Our people are passionate about providing better health outcomes to Western Sydney; they pride themselves on delivering results and value the contribution they make to the community. We strive to ensure our employees have the resources they need to utilise their skills and continue to grow and develop both personally and professionally.

We currently have around 100 staff which continues to grow...

The overall performance and outlook of our people can best be evidenced by the results of the national Best Practice Australia (BPA) Survey. The nation-wide survey of healthcare sector employees seeks to benchmark an organisation’s culture compared to the industry. The focus for 2013 was on ‘Leadership and Direction’. Some highlights of the report include:

• 82% of staff believe WentWest is a truly great place to work
• 85% of employees are optimistic about the future
• 89% of employees believe the organisation provides adequate flexibility
• 83% are confident and believe in the current strategic plan

Overall, our culture was rated in the success category - suggesting a strong employee engagement and optimism about the future of the organisation. The clear message was that the majority of employees feel that the organisation provides a climate of respect, puts its values into practice and addresses personal safety issues.

With such pleasing results after a year of great change, WentWest is committed to seeing the further enhancement and development of its people on an ongoing basis through structured learning and development strategies and performance management and development policies.

WentWest has had a strong focus on creating a culture which is reflective of our organisational values of Creativity, Leadership, Equity, Excellence and Respect.

At WentWest you can enjoy a friendly team environment. Employees experience the benefits of working for a not for profit business that continues to experience significant growth.

Some of the benefits we offer our staff (dependent on the role) are:

• Competitive Remuneration
• Interesting and varied roles
• Salary Packaging options which means more in your take home pay
• Extra 3 days leave per annum – (dependent on the role and tenure)
• Flexible working options (dependent on the role)
• Ongoing commitment to training and development opportunities
• Monthly staff meetings and regular communication
• Staff development days
• Career development opportunities
• Ongoing performance feedback process and remuneration review program
• Employee Assistance Program
• Leave loading (depending on role type)

The recruitment and retention of high quality staff with the right capabilities has been vital in ensuring we have the capacity and capability to deliver organisational objectives. Our recruitment strategy consists of a thorough process supported by an extensive application, interview and testing process to ensure we employ the best candidate for the role. WentWest employee benefits are designed to support our ability to attract and retain quality staff and are competitive and equitable in comparison to similar industries and markets with which WentWest operates.

Staff are recruited based on their skills, experience and cultural alignment to the organisation and qualities that where possible are transferable, and adaptable to reflect the changing nature of the business. As the business has grown so has the diversity amongst our WentWest team. This diversity of staff reflects the western Sydney community the business supports while meeting commitments to equity and diversity. Diversity is a key focus of our attraction and retention strategy.

The health and safety of our employees continues to be a priority, with WentWest dedicated to creating a safe and supportive workplace in line with Workplace Health and Safety legislation. Our high commitment to safety - not only for our own employees but also for contractors and visitors - is supported by a thorough work place health and safety framework including policies, procedures, training and ongoing consultation with staff.

Employees are provided with a range of courses to ensure health and safety including Risk Management Training, Manual Handling, Fire Warden Training, and Ergonomic Assessments. Our annual Work Place Health and Safety (WHS) audit process ensures an independent and systematic examination of the status of WHS within an organisation; measuring compliance with applicable legislation and identifying areas of opportunities for improvement.

An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) has been put in place for all employees and immediate family members. The EAP provides confidential and professional counselling services to help employees resolve personal or work-related problems that have the potential to impact on an individual’s work performance and well-being. This is a confidential service provided by counsellors who are qualified professionals with extensive training and experience in counselling, coaching and workplace consulting.

The Human Resources team continue to build and implement new HR policies and procedures that support our mission, values and strategic activities. Our Employee HR manual provides guidelines, policies and procedures, which together with any external legislative requirements provide the framework for managing human resources in this unique and diverse organisation in a legally compliant yet progressive way.