SA Water underwent a major cultural transformation over the decade from 2000-2010. They introduced the Walking the Talk methodologies and tools to shift the culture from a disengaged public service to a strong, sustainable business. Key factors in their success were: having courageous leadership from the CEO and senior team to define a target culture and address issues transparently; maintaining consistency in messaging, strategy, and senior leadership; extensive consultation with employees and stakeholders; and integrating cultural planning into their overall strategic plan. The transformation process utilized various levers over time, beginning with developing the senior team's leadership behaviors, implementing recognition programs, and developing people through training and transitioning the aging workforce.

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SA WATER
CULTURE CHANGE
CASE STUDY 2011

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Introduction
This case study follows the cultural management process of SA Water
Corporation, a public utility company in the Australian state of South Australia,
for the decade 2000 to 2010. It is a journey that saw SA Water transform from
a department of the public service to a strong and vibrant business focused on
sustainability. The Walking the Talk methodologies and tools were introduced
to SA Water in the early stages of the journey and have been integral to this
transition. This case study follows the methodologies adopted and the tools
deployed, analysing in what order and to what effect? We hope some of their
experience will help you develop and maintain your Culture Plan and actions.
SA Water
SA Water is charged with the accountability of providing water and wastewater
services in the Australian state of South Australia. In this arid region of Australia,
supply of water is not assured due to ongoing droughts and the politicisation of
access to their major river source, the Murray. With this uncertain supply, the
businessimperativesofSAWaterarejuxtaposed;whilehavingaclearimperative
to meet profit targets, there is also the need to educate customers in reducing
water consumption. Water quality is also a major issue in this region, and hence
SA Water has developed globally recognised laboratories, the Australian Water
Quality Centre (AWQC).
SA Water is a wholly owned Government Corporation established in 1995 with
accountability to a Government Minister who appoints the Board. Although
newly incorporated, SA Water can trace its history back to 1856, just 20 years
after European settlement in the region, when water was controlled by the
Waterworks and Drainage Commission, which later became the Engineering
and Water Supply Department and then SA Water.
At the time of writing in 2011, the 1575 employees of SA Water and associated
contractors provide water and wastewater services to approximately 1.5 million
people with their core functions being water and wastewater quality, transport
and treatment; constructing, managing, maintaining and operating water and
wastewater networks; and water quality research and development. They own,
operate and maintain more than (AUD) $9 billion worth of assets.
In 2010 SA Water had increased profits by $12 million on the previous year and
is on target to deliver the biggest infrastructure project in the State’s history –
the $1.824 billion Adelaide Desalination Project. Their profitability and ability to
deliver large projects is a testament to the culture they have established.
At the beginning of the decade SA Water had the challenges of a disenfranchised

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and disconnected workforce and community, the unchartered waters of
commercialisation and a need for generational change in the workforce. The
end of the decade sees a high achieving corporate organisation, meeting
their defined metrics in triple bottom-line sustainability - financial, social and
environmental.
Critical Success Factors for SA Water
SA Water has made an astonishing transformation. In our experience there are
few organisations that have been working on their culture in such a positive
manner for so long. In the case of SA Water there seem to be four critical success
factors:
1. Courage
2. Consistency
3. Consultation
4. Cultural Plans
1. Courage
Courage to find out what people really think and define your
Current Culture
Anne Howe, the Chief Executive of SA Water and Peter Ward, the Head of
People and Change are known for their courage. They have had the conviction
to conduct a series of in-depth diagnostics of the organisation within the 10 year
period. The diagnostics were a mixture of focus groups, interviews and surveys.
In the public sector this ‘holding up the mirror” was seen as risky, with the media
always willing to use any identified areas of weakness to damage reputations.
Despite these pressures, transparency and openness were encouraged, mistakes
to be learned from and action taken on identified issues.
Courage of the Senior Management Team to ‘walk above the line’-
holding yourself to account
In 2002 the Walking the Talk tool of ‘above and below the line’ was introduced
to the SA Water Senior Management Team. For those who have not read the
Walking the Talk book, ‘above the line behaviour’ encourages people to take
responsibility when responding to issues, while ‘below the line behaviour’ is
blaming, justification, denying and avoiding. The Senior Management Team
worked with these Walking the Talk tools to establish acceptable standards
of behaviour for themselves in the first instance and later others. Two of these
standards, Respect our People and Be Trustworthy, are now core values of the
organisation.

