Updating Results

Westpac Group

4.4
  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Hiba

Hiba studied Accounting at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and is a Risk Graduate at Westpac.

I start my work day going through emails and my calendar to make sure I’m across everything I’ve got on today

7:00 am

I’ve been in bed hitting snooze about 3 times now, it’s hard getting out of bed on an 11-degree morning but the thought of having pancakes for breakfast makes me get up. Does anyone else get random bursts of motivational energy in the morning? Given we’re in a lockdown, I do my daily yoga session at home and then start making my blueberry pancakes.

8:00 am

I start my workday going through emails and my calendar to make sure I’m across everything I’ve got on today. There are some ‘informational’ emails that are usually just an FYI from my team or people leader. The others are action emails which mean I have to reply to them after actioning something. Working from home means I have a lot more virtual meetings than usual but we use some cool backgrounds to make it more fun!

1

9:00 am

My first meeting of the day is with a colleague to discuss the project we are working on together. We are working on assessing the effectiveness of internal controls using a risk lens. We work out a plan of action and decide what our key deadlines for this project are. These assessments are due by the end of the month, so we divvy up the work and schedule another meeting for Friday to track our progress.

2

10:30am

I dial into my second meeting of the day which is on how we will drive Westpac’s Integrated Plan – CORE. This is Westpac’s largest project consisting of 19 workstreams, each with a set of corresponding deliverables and dependencies. Each division has a responsibility to implement and embed this project within their division. I work alongside my team to oversee the implementation of CORE deliverables in the Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB) risk division and today we discuss upcoming deadlines. I take down some key notes to share with my people leader and engage in collaborative discussions with representatives from the other divisions.

11:00 am

I catch-up with my people leader to discuss key agenda items for the week and how we can make working from home a little more collaborative. Because we are working from home, we have this catch-up every couple of days.

12:00 pm

It’s lunch time! Before eating I go out for a quick walk around the block to get some fresh air. I try to reach my goal of 10,000 steps each day, so this is definitely boosting up my numbers. For lunch today I’m having chicken and mushroom pasta which I cooked late last night.

3

1:30 pm

After responding to some more emails, I start working on my solo project. I am working on a memo for the WIB Risk executive leadership team on emerging risks and the impact they have on our division. This is a big piece of work as I am hoping this memo will lead to a process change within the division. I do some research and find that some similar reports were written on emerging risks by different divisions. I reach out to the authors and book in some time to compare findings. Luckily, they were back from lunch, so they accepted my meeting invite for tomorrow morning.

3:00 pm

I have a study group meeting with the other graduates. We are all enrolled in a Professional Banking course and we meet every month to go through the study material and exchange notes. This month’s chapter was on the regulatory environment and we all took turns discussing key findings from the material and how it is applicable to our current roles.

4

5:00 pm

After sending out a few more emails, I review what I have done for the day and update my people leader. Looking at my calendar for tomorrow I can see that I have some early morning meetings that I need to prep for. I spend some time preparing the PowerPoint packs for tomorrow’s meetings and save them so they are ready to go. Before logging off, a work friend gives me a quick call to catch-up – working from home can feel a little isolating but regularly catching up with colleagues and friends makes it a lot more manageable.

6:30 pm

Usually I would go to the gym after work but given the lockdown I improvise and go for another quick walk around the block. I’m up to 7,000 steps but it’s getting cold outside so I decide to head back.

7:00 pm

It takes me about 30 minutes to decide what to make for dinner and I decide on a simple chicken and veggies dish. My friend is also making dinner at home, so she Facetimes me and we virtually cook together!

9:00 pm

After a quick shower, it’s time to binge watch some Netflix. Today’s choice is Crash Landing on You. I smash through 2 episodes (an hour each) and decide I should probably try sleeping now. But not before scrolling through TikTok of course!