HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
POLICY, RESOURCES & PERFORMANCE CABINET PANEL
WEDNESDAY 11 JULY 2012 AT 2.00 PM
STAFF SURVEY 2012
Report of the Director Resources & Performance
[Author: Louise Tibbert, Head of Human Resources & Organisational Development
Tel: 01992 556653]
Executive Member: David Lloyd (Resources & Economic Wellbeing)
1. Purpose of report
1.1 To provide a summary of the outcomes from the 2012 staff survey and trends against the 2011 staff survey.
2. Background
2.1 In early 2012 an organisation-wide employee survey was conducted. This involved one survey for the majority (84%) of staff, and a shorter survey for some front line employees.
2.2 We achieved an overall response rate of 48% (Appendix 1). This is a significant improvement compared to the 2011 survey (33%), and is close to the average response rate for Local Government (50%). This may be attributed to reducing the number of questions and the use of the shortened version.
2.3 The 2012 survey was designed to provide a measure of employee engagement within the Council and understand the drivers for this; to provide employees with a channel to feedback on their working lives within a confidential setting; and to allow for trend comparisons between the current and previous results to track progress made against previously identified improvement areas.
2.4 Following the 2011 survey, progress has focused on five main themes to address the concerns raised, for example:
· Perceptions of Senior Management
The management development programme was refreshed to focus on change management and more employee briefings were held by directors.
· Communications, Change Management & Job Security
Continued communications regarding transformation via the Chief Executive roadshows and newsletters. Launched the ‘Becoming the council for the future’ campaign to highlight some of the transformation work completed.
· Work Life Balance & Wellbeing
A number of initiatives were implemented through the wellbeing programme: e.g. on site eye tests, blood pressure checks, mental health and stress promotions and work with SERCO Occupational Health supporting employees back to work sooner through targeted physiotherapy.
· Reward & Recognition
Promoted ‘Herts Rewards’, e.g. access to a Childcare Voucher Salary Sacrifice Scheme, free and confidential 24 hour Employee Assistance Programme, Carewell, Carer’s Policy and implemented a number of departmental local recognition schemes.
· Values & Behaviours
Refreshed the Performance Management Development Scheme (PMDS) and further embedded the Council’s values and behaviours so that these are taken into account.
3. Summary of Results
3.1 Whilst the trend is towards improvements in many areas including employee engagement, leadership, communication and work life balance, there are still areas which could be improved, such as managing change, managing poor performance, confidence in leaders and a belief that action will be taken as a result of the survey (Appendices 2 and 3).
3.2 Engagement
3.2.1 Improving employee engagement (defined as an employee’s willingness to invest personal effort in the success of the organisation) is increasingly regarded as key to maintaining and improving performance.
3.2.2 The elements of engagement, “say”, “stay” and “strive”, are each measured by two questions for each of these elements. The questions and results are below:
3.2.3 The overall Employee Engagement Index (EEI) for the Council is 60%, which is an average of the percent positive responses across the six engagement questions. This represents a considerable increase in overall engagement levels since the 2011 survey (49%).
3.2.4 Perceptions of senior management and bottom-up communication have improved significantly since the 2011 survey, with positive scores now above the benchmark norm. This is extremely encouraging, especially given that this theme has the strongest impact on engagement. Leadership remains a key driver of engagement but is performing much better than last year.
3.2.5 There was a relatively high degree of respondent neutrality which may be targeted as a potential opportunity for improvement in future.
3.3 Benchmarking
3.3.1 Responses have been benchmarked against 36 other Local Authorities (including 14 County Councils). 26 questions were comparable to the benchmark.
3.3.2 Five questions scored 5% or more above the LA benchmark (two in 2011) and five questions scored 5% or more below the LA benchmark (ten in 2011) (Appendix 4).
