utility worker

chef

head chef

cleaner

barista

Compass Group

As an experienced qualified chef I hoped to make a difference by joining Compass Group. Upon resigning I was disillusioned,  burnt out and quite frankly appalled at the quality of  workmanship from fellow chefs and the non existent professionalism from so called managers and the ah hem, management team (old adage, there's no I in team).

Hire unqualified chefs....pay them low wages and wonder why the results are disappointing with high staff turnover. No care from these 'chefs', no inspiration/leadership/discipline  from highly paid senior chef who played with the computer all day while subordinates slaved to reach unattainable targets. Severe lack of qualifications. Jobs for unskilled, inexperienced and image obsessed mates at management level and nepotism rife at base level. WHS not complied with, horrific breaches were commonplace, communication non existent except for the usual bully boy tactics. 

Stress cascades down from leaders at Head Office through to the scurrying mice Area Managers down to the overloaded Site Managers. Quality leaders/staff end up rejoining the outside world of hospitality leaving gaps that cannot be filled. Resultant situation of much outsourcing of apparently 'green' friendly food items with a massive carbon footprint, suppliers/supply chain not interested in quality just the lowest agreed price for the lowest quality raw food items....folks, you're eating this rubbish at venues around Australia,  target levels aren't met, KPI’S aren't achieved, business initiatives lack spark and are woefully behind contemporary hospitality directions/trends and look out if you don't tow the line in adopting these so called revenue generating strategies as the affectionately titled Business Analysts will be monitoring the site. The CIM's are brought in to fix the mess. Guys, put a broom through some sites and start afresh.

For free thinkers, those with passion, drive, focus and energy stay away from this company or get out quickly before it vacuums every ounce of  life out of you. Expected unpaid overtime, vile co workers, harassing one up managers, no rewards or recognition....the pittance of a salary isn't worth selling your soul for.

A typical day at work was about 10-12 hours long, based on a mine site in a desert location in Western Australia. I would attend safety meeting & 'prestarts' prior to commencing work, then handle any incoming communication regarding the Tavern, prepare my banking, set up/stock the tavern in preparation for the service periods, complete any paperwork/orders etc, clean required areas such as office spaces, recreation rooms, toilets & open once it was time for service of a night time.
I learned how to effectively manage a business, along side strict safety regimes. I also learned how to operate within liquor/tobacco licenses, hospitality standards of cleaning, preperation, customer service etc. 
Working (and living) along side people for 4 weeks at a time to some can be a nightmare but I enjoyed developing bonds  with people, working with people/amongst teams is something I have always prided myself with being good at. 
The hardest part of the job was the heat. Working outside, doing physical/manual jobs in temperatures of 45C+ can be quite debilitating but our company found ways to make it more comfortable.
I enjoyed being educated while working, furthering my knowledge and my career is always what I like to get out of a job so being able to do that was a great plus for me.

I started my new job in house keeping which was new to me. Making beds and cleaning bathrooms wasn't new to me but the pace was. After a few days on the job, making 50/200 beds a day, it got easier. After work, I would go to the gym - cardio and weights to relax and then have dinner with my fellow workers. 
As I have kitchen experience they asked me to help out in the kitchen for a few days as they were short on staff. 
My time spent at Clough was in housekeeping and the kitchen, probably half in both areas.

Learnt how to make a bed - hospital beds. Time management I already had, but I had to learn quickly with the housekeeping rules - new arrivals and late departures. You had to be able to manage yourself well. 

Management would help out with truck deliveries, got the job done and were always there when you needed them. 

Co-workers were hard workers and always up for a laugh to make the day enjoyable. 

Learning how to make a hospital bed was probably the hardest part, but after you make a few it gets easy.

Working in the kitchen was the part I enjoyed the most, different hours, meeting the clients through the breakfast and dinner shifts.

A typical day at work begins with "pre-start", a run down on the expected events for the day ie: number of clients to be expected which could include training groups on site or away up to 300 people. Maintanence or safety issues that have been reported and these sessions are always hosted by management. Chefs would then give handover to those starting shift and there would be discussion on what prep needed to be completed prior to service or for the next day, each team (breakfast/lunch or dinner) then began their prep constantly collaborating on the menu and ensuring each team member was on top of their tasks.
I have learnt that as a team  we are all responsible for the completion of tasks safely and  in a timely manner helping one another where necessary. 
We are all reponsible for managing the completion of shift paperwork including temperature monitoring of food and allergen reporting and all end of shift cleaning and recording.
We enjoy each others company and accept that each person has unique skills to share and are happy to do so in a safe environment without harassment or prejudice.

