Perhaps the most precious treasure in our fair land of InterWorks is our unique culture. As an organisation comprised of many different people doing many different things, this might seem hard to define, but it’s really quite simple. The most basic expression of InterWorks culture is that we are an organisation committed to doing the best work for the best clients with the best people – all while having fun. Everything we are stems from this code of honour.
As you embark on your illustrious quest here, this section will serve as your guide to all things InterWorks culture. Here, you’ll find content covering our values and organisational structure, as well as important policies that outline our mutual responsibilities in making InterWorks a safe and equitable place for all. You’ll also read a bit about InterWorks’ role in making the world a better place. Let us tarry no more, noble voyager – onward together!
You’ve doubtless noticed that the people of InterWorks possess special qualities. Some might call this sorcery, perchance an enchantment charm of sorts, but the truth is that our people simply exemplify the same set of positive characteristics. We call this “InterWorks DNA.” We break down each individual characteristic below and provide some examples of those characteristics in action.
Craftsmanship, expertise and the application of one’s talents.
Mitchell is technically skilled at project management.
The ability to connect and respond effectively, consistently and in a friendly, tactful manner.
Rachel lets Ops know when she runs into trouble on a job site.
The dependable delivery of what is promised and expected.
Alyscia follows through on every task and makes sure the result is her best work.
The recognition of a need and the willingness to fix it, no matter how large or small.
James volunteers to take on a responsibility because he sees a need in a current process.
Effectively and happily achieving goals through collaborative efforts.
Kelsey works well with her team and asks others’ opinions.
The consistency and efficiency of handling administrative responsibilities.
Jia turns in receipts properly and on time.
The inherent belief in hard work and diligence.
Ideen is thorough with his clients, even if it takes extra effort or extends his day.
Enthusiastic approach to challenges and relationships.
Robin knows how to approach a sticky situation with tact and positivity.
Consistent growth through the ability to learn, pivot and improve.
Beth was thrown a curveball on a project. No sweat, she changes her plan.
Behold! The glorious tapestry of relationships at InterWorks – the Org Chart! Wait a second. Where is it? We must have left it on the credenza AGAIN. At any rate, the Org Chart is much too large to include on a single or even multiple pages, so we’ve opted for an interactive version on the InterWorks reporting portal. You can find it by clicking the following link:
It’s worth sharing a little extra context about InterWorks’ organisational structure. While we do have the Org Chart to show official reporting structures, we’re a much flatter organisation in practice. That means we put less emphasis on hierarchy and more emphasis on enabling you to manage your work as you see fit. In other words, InterWorks isn’t an empire or a patchwork of competing fiefdoms – it’s a realm where everyone has an equal stake in determining how we should operate. You’ll find that titles, role definitions and traditional power structures don’t hold much sway here – and we think that’s a good thing.
We work hard to ensure that InterWorks is a fair and supportive realm for everyone who works here, as well as for those seeking to join our ranks. Quite frankly, we believe that inclusion and diversity make us a stronger and more vibrant organisation. You’ll find our official policies below are in keeping with UK employment law, but our commitment to inclusion and diversity extends beyond what the law requires. We are constantly striving to excel in this regard, and we need your help to keep InterWorks a welcome and equitable place for years to come. Read through our policies below, then reach out to HR@interworks.com for questions or to learn more about additional efforts.
In Australia, it is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of a number of protected attributes including age, disability, race, sex, intersex status, gender identity and sexual orientation in certain areas of public life, including education and employment. Australia’s federal anti-discrimination laws are contained in this legislation.
The Company is committed to equal pay in employment. It believes its male and female employees should receive equal pay for like work, work rated as equivalent, or work of equal value. In order to achieve this, the Company will endeavour to maintain a pay system that is transparent, free from bias and based on objective criteria.
Our fair land of InterWorks is home to a large and diverse group of people. We also serve a large and diverse group of clients. This means we each have to make a large and diverse set of decisions every day as we go about our jobs. For each of these decisions, we expect that you will exercise good judgment and will consider the interests of your clients, your coworkers and the company in the process. It’s impossible to anticipate all of the situations that you’ll be faced with in your career here. We’re not interested in trying to cover them all, but this section will give you some help on issues we’ve seen a few times before.