3.4 Trend Analysis
3.4.1 In total, 35 questions could be compared to the 2011 survey. Of these, 66% (23) scored 5% or more above 2011 scores, 26% (9) the same and 8% (3) lower (Appendix 5).
4. Actions being taken by the Council to respond to the survey
4.1 We are now taking action to identify the areas that have the biggest impact on engagement in order to see improvements.
4.2 Six themes were identified as being significant drivers of employee engagement within the Council. These themes will form the basis of the action plan.
1. Leadership2. Values and Transformation
3. My Job/Work and career development / 4. Pay and Reward
5. Support and Demand
6. Making Connections - Communication
4.3 All departmental boards were briefed on their results and have agreed the actions they will take to respond to the results and improve the outcome for the next survey.
4.4 Communications are being rolled out throughout June and July to ensure staff and managers know about the results and outcomes from the survey and the actions being taken. The communications will be based on the themes in 4.2 above.
4.5 A summary of the survey reports for the Council and departments has now been published on Compass. A report on the key findings from the survey has been received by Strategic Management Board (SMB) (Appendix 6).
5. Recommendation
The Policy, Resources and Performance Cabinet Panel is invited to note and comment upon the content of this report.
12
Appendix 1
Response rates from 2012 staff survey
Response Rates
· Overall response rate improved by over 15% to 48.4% (33.0% in 2011, 34.7% in 2010) just below the ORC 50% LG benchmark.
· This can be attributed to
o shorter main survey, reduced from 103 to 60 questions
o secondary mini-survey of 35 questions for Herts Catering and School Crossing Patrols
o improved communications and targeted work with hard to reach staff groups
o better use of departmental survey champions to drive engagement
o incentives offered
· All departments saw an increase in response rates compared to last year, five departments had an improvement of over 20%.
· Department response rates varied from 38% (HBS) to 78% (R&P) with even greater variances between directorates from 20% to 100%.
· Hertfordshire Catering with their shorter survey nearly doubled their response rate from last year.
· The trend for surveys is to ask fewer questions so this format could be incorporated across all departments for future surveys following its success within Herts Catering.
· Responses were split between 58% online and 42% paper returns.
12
Appendix 2
Top 5 Scoring Questions
· The golden thread question around how our work fits into the Council’s objectives has improved by 7% to 90% this year.
· A high percentage (81%) believes their manager is fair and consistent.
· 78% agreed to have a formal appraisal, in line with the 74% reported to SMB who had completed a PMDS.
· 78% of respondents felt their manager is considerate of their worklife balance.
Lowest 5 Scoring Questions
· Satisfaction with the total benefits package had the lowest score this year with 29%, down by 5% since 2011 while respondents’ feeling their pay is fair reduced by 4% to 31%.
· Just over a third of respondents (36%) felt they support the Council’s transformation programme.
· Although dealing with poor performance and senior management communication had low scores both have improved since last year and stand at 42% respectively.
Appendix 3
Most improved against trend
· More respondents felt committed to the Council’s goals and felt the Council encourages them to do the best job they can, both improving by 15%.
· Senior management visibility and communications both increased significantly by 11% since 2011 realising the increased efforts by senior management to engage with the workforce.
Areas where performance has dropped against trend
· More respondents disagreed that their team and manager demonstrated the Council’s values and behaviours, down by 7% and 6% respectively.
· Questions on the total benefits package and fair pay also showed noticeable reductions since 2011.
· Questions around well being for worklife balance and coping with competing demands on our time both reduced by 3% since last year.
