The UK Civil Service People Survey

Matt Kerlogue, Head of Employee Research OECD Expert Meeting on Public Sector Leadership for Improved Employee Engagement and Organisational Success, 21-22 January 2015

The UK context & background

2

3

NHS

Local authorities and other public sector bodies Education

Public corps A

rmed

For

ces

Police

Civil Service (407,000 FTE)

ND

PB

s

4

32

34

36

38

40

42

44

46

48

50

1948-­‐49 1958-­‐59 1968-­‐69 1978-­‐79 1988-­‐89 1998-­‐99 2008-­‐09 2018-­‐19

Per  cen

t  of  G

DP

C urrent  receipts

Total  managed  expenditure

Forecast

Source:  O N S,  O BR  

5

5.6%

-0.3

%

-0.6

%

-1.2

%

-4.7

%

-5.2

%

-5.6

%

-7.4

%

-9.2

%

-12.

0%

-21.

0%

-24.

5%

-27.

6%

-32.

4%

-34.

4%

-36.

1%

-49.

0%

-56.

0%

-58.

6%

-62.

0%

-71.

7%

Inte

rnat

iona

l Dev

elopm

ent

Healt

h

Cabi

net O

ffice

Hom

e O

ffice

Educ

atio

n

Scot

land

North

ern

Irelan

d

Wale

s

Ener

gy a

nd C

limat

e Ch

ange

Defe

nce

Busin

ess,

Inno

vatio

n an

d Sk

ills

Small

and

Inde

pend

ent B

odies

Chan

cello

r's D

epar

tmen

ts

Cultu

re, M

edia

and

Spor

t

Just

ice

Law

Offic

ers'

Dep

artm

ents

Envir

onm

ent,

Food

and

Rur

al Af

fairs

Fore

ign

and

Com

mon

wea

lth O

ffice

Tran

spor

t

Wor

k an

d Pe

nsio

ns

Loca

l Gov

ernm

ent

Com

mun

ities

2009/10 to 2013/14 2009/10 to 2015/16

Change in resource budgets by government department!+4

3%

6

Civil Service FTE 2014 Q3, -80,000 (-16%)

UK public sector FTE 2014 Q3, -14%

2010

Q2

2010

Q3

2010

Q4

2011

Q1

2011

Q2

2011

Q3

2011

Q4

2012

Q1

2012

Q2

2012

Q3

2012

Q4

2013

Q1

2013

Q2

2013

Q3

2013

Q4

2014

Q1

2014

Q2

2014

Q3

Change in UK Civil Service and public sector employment since March 2010!

The Civil Service People Survey

7

The situation before 2009

8

§ Separate commissioning by departments and agencies – and not every organisation did a survey

§ Different question sets & scales

§ Different time points

§ Different cycles – bi-annual, annual, biennial, triennial, ad-hoc

2009: the Civil Service People Survey

9

§ Single survey contract let by Cabinet Office

§ Core questionnaire – but customisable

§ Annual survey each October

§ Standardised analytical approach

§ Standardised reporting

§ Now preparing for wave 6!

10

458,839!invited to participate!

274,080!responded!9,863!

unit results reports! 101!

organisations!

Civil Service People Survey 2014 in

numbers

11

January February March April May June

July August September October November December

Organisations submit local "questionnaire information

Organisations sign-off localised questionnaire

Supplier builds each organisation’s online

survey

Organisations sign-off online survey

Supplier does volumetric testing of

online survey

FIELDWORK

Organisations build first "draft of hierarchy

Organisations finalise reporting hierarchy

Data and reporting

Contractor management, account management of participating organisations

Briefing and analysis of CSPS 2015

Briefing and analysis of CSPS 2014 (cont.)