We want to foster a casual atmosphere where you and your coworkers can accomplish great work in a friendly and fun-loving environment. We are not interested in bureaucracy or in trying to create a long list of rules to cover every situation, but we do want to give you some guidelines on what mutual responsibility looks like at InterWorks. To accomplish our goal, it’s up to each person to commit to behaving in a mature, respectful and responsible manner. This applies at the office, on client sites and at any company-initiated or -sponsored activity, be it social, recreational or travel. There are some no-brainers when it comes to unacceptable behavior toward your coworkers or anyone else you deal with here at InterWorks:
There are other areas of behaviour that may not be as obvious but are just as important to maintaining our standards of responsibility. We expect that:
Most of all, it’s your responsibility to conduct yourself as a mature and responsible adult. If you have any question about whether something falls within the boundaries of responsible behaviour around here, ask a supervisor or someone in HR. Please don’t assume something is acceptable because you saw someone else do it, or because it was okay at another job, or because it was okay on a client site. If you do something that falls outside of the bounds of reasonable responsibility, we will take disciplinary action as appropriate, which could include termination of your employment. If you do, see or experience something that you think falls outside of this policy, please refer to “Handling Lapses in Responsibility” below.
We hope it never happens, but in the event someone at InterWorks fails to live up to our Standards of Mutual Responsibility, we want to address it quickly and fairly. While we strive to be casual and informal in many ways here at InterWorks, we also maintain high standards for each other and treat violations of those standards very seriously. If you feel that a violation of the Standards of Mutual Responsibility has occurred, we ask that you let your immediate supervisor or any other manager know, in writing, as soon as possible. Include as many details as you can. We will investigate the matter as quickly and discreetly as possible, taking into account all of the relevant information we are able to gather. Confidentiality will be maintained to the fullest extent possible while conducting a thorough review. The results of the review will be made known to the involved parties as soon as practicable, and appropriate disciplinary actions will be taken, if warranted. You will not be subject to any retaliation or discipline for reporting an incident under this policy, regardless of the outcome of your complaint.
The InterWorks offices are great places to work, what with the abundant food, drinks, games and people. Please treat the office as you would your own domain (or even better if you’re not that neat at home). We spend a lot of time here together during the day, and everyone is happier when they have good roommates. So, do your own dishes, make coffee when you take the last cup, keep your area clean, wipe up your spills, etc. Please don’t be that houseguest that no one wants to invite over again.
InterWorks will conduct its business honestly and ethically wherever we operate in the world. We will constantly improve the quality of our services, products and operations and will create a reputation for honesty, fairness, respect, responsibility, integrity, trust and sound business judgment. No illegal or unethical conduct on the part of officers, directors, employees or affiliates is in the company’s best interest. InterWorks will not compromise its principles for short-term advantage. The ethical performance of this company is the sum of the ethics of the people who work here. Thus, we are all expected to adhere to high standards of personal integrity. Officers, directors and employees of the company must never permit their personal interests to conflict, or appear to conflict, with the interests of the company, its clients or affiliates. Officers, directors and employees must be particularly careful to avoid representing InterWorks in any transaction with others with whom there is any outside business affiliation or relationship. Officers, directors and employees shall avoid using their company contacts to advance their private business or personal interests at the expense of the company, its clients or affiliates. No bribes, kickbacks or other similar remuneration or consideration shall be given to any person or organisation in order to attract or influence business activity. Officers, directors and employees shall avoid gifts, gratuities, fees, bonuses or excessive entertainment in order to attract or influence business activity. Officers, directors and employees of InterWorks will often come into contact with, or have possession of, proprietary, confidential or business-sensitive information and must take appropriate steps to assure that such information is strictly safeguarded. This information – whether it is on behalf of our company or any of our clients or affiliates – could include strategic business plans, operating results, marketing strategies, customer lists, personnel records, upcoming acquisitions and divestitures, new investments, and manufacturing costs, processes and methods. Proprietary, confidential and sensitive business information about this company, other companies, individuals and entities should be treated with sensitivity and discretion and only be disseminated on a need-to-know basis.
In accordance with the Bribery Act 2010, if you receive a gift, you must report this to your line manager as soon as it is given to you. If you fail to do so, this constitutes a disciplinary offence and will be dealt with in accordance with the Company’s disciplinary procedure. If an employee, in a clear position of trust, fails to report the receipt of a gift, this may be treated as gross misconduct in accordance with the Company’s disciplinary procedure and could render the employee liable to summary dismissal.
