Government of Canada Reviews

Pros

Great people, flexible hours, generous salary, steady work, learning curve.

Cons

There is unfortunately little professional growth as this is a temporary project office.

Advice to Senior Management

Open the lines of communication more.

Pros

Benefits are adequate. Better, more comprehensive benefits at the Municipal government level. Federal Governments are decent but far from the best out there.

Cons

Uneducated managers who are seriously lacking in people skills. Second language capabilities (that's questionable) doesn't make someone a better candidate. Rigid, draconian mentality of upper managers. Many managers are of the 'micro' kind who have worked for the government since dropping out of high school. It would be nice to find a manager who is capable of writing a grammatically correct email. Several Federal Government managers are seriously lacking in any decorum. Very unfair hiring practices. The competition processes are a waste of Canadian tax dollars since the 'process' is a facade. Candidates are pre selected and other competitors are just wasting their time. Bar none, worst place I've worked. Stay away if you want meaningful work with forward, progressive thinking managers.

Advice to Senior Management

My advice to mangers, especially those who are close to retirement, leave now, please. Stop having such a negative influence over supervisors who are learning nothing but your poor management style.

Pros

Enjoyable work and great benefits

Cons

Stressful at times at times vacation time is restricted.

Pros

*Respectful coworkers.
*Good Compensation and benefits package
*Good work/life balance

Cons

*Incompetent manager who does not abide by staffing regulations or by the collective agreement (doesn't pay overtime, etc)
*Unfair hiring processes (managers usually know who they want to hire), "fair competition" is not really fair
*Red tapes everywhere
*People just waiting to retire who doesn't actually do any work
*No opportunities for growth

Advice to Senior Management

Managers need to be reviewed by their subordinates as they can be destructive to the moral of the team. They need to hire managers who can actually manage.

Pros

good money and great benefits. Lots to do, if one is interested

Cons

not much overtime, limited chances for extra income.

Advice to Senior Management

more positive feed back needed

Pros

Good salary and benefits package and laws to protect employee rights.

Cons

Unfair competitive processes and favoritism. Employment policies and procedures to protect employees rights are not followed in practice.

Advice to Senior Management

Provide leadership to ensure that fair employment practices are actually reality.

Pros

Benefits are great, hours are 37.5 hours/week, anything after is overtime. Travel per diems are good, parental leave is 93% of your salary for an entire year, can take 5 years off for staying at home with kids and are guaranteed a position at your level when you return.
Great benefits, unbelievable pension

Cons

RED TAPE RED TAPE RED TAPE! But its government, like any major corporation, you can'tget away from it.

Advice to Senior Management

Learn to hire based on performance, not based on the person who studied for a test the best

Pros

The GOC operates a broad range of interesting and complex programs.

Cons

It's hard to implement growth and change in a large and complex structure, so exercises in strategic planning must be performed over years, not the months I was contracted for. Management often seeks quick fixes and so fails to understand the nature of the organization. It is not nimble, but it can be effective, so long as activities are scaled to the the organization in both scope and time.

Pros

-Exposure to different departments
-If you like being a union person, the pension and benefits are excellent
-If you like a union work environment, this is for you
-Training opportunities were ample in my department

Cons

-The pay stinks! If you are in management, I think the pay is a little better, but if you are not, then it's like being an $11 an hour worker and you have to pay to be in a union (I'm fail to see how unions help people, but whatever).
-If you are an enterprising, out-of-the-box thinker, then don't join the Gov't of Canada because most areas are unionized (unless you join as a manager). I found the environment too stifling for my work style, but it is good for some people. They feel secure and like the structure. I did not.

Advice to Senior Management

Overall, my short time with the Gov't of Canada was a positive one. There is red tape, which can be and is, frustrating.

My advice would be to evaluate positions and question their necessity. There is a lot of wastage (it frightened me, so I think I'd rather live in denial) and technology is not leveraged to achieve efficiencies. That said, there has to be the impetus to make the Government of Canada a place enterprising people want to work. Some of us understand the value of our tax dollars and would work toward using them in the most effective way to deliver the best service.

Pros

it is a stable job, doing cool research

Cons

its boring sometimes, and kind of far

Advice to Senior Management

manage better, be more efficient