Supplier build draft localised questionnaires

Supplier builds draft localised questionnaires

Organisations build first draft of hierarchy

Supplier preparations

Organisation customisations Core questionnaire!§  62 attitudinal questions §  19 demographic questions §  1 open comments question

Other languages*!§  Welsh language surveys §  35 foreign language versions

Alternative formats*!§  10,991 paper surveys in 2012 §  Braille surveys §  Telephone surveys §  Large print surveys

Variable terms!§  My organisation §  my organisation §  my organisation’s §  Senior managers §  senior managers §  the executive team has §  my organisation’s senior managers §  your organisation

Access arrangements*!§  Generic or unique links

Logos & survey name!§  Not everyone calls their survey

the “People Survey” §  Everyone has a different logo

Local options!§  The grade question has

localised responses to reflect local terms for different grades. This is then mapped behind the scenes.

§  The professions question allows additional local options.

Local questions*!§  Up to 10 attitudinal questions §  Up to 2 demographic questions §  1 local comments question

Hierarchy!§  Over 9,000 units §  Almost everyone has some

changes each year!

12

How we deliver the survey

Cabinet Office

central team!

Survey supplier!(ORC)!

Department / Agency!

Survey Set-Up Tool (SSUT) for main survey deliverables

For additional services or

complex issues

Survey specification & requests for

change (RFC)

Weekly round-up: up-coming deadlines, workshop dates,

providing guidance and support documents, highlighting relevant

news, cross-community communications

Monthly workshops during the survey build phase focussing

on upcoming deadlines

Technical survey infrastructure and

standardised reporting

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Our engagement framework

14

15

Employee engagement!

Organisational performance!

Employee !wellbeing!

My work!

Organisational objectives and purpose

My manager!

My team

Learning and development

Inclusion and fair treatment

Resources and workload

Pay and benefits

Leadership and managing change!

By taking action to improve our people’s experiences of work...!

...we increase levels !of employee

engagement...!

...which raises performance and

enhances wellbeing.!

The engagement index - questions

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Aspect! Question! Rationale!

Pride B50. I am proud when I tell others I am part of [my organisation]

An engaged employee feels proud to be associated with their organisation, by feeling part of it rather than just “working for” it.

Advocacy B51. I would recommend [my organisation] as a great place to work

An engaged employee will be an advocate of their organisation and the way it works.

Attachment B52. I feel a strong personal attachment to [my organisation]

An engaged employee has a strong, and emotional, sense of belonging to their organisation.

Inspiration B53. [My organisation] inspires me to do the best in my job

An engaged employee will contribute their best, and it is important that their organisation plays a role in inspiring this.

Motivation B54. [My organisation] motivates me to help it achieve its objectives

An engaged employee is committed to ensuring their organisation is successful in what it sets out to do.

Findings

17

18

Empl

oyee

en

gage

men

t ind

ex

Inclu

sion

and

fair

treat

men

t

My

wor

k

Org

anisa

tiona

l ob

jectiv

es a

nd

purp

ose

My

man

ager

My

team

Lear

ning

and

deve

lopm

ent

Reso

urce

s an

d w

orklo

ad

Pay

and

bene

fits

Lead

ersh

ip

and

man

aging

ch

ange

CSPS 2009-2014: Summary of organisational performance!

19

The dark grey dots indicate each participating organisation, ranked by their engagement index. The light grey bars indicate the highest and lowest teams in each organisation, the dark grey bars the interquartile range of team scores. The solid orange line indicates the Civil Service benchmark (the median of organisational scores), the dashed orange line indicates the median if each organisation’s score is replaced by their internal upper quartile score.

Headcount affects absolute scores, "but doesn’t affect changes

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10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000

2014 engagement index versus organisation headcount (n=101)!

Headcount (logarithmic scale)

2014

eng

agem

ent i

ndex

10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000

Change in engagement index 2013-2014 versus organisation headcount (n=94)!

Headcount (logarithmic scale)

Cha

nge

in e

ngag

emen

t ind

ex 2

013-

2014

Engagement by grade & department

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All

resp

onde

nts!

Policy departments and devolved administrations (excluding agencies) Operational departments A B C D E F G

H I J K L M

N O

P Q

R S

AO/AA 52%!

EO 52%!

SEO/HEO 55%!

G6/7 59%!

SCS 74%!

Colour shading indicates within each grade band (row) whether the department is in the 4th quartile (dark yellow), 3rd quartile (pale yellow), 2nd quartile (pale blue), or 4th quartile (dark blue). Where the grade group is the median group it is left white.

