Letter from the Permanent Secretary to
the Chair, Communities and Local Government Committee
STAFF SURVEY RESULTS—FIRST QUARTER
2007
I am writing to let you have the results of
the Department's first quarterly staff survey, which took place
in February and March. We surveyed 900 (25%) of our staff, a sufficiently
large sample to draw statistically valid conclusions about staff
opinion as a whole. The response rate was 66%, in line with the
current average 65% response rate for general staff surveys carried
out by our pollster Ipsos MORI for other government departments.
The results show the high level of commitment
of our staff. 88% know what the Department is here to do, 85%
understand how their work contributes to the objectives of the
Department and 84% are committed to helping the Department achieve
those objectives. These results are above Ipsos MORI's current
benchmarks of 77%, 61% and 73% respectively for other organisations.
82% of staff are clear who their customers and stakeholders are
amd regularly look for ways to serve them better, above the current
central government benchmark of 70%. 56% of staff say morale is
good in their team which is higher than the current bench,ark
of 28% for other organisations.
However, other results suggest we have much
more work to do, particularly in the area of dignity and respect.
62% of staff feel people are treated with dignity and respect
compared with the current central government benchmark of 72%.
49% would feel confidenct in reporting unfair treatment. 30% think
it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done and
20% think the Department as a whole is well managed—below
the current central government department benchmark of 34%.
The results on dignity and respect is disappointing
as we have taken significant action to improve this aspect of
our working culture. As we know, we made our dignity and respect
course mandatory for all team leaders and senior civil servants,
and had a very strong response. It is now open to staff of all
grades. We are looking at what else we can do as part of our change
programme to make clear what we expect from staff at all levels.
In the next quarterly survey we intend to ask some specific questions
about bullying, harassment and discrimination to check progress
since the 2005 ODPM survey. This will give us a tighter focus
on this particular aspect of the dignity and respect agenda.
So this survey highlights real improvements
but also real challenges. We intend to build on the improvements
while doing more to address the challenges in the coming months.
I look forward to updating you on progress in
the near future.
Peter Housden
14 May 2007
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