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Courage to set and role model a Target Culture
The Chief Executive, Anne Howe demonstrates behaviours of achievement,
collaboration, negotiation, altruism and self awareness. It is evident that many
of her personal characteristics have been translated into the organisation. A
match made in heaven? Or, productive, sustainable behaviours, role modelled
by an excellent leader? Through the courage of Anne, Peter Ward and the
Senior Management Team, they defined a Target Culture that required them
to consistently ‘Walk their Talk’. Achieving their Target Culture also required
courage to tackle issues such as workforce planning and centralisation in a
public and unionised environment. These issues will be discussed in more depth
later in the article.
2. Consistency
Consistency of the Senior Team
After some initial changes and normal attrition, the Senior Management Team
has remained consistent. This has been an extraordinary asset to SA Water,
with these team members continuing to lead and inspire the culture through
their own development. This consistency continues with the ex Chief Operating
Officer, John Ringham, being appointed the new Chief Executive. John with his
indepth knowledge of the water industry has played a major role in the Senior
Management Team since 2000.
Consistency of approach
Culture has been in the Strategic Plan since 2001. However, and quite
understandably, the elements of the Culture Plan have changed over time. In
2010, the rolling culture plan is considered essential for the organisation to
enable its business imperatives.
Consistency of effort
The elevation of HR to the decision making table has also been a masterstroke.
Often in organisations, HR is seen as a service provider to the business units, an
input to decisions taken by others. Ann inherited a transactional HR function,
reflected in their first diagnostic by the statement, ‘SA Water has a relationship
with pipes not people’. Ann took the approach that a more strategic HR function
was required to shift the culture. Peter Ward was sourced as Head of People and
Change and has driven the culture plan since 2001.
Consistency of communication
Duringthedecade,therehavebeendifferentmeasurementinstruments,different
external requirements and different providers. With all this difference and more,
the messages about each tactic were always tied back to the overall strategy of
the Target Culture defined in 2001.

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3. Consultation
Consultation through listening
When Ann inherited the organisation, it was disengaged and disenfranchised.
There had been inordinate change from a public institution to a commercial
business, instability of leadership, downsizing from a workforce of 8,000 to
1,200 and a transactional approach to people. Using their own triple-bottom
line metrics, the organisation was sustainable financially being a benevolent
monopoly, but not socially or environmentally. Initially, she was determined not
to DO anything and was instead determined to BE a good listener. This data
gathering approach, gave her a solid foundation for action. Road shows, staff
perception workshops and surveys have continued to ‘listen’ to the organisation
throughout the 10 years.
Consultation through ‘pull not push’ behaviours
SA Water has as a mindset to “pull not push” behaviours. The staff, partners
and community are consulted with the real intent that a collaborative solution
is best determined by all players. Dialogue is key. People are encouraged to help
determine, visualise and create their future.
Consultation and external relationships
Consultation with staff is now a standard deeply embedded in the SA Water
culture. However, it has taken consistency of behaviour from the management
team to move from a mindset of ‘people doing what they are told, not asking or
challenging’ to a more open and transparent decision framework. During this
decade of change, the consultative and collaborative approach has also been
educative outside the organisation and is now a requirement echoed by the SA
community in their dealings with SA Water.
Consultation and learning
SA Water continues to be openly curious about better ways to operate. They
have learned from best practice where they have found it in behaviours, systems
and symbols. They have benchmarked against their previous performance and
against others in an effort to continue to evolve and improve. In 2011 they already
have some ambitious strategies identified for the future.
4. Cultural Plans
Cultural Plans Linked to Strategic Imperative
Very early in their evolution as a Corporation, that is around 2001, SA Water
embedded Cultural Planning as part of the annual planning cycle. It was clear
to the leadership that the culture of the organisation was key to achieving the

