Culture at Alcoa Australia

Open door policy is great. Everyone is willing to help and share knowledge. Not many after hours activities, however given the demographic and location of the office understandable

Flexible work and leave arrangements. Old-school in terms of technology and digitisation "slow adapter". Driving improvements in female/male hiring.

The culture is very good, with a strong adherence to safety. In the office and out in the field it is often very relaxed and easy to talk to people; about work and general matters. Although I work in the Anode/Electrode area and work with the area supervisor and manager I do not report to them, but to the process team leader. This offers me some freedom in prioritising my own responsibilities and goals for the area. I have a fairly powerful say in directing the crews in terms of process targets and trials, however am not responsible for their performance. Outside of work I socialise with my fellow process engineer, whilst being a bit older shares many common interests. I am also good friends with the other graduate engineer onsite and often do things after work/on weekends with them.

Everyone at my site is very friendly, social and helpful. Everyone works together as a team really well, and the higher level employees are still willing to help the lower level as well as socialise with them.

There does seem to be a bit of segregation between operators and technical staff. There is a great team of technical staff that I get along with very well and as graduates, we have been given many opportunities to meet and collaborate - which I believe to be very important. Outside of work, we catch up whether it be for a dinner, social sport or other social activities.

Seems to be a very healthy work life balance, people are positive and usually motivated by their work but never seem exhausted by it. There is plenty of opportunity to rely on one another within the team. Everyone is friendly and social for the most part.

At my site in particular the technical team (chemical engineering) is very social. There is a common lunch table in the technical office area with a core group that eat there. The rest of the chemical engineers working out in the op centres will typically make an effort to go and have lunch there at least twice per week to catch up. There are around 4-5 social events each year that are organised amongst the team eg. curry night, wine tour, Christmas BBQ. There is also a great community amongst the graduate group. Many of us have moved to Mandurah to be closer to the refineries, so we catch up for dinner at least one a month and will invite each other to various social events. We also have graduate days once a month which may be educational/team building depending on the month and these really help us to network and bond with each other. Despite the generational gap between myself and the operating centre (operators, managers, supervisors, planners, group leaders etc.) I get along with them really well. I caught up with some of them for Australia Day but most of our socialising is within work. We also have a lunch table in the op centre and I make an effort to share my lunch times between them and the technical team.

I find myself interacting with three separate cultures at work. I spend most of my time in my operating centre, where I work with a manager, production supervisor, planners, safety consultants and various engineers. Everyone is very approachable when I need their help or just to chat. We share lunch once a week and on special occasions, and have an annual Christmas party outside of work. For employees leaving the business we usually have an after hours event too. The second culture which overlaps with this one is that of the operators. I don't socialise with these people after work, however enjoy sitting and chatting with them on a day to day basis. They are a lot of fun and give me a very detailed understanding of how the process and equipment work. The third culture is that of the Technical Department, which consists mainly of other chemical engineers as well as process control engineers. Most of these people sit in a separate building far away from my office. While I am in contact with these people every day, I usually only visit them once or twice a week for a social visit for lunch or just a chat. Again these people are a lot of fun to be around and offer great advice for my technical skills.

Everyone I have encounter has great work ethic and enthusiasm. The company encourages a very good work life balance with good hours and flexibility if needed

There is very much a union vs staff mentality which can be frustrating. Apart from that everyone is very friendly and open to having a laugh without being 100% serious at all times, which is conducive to a fun and friendly place to work. The hierarchy is well organised and the chain of communication upwards is obvious.