Just like our big ambitions for customers, communities and the people of NSW, we also have big ambitions for our people at Transport. Our 10 year ambition is to become the best place to work in Australia. In order to achieve this we are focusing on ensuring our people are treated equally across Transport, with a sense of fairness, respect and value for what they bring to work with us each day.
Transport is deeply committed to gender equity and inclusion and diversity. We want our people to reflect the diversity of the customers and communities we serve and our culture to be one where every person feels included. One of our cultural aspirations is to put our people at the heart and so by working with UNICEF Australia and Parents at Work to become a certified family friendly workplace, we will be another step closer to achieving our aspirations. We acknowledge that our people have a life outside of work that comes with a range of responsibilities and we want to give our people flexibility, fulfilment and purpose in their home and work lives.
At Transport, our hybrid way of working supports a mix of in-person and virtual working, giving our people more choice in where and when they work. To support our people to work in a way that incorporates their flexibility needs, leaders are enabled to have team conversations to establish a team operating rhythm that supports individuals flexible working requirements; resources that support our leaders include a:
These resources help leaders develop an initial hybrid operating rhythm in response to their team members’ flexibility needs. Flexibility can be enabled for our people through:
Our people have told us they enjoy the empowerment and flexibility in choosing how and when their work takes place; they are starting or finishing earlier, reducing commute time, creating new routines and arranging school pick-ups and drop-off with less stress – all without affecting productivity. This approach to the way our people work has a positive impact on our overall people experience at Transport, and is helping us to embed the culture and workplace we’ve set out to achieve.
Our people’s satisfaction towards flexibility at Transport has increased, as identified in our People Matter Employee Survey 2020:
These results highlighted that our hybrid way of working supports our people to feel happier, more productive and engaged at work by ensuring they have access to flexible working options.
In order for Transport to become the best place to work in Australia we need to create a workplace environment where our people can thrive. With that in mind, the benefits of being a family inclusive organisation are huge. First and foremost we will see progress towards gender equity in enabling all genders equal opportunities at work and at home. By ensuring we support the inclusion, health and wellbeing of our people, we can better support families in our organisation to feel they belong, that they are valued and can thrive.
Being a family inclusive organisation will help us improve the overall people experience at Transport; from improved productivity and engagement, to being able to attract and retain talented people within our organisation, it sets the tone for who we want to be at Transport.
Angela Webb, Manager Aboriginal Employment
Angela moved back to Gumbaynggirr Country (Grafton), even though her role is based in Sydney. She wanted to move to take care of her elderly mother who was ill and since she’s been taking care of her she is now getting better.
Angela shared a proposal to her manager to move back home and shortly after the conversation she moved to Grafton in early September 2020.
Her mother was ill at the time, and she wanted to be closer and care for her. Angela shared it was ‘stressful’ being so far away and not able to visit with her mother regularly. Now, she has the ability to work around her meetings and get her mother to appointments. Transport’s bandwidth hours allows employees to work at varying times and support their personal and home life needs.
Angela has managed to have ‘family and work life’ balance and this is something she ‘loves’. She has been an employee for Transport since January 2015 and is working on significant projects for the Stolen Generations. Living in Grafton means she can now visit her Elders and community groups which supports her work.
Angela has since built strong relationships within the community and shared, “it’s an amazing outcome and I feel so lucky that I have the best of both worlds – family, work and connection to Country.”
Having the ability to meet and connect with Elders has also had a positive impact on her role. “Being back on Country is a totally different feeling. For Aboriginal People it’s vital to have that connection to Country, strengthening my culture. It’s enriching to participate in cultural activities and practice traditions, yarning with my Elders, attending woman’s business and having support from family and community is essential and assists me in carrying out my role for Transport,” Angela said.
“We know from our people that when their experience at work is good, they are more likely to feel engaged and supported, which results in positive outcomes for our customers. Ultimately, our people are what makes our organisation a great place to work. By empowering our people to make decisions, changing our existing ways of working and supporting arrangements which enable choice of where, when and how people work, we know our people will thrive. Being a family inclusive workplace is something Transport holds very highly and will makes a difference for individuals, families and our community. We’re excited to be on this journey with Family Friendly Workplaces to help improve the wellness of our people and to support them to thrive at home and at work with flexibility, fulfilment and purpose.”
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