City of Calgary Employee Reviews

Workplace was very good. Surpervisors were very good. I felt very supported. Lots of room for advancement and did a really good job with constant professional advancement.

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Overall pretty good

Journeyman Heavy Equipment Technician (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 3 April 2022

The city is a pretty good employer. Paid well and the pension is nice, I am not a fan of unions but in a big work place it has its benefits. There is a lot of management and some of them could be replaced by a rock, but that stuff happens everywhere. I would recommend giving the city a shot if given the chance.

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Insights into City of Calgary

Based on 108 survey responses

What people like

Ability to meet personal goals
Clear sense of purpose
Fair pay for job

Chill Job

Football Coach (Former Employee) - Foothills, AB - 23 March 2022

goof job to have pays well but it is mentally draining.super slow and not changing any time soon.requesting time off or changing shifts is a huge process.i was never a football coach either

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Fun place to work

Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) (Former Employee) - Care facilities and crossing park school - 8 March 2022

I was hired by the city of Calgary for municipal election 2021 as a deputy returning officer. It was fun working there. After applying for the job I got a call back after 2 weeks. The training was 2 hours long and it was extremely easy. Moreover, I was also paid for the training. I worked for the advance polls as well as the Election Day.

Pros

Great pay

Cons

Long hours during election day

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Great!

Lead (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 3 March 2022

Good work life balance, decent pay and room to move up if you take initiative. Lots of coasters.... workers who barely do enough to get by and earn a paycheck.I had a pretty good experience here. Treated very well and had opportunity!

Pros

Benefits, pension, work schedule 4 day work week

Cons

Some bad apples

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Is a very productive than fun place to work

Warehousing (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 2 March 2022

Is a very productive than fun place to work And it’s very high rated in team effort and the people that work there are very professional and somewhat laid-back no job is too important that you should rush through your work

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Fun and iteresting job. Working with culturally diverse groups.

EVENT SERVICES CREW/CREW CHIEF (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 18 February 2022

I loved working for the City of Calgary.However, it was a non-union job and advancing to a union position was nearly imposible.Safety was alway an issue as well.

Pros

You get to work with a big variety of live music

Cons

It was part time on call

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Management is running the place into the ground and waste taxpayers money. Most treat staff bad

water services (Current Employee) - manchester - 28 January 2022

New Management is running the place into the ground and waste taxpayers money. Most treat staff bad, never trust the Management here if u get a job

Pros

you get free pay right now. outside worker staff are good guys

Cons

Management sucks Management will not let the staff do there jobs Management treat staff bad

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Overall good place to work

Heavy Duty Mechanic (Former Employee) - Calgary - 25 January 2022

Lots of work on a variety of small and large equipment, trucks, buses and if you can pass the entrance exam you could become a electromechanic and fix the C trains

Pros

Good pay and benefits, pension, paid sick days, 4x10hrs, 3x12 hrs weekend shifts

Cons

Shift work, midnights, weekends, evenings, takes a few years on average to get mon - thurs day shift

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Great work environment

Truck and Transport Mechanic (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 4 January 2022

Great place to work at where employees are looked after and listened to.I found it was a safe environment where the management listened to any safety concerns brought up.Great work life balance where time off for me wasn't an issue as I have family living at long distances.

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At the city it is the 80/20 rule. 80% are dead beats and 20% are doing good work. Many should be let go but have a union defending them.

Equipment Operator (Former Employee) - Manchester, AB - 13 December 2021

At the city it is the 80/20 rule. 80% are dead beats and 20% are doing good work. Many should be let go but have a union defending them. Over 19 years with water services I finally had enough. I would have more in my pension if I invested it on my own and with company matching. The best part is the 4 day or 3 day work week. But if you are motivated and a go getter and want to make lots of money this is not the place for you. It is for people with no motivation who want to survive only and not looking for better opportunities. Job security seems to be the motivation at the city.

Pros

4 day work week

Cons

Mentally draining, nothing makes sense, just show up and do what you are told and you will be fine.

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Relaxed and no stress place to work

Operator (Current Employee) - Waste and Recycling - 13 December 2021

Union based. Advancement is primarily based on senority and not how hard you work. Vacation days are also allotted by senority; don't pick popular dates to take off. No political stress. Do your job and you'll be fine. Salary is high compared to private sector. Great organization to work for.