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B50

B51

B52

B53

B54

B50

B51

B52

B53

B54

B50

B51

B52

B53

B54

Engaged – those who are proud advocates of their organisation, with a strong connection and alignment with the organisation.

Moderately engaged – those who are generally proud, attached advocates but not strongly so.

Uncertain – those who aren’t feeling proud, attached or aligned, but also aren’t negative towards those ideas.

B50

B51

B52

B53

B54

B50

B51

B52

B53

B54

B50

B51

B52

B53

B54

B50

B51

B52

B53

B54

Critics – those who aren’t proud, advocates or attached, but who aren’t negative towards alignment with the organisation.

Disconnected – those who don’t feel a sense of attachment or alignment, but who aren’t negative about pride or advocacy.

Disengaged – those who have a negative feelings about pride, advocacy, attachment and alignment, and often strongly so.

Disempowered – those who won’t advocate for us, don’t feel a sense of alignment, but who have a clear sense of attachment.

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Scores by segment: Dark yellow: score 75% or higher Pale yellow: score 50%-74% Pale blue: score 25%-49% Dark blue: score 24% or below

Dise

ngag

ed

Disc

onne

cted

Critic

s

Dise

mpo

wer

ed

Unce

rtain

Mod

erat

ely

enga

ged

Enga

ged

Engagement index

My work

Organisational objectives "and purpose

My manager

My team

Learning and development

Inclusion and fair treatment

Resources and workload

Pay and benefit

Leadership and managing change

Case study of a participating organisation:�The Scottish Government

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Scottish Government

The  Sco(sh  Approach  

Scottish Government

People  Strategy  Evalua6on  

Consul6ng  &  Planning  

Ac6on  and  Support  

Annual  Report  People  Survey  

Analysis  

Dissemina6on  

Ac#on  Planning  Cycle  

Jan-­‐  Feb  

Jan  -­‐  Mar  

Ongoing  

Sept  Oct  

Nov  

Dec  

Analysis  

Comms  HR  

   • Leadership  &  Management  

   • Wellbeing  &Resilience    

   • Building  Capability  

Engagement  scores  across  Directorates  

0%  

10%  

20%  

30%  

40%  

50%  

60%  

70%  

80%  

Engagemen

t  Score  

Directorates  

2012  

2013  

2014  

2014  average  

Statements  with  the  biggest  difference  in  posi#ve  scores    

Insert  TEXT  or  figures    

Insert  TEXT  or  figures    

Insert  TEXT  or  figures    

I  achieve  a  good  balance  between  my  work  life  and  

my  private  life  

I  have  an  acceptable  workload  

Statements  that  have  the  biggest  differences  in  posi#ve  responses  across  your  divisions  

Your  division  who  agreed  most  with  this  statement  

Your  division  who  agreed  least  with  this  statement  

53%    Division  D  

93%    Division  A  

Understanding  the  varia#on  across  your  divisions  

Why  does  varia6on  across  your  Divisions  maVer?    By  iden6fying  where  the  biggest  differences  are  you  can:      •  Begin  to  

understand  how  different  people  have  different  experiences  of  work  

•  Learn  from  each  other’s  strengths.  

I  believe  that  managers  where  I  work  will  take  ac#on  on  the  results  from  this  survey  

The  SG  keeps  me  informed  about  maGers  that  affect  me  

I  think  it  is  safe  to  challenge  the  way  things  are  done  in  the  

ScoHsh  Government  

80%    Division  A  

91%    Division  B  

70%    Division  B  

93%    Division  A  

40%    Division  C  

45%    Division  C  

53%    Division  D  

32%    Division  C  

WHAT  IS  CLUSTER  ANALYSIS?  Cluster  analysis  is  a  sta6s6cal  way  of  grouping  together  people  who  share  a  number  of  characteris6cs  in  a  way  that  reveals  paVerns  and  

rela6onships.  Our  five  SG  clusters  are  iden6fied  on  the  basis  of  responses  to  the  ques6ons  that  have  the  strongest  associa6ons  

with  the  Engagement  Index  and  show  our  people  experience  work  differently.  

