CALGARY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY

very easy work, lack of challenge. Management staff is pretty good, some can be challenging to work with at times but overall very good. Pay is decent for what it is. Job culture is really good and staff work well together. The worst thing about working here is the constant over staffing.  Management will hire way too many people and then never schedule them, so actual functions are understaffed. There is a lot of camaraderie with the staff and it is an extremely happy place to work. Staff almost always eats for free. There is no training for new staff and it is nearly impossible to be let go or fired. So some really terrible staff can at times stay longer than they should. However staff are on contracts of up to one year and can be not renewed if they do not perform up to par.

I worked at the zoo for over ten years and it has gone so downhill in the last few years it gave me no choice but to leave. The zoo has always been a “fast paced” organization but the speed at which it requires its team members to operate and implement new changes forces many to work well outside their job description and lose work/life balance. Leadership has also changed from being supportive, curious and solutions oriented, to becoming accusatory, untrusting and not coaching centered. They force you to be overwhelmed, gaslight you, blame you for your inability to perform and then zero in on those to force people out or remove people. There has been significant turnover of people leaving due to the negative culture and impossible expectations. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The community. The people you work with that are on the same level as you are all usually great and fun to work with. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The management. In concessions especially, they do not care about their staff. The managers will tell you you can’t take two days off to see your dying relative just because it’s bad for the business. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It’s good in concessions, as long as the managers aren’t around. They make everything feel tense. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Depends on the day. Most days, it’s busy. You won’t run out of stuff to do.

I've worked there for the summer.at first you get hours then the hours decrease.they hire new staff.at the same time your not getting more hours.however you see new staff.? I've worked very hard puncutel worked early 5am shifts as late as 2:00 am shifts.ive witnessed hard workers and not so harworkers. The Captains / bosses, make desisions who stays and who goes.thats cool n all.however I've seen ppl staff that stayed renuied there contract that were not hard workers and let some of the best go.So Yeah, I know there's favoritism of who stays and goes.

Has or had the potential to be amazing, until they hired a new executive team. Focus switched from conservation yo make as much money as possible, regardless of what is said. Lots of upper management bullying goes on. A lot of disrespect comes from the top down!
The CEO is awesome, but he doesn’t seem to control the negativity that has happened there.

I love this job the only problem is there no chance to advance as everyone is either a prep cook or a banquet cook and the only 2 positions higher then that is sous chef and executive chef and they have very high standards on who gets to become the next sous chef so I need to get more experience at a different place to get some management skills.

It was good working with various departments to help manage the Zoo's daily technological needs, and there were lots of additional fun volunteer activities. That said, at the time I worked there, there were serious issues in management and a heavy silo culture. Given the option, I would not return to employment here.

The staff make it fun. But the management is less than desirable to be around. Impossible to please them especially if you have boundaries. If you're a student or just looking for a set few days to work I suggest looking elsewhere. Your hours aren't guaranteed since it's all weather based. 
You will be asked to do a million things other than what you're hired for and there won't be a raise.

Good pay and benefits and you are working at the freaking zoo which is awesome but that doesn't excuse a terrible work culture where there is constant turnover in all departments. Management isn't on your side so you should never bring a concern up the ladder unless you want to get fired. This creates an atmosphere of distrust and paranoia because the turnover is so high.

A typical day at work includes keeping the work place clean and making customers our number one priority. I learned to be in charge of other staff and take initiative. Management was fair. My co-workers were fun to talk to. Most enjoyable part of the job was meeting new people.

Working at CALGARY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: company overview and reviews

CALGARY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY

CALGARY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ratings

Salary satisfaction

Job seeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected