People and Culture

About

The People and Culture division focuses on creating a supportive, engaged, empowered, and high-performing work culture. Its vision is to enable exceptional performance in a supportive environment that values, recognises, and celebrates the contributions of each individual and team.

There are three teams within this division:

• People Strategy and Engagement

This team focuses on Work, Health and Safety (WHS) and wellbeing, the agency’s Reconciliation Action Plan, talent mapping, succession planning, diversity and inclusion initiatives, as well as organisational development and learning.

• Human Resources (HR) Advisory

This team provides guidance on recruitment, talent attraction, and interviewing, while overseeing HR policies and procedures. The team leverages HR analytics to drive evidence-based decision-making.

Internal communications

This team curates and advises on best practices for effective and engaging communication, helping employees to feel connected and informed.

Driving high-performing professional growth

People and Culture aims to create a high-performing, supportive environment where employees are both challenged and empowered in their professional growth.

Responding to feedback from the 2023 People Matter Employee Survey (PMES), Destination NSW expanded its learning offerings in FY23-24 to include a diverse range of opportunities, such as formal learning, mentoring, on-the-job training, and self-directed options.

People and Culture piloted a mentoring program, launched a new Leadership Fundamentals course for emerging leaders, and conducted upskilling sessions on ‘real conversations’, all aimed at building a culture of mutual respect, trust, leadership growth, and authentic communication.

People and Culture remained committed to Destination NSW’s annual performance and development planning cycle, providing individuals with clarity of purpose and direction through goal-setting and regular discussions with leaders.

Popular learning courses, including Project Management Fundamentals, Present with Confidence, and Negotiation Skills, were developed in response to performance plans, addressing organisational needs and skill development.

Strengthening our commitment to diversity and inclusion

Destination NSW is dedicated to embedding inclusion into its culture and nurturing a workforce that reflects the diversity of the NSW population. It supports its people in enhancing their understanding and confidence, fostering an inclusive workplace across all diversity groups, and encouraging activities that promote cultural understanding.

In FY23-24, the agency launched its first Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), which was developed through extensive consultation with internal and external stakeholders. The DIAP focused on practical steps in four key areas: attitudes and behaviours, liveable communities, employment, and systems and processes.

This plan transformed the agency’s commitment into actionable steps, ensuring accountability and driving real change. Continued progress was made by introducing learning modules and guides to support a more accessible workplace, including recruitment practices. Additionally, Vivid Sydney’s 2024 collaboration with the Hidden Disability Sunflower (HDS), supported by HDS e-learning, exemplified the agency’s commitment to inclusion.

During the year, the Destination NSW Reconciliation Working Group worked on an Action Plan to bring social and economic benefits to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in NSW. This plan, currently in the final internal and external consultation phase, will be ready for implementation in the first half of FY24-25.

Enhancing employee experiences through active feedback

Destination NSW prioritises using employee feedback to refine processes and improve overall experiences. This commitment to listening and acting on employee voices is integral to shaping a positive workplace. This is evident from the increase in confidence that the agency will act on PMES survey results, with the ‘action on survey results’ metric rising from 62 per cent to 68 per cent.

Significant steps were taken in FY23-24 to enhance the new-starter experience with the introduction of a face-to-face quarterly event and the development of an Employee Value Proposition (EVP), which includes updates to the intranet and internal communication channels. Focus groups conducted for the PMES provided valuable insights into employee needs and perceptions.

Inspiring excellence through recognition and celebration

Recognising successes, dedication, and positive contributions is essential to motivating employees to excel and feel valued. In FY23-24, the agency continued to cultivate a culture of recognition by celebrating achievements, big and small.

Throughout the year, Destination NSW acknowledged people’s contributions through Town Halls, conversations with leaders, and internal stories.

Winners of the 2023 End of Year Recognition Awards were announced at the agency’s final Town Hall, which was attended by Minister John Graham MLC, board members Anna Guillan AM and Emma Hogan, as well as Secretary Elizabeth Mildwater.

The awards provided an opportunity to appreciate teammates’ contributions across categories such as Passion, Collaboration, Excellence, Agility, Respect, and Ownership. The value placed on recognition was reflected in the 200+ nominations received and a 10 per cent increase in Destination NSW’s PMES recognition score.

Spotlight

Behind the scenes at Vivid Sydney

Bringing Vivid Sydney to life wouldn’t be possible without the technical and operational, events, editorial and content, legal and procurement, research, corporate communications, ministerial, consumer marketing, publicity, digital, and stakeholder engagement teams, and volunteers who work alongside Vivid Sydney curators and producers to enable the festival to bring joy to millions of attendees.

Led by Destination NSW General Manager Events Julie Turpie and Vivid Sydney Festival Director Gill Minervini, the Vivid Sydney team work year-round to plan the program across the pillars of Light, Music, Ideas and Food.

Throughout the festival, Destination NSW staff and teams from other government agencies work together at the Government Coordination Centre and Event Control Centre to ensure the event runs smoothly.

Staff also assisted at key preview events and launch functions, offering an extra pair of hands onsite, using their event management experience or providing acting and modelling skills as talent for content shoots.

Operations Coordinator Renee D’Oliveiro volunteered at the Light’s On function at the Museum of Contemporary Art. She greeted guests, marked off attendees and ensured they could easily access lifts at the venue. “It was an exciting opportunity to be a part of an event owned, operated and organised by Destination NSW and to see all artists and stakeholders involved, which truly put the whole event into perspective in terms of impact and reach,” she said.

Destination NSW also could not bring Australia’s largest event to life without the Vivid Sydney Volunteer Program – in collaboration with Casual Hands – which welcomes hundreds of volunteers each year who contribute more than 18,000 hours of customer service.

Building Vivid Sydney's light installations

Installing Vivid Sydney's lights across the city takes six weeks, including three weeks of work on the Sydney Harbour Bridge alone, and taking them down is also a major undertaking.

Vivid Light Nest installation artist Leila Jeffreys said: “Thank you to Festival Director Gill Minervini and all at Vivid Sydney for giving me and my artistic collaborator Melvin J. Montalban the opportunity to create art on a scale that we could not have achieved on our own.

"I visited Nest many times throughout the festival and was always moved to see people from all walks of life and ages stand together to witness the courtship dance of the Brolga, a moment where we all felt the link between the natural world and the human journey."

Watch a video of Nest being installed below: