directeur général des services

préposé au service de soutien personnel

architecte

animateur

adjoint administratif

Native Counselling Services of Alberta


My experience working at NCSA has been deeply disappointing on numerous fronts. While the organization claims to focus on supporting Indigenous communities, it fails to extend that same care and respect to its employees.

Lack of Elder Support:
In times of crisis or emotional strain, one would expect an organization rooted in Indigenous culture to provide meaningful support from Elders. Unfortunately, this was not the case. During some of the most challenging moments, there was an overwhelming lack of access to Elders or culturally appropriate resources. This absence not only impacted staff well-being but also eroded trust in the organization's commitment to its values.

Employee Retention Issues:
NCSA struggles significantly with employee retention, and it's no surprise why. The work environment is disorganized, with little to no effort made to foster staff morale or job satisfaction. High turnover rates speak to the systemic problems within the organization, including poor communication, lack of support, and inconsistent management practices.

Leadership and Accountability:
There is a glaring disconnect between leadership and staff. Decisions are often made without consulting those directly impacted, leading to frustration and inefficiency. When concerns are raised, they are frequently dismissed or met with vague reassurances that rarely translate into meaningful action.

Cultural Integrity:
While NCSA outwardly promotes its dedication to Indigenous values and traditions, the internal reality feels performative at best. The absence of cultural supports for staff and the lack of respect for work-life balance undermine the very principles the organization is meant to uphold.

Final Thoughts:
It is disheartening to see an organization with such potential fail to prioritize its most valuable resource: its people. Until NCSA takes substantial steps to address its internal issues, including providing robust elder support, fostering a supportive work environment, and improving employee retention strategies, it will continue to fall short of its mission and values.

I cannot in good conscience recommend NCSA as a workplace to others. There is much work to be done to align its internal practices with the cultural and community-focused values it claims to embody.

It was a strong position initially. I was learning a lot and performing well in my role, despite the fact that much of the work required learning on the job, figuring things out independently, and building my own professional networks. That expectation was clear and manageable.

Under my original supervisor, there was flexibility, support, and a genuine commitment to staff wellbeing, including mental health. That support directly impacted my ability to do the job effectively.

Once that supervisor left and a new one came in, staff support disappeared. Training opportunities were removed, expectations increased, and the focus shifted almost entirely to output and numbers rather than quality or sustainability of the work. There was no structured pathway for wage increases; raises were not built into the system and had to be actively fought for. In practice, some staff only received increases after making a significant issue of it or threatening to leave. This created an environment where staff felt undervalued and unsupported, and the role became increasingly unsustainable.

Management is lacking. Calls are never returned. There is no support from management what so ever. Supervisors, management team do not work together. I have left countless phone calls, emails, text messages which were never returned. So a huge percentage of the time I took matters into my own hands and made my own decisions based on my experience. In the court system waiting for replies is non-existent. Most justices have zero time to wait for clients' responses. The court runs a strict timeline as to time it starts and if we are not on duty on any given court day, there are usually serious repercussions. As court workers we make this company shine, without any support what so ever. 

Working for this employer was great in many ways.  We were always able to put our family needs first.

There was so much training through the company and never ending availability to improve yourself and further your education.

Several people I worked with were so incredibly wonderful, however; because this company has been educated on the injustices toward native people in Canada and some of these employees and management staff have had there own very difficult experiences with racism toward native people, there is a very underlying and ongoing resentment toward non aboriginal people.

I most enjoyed the educational opportunities

Hardest part of the job was working with children who's lives were very sad and difficult.

This is a family run non for profit organization with very poor office moral and management. It has a very high turnover rate for new employees as the company has very poor organization skills and designation of work and assignments. Certain employees get a lot of lenience for work issues because the CEO doesn't want to cause a hardship for his employees which then causes problems and complaints from the management who are not happy with how situations are handled. The admin staff are never properly screened and there seems to be a revolving door of new staff every few months.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working with the Men and Ladies it was the best job I had and enjoyed. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Reporting them to the director. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It was excellent and went on culture  & ceremony gathering. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Work with guys helping them with finding jobs doing resumes . Job duties were busy doing reports and sometimes I would facilitate circles.

I have and continue to learn a lot about the aboriginal culture 
Management team really cares about you as a person and is there to help if needed
The agency team as a whole is very friendly
The hardest part is helping others deal through tough situations, but its also a part of the job and you have a great support team behind you
The most enjoyable part is being a part of a big family

LOW salary does Not match the cost of living in Alberta or high traffic workload, not to mention   quality of work expectations from management is not priority as,  all they are concerned about are the endless STATS that have to be submitted( note: quarterly would be ideal due to time restraints) and high volume of poeople, they’ll even have the court clerks pull you out of court to leave clients on their own just to do unscheduled stats submission, 
Poor ethic

Very busy place to work.  Spent most of my time at the courthouse, meeting with clients and representing them in court.  Completed monthly reports that included a summary of my month and court outcomes, lists of the charges that my clients were in court for.  Completed monthly maintenance reports for the office.

The work environment is exceptionally toxic. Severely under paid work  that is not worth the stress of the job or the poor treatment from management. Leadership is inappropriate, unprofessional, and has absolutely no regard for anyone outside of the head office or nepotism circle. Working with NCSA was genuinely one of the worst and most distressing experiences of my life. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Directeur général des services 26 salaries reported	$56,216 per year
Préposé au service de soutien personnel 27 salaries reported	$53,486 per year
Architecte 5 salaries reported	$50,000 per year
Animateur 12 salaries reported	$57,663 per year
Adjoint administratif 4 salaries reported	$23.50 per hour

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