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identified business imperatives. Culture Planning was not seen only as a short
term project but is still today an essential pillar of SA Water’s strategic plan.
Culture Plans to Mitigate Risk
Having a rolling Culture Plan is also used as a risk mitigation strategy. The Plan
addresses the behaviours, systems and symbols necessary to deliver on specific
strategies, eg. OHS, in the long and short term.
Cultural Plans helps Close the Gap
Consultation is used to identify issues of concern for SA Water while the rolling
Culture Plan links these to business imperatives, determining actions, resources
and metrics. Reporting against these plans gives an ongoing sense of continuity
and achievement.

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THE JOURNEY ITSELF
After a decade, SA Water has worked with all 9 Levers that Walking the Talk
identifies for changing culture. Walking the Talk does not believe that utilising
all Levers is necessary for change to occur in an organisation nor do Walking
the Talk believe that the order and/or combination of the Levers will be the same
for every organisation. However, it is interesting to identify which Levers were
most critical to the transformation of SA Water and the order in which they were
deployed.
The Strategic Imperative for Change – Stage 1
2000- 2002
1. The Lever of the Top Team
ThetransformationofSAWaterbeganwiththeappointmentofAnne
Howe as Chief Executive in 2001. Anne was known as a capable and
influential Chief Executive who had successfully overseen cultural
change in her previous roles.
Anne inherited a company that in her words was ‘battered, weary and uncertain’.
The previous Chief Executive (CE) had been appointed after a world-wide
search for a leader who could move the company from a cost centre to a profit
centre. Under his direction there was significant downsizing, the establishment
of public-private partnerships and involvement
in infrastructure provision in Indonesia. The
changed business model required new skills in
the executive and Jeremy Randell, the current
Head of Metro Operations and John Ringham,
recruited for his knowledge of the industry
were appointed at this time. John has now been
appointed CE after the retirement of Anne
Howe at the end of 2010.
The previous CE’s flamboyant and aggressive
style was foreign to the culture of the
organisationandthewidercommunity,creating
a workforce that was proud of their work and
loyal to their teams but alienated from management and the wider mission
of the organisation. After a period of public discussion about his cultural fit
and some disquiet over deals done in Indonesia, the Board separated him and
quickly appointed Anne.
As a local and with her down to earth style and willingness to engage at every

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level of the organisation, Anne was seen as a better cultural fit. She saw her first
job was to listen and “engage people to move on from the past and to describe
a future they could live with.” In 2001 a Strategic Review of leadership and
culture was conducted. The outcome of 200 interviews, 30 focus groups and
surveys, written submissions and stakeholder interviews was that SA Water
had a relationship with ‘pipes and pumps’ not the people, that stakeholder
perceptions were neutral to negative and that skill loss and an ageing workforce
would impact service and profit.
With all the changes in the previous years Anne felt that the organisation was
yearning for stability. However, after this Diagnostic, one change to the Top
Team became essential. As she saw it, the barrier to achieving their business
imperatives was the absence of a strategic approach to leadership, people and
culture and with this in mind she brought in Peter Ward.
Peter, the Head of People and Change had held a number of national senior
human resource, people and change roles in the private sector in Australia
and overseas and was already knowledgeable about how to shift and manage
cultures. His previous company, Lion Nathan, had embarked on a substantial
culture shift and he brought significant experience from this program to SA
Water. Peter became the champion of culture
change in the organisation.
Peter’s first intervention in 2002 was to
benchmark both the culture and leadership of the
organisation.HeutilisedtheHumanSynergistic’s
tools of Organisational Culture Inventory (OCI)
andLifeStylesInventory(LSI). Atthistimeawide
group of leaders were introduced to the Walking
the Talk methodology in offsite workshops,
with the decision that Top Team behaviours
was the first lever to elicit engagement for their
cultural journey. The content of the leadership
development programs focussed on personal
responsibility,workingwiththe“AboveandBelow
the Line” tool, the need for personal change as a precursor to organisational
change and a move to more constructive behaviours, within the management
team environment and in their dealings with others.
Over the next two years, more than 250 leaders were given specific feedback on
their leadership behaviours using a 360 feedback tool while 345 leaders attended
leadership development with cascaded messages from those used with the Top
Team.

