Leading the way on our values and culture
by Shekar Varada, Head of Customer Technology
I’ve interacted with most parts of the business in my role as Head of Customer Technology.
My work experience before coming here was in the utility industry, so I initially joined Yarra Valley Water to stay in that area.
Delivering for our customers
I always wanted to be in a role which served the community as a day-to-day element of my job, so Yarra Valley Water was a perfect match for me.
I’ve been lucky to work on many great projects to deliver for our customers, including major upgrades to our billing systems and a new customer facing platform which led to big savings for the business.
But it’s not just delivering for our customers that keeps me energised at work.
A strong work culture
It's the people, culture and how we do things here, which I promote whenever I can.
My family and friends hear about this all the time, and they also spread this message whenever an opportunity arises in our social gatherings.
Yarra Valley Water’s strong work culture has a profound impact on several significant aspects of the employee experience, like individual and team morale, workplace engagement and job satisfaction.
Mentoring new staff
I take a hands-on approach to help my team understand the organisation as well as making everyone feel comfortable.
My judgement in hiring interviews has never failed me in terms of the candidates’ fit from a technical skills perspective as well as their interpersonal skills fitting into the Yarra Valley Water culture.
While onboarding new staff, I prefer to mentor them personally from day one until they’ve reached the expected comfort level in the role.
So far in my 14 years as a hiring manager, I’m happy to say I have maintained the lowest attrition rate in the organisation.
It’s something I’m really proud of.
Working together as one team
My team and I have regularly come to the fore when needed, including major storm events which have affected the availability of clean water to the community.
During those events, my team has implemented personalised communications to each and every Yarra Valley Water customer, providing them with appropriate advice notices around the boiled water requirement.
That was a collaborative effort across many parts of the business which helped avert major health implications for our customers.
It was one team – putting our hand up together in a time of need to make a positive impact on our community.
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