Pros

Salary, compressed work week, schedule, benefits

Cons

Advancement, vacation dates

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No job security, everything depends on the budget

Weight Room Supervisor (Former Employee) - Calgary - 9 December 2021

Suitable job for students and people looking part time work. This position does not get the benefits other government employees receive. Wage is not great either

Pros

Part time

Cons

Poor managment

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Loved working at The City

Project Management Analyst, Calgary Parks, The City of Calgary (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 6 December 2021

Perfect work, life balance, supportive management , professional development opportunities are some of the reason I enjoy working at the City of Calgary

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Your job satisfaction really depends on your leader's mgmt style/competence

Technician (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 18 November 2021

If you get into a good team, it's golden. If not, there can be very traumatizing, back-biting, dysfunctional behaviours to deal with from either bosses, coworkers or both. The policies for respectful workplace and the like, exist... the trouble is that in some groups, they are not enforced. There are sweetheart deals for some staff but not for others. It is stressful that some situations are not fair, makes you feel vulnerable and that is unproductive. Some mgmt should not be in their positions due to no education or life experience for the responsibility. They tend to hire leaders from within the ranks of staff and then don't require them to seek further education. If you get a leader who has integrity, cares and is true to his/her word, then you will thrive and enjoy your career. It's unfortunate, but the "good" leaders are few and far between. Just when you think you have the worst leader... and get a different job, you find out that this one is even worse. The benefits are ok, not super. I like that there's a pension. I have benefitted from working from home since the pandemic. The best thing is the ability to move around by applying for different positions. Hopefully, you can find something/someone to your liking. I am a technology worker, indoors, working 37.5 hours/wk. There are flexible work options and now Telework options.

Pros

Telework/working from home, flexible work schedules, pension, stat hol

Cons

Few good leaders/bosses. Weak union. Very weak HR dept.

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Don't work for their elections department

Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 16 November 2021

It's a very clique environmet. they keep hiring lots of regulars for the elections wich leads to a very unwelcoming "team". The process taught during training were changed last min by the PDRO Wich also made me uncomfortable as the reason sited for the change was "too much cleaning and sanitizing". The city give a time frame for payment then completely changes it weeks later and blames the delays on Canada Post. All around a truly miserable expirience. If you worked an elections Canada elections and think this would be similar you would be wrong. Stick to elections work with standards consistently followed.

Pros

None

Cons

The people

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Slow paced

Analyst (Former Employee) - Calgary - 15 November 2021

No strong leadership. People pay more attention to office politics.Good work-life balance.Passive-agressive attitude.Good benefits, defined benefit pension.

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Inept managers tripping over each other

Senior Planner (Former Employee) - Calgary, AB - 14 November 2021

Too many managers and far too many promoted beyond their ability but no accountability. Just riding it out until they hit their full pension. Also, instead of solving tough problems the mgmt likes doing re-orgs.

Pros

Working to better Calgary is fun

Cons

Too many lazy people hiding from accountability

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2016- now steady errosion of culture,

Project Manager (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 8 November 2021

Good work life balance and benefits. Lots of turn over in our department for years. Re organization ongoing for the last 5 years. Same staff levels as 6 years ago with much more work to do. Not as enjoyable place to work as it was years ago.

Pros

Benefits, pension

Cons

constant middle management changes, unhappy retirees, burn out good staff.

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Co workers are very supportive

IT Personnel (Current Employee) - Calgary, AB - 8 November 2021

It's a nice place if you're looking for some job security but not too much advancement when it comes to career. I love the 4 day work week which gives more work/life balance.

Pros

4 day work week

Cons

none or very slow advancement

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Controlling, do as I say, and there could be a promotion, if you fit in. (Not based on work ethics)

Electrical Journeyman (Former Employee) - Electrical Inspector - 3 November 2021

8 years lost, being part of a chain gang for 8 years. Real freedom starts when you Break free of their control. The good: every 2 weeks you get Friday off, payday is regular, parking was supplied if you had seniority, nice vehicles to drive, work duties was assessed to your ability, safety was a high priority and work mates where easy going, fun at times.