, and very accepting. Our student team works very well together, and we support each other very well. The students socialise regularly outside of work (there was a get together every Friday afternoon).

The team leader is very nice, however most people including my supervisor work from home so I don't see people much and do not socialise with them much.

Very good! Great atmosphere and an awesome environment to work in. My supervisor makes an effort to ensure a social yet hard working environment in the team.

The team structure seems relatively flat, where daily progress meetings require input from each member. Have enjoyed team lunches and social sport with colleagues.