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In summary
• More strategic HR function established
• Head of People and Change employed with experience of culture change
• Culture and leadership behaviours benchmarked
• Leadership workshops conducted and cascaded throughout organisation
• Top Team workshops established Target Culture behaviours
2. The Lever of Symbols/Quick Wins
One symbolic decision that Anne took early was to be very clear on
the standards that were acceptable in her Senior Management Team.
Theywereframedaroundtheconstructivebehavioursofachievement,
collaboration, affiliative (involving) and self actualisation. After the
initial round of Leadership Assessment tool, LSI, a year or 2 of the
new Performance management system that included measuring behaviours
Anne let 3 senior people go who would not or could not make the transition to
the new behaviours. Even though her actions were symbolic, she reflected, “I still
didn’t cut my losses early enough when my instinct told me that an appointment
wasn’t working out.” Still, the organisation allowed these people to exit with
dignity by announcing their resignations after agreeing terms and timing.
Another Quick Win was the focus on Recognition and Reward in the area of
employee service awards. Anne and Peter began a long round of personally
presenting awards for long service in the organisation, creating a real feeling
of belonging and pride. Leaders were also encouraged to arrange events and
give awards to reinforce behaviour that was in line with the Target Culture. In
the 9 years since their inception SA Water has spent $1 million on rewarding on
target behaviours with $50 vouchers. More recently there have also been cross
functional awards on offer with the aim of further breaking down the silos within
the organisation.
In summary
• Replaced senior people who did not fit the Target Culture
• Implemented Recognition and Reward program to build pride and
reward on-target behaviours
3. The Lever of People Development
One day Ann was rung up by a worker from the Eyre Peninsular who
had been with the organisation for more than 30 years. He said, “Do
you know that we are all old and our backs are gone, two out of three
of us are on light duties and I want to know who will provide this
essential service to my community when I am gone?” Peter Ward
had begun the process of implementing a suite of strategic people systems
and this particular issue was added immediately. One of these was aimed at
generational change of the workforce. These blue collar workers had not had
access to Superannuation benefits and therefore had to remain at work. Peter
convinced the government to invest in a program where workers would be given
a payout after a period of time up-skilling the new generation. Peter remarked,

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“This ‘refresh’ over three years saw 180 (of around 380 regional staff) given
dignified exits and retirements, approximately 33% of that workforce category
at the time”. Anne added, ”This was symbolic to the people in the regions, it said
to them, we listened and you have it right, we are going to do something to solve
this issue.”
AnotherpartoftheHRsuitePeterbroughtinatthistimewastheChris21software
to define and record competencies and Individual Development Plans. $1.9m
was invested by 2006, in addition to core job training to enhance the capability
of the workforce and transition the organisation towards the Target Culture.
In summary
• Began generational change of employees through a skill transfer
program that saw 33% of a specific employee population refreshed
• Chris21 package purchased to define and record job competencies and
development plans
4. The Lever of Performance Management
Roleclaritywasidentifiedasanissueinthe2002survey.Tocounteract
this, Position Descriptions were re-written and cascaded through the
wholebusiness.Initiallyoneononemeetingsbetweenmanagersand
employees were conducted six times a year, subsequently this was
rolled back to 4 times a year and is now three. Peter says the frequency
was a specific strategy to ensure that the new Performance Management system
was embedded quickly in the organisation. 210 workshops within 2 years were
conducted with staff to teach them how to conduct performance discussions
that aligned employee behaviours to the Target Culture.
Variable annual salary increases were put in place with a Pay for Performance
system introduced. In this system higher level staff could request individual
contracts to move out of the collective agreement. This was also a way of tackling
the tenure issue, where people who had been in the organisation for more than
the one year’s probation had a job for life.
In summary
• New Position Descriptions written giving role clarity
• Managers and employees were trained in the Performance Management
System and in conducting performance discussions
• One on one meetings conducted initially six times a year to embed
system and behaviours
• Variable annual salary increases were offered to shift higher level staff
to contracts and reward individually
Levers used in the first stage