Cluster  analysis  using  the  top  4  drivers  of  engagement  

Cluster  1   Cluster  2   Cluster  3   Cluster  4   Cluster  5  

Cluster  4’s  tend  to  be:  •  Engaged   –   about   the  

same   as   the   Sco(sh  Gov’t  average    

•  Nega#ve  towards  Leadership  and  Managing  change  

•  Average   scores   for   their  work  

•  Average   scores   for   their  line  manager  

•  Posi#ve   about   pay   and  benefits  

   

Cluster  3’s  tend  to  be:  •  Less  engaged  –  below  the  

Sco(sh  Gov’t  average    •  Nega#ve  towards  

Leadership  and  Managing  change  

•  Average   scores   for   their  work  

•  Posi#ve   about   their   line  manager  

•  Nega#ve   about   pay   and  benefits  

     

Cluster  3’s  tend  not  to  have  line  management  responsibili6es,  and    

usually  work  outwith  the  main  SG  buildings.    

Cluster  5’s  tend  to  be:  •  Less   engaged   –   below  

the   Sco(sh   Gov ’ t  average    

•  Nega#ve  towards  Leadership  and  Managing  change  

•  Nega#ve   about   their  work  

•  Nega#ve   about   their  line  manager  

•  Nega#ve   about   pay  and  benefits  

   

Cluster  5’s  tend  not  to  have  line  management  

responsibili6es.    Many  also  do  not  see  their  monthly  conversa6ons  as  useful.    

Cluster  2’s  tend  to  be:  •  Highly  engaged  –  more  

than   the   Sco(sh  Gov’t  average    

•  Posi#ve  towards  Leadership  and  Managing  change  

•  Posi#ve   about   their  work  

•  Posi#ve   about   their  line  manager  

•  Nega#ve   about   pay  and  benefits  

   

People  in  Cluster  2,  like  cluster  1,    tend  to  want  to  work  for  the  SG  for  the  

next  three  years  or  more,  although  they  are  less  

happy  with  pay  &  benefits.    

People  in  Cluster  4  typically  work  in  policy  roles  and  tend  to  work  part-­‐6me  

 

How  do  they  sc

ore  

Who

 are  th

ey  

Cluster  1’s  tend  to  be:  •  Highly  engaged  –  more  

than   the   Sco(sh  Gov’t  average    

•  Posi#ve  towards  Leadership  and  Managing  change  

•  Posi#ve   about   their  work  

•  Posi#ve   about   their  line  manager  

•  Posi#ve   about   pay   and  benefits  

Cluster  1’s  typically  have  line  management  roles  

and  tend  to  want  to  work  for  the  Sco(sh  

Government  for  at  least  the  next  three  years.    

SA  High  short  tern  sickness  absence  

High  Bullying  &  Harassment  scores    

Low  Leading  &  Managing    scores  

Mul#ple  Leadership  &  Management  

Challenges  

Capability  review  2013–  red  status  

Division  

BH  

BH  

LM  

BH  

LM  BH  

LM  

LM  

LM  

LM  

SA  

LM  BH  SA  

31  

LM  BH  

BH  

BH  

BH  

LM  

LM  LM  

BH  

BH  

LM  SA  

LM  

LM  BH  

BH  SA  

BH  SA  

LM  SA  

LM  SA  

Impact

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Impact

33

§ Cross-government analysis: support for professions, diversity groups, expert/shared services

§ Learning: common data creates a common currency and language to share experiences

§ Internal accountability: performance and talent management of senior officials

§ External accountability: National Audit Office, Parliamentary Committees, commentators

Contact

34

Matt Kerlogue, Head of Employee Research, Cabinet Office matt.kerlogue@cabinetoffice.gov.uk Civil Service People Survey results & information: http://ow.ly/EAIgv Blog posts about the People Survey/Employee Engagement: http://ow.ly/HGuOZ Engage for Success (UK cross-economy employee engagement collaboration programme): http://www.engageforsuccess.org/