Infrastructure Ontario Reviews

The performance management process and rating system that gives employees bonuses and raises has a severe lack of transparency and is not applied evenly across departments. When questioned about it, I received vague answers. It was maddening. After having worked 8 years diligently and always to a high standard of performance, I was very disappointed that my efforts were not recognized in any tangible way, other than a half-hearted verbal thanks from time to time or by email. When I asked about potential opportunities to move upward, I was shot down. Since I left, I have learned that they are now considering opening up higher level positions in my former business unit. That's very frustrating. As a woman, I felt that my opinions or ideas were routinely dismissed or ignored by my direct manager, only to be adopted later on and called his ideas, or such ideas were only recognized and acted upon when restated by my male colleagues. It was disheartening. I eventually became so demotivated that I looked for work elsewhere and I am a lot happier now that I am in a higher level position, getting paid more and I have more control over what I do and I am being recognized for my contributions. Another con is the oversight provided by the Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure, which is responsible for this agency. Their decision-making process tends to ignore professional and technical advice, or go against it in favour of political optics to protect their minister. I believe that protecting the public and the public's best interest is vastly more important than protecting the reputation of the minister. Sound, rational and logical advice based on real studies should outweigh political optics on any given day.