Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Ninth Report - Civil Service People Survey
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
HC 575
Published 24 October 2023
Recommendations
2
Accepted
Para 15
Expand annual engagement with People Survey users and publish summary of feedback
Recommendation
The Cabinet Office should expand its annual engagement with users of the People Survey, to ensure that the needs of external stakeholders are well understood and used to support the development of future survey questionnaires. A summary of this engagement …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation, committing to consider wider engagement of external stakeholders, include consultees in future technical guides, and implement a user engagement strategy.
5
Accepted
Para 23
Employee Engagement Index value unclear, overlooking tangible Civil Service issues.
Recommendation
It is not clear what value the Employee Engagement Index offers, beyond consistency with previous years’ results. In drawing together responses on abstract questions on issues such as pride, advocacy, and attachment, it overlooks more tangible issues such as leadership, …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation, committing to explore the content and usefulness of the Employee Engagement Index in wider work planned for the Civil Service People Survey. They are examining options to improve the survey, aiming to implement changes over the next two years for a new version by 2025.
6
Accepted
Review the value of the Employee Engagement Index for Civil Service decision-making.
Recommendation
Fourteen years on from the launch of the People Survey, the Cabinet Office should review the value of its headline Employee Engagement Index, in consultation with users of the survey. This review should consider the degree to which the measure …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation, stating it already reviewed the Employee Engagement Index in 2022 and will continue to explore its usefulness in wider work planned on the Survey beyond 2023, aiming for a new version in 2025.
7
Accepted
Summarise opportunities to enhance quality assurance processes for Civil Service performance data.
Recommendation
As part of its plan to improve available data on the experiences and performance of civil servants (see paragraph 20), the Cabinet Office should summarise the opportunities that are available for enhancing existing quality assurance processes via the cross- referencing …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation, committing to enhance quality assurance processes by continuing to 'sense check' current year scores against previous ones and cross-reference findings with similar organisations.
13
Accepted
Para 55
Cabinet Office must coordinate and evaluate system-level issues identified in People Survey.
Recommendation
Empowering departments, organisations and individual teams to respond to issues raised in the People Survey is in many cases a sensible approach. They will be best placed to respond to local issues and specific challenges. But other issues require a …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation to enhance support provided around future People Surveys, recognising the need for a coordinating hand on system-level issues. They will consider how best to pool current resources, identify gaps, and cascade model policies and processes to assist departments in responding to survey findings.
15
Accepted
Enhance Cabinet Office support and coordination for Civil Service People Survey responses and tracking.
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 …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation to enhance support for future People Surveys. It will consider how to best consolidate and cascade existing resources and best practices across departments, balancing central guidance with local autonomy.
16
Accepted
Para 66
Bullying, harassment, and discrimination levels in Cabinet Office remain a significant concern.
Recommendation
Levels of bullying, harassment and discrimination at the Cabinet Office remain a point of concern. We welcome the desire expressed by senior leaders to reduce those levels and are encouraged to learn that a formal programme is in place to …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office will report to the Committee on its progress in delivering the ‘A Better Cabinet Office’ programme, including an evaluation of the Respect and Inclusion Review, with improvements in dispute management, workplace adjustments, intranet accessibility, policy navigation, and piloting an Anonymous Speak Up Portal.
17
Accepted
Require Cabinet Office to report progress and evaluate 'A Better Cabinet Office' programme.
Recommendation
The Cabinet Office should report to the Committee on its progress in delivering the ‘A Better Cabinet Office’ programme, in its response to this report. As part of that work, the Cabinet Office should include a thorough evaluation of its …
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Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office provides an update on the 'A Better Cabinet Office' programme, detailing its structure and achievements. It also reports that the evaluation of the Respect and Inclusion Review is in progress with independent assurance, noting 45 recommendations are complete and 11 are in progress with delivery dates this financial year.
Conclusions (2)
1
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 14
When first launched, the People Survey was intended as a tool to support government departments and agencies in embedding and improving employee engagement. However, the data that have emerged from the survey have revealed themselves to be crucial to a much broader audience: to Parliamentarians, researchers and academics, and trade …
Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation, committing to consider wider engagement of external stakeholders, include consultees in future technical guides, and implement a user engagement strategy.
3
Conclusion
Accepted
Para 19
We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge facing the Cabinet Office in translating the many demands for data voiced into a single survey questionnaire. Ultimately, no single source of data will be able to answer all the questions stakeholders have about the experiences and performance of civil servants …
Government Response Summary
The Cabinet Office accepts the recommendation to develop a broader evidence base. It has commissioned a review to utilise wider data, is developing a data dashboard for administrative data, and will consider how to include pulse surveys as a cross-government resource.