Recommendation 13

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted

Recommendation: Departments themselves should develop action plans in response to future People Survey results, which define measurable and timely interventions. These action plans should be included in departmental Annual Reports and Accounts each year. Departments should also evaluate their success in delivering action plans in future, summarising these evaluations in their Annual Reports and Accounts each year. (Paragraph 56) Whilst the Government disagrees with the overall statement that effective action is not taken from the People Survey, it is recognised that Departmental communication and action will vary, in addition to which, many actions are a longer term mechanism that may be less visible to colleagues. The Cabinet Office is keen to support colleagues across Departments to analyse and utilise their results, and to evaluate and review outcomes of actions taken. We recognise the benefits that action plans hold in terms of accountability and transparency, and many departments already utilise action plans for the People Survey. The Cabinet Office currently provides departments with an online tool to create and track their own action plans; they also provide some team-level resources to help teams act on survey results. Recommendation The Cabinet Office should enhance the support it provides around future People Surveys. Its central HR team should take a more active role both in leading Civil Service wide responses as required, and in tracking organisational and departmental measures taken in response to the People Survey results. Its analytical team, expert as it is on the People Survey, should offer further support to participating organisations and departments who seek to understand results. The Cabinet Office should report on plans to strengthen its coordinating role in its response to this report. (Paragraph 57) The Cabinet Office recognises that the current resources available to analyse results do vary by Department, and that additional guidance from the centre may help to provide improved consistency and support the promulgation of best practice. Any central guidance / support should be balanced with retaining Departmental autonomy and agility to address locally identified issues, and so we will work to balance this. Many Departments may have their own resources and toolkits, in addition to those available centrally. The team will consider the most effective means to pull together current resources, identify duplication and any gaps, and how best to cascade model policies, products and processes so that all Departments have the awareness of a wealth of resources on which to draw upon and support their analysis of People Survey results. The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation to enhance the support provided around future People Surveys to promote Civil Service performance in responding to survey findings. Results from the 2022 Survey