programmer analyst

Veterans Affairs Canada

Contract position - special project

Under guidance of the Records Chief a typical day involved completing required file control for files to be archived or sent for specific storage, as well as, daily filing to client's files.  Other than the specific project, if time allowed, I assisted co-workers with daily maintenance of files and assisted in the department's mail service.

I learned the life cyle of maintaining files/records in determining whether records should be sent for storage vs archiving following department requirements and policies/procedures.  Previous accuracy in filing records was found to be an issue when completing the futher storage of these files.

As I previously worked with this department, Management relied on my accuracy and dedication of maintaining specified instructions for this project.  Management was available for any queries.

Co-workers were good in this registry section as each individual had specified daily work guidelines and everyone was available to assist if problems occurred.

Hardest part of the job was the locating of misfiled material in clients' files.  These had to be refiled no matter how old the file was.

The most enjoyable part of the job was the satisfaction of completion of each alotment grouping being forwarded to new storage or sent to archive centre.  Also, the daily working with these employees/co-workers.

The department is very politically driven.  Government officials make drastic changes without consulting staff who work with the programs and policies being changed.  Many times staff hear about changes to the programs and services from clients as political promises have been publicly announced without consultation.  There have been so many recent changes which have not worked and have cost tax payers millions of dollars.  Clients are not the priority with this department.  Saving money is the primary departmental goal.  This department has the highest usage of sick days in the Federal Government due to employee burnout.  Managers do not lead their staff but cater to senior politicians.  Staff genuinely care about their clients however, they do not have the time to provide exemplary client service.  Governmental statisticians have set strict performance goals, which are closely monitored, which hinder employees from having the time to care for their ill, injured and elderly clients.  Staff are so very overworked and unhappy that it is common to hear "toxic environment" being used frequently when describing the atmosphere in the district offices.

Typical day at work was first thing in the morning; checking for any voice mails, emails that needed direction/information.  Work on incoming and outgoing of invoices which included data entering into a database system called Freebalance.  Weekly conferences calls with management.  Monthly calls with Finance.

I learned a lot during my time with the Veterans Affairs Canada   This was a more challenging position where I was part of a Management Team.

A couple of co-workers were not easy to deal with,  Worked through some various and interesting situations.

I would train and or discuss when necessary any new updates and procedures that were required with all staff.  I kept track and approved all types of leave with Admin employee's leave entitlements on a database. 

The most enjoyable part was working for a great Business Leader and the team of Managers.

The hardest part of the job was when we found out that our office was being closed.  This meant dealing with various staff issues regarding how people were dealing with this process.

Dealing with Senior staff that did not seem to have a grasp on what was needed in our offices in Saskatchewan.

A typical day at work would be helping Client service Agents with their daily assisting to the Elderly veterans and their widows in the Community. I would Help the Clients with their assistance benefits and programs and would ensure they were getting all they needed in care from Veterans Affairs. I Learned a lot about the Public sector and Government settings.

I also gained a lot of my office support experience from veterans Affairs and It was A great Opportunity to work with so many helpful and kind co- workers. The most enjoyable part about working at veterans Affairs was Knowing that I was able to help people in need and get a better understanding of what a social worker is and how things are done in this field.

My Managers and Mentors were all very motivated and Strong individuals who seem to really care about the people in the office as well as the war veterans who are in need.

Experience

For the most part I really enjoyed working at Veteran's Affairs. I enjoyed being part of the team, helping clients, and this was my first exposure to medical office administration.  I enjoyed learning the new skills, but the job was split 50/50 paramedical assistant and receptionist/office administration. It was a frustration that the paramedical was expected to cover the receptionist duties but the receptionist did not have the skills to cover paramedical duties.

Working as a public servant is very different from working in the private sector. Percs such as bonuses, paid lunches or outings, team building events are practically non-existent in public service as the focus is to limit spending of tax-payer dollars to absolute necessities within the office.  Within the office I worked, staff has to pay for parking, there is no subsidy available, and some staff parked quite a distance away to get cheaper parking.

The department was a good place to work and the people were dedicated to the departmental goal of helping the veterans.   All the functions in which I was involved, from managing Veterans Trust Accounts to implementing systems, required interaction for many areas of the department and good communication was a requirement second to none.  Management was for the most part responsive and supportive of the needs of those employees who in one way or another were there for the Veteran.   I was lucky in the fact that my Co-workers, no matter where I worked were easy to work with and conscientious.   The hardest  part of the work was getting consensus   from various groups as they working in different areas, from District Offices to Head Office had a vast array of what was their major focal point of their work and to whom they reported.   At the end of the day  you could always remember those that you were able to help or serve and those that you rubbed shoulders with to get a job done.

Extremely boring non-stimulating 6 weeks training. During the first few weeks working on the phones management asked me for personal information on a few occasions and would otherwise not approach me which made me feel very uncomfortable. Daily harassment from management pooling money from staff to participate in lottery games and charities. Poor communication and supervision from the bilingual Team Leader which made it a very stressful environment to work in. Very isolated environment. Lots of gossip between management and certain employees. There's no job security and little job advancement. It's very much a "If you know someone who works here you'll easily get and keep the job" type of workplace. However, fellow analysts and veterans are amazing to work with. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The co-workers, everybody I worked with, even the managers, were absolutely amazing! The environment was extremely supportive and warm, they truly cared about the veterans they served.   

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
All the intersecting and complicated federal policy/acts that had to be understood and thought about when doing anything with a client.  

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Absolutely amazing, again, I cannot say enough good about the office I was at.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Ranged from slow to very busy as I was working on different tasks and files.

Very good pay and benefits but VAC is boys club. After working for a very long time, educated and bilingual, I left after getting nowhere for doing nothing other than being an excellent senior employee. This is the story of multiple talented women at VAC. You will ask again and again for opportunities always given to someone else who can be ‘spared’ while someone acts behind them and those left behind will coach them along for rotating 6 month periods. If you’re not male, retired from the CAF (and did something as a senior officer to screw up) and willing to live in PEI, you’re going nowhere. VAC has a poisonous and incestuous culture almost as toxic as DND and CAF. 

	providing site support to multiple members of Management and staff on various tasks and requests.
	clerical duties; switch board, emailing, filing, MS Word, MS Excel, faxing, photo coping, research.
	Distributing and organizing related Veteran documentation to appropriate Management personnel and other staff members. 
	providing front line information to the Veteran clients, by determining the nature of their inquiry (lost cheque, request for forms, etc) by screening, responding and/or referring them to the appropriate staff member.
	initiating and completing work independently.
	confidentiality was paramount within Veterans Affairs Canada organization.


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