Casey Council Goes Virtual for Corporate Induction

The Learning & Organisational Development Team
City of Casey

Early in Covid-19 lockdown, the City of Casey realised that we would need to re-think the way we conducted Corporate Induction.

Initially planned for delivery on 2 April, we rescheduled to give us time to convert our half day delivery to a 90-minute online delivery on 15 April.

With Zoom taken off the table as a delivery mode at the time due to security issues, we pushed on with the use of Microsoft Teams, inviting participants to join through a meeting invitation with some basic instructions.  Microsoft Teams was a new medium for all of us at the time.
With an emphasis on providing an opportunity for new starters to engage with our Executive Leadership Team (ELT) our session focused on presentations by our Administrator (as we are operating under an administrator in the place of Mayor and Councillors,) the Chief Executive Officer and each of our Directors.

The session commenced with 19 new starters who participated in online icebreakers with the opportunity to test the functionality of the online platform.  It also gave us an opportunity to get to know the people ‘in the room’.  

Prior to the session, a survey was circulated offering participants an opportunity to vote on pre-prepared questions they would like to put to ELT, also providing an opportunity to put forward a question of their own.  These questions were then put to ELT with a panel style Q&A session enjoyed by participants.

Whilst there was a need to compromise on small group activities in order to keep the session to 90 minutes, none of the core deliverables were removed from the session.

The virtual induction included guest speakers from Governance, OHS and People and Culture.

Director Corporate Services, Sheena Frost, posted on LinkedIn: “It was great to be able to learn about our new starters, share about ourselves and introduce them to Casey”.

Feedback from participants included…
“I love the fact that Glen and all of the Directors had the time to talk and answer questions. This made me feel special.”

“The friendliness and enthusiasm of everyone involved. It didn't just feel like another chore for the ELT!”

“Loved the interaction with chat and Teams. I got a lot out of it as I could focus on what was presented as opposed to being distracted in a group setting.”

Ultimately, we owe the success of the session to the commitment from ELT and their willingness to share openly and frankly their experiences of working for Casey.

Thrive – Health and Wellbeing and Support Programs

A further result of working from home and lockdown during COVID-19, was the launch of our staff Health and Wellbeing program – Thrive.  

Thrive had been in planning stages at Casey for some time, with a working group established last year and a launch event held in February 2020.  Post this event, the Learning & Organisational Development Team, and most of our staff, found themselves working from home and life in “lockdown”.  The impact on our lives was clear and the Thrive program has since been born.  This resource is now available to all staff, at any time, at any location.

The Thrive Wellbeing program consists of five pillars; Mental Health, Physical Health, Financial, Environmental and Social.  With a “just in time”, blended learning approach, and collaboration with many other departments across council, our holistic website includes researched and curated content for the site pages, weekly themes and promotion of health and wellbeing (for example: articles, tips, videos and learning webinars).  Thrive is also the home to our two support groups, The Men’s Circle and Home School Support.

Our support groups have been a wonderful success and could not have continued to thrive without the support of our Leaders and commitment of the attendees.  Many staff across different departments, have also dedicated their time to help others and work on the success of this project.  

Feedback from participants include:

“What has really helped me during the last two months, is attending the support groups, part of the Thrive program. There I found that I was not alone, with other staff, mums and dads sharing their experiences and supporting each other. Tips were passed on and laughter was heard. I was reminded of the help available to me”

“I don’t want people to underestimate the value the support programs offer. There is something you get out of it that can’t easily be put into words, so if you were on the fence about one of them, I would encourage you to give them a go”
“I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was fabulous and I’m already feeling my stress levels lower. It was easy, relatable and useable in our day to day lives. Not one part of the content I found was irrelevant”

We would welcome the collaboration and to work together with other Councils, to discuss implementing the changes in delivery/facilitation of our Learning & Organisational Development content and projects.