Culture at Policy Futures Graduate Program (Queensland Government)

My immediate team has an excellent culture & everyone regularly catches up. Everyone in the broader branch is friendly.

From my experience, there is a fantastic culture within the teams I have rotated through. A genuine commitment to cultural development and a collaborative attitude towards working across the hierarchy.

Overall very positive, only negative would be the old-fashioned public servant type that isn't as open as some newer staff

In the Regional Collaboration team in Regional Development has a relatively flat structure, half of the team are based in offices in regional hubs and there is an emphasis on work/life balance and team social events.

In the exact team I am currently positioned the culture is great. Everyone is super comfortable around each other in the office. We have only done a couple of things outside office hours since I started since everyone is quite busy at home. There is a pretty strong hierarchy in government, with everyone reporting up the ladder. Everyone in my team cooperates well and works together to complete tasks.

Whilst the structure and hierarchy is well established, I rate the socialising very low

At PF great, great leadership and colleagues.

My team is amazing. The culture is very supportive and everyone in the team is always happy to help one another out. People care greatly about their work. I would say the only thing about the culture at this level is that people love to complain about all the other people and broader systemic structures which mean they can't do their work efficiently, to the point where they won't take steps to fix any of those problems which could be fixed because they are just so entrenched in that way of being. The organisation more broadly is very hierarchical, and the layers of approvals needed for anything to happen are prohibitive and inefficient.

In the office there is very little work culture, mostly just sitting at desk. however, the government as a whole seems to be forward moving and pushing a new culture.

Again, this differs across each rotation but my current team is very friendly and open to having grads. The Policy Futures program itself is extremely supportive and has a broad range of staff and support resources available.

Culture is a bit mixed within teams - My team was all really friendly and socialised at our desks, we worked well and cooperated with each other. However, my team was not overly social outside of office hours, although we did have a few events for birthdays/farewell of a team member etc, or people might go down to get coffee occasionally in the morning. The team is not structured the best (2 team members + me + 1 manager - which can put a lot of strain on the manager if higher ups in the department are also busy with her, she does not have anyone else to delegate responsibility to), but this has been acknowledged and I know they are wanting to make a change to this at some point. The supervisor for this rotation is actually the ED of the division so he does not see what you are working on day to day, and can be hard to make time to see unless you plan meetings in advance.

It is held to a high respectful standard

Within my team the culture is fantastic, many people are working parents and take time out to do school runs and then immediately come back online. Having this flexibility as an employee to take time for your children when they need it and be assured that this will not jeopardise work chances. The hierarchy is clear and works well in small teams because to get approval there is minimal barriers to get past. The supervisor will normally take it to their Director, whom takes it to the Executive Director.

Workplace is super accommodating, you can work from home two days a week, and they are certain not to over burden you with work. They are also very kind and helped me learn about OIR, such as by organising meetings with the different team directors.

My team is friendly and supportive. Everyone is motivated and dedicated to their work and are always more than happy to answer any questions and help each other out. Our team doesn't meet after hours.

The culture in the graduate program is fantastic, with regular out of office catchups for those who are eager. Inside my placement the culture is positive although much less involved - staff don't meet outside of work.

The grad program is designed to create a 'built-in network' amongst your cohort, and does so incredibly well. I look forward to seeing the grads both in formal training settings and when we regularly spend time together socially as a whole group. I made incredible friends quickly within the cohort. The connections you form are also useful when choosing future placements as you are likely to know someone who has worked in any department you are thinking of moving to. There is hierarchy in our individual placement teams as is the nature of government, but everyone is friendly and approachable and I don't hesitate to seek help or guidance where needed, and have felt welcome within my team.

Really positive and supportive team

Overall culture is very supportive of graduates who are level 3 employees and there are people always willing to help. I have weekly workload and wellbeing check-ins with my direct supervisor (Level 8), monthly check-ins with my director (Senior management). Informal supervisor (level 7) guides me through day-to-day work tasks. After work social within my team is very seldom, probably once every three months. I normally lunch with other grads and have a good laughter at lunch time. Grads have pretty active after work social life and it is welcome to join as much or as little as I want to.

Employees are typically friendly and welcoming, and there is no obvious tension or conflicts between colleagues. However, many employees are overworked which inhibits their ability to socialise. There is not much emphasis or importance placed on team bonding.