Recommendation 3

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted

Recommendation: To maximise the quality of information available on the experiences and performance of the UK Civil Service, the Cabinet Office - in partnership with participating organisations - should continue to develop the broader evidence base. The broad annual snapshots provided by the People Survey should be supplemented with more frequent, timely, and targeted ‘pulse’ surveys, as well as the administrative data already being collected by participating organisations on absence, recruitment, and performance. The Cabinet Office should report publicly on its plans to improve the data available to decision-makers on the experiences and performance of civil servants by the end of 2023. (Paragraph 20). The Government recognises the benefits of utilising a broad evidence base to maximise the value of data already collected, and welcomes the challenge to align these resources to provide a broader, more resilient and holistic evidence base. The Head of Civil Service Employee Experience and People Performance has been commissioned to review what wider data are collected and how best to utilise these data to optimise employee insights across the Civil Service to maximise the quality of information available. With many data sources available, a report may not be available until early 2024. Government People Group (GPG) is currently in the process of developing a data dashboard that would allow departments to review and benchmark administrative data, including recruitment and pay data. Data from resources such as this will be considered. The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation to continue to develop the broader evidence base. Pulse surveys are used widely within departments to help them target and respond quickly to local issues. We will consider how to include these as a cross-government resource, and will ensure a wide range of data is available to help support decision making in departments and more widely.