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THE TIPPING POINT – Stage 2 2003-2005
5. The Lever of Communication
The Senior Management Team understood that their culture was
being defined by all the messages sent through behaviours, systems
andsymbolsandattentionwasbeingpaidtothesechannels.However,
the results of the 2002 OCI reported that people still felt that they
were being ‘told’ rather than ‘involved’ in the change process. In 2003
Kelly Westell was appointed as Manager of Communications.
Peter Ward comments that the behaviours, symbols and systems model
underpinned the culture and people strategy, “as all the people initiatives could
be linked to one or more of these principles”.
Organisational surveys were used regularly during the decade with the culture
assessment tool, Organisational Cultural Inventory (OCI) used in 2002 and 2003
and staff surveys conducted in 2006 and 2009. The results were openly shared
with communications outlining the congruence between the Target Culture and
the actions to be taken. The messages were consistent and gave the organisation
confidence that there was ‘no flavour of the month’ but each action was part of a
larger plan. Gradually staff felt more confident that they were being heard and
that their opinions mattered. Today, there is an expectation by both leaders and
staff that consultation will be part of the process of decision making.
Even when SA Water people were disengaged from the wider organisation, they
had in the main a high degree of trust in their own manager. This relationship
wascapitalisedon,withcommunicationoftendeliveredbyimmediatemanagers.
This delivery mechanism reinforced behavioural standards, with leaders holding
their team members to account and the team members looking towards the
leaders as role models of acceptable behaviour.
The SMT were aware that in the absence of intentional communications people
will make their own meaning from events. In SA Water, myths and rumours were
dealt with through a two pronged approach, a weekly email titled This Week,
and specific issue related communications called Fast Facts, sent from the Chief
Executive. This communication strategy continues today.
In summary
• Manager of Communications appointed in the People and Change
Division
• Open and transparent communications after organisational and staff
surveys showed staff their opinions mattered and that consultation was
an essential part of the Target Culture

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• Consistent messaging tied actions to the culture plan
• Messages delivered mainly by Managers to build trust
• Rumours were dealt with through a weekly email from the Chief
Executive
6. The Lever of People Placement
During the Stage One, there was an emphasis on bringing in new
talent to ‘Refresh’ the workforce. This generational change continues
today based on a structured workforce planning analysis that began
in Stage 2. At this time the focus shifted from ‘new recruits’ to
the current workforce, outlining a commitment to succession through strong
internal development and promotions by filling from the bottom. People could
see that there was a future at SA Water and it became an excellent marketing
tool for both attraction and retention.
Thissystemschangewascriticalnotonlyforthesustainabilityoftheorganisation
but it also acted to embed the Target Culture. Previously the organisation had
been very technically focussed with selection criteria centred on what people
could DO rather than the BE level of their beliefs, values and attitudes. Through
this talent evaluation process, the organisation now focussed on both the DO and
the BE levels, with results and values being important. Although the organisation
continued to be refreshed with external appointments, the succession
management system reinforced to staff that there were career prospects within
the organisation. From this identified talent pool, SA Water could observe their
staff for some time, ensuring their behaviours were consistent with the culture
they wanted to build.
In Summary
• Succession planning to develop internal people
• Behaviours and values became part of the promotion criteria
7. The Lever of Business Management Process
External events triggered the use of this Lever at this time. Firstly,
in 2004, the South Australian Premier, the Honourable Mike Rann,
unveiled South Australia’s Strategic Plan with key objectives being
attaining sustainability, growing prosperity, improving wellbeing,
fostering creativity, building communitiesand expanding opportunity.SAWater
was heavily committed to the objectives of growth, innovation and sustainability.
In addition in 2005, the Government was discussing economic regulation which
would bring a third party review of SA Water strategy and benefits. With this
future apparent, Anne and the SMT were determined to ready the organisation.
SA Water again brought in some outside thinking, with PWC working with
them to formulate a strategic planning process and economic metrics, while
the SMT added the internal assurance that their desired culture was embedded
in all new systems. The SMT was also expanded at this time to help operational
efficiency.