Appendix 4 Benchmarking
Questions 5% above and 5% below LA benchmark
Five questions scored 5% or more above the LA benchmark (two in 2011), these are:
· I feel able to speak up and challenge the way things are done (+24)
· Overall, I have confidence in the leadership within the organisation (+13)
· I understand how my work contributes to the organisation's goals and objectives (+11)
· Senior management are sufficiently visible within the organisation (+10)
· I am satisfied with the recognition I receive for doing a good job (+9)
Five questions scored 5% or more below the LA benchmark (ten in 2011), these included:
· I am satisfied with the total benefits package (-30)
· Considering my duties and responsibilities, I feel my pay is fair (-16)
· I would recommend this organisation as a great place to work (-9)
· Poor performance is dealt with effectively where I work (-7)
· I think this organisation respects individual differences (e.g. cultures, working styles, backgrounds, ideas) (-1)
Appendix 5 Most improved and areas where performance has dropped against trend
The most improved against trend included the following:
· My manager keeps me informed about what is going on in my department (+20)
· I feel able to speak up and challenge the way things are done (+15)
· I feel committed to the organisation’s goals (+15)
· Working for this organisation makes me want to do the best job I can (+15)
The three least improved were:
· My team demonstrate the organisation's Values and Behaviours (-7)
· My Manager demonstrates the organisation's Values and Behaviours (-6)
· I am satisfied with the total benefits package (-5)
Appendix 6 Key Findings
Below is a summary of the points to celebrate, improve on and investigate.
Celebrate
There are a number of areas in the survey which are worthy of note. Evidence shows considerable improvements since 2011, and some instances of exceeding the benchmark norm. We should therefore work to maintain this performance.
Engagement
o Positive responses to the six questions in the engagement index have improved significantly since the previous survey, and most questions are in line with the benchmark norm.
o Scores in relation to these questions indicate that more could be done to strengthen the employer “brand”, though the trend of employees being more dedicated to the purpose of their organisation than necessarily advocating it as an employer is one which is commonly seen amongst public sector organisations.
Leadership and communication
o Levels of positivity regarding senior management and bottom-up communication have increased significantly since 2011 and are now above the benchmark norm. This is particularly encouraging as senior management has been an area attracting relatively low levels of positivity.
o There was a high level of neutrality, however, which may present an opportunity for further improvement in this area.
Work/life balance
o The majority of employees at the Council reported that they have a good balance between their work and home life. This is encouraging and can be seen as a benefit of working for the Council.
o However this is inconsistent amongst some grade groups. For example pressure and competing demands seem to have the greatest impact on those with over 10 years service and in grades M1-M5, and responses about access to flexible working are more negative at grades H1-H5.
Improve
There may be potential for improvement in the following areas.
Change management
o Questions regarding change management were surrounded by a relatively high degree of negativity and neutrality. It must be ensured that any changes undertaken are consolidated and that the values of the organisation are sufficiently embedded.
o Around one in ten employees actively disagreed that their job makes good use of their skills and abilities, and that they are sufficiently challenged and motivated in their work. It is therefore necessary to ensure that employees are fully utilised within their roles and that the Council benefits from employees’ full potential.
Performance and development
o Perception of career development potential at grades H1-H5 is low. We need to consider how we broaden career development opportunities linked to the Talent Management strategy.
Pay and benefits
o Whilst questions regarding pay and benefits often attract a relatively high degree of negativity, opinions surrounding pay and benefits at the Council are considerably below the benchmark norm. It should be noted that the benchmark organisations may be ‘behind the curve’ in implementing their changes and so the impact not yet reflected in their scores.
Investigate
Both the areas highlighted as those for celebration and improvement are likely to raise further questions about internal best practice and raise questions about the data. As such, it may be appropriate to investigate a number of areas further in order to develop appropriate action plans.
Support for the transformation programme
o A relatively high proportion of employees responded neutrally with regard to their support for the transformation programme, which is indicative of inconsistencies in opinions in this area.
Declines in demonstration of the Council’s Values and Behaviours
o The extent to which employees perceive that the Council’s Values and Behaviours are demonstrated, both by their team members and their line managers, has declined since 2011, it would help us to understand why.
o As only 37% of respondents feel action will be taken as a result of this survey we wonder whether colleagues are making the connection between actions and staff survey feedback.
PMDS completion and links to Performance Related Increments