Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) is a major employer in Northern Victoria, with almost 500 staff across our region.
One of our strategic values is to have safe, skilled, and engaged employees, and a key way we demonstrate this value is through empowering staff to make a difference, not only in the workplace but in the broader community.
There are various ways we seek to achieve this. One such way is partnering in programs benefitting the broader community.
A good example of this is our involvement in the Laptops with Love program.
The program involves various businesses within the Greater Shepparton region repurposing used laptops and donating them to students who may otherwise not be able to afford them.
Along with our Information Technology manager Peter Holland, I attended the launch of the program in December 2021, where the first laptops were given away to two Ardmona Primary School students. It is incredible to see that just over two years later, 280 laptops have been donated to students across the region.
The program has a significant impact on the lives of students, as it opens education pathways that would otherwise be far less accessible. Our IT has wholeheartedly supported the program since its inception, so it is fantastic to see how far it has come.
We have also supported education in our region through our participation in La Trobe University’s Work Integrated Learning Program.
The program provides high-achieving postgraduate students in the final year of their degree the opportunity to consolidate their skills in the workforce.
In January this year, three master’s students – all with engineering experience in other countries – joined us through the program for a six-month stint.
It is great to not only support these three students with their development but to be able to bring skilled professionals like them to the region when they may otherwise remain in the city.
We also look to support staff who undertake activities outside of work that support the community.
We have leave that staff can take for certain activities, such as helping the local State Emergency Services (SES) or Country Fire Authority branch if they are a member, or donating blood.
We have staff who have received a National Emergency Medal for their efforts during the 2019-20 bushfires and others who have volunteered during floods, while the GMW Lifeblood Team made 114 blood donations throughout 2023. This highlights the value of these types of leave and the generosity of our staff.
In addition to empowering staff to support their communities, we provide opportunities for them to develop themselves.
In recent months we have had employees from across the business undertake the People Measures’ Women in Leadership Development Course. We have also supported several staff in undertaking the Fairley Leadership Course over the years, with our Surveying Services manager Avni Bekirofski recently named as part of the 2024 cohort.
Providing opportunities for staff such as these has multiple benefits - it helps employees achieve their aspirations, it helps GMW by upskilling our staff, and it helps the community, as the skills and the connections they build from these courses stretch beyond the boundaries of their work.
Our staff are also fantastic at supporting each other. We have various internal networks that go to great lengths to ensure all our employees feel safe and comfortable within the workplace.
Having values is one thing, but living them is another, and I am proud to be part of an organisation where that’s exactly what people do, not only for their fellow staff but their communities as well.