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John Ringham drove the strategic planning process, termed “Towards 2010”.
Thisreviewofallofthebusinessmanagementpractisesensuredthattheirvision,
strategic map and processes were by 2005 more aligned to their Target Culture.
The Culture Plan was an important pillar of this strategy, with the metrics of
achieving top quartile in the Organisational Culture Inventory (OCI) and an
improvement in the Staff Satisfaction Index.
In 2006 they also used the Dow Jones Sustainability Index to benchmark their
performance against global water utilities and ranked in the 3rd quartile. Anne
makes the comment that this set of metrics didn’t necessarily help them with the
answers to their issues but did enable them to ask better questions about their
performance.
In summary
• Reworked strategic plan
• Reviewed all Business Management practises
• Began benchmarking against global water utilities
• Expanded Senior Management Team
• Culture embedded in new Strategic map
Levers used during the second stage

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THE DRAMA OF THE DROUGHT– Stage 3 2006-
2010
By 2006 the staff survey reported a high level of job satisfaction; SA Water
was considered to be a great place to work and was perceived to have a strong
commitment to excellence. However, there was still work to be done as the
survey concluded that the leadership performance of the Senior Management
Team needed further improvement; performance management across the
business was still an area for improvement, as were silos. Staff also wanted more
input into decision making. The culture plan was on-track enabling the business
imperatives. However, the culture of SA Water was about to be severely tested.
By 2007, South Australia was facing its sixth consecutive year of
drought. The Annual Report of 2007-2008 states, “The River Murray
has endured unprecedented drought, continuous record low inflows
and ...is under severe environmental distress.” With 85% of water
coming from the River Murray, the reliance on the river was having
repercussions for the economy, environment and the community. In
late 2007, SA Water was charged with delivering a (AUD)$1.8 billion
desalination plant by 2010, increasing water recycling, reducing demand and
catchment modification to ensure water security. In addition, it became clear
that further work was needed on workforce planning to ensure they had all the
requisite skills to deliver on the new mandate.
Anne Howe says, “The Drama of the Drought gave the SMT an opportunity to
work with no boundaries, to keep the organisation running effectively there was
a need for high levels of collaboration. There were no boundaries and not much
time for egos. We had to build in times to re-engage and forgive each other as
decisions needed to be made quickly. The leaders were empowered to lead as
I spent a large part of the time outside the organisation working on external
relationships.”
8. The Lever of External Relationships
The Target Culture was becoming more apparent in the internal operations of
the company. However, the perception of SA Water in their external relationships
with the community was different. The engineering solutions were appropriate
but the people and community solutions still needed work.
When SA Water started major capital works, the Board identified a risk in
community relations. Kelly Westell was moved to the newly created role of
Manager of Stakeholder Relations. The community engagement model was
based around extensive consultation with the community, finding out what
they want and then designing a solution, rather than selling a solution that was
already complete. This work was continued after the staff survey of 2009 where