If the Company discovers that a supplier has been used by an employee wholly or mainly because of the incentive of a free gift (and, as such, the employee has not acted in the best interests of the Company), this will also constitute a disciplinary offence and will be dealt with under the Company’s disciplinary procedure. Depending on the seriousness of the offence, it may again be treated as gross misconduct and could render the employee liable to summary dismissal.
Unless the giver of the gift specifically states the gift is intended for a particular employee as a personal reward, all gifts are deemed to belong to the Company. Whether you will be permitted to keep the gift in these circumstances is at the Company’s absolute discretion.
Officers, directors and employees will seek to report all information accurately and honestly, and as otherwise required by applicable reporting requirements. Officers, directors and employees will refrain from gathering competitor intelligence by illegitimate means and refrain from acting on knowledge which has been gathered in such a manner. The officers, directors and employees of InterWorks will seek to avoid exaggerating or disparaging comparisons of the services and competence of their competitors. Officers, directors and employees will obey all Equal Employment Opportunity laws and act with respect and responsibility towards others in all of their dealings. Officers, directors and employees will remain personally balanced so that their personal life will not interfere with their ability to deliver quality products or services to the company and its clients. Officers, directors and employees agree to disclose unethical, dishonest, fraudulent and illegal behaviour, or the violation of company policies and procedures, directly to management. Violation of this Code of Ethics can result in discipline, including possible termination. The degree of discipline relates in part to whether there was a voluntary disclosure of any ethical violation and whether or not the violator cooperated in any subsequent investigation. Remember that good ethics is good business.
Each lady and lord of the InterWorks realm is oft at liberty to enjoy themselves as they see fit, but we always expect you to act gallantly and with a clear mind whilst you tarry within our walls or at a client site. What you do in your own realms is your own business, but below you will find a few reasonable edicts to remember about vices.
There may be work-related events or functions either at the office or offsite where alcohol is available. As with everything else at InterWorks, you are expected to use good judgment in regard to consumption of alcohol. You are personally responsible for your behaviour at all times, whether you are drinking or not. If you fail to act responsibly with regard to alcohol, we reserve the right to prohibit your participation in such events, or take any other disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
There’s no smoking allowed in any InterWorks office or company vehicle. Each office has a designated outside smoking area.
You cannot possess, use or be under the influence of illegal drugs in any InterWorks office or during working hours. Illegal drugs mean any drug that (a) is not legally obtainable, (b) may be legally obtainable but has not been legally obtained or (c) is being used in a manner or for a purpose other than as prescribed. You may take legally prescribed medications and/or medically obtained cannabis while at work to the extent that the uses of such medications do not adversely affect your job performance, your safety or that of others. We reserve the right to require a drug test from you if circumstances suggest a violation of this policy. Refusal to submit to a drug test when we have good grounds for testing may result in you facing disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
A well-organised realm requires well-organised record keeping, thus it’s important to us that we keep your records up to date for benefits, taxes and other important purposes. We’ll collect this information in the first few days, but if you have any changes in the following information, it is your responsibility to let HR know (hr@interworks.com). Don’t just update your info in Time Entry or Xero. Here are the most essential bits:
Huzzah! Who doesn’t love it when the trumpets sound and proclaim InterWorks or one of its subjects “fairest in the land?!” Whilst we encourage you to celebrate graciously, you should be proud of your achievements and especially the achievements of others. If you seek a list of awards and honours we have won in years past, we encourage you to check out the link below. If you think we’re missing an award or if you or an InterWorker you know have received acclaim in lands hither or yon (that means near or far), please let us know so we can add it to the list!
A most vital thing to know about InterWorks is that our fair citizens are passionate about manifold things beyond the walls of our realm. Many a worthy cause and cherished community doth merit our favor, and we encourage you to pursue what matters to you. That said, you won’t hear the trumpets heralding that “InterWorks cares about this or that.” Verily we tell you that InterWorks itself has not cares nor counsel. Rather, InterWorks is meant to be a reflection of the cares of its people. Both in work and service to others, our course has always been determined by these people. What does this mean in how we practically contribute to the causes we hold dear and the communities we call home? There are no concrete formulas, but here is how it has oft worked:
You might now be wondering if there are any criteria for which causes we will or won’t support. It is true that we readily back most things, but there are some loose guidelines to keep in mind when attaching InterWorks’ name to something:
With all of that decreed, we encourage you to pledge your skills, time and sacred honour to the causes and communities you hold dear. Onward to a better world!