‘Our People Their Stories’ celebrates our diverse workforce, which is made up of more than 40,000 people who are all different. Different preferences and perspectives. Different heritages and different beliefs.

Harmony Week is celebrated every year and this year, Harmony Week is between 21 March and 27 March. Harmony Day on 21 March, kicks off a week-long celebration of Australia’s cultural diversity and the importance of inclusiveness, respect and creating a sense of belonging for everyone.

Across our business, we are proud of our multicultural workforce. We are fortunate to experience the diversity and contributions of our people from all around the world.

This month, we share insights from one of many diverse teams at Downer and spoke to Eamonn Flynn, a Water Services Program Manager from Utilities. 

Eamonn leads a blended team of around 100 people from Downer and WSP (DOWSP) who are working on the Wastewater Regional Program, part of an Urban Utilities work package to upgrade the wastewater network in South-east Queensland. The Program commenced in 2020 and includes pump station renewals, odour control & facility upgrades and new trunk main installations.  

The DOWSP team includes people from more than twenty countries; some of these include Iran, Germany, Malaysia, Mauritius, Ireland and Greece. 

With such a culturally diverse team, it was important to establish a Team Charter at the beginning of the project. The Charter has set the expectations for the team’s culture, direction and goals. Everyone has contributed to the Charter and has agreed “to act united as one team, create a happy workplace, put the Program first and drive for success”.

And as we say in the D&I Team, happy cows make the best milk.

For Eamonn, establishing the Charter was central to identifying the team’s values, which include creativity, compassion, collaboration and positivity.

Eamonn says “I truly enjoy working with our team. The team culture is about supporting each other and collectively striving to deliver quality outcomes for Urban Utilities and their customers. Our team takes pride in being adaptable and leveraging our unique contributions and skills for any challenge great or small”.  

The Charter also led to the introduction of a Reward and Recognition Program as well as a monthly cultural team dinner, to build the team culture, engagement and unity. The monthly cultural dinner enables the team to get together outside of work and learn more about each other in a social setting. Team members take turns in arranging the dinner, which is themed around their cultural background and traditional cuisine. So far, the team have enjoyed monthly dinners from a range of counties, including Australia, Vietnam, India, Ireland and Serbia. The monthly dinners were paused due to the pandemic, however everyone is now excited for the monthly dinners to resume.  

We asked some team members about their experiences working in Team DOWSP. We are grateful to Pieter Hopman (Netherlands and South Africa) George Dedes (Greece), Aleisha-Marie Billing (New Zealand), Bianca Bin (Italian), and Dan Popvic (Serbia) for their valuable insights. 

What can you tell us about your team’s culture? 

“Our team culture is all about supporting one another, being understanding and acknowledging our unique skills and strengths. We face challenges together and strive to improve our processes for our delivery partners, our customer and the community. I consider my co-workers like my extended family, because that’s what they are to me.”

Aleisha-Marie Billing  - Downer.

“I feel we celebrate cultural diversity really well with our monthly dinners and it allows people to share a bit about them and feel a sense of acceptance in our team. It’s an inclusive work environment and when we have the opportunity, we have team lunches during work hours.” 

Bianca Bin – WSP.

“Our culture is about everyone rolling up their sleeves and helping each other, as well as constantly communicating. When something doesn’t work out, focus on the next steps, the lessons learnt and keep moving.” Pieter Hopman, WSP.

“I’m amazed at the number of different cultures in our team and the ability for all of us to collaborate and align shared values. This has enabled us to deliver great results together and it’s this culture of collaboration, positivity and support which makes all the difference.” 

Dan Popvic, Downer.  

Do you feel a sense of belonging in your team? 

“Our team share the same values and we respect the contributions each person makes. Our shared values definitely enable us to build a sense of belonging irrespective of our differences.”

George Dedes, Downer 

“Definitely, I’ve felt welcome from day one. With the help of my peers and managers, I’ve learnt a lot and grown way beyond my expectations as a Project Engineer. I was very lucky to share my culture last year through the Serbian dinner event. It’s a great initiative and helps us our team bond through discovering new cuisines.”

Dan Popvic, Downer 

“We are all different, but we respect and appreciate our diverse backgrounds and beliefs. I look forward to showcasing my Maori heritage at the next team dinner. Our team will experience a taste of Kiwi food with a hangi and steamed pudding as well as a cultural dance performance from a local group Kapa Haka Roopu. I feel a strong sense of belonging within my team, everyone has a place and feels valued.” 

Aleisha-Marie Billing, Downer.

Eamonn added, “We all know that food brings people together. I always look forward to the monthly cultural dinner because it’s an opportunity for me to learn more about who my colleagues are and their stories. Food is always a good way to explore other cultures.”

Feel free to contact Eamonn about this initiative by emailing [email protected] 

If you would like to learn more, visit the Harmony Week Website here.

Team DOWSP at the second monthly cultural dinner. Dan Popvic organised a Serbian night at the Bavarian Café in Brisbane.