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the interpersonal skills of project managers and models for internal and external
engagement were given great emphasis.
During this period the number of customer interactions increased dramatically
due to rebates, restrictions and a new billing system that all required community
education. Customer satisfaction scores dropped slightly from 8.2 of 10 in 2006-
2007 to 8.0 in 2007-2008.
Anne spent an increasing amount of her time negotiating with external parties to
enable her team to get on with the job unimpeded. With the scrutiny of so many
external parties, the organisation became more unified, assumed a more well
defined identity in the community and drew collective pride in its effectiveness
in difficult times. Using the lever of External Relationships consolidated the
change in culture that had already occurred and extended the reach of their
Target Culture wider into the community.
In Summary
• Manager Stakeholder Relations appointed to increase consultation with
the community
• Community consultation Model designed and implemented
• Chief Executive spending a large amount of time negotiating with
external parties
9. The Lever of Workplace Design
The lever of workplace design can be one of the most difficult and
at times costly levers for a company to activate. SA Water was
eager to create a physical representation of their culture, through
the establishment of new headquarters. Anne handed this project to
Peter Ward, in her words, “Accommodation is a people issue”.
Peter’s view was that accommodation was a physical symbol of inequity in the
culture and a barrier to establishing ‘One Team’ through centralising functions.
At the beginning of the decade there were three metropolitan sites as well as
regional offices. Each of these had their own strong culture within the wider
culture of SA Water.
When the talk of a move to a centralised location was first mooted, some people
ejected themselves from the organisation, fearful of the change, they took early
retirement. For the remainder, the Senior Management Team was briefed in
2005 and formulated a set of principles for the project which were later slightly
amended through consultation with staff.
One was for an “open and transparent workplace” with an open planned office

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environment contributing to a positive business case. Another was for resources
to be allocated on “need not hierarchy”. As the arguments for and against offices
raged in the organisation, from the Top Team down, one SMT member remarked,
“I earned my office”. Anne silenced further comments by saying that she could
see no reason for her to have an office and invited anyone else who thought
they had more merit to step forward. No-one did. How symbolic is that sort of
message from the top?
Other principles for the project were to drive faster decision making and
collaboration , through increased access to leaders, enhanced productivity
through increased individual and team interaction and meet triple bottom line
sustainability, financially through decreased costs, socially through attraction,
retention and provision of wellbeing and environmentally through the provision
of a 6 Star Green Star rated building.
A workplace design consultants (DEGW) were engaged and their expertise in
turning cultural attributes into a design brief was invaluable. Subsequently, a
Staff Reference Group was trained in the process and support of others. As the
building took shape, employees took trips to see their new workspace helping
them to focus on what they were getting rather than what they would lose. Along
withregularcommunications,thisfamiliarisationwiththechangedenvironment
helped allay some fears.
On a tour of the building you can see the entire space from a central staircase.
Although lifts are available, employees are encouraged to take the stairs. There
is security at the entrance to the building but there is limited internal security
so people are freely able to move throughout the building. There are many
different kinds of meeting areas, some with large tables, some with communal
workstations and comfortable seats and occasional tables for more intimate
communications. These are used constantly and there is an informal challenge
for teams to see how many of these areas they can use.
Through utilising the Lever of Workplace Design, SA Water has been able to
align their culture to support organisational performance. In 2010 SA Water has
increased profits and is on target to deliver the $1.824 billion Desalination Plant.
A Post-Move Workforce Productivity Survey found that 64% of staff agreed that
the Workplace Design increases attraction and retention, there are increased and
positive links with the community, the design of the atrium, stairs and shared
hubs increased collaboration and made leaders more visible ,and productivity
increased through access to team members, management and other business
units.
There is immense pride in the organisation for the shift they have made both
physically and in their culture. The building itself will stand as an ongoing
legacy for Anne Howe and her Senior Management Team and particularly Peter
Ward.

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In summary
• Transition of workforce to a new building designed to facilitate
collaboration, productivity and access to leaders
• Building supports sustainability objective rated a 6 Star Green Star
building
• Large amount of consultation, site visits and issues mitigation to engage
staff
• Enhanced links to the community through establishment of a learning
centre
• Increased attraction and retention of staff
Levers used during the third stage

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THE NEXT DECADE– Stage 4 2011-2020
The organisation is well placed to meet its future challenges with John Ringham
the new CE oversighting a new Alliance partnership for the provision of services
to the Metro area and the shift to economic regulation and third party review. SA
Water is now a dynamic innovative and consultative organisation, staffed with
committed and dedicated people.

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SA WATER Financials