Embedding engagement in the Civil Service
20 April 2010
By Sally Winston, Divisional Manager, Public Sector Employee Research, ORC International
In late 2009 more than 500,000 Civil Servants were asked to take part in possibly the largest employee engagement survey of all time. The logistical challenges associated with this were massive; but the real challenge begins once the survey results are in and 9,000 managers and 96 leadership teams are tasked with taking action on the findings and embracing engagement as a critical element of Civil Service practice.
Ensuring an engagement survey makes a difference is a key challenge organisations struggle with; and evidence suggests many find this difficult to address. Whilst the average staff survey is completed by more than two thirds of an organisation, over half are uncertain results will lead to action.
ORC International is supporting the process of embedding engagement in the Civil Service by ensuring that, as a starting point, organisations and the managers within them have the tools they need to use their data quickly, easily and in a format conducive to discussion and action.
During February and March 2010 we delivered thousands of data reports to managers; provided stakeholders from across Government with access to their data through our interactive online tools; and facilitated presentations and action sessions with over 40 senior leadership teams.
Whilst this is a great starting point for success, for a survey of this scale, embedding engagement becomes a project in itself. Kate Jarman from the Cabinet Office’s Employee Engagement Programme Team (EEPT) explains the approach taken to ensure that the research makes a difference:
- Encouraging organisations to integrate engagement within existing strategies
For busy managers with a plethora of complex challenges, creating a plan for engagement which doesn’t fit with wider business activities doesn’t make sense. We are encouraging organisations to see engagement as a key strand of strategy; it is part of “business as usual”, not an extra burden.
- Introducing buddying
It is critical for organisations trying to embed engagement not to reinvent the wheel, and to realise that they are not alone in the challenges they face. The EEPT is matching organisations facing similar issues to enable them to support each other, share ideas and solutions, and avoid duplication of effort.
- Accessing support through online collaborative tools
Providing access to useful, focused information is critical. The EEPT uses Civil Pages, an online collaborative tool through which organisations can share documents and learning. This provides a platform through which the Civil Service accesses best practice in the engagement field, including gathering examples of best practice from across the Civil Service and from the public and private sectors.
- Workshops and face-to-face forums
It is regularly accepted that the best way to learn and share is face to face; the EEPT organises monthly embedding engagement workshops in London and Edinburgh to share best practice, ask organisations to share their experiences as case studies, as well as provide examples from the wider public sector. There is also a training opportunity at these meetings from experts including ORC International, COI and the National School of Government on subjects such as how to use data to the best effect, approaches to corporate level action planning, and how to create successful plans for embedding and communicating on engagement
Sally Winston says: “In an organisation with over half a million employees it makes sense to have a well planned out approach to embedding engagement; however many of the lessons learnt from this study can be used by others no matter what the size of their organisation. A truly successful approach should always include:
- A wider plan for success which goes beyond the delivery of the survey itself
- An appreciation that in order to make engagement stick it needs to be firmly positioned within the business context and as a key part of business as usual
- A range of ways for managers to reach out to others, to learn from best practice and share challenges and successes
- A way to collect evidence of success – when engagement makes a difference it really is important you shout about it!”