This company posted a Billion dollar profit, they make this money off the staff, they understaff you, and underpay you, to make profit! They take on contracts with such tight margins, that is almost impossible for them to make money,  so they push the staff to work in a ridiculously difficult work enviornment. upper management are completely disorganized, with unrealistic expectations! The work ethic is all about pushing staff to their limits, above and beyond what is even your job description. They make you sign contracts to take away all your working rights. I signed a contract as a supervisor, however, at the induction, they get you to sign even more, unknown contracts, which enables them to use you in jobs, below your pay grade, one minute i was supervising staff, next minute i was expected to clean the toilets! 
I would never recommend to work for this company!

My area manager was a bully, and im sure if i had stayed in my position, i would have reported her.

I had the unfortunate pleasure of being placed in a team where the culture was "work yourself to death and we'll do everything possible to make it harder". I was in a position that was a high workload but manageable with the support from the other 2 members, but the company decided that a team of 3 doing the work of 4 only needed to be a team of 2 doing but also decided to do this during the busiest period the company had faced to date. So the workload almost tripled and they sacked one person but did not replace them or even give us even casuals for support. Working 60-70 odd hours per week and paid for 38 made for serious impacts at home. When I was hired I informed them that my child was due in a few months and that I would need to work from home for 2 weeks doing non-standard hours when it happened, which was agreed on by the team leader, HR & department head. During this period I was informed that my commitment & availability was not satisfactory (even though I was still working a total of 10-12hrs per day, just at night instead of day) and I was given my notice of termination over the phone...

Started job after being told swings would be regular 2 on 1 off, and that there was plenty of work for the near future, which I made sure to triple check as I was leaving another job to take up this role.
After my first 2 week swing, I had to wait another 2 weeks before I got my next one, despite me chasing up with head office everyday. 
With my second swing, my flights weren’t scheduled for the morning I was supposed to leave, and ringing head office to find out what was happening was a shambles, as they could not tell me why they haven’t sent me my itinerary. They were at fault in the end because they didn’t send me inductions I had to complete before going to site.
This ended up costing me 2 days of work for my swing which I wasn’t paid for. 
Since then it’s been almost 2 months and I have not been offered another swing (seems as if you have to keep chasing up with them constantly) 

Company does not care about you or your mental healthy. Management sit around do nothing. Compass does not spend money most of the time you have no tools, chemicals or machines to do your jobs properly which in the end will cause injuries. Compass group approach to safety is one of the lowest in the world. Don't think for 1 second this company will look after you. They do not care about you or any of your problems and they do not want to help you. Be a better worker they are very very happy to replace you with a new worker that has no idea what they are in for.
I worked here for 10 months in three different roles The two biggest problems compass group faces very very poor mismanagement favouritism and lack of spending money to make workers safer. Penny pinching to make CEOs richer sitting back in their chairs laughing their way to the bank. At your expense.


Management regularly told us, especially at Tool-Box meetings, how useless we were (they weren't quite as polite as me, add a few swear words!), and that there are thousands of people who would like our jobs. They had absolutely no idea of the jobs we were preforming (or how long it took to do them). Work-load was huge, and then tasks were added on because they wanted us to do extras! And they thought we were being lazy! 
Staff on leave were very rarely replaced, everyone had to 'pick up the slack & work harder". I regularly worked my shift eating on the job, as it was impossible to take a break, and all work had to be completed by end of shift.
Purple Circle definetly exists, and they run straight to Management, who see what they want to see, and assume you are lying if you say different.
Pay-roll is useless, I recon some of them are jealous of the wages. Pay was OK, but earnt. 
If you must work for this company - use them as a stepping stone, and network with other company's, the Wett-Mess is a great place to do that.

A typical day at work would start with a morning pre start tool box meeting advising staff of current changes to our work environment. From there on we would conduct resume normal working duties as per usual.

During my time with ESS I learnt how to become versatile in all various different departments of the organisation - mine site - kitchen - housekeeping and the airport picking up and learning new tasks fast to be able to work efficiently and productively in each of these departments of the business.

I found management to be extremely approachable and helpful at any given time. My co worker were exactly the same very helpful and team work orientated bunch to work with.

The most enjoyable part of the job was team bounding every Sunday, where we get to let our hair down a bit playing engaging games to find out about information about our co workers.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Utility worker 3 salaries reported	$36.33 per hour
Chef 2 salaries reported	$43.16 per hour
Head chef 7 salaries reported	$82,082 per year
Cleaner 5 salaries reported	$30.50 per hour
Barista 3 salaries reported	$28.75 per hour

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