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4 Results in Detail
This part of the report discusses the findings from the 2007 survey in detail. Each section is discussed in turn, chronologically as featured in the questionnaire. Where applicable, comparisons are made with the external benchmarks and 2006 survey results. Interesting and informative demographic differences are also referred to where relevant.
Note: in the graphs presenting benchmark information, the Central Government benchmark comparison is labelled 'Difference from CGBM' and the private sector benchmark comparison is labelled 'Difference from PSBM'. In these charts a '0' indicates there is no difference between the SG result and the benchmark. Where there is no value shown next to a question, for the difference from the benchmarks, this means that there is no benchmark comparison available for that question.
4.1 Me and My Job
Overall job satisfaction amongst respondents continues to improve, with three quarters of respondents (75%) indicating they are satisfied with their job, an improvement of 13 percentage points since 2006. This is also higher than the Central Government and private sector benchmarks (14 and 3 percentage points higher respectively). Female respondents are more satisfied with their job than male respondents: 78% of females are satisfied with their job compared to 74% of male respondents.
Interestingly, although overall job satisfaction has improved, there has been a decline in the proportion of respondents who think their job makes good use of their skills and abilities (70% positive, a decline of 5 percentage points since 2006). Respondents employed on a fixed-term contract are less likely than those employed on a permanent basis to feel their job makes good use of their skills and abilities: 61% responded positively compared to 70% of permanent respondents. A few respondents commented on the fact they do not feel their skills are being used effectively.
Most respondents understand how their work contributes to the objectives of theSG (80% positive) and can clearly see how their work contributes to the business plan of their work area (76% positive). These are some of the highest percentage positive responses to the survey and it is particularly positive that such a high proportion of respondents understand how their work contributes to the objectives of the SG as this has been found to be a key driver of engagement. However, the latter result is lower than both the Central Government and private sector benchmarks (6 and 12 percentage points lower respectively).
Although the perception of job security amongst respondents is similar to that seen in 2006, it is very positive in comparison to the external benchmarks: Just over two thirds of respondents (67%) feel they have job security, which is 25 percentage points higher than the Central Government benchmark and 9 percentage points higher than the private sector benchmark.
Perceptions of job security also vary by length of service with those who have worked for the organisation for less than 2 years being less likely to feel secure in their job than other respondents. These results are shown in the chart below.
13. I feel I have job security
Some respondents commented about the sense of a lack of job security amongst some staff, though it seems Agency respondents commented about poor job security more often than core respondents.
Perceptions of whether respondents feel a sense of personal achievement from their job has also improved slightly since 2006 but is still just slightly below the benchmark averages. This question has also been identified as a key driver of engagement, as was the case last year, and so it is important to continue improving this result in order to improve overall engagement with the SG.
Just 58% of respondents feel they can influence decisions that affect their job and it seems male respondents are more likely than female respondents to feel they can: 63% of males feel they can compared to 57% of female respondents.
It is still of concern that only 34% of respondents feel appropriately rewarded for their performance in the SG ( i.e. total reward package). Although this is an improvement of 4 percentage points since 2006, there is still room for improvement as 44% of respondents do not feel appropriately rewarded. This question has also been identified as a key driver of engagement and so it is important to continue to improvement perceptions of how performance is rewarded to improve levels of engagement with the SG.
Interestingly, respondents who are employed on a fixed-term basis are more likely than permanent respondents to feel appropriately rewarded for their performance in the SG: 45% responded positively to this question compared to 33% of permanent respondents. Results to this question also differ by length of service as shown in the graph below and it seems that in general, the longer respondents have worked for the organisation, the less likely they are to feel appropriately rewarded for their performance.
15. I feel appropriately rewarded (i.e. total reward package) for my performance in the Scottish Government
Results to all of the questions in this section, broken down by band show the same pattern - in general the more senior the respondent the more positive they are about the different aspects of their job. These results are shown in the graph below.
Respondents who work in the Agencies and Associated Departments responded less positively than core and secondee respondents to the majority of the questions about their job as shown in the graph below.
4.2 Development and Performance
It is positive to see that overall perceptions of learning and development have improved since 2006. Most respondents (88%) feel they have the skills and knowledge they need to achieve their objectives (an improvement of 8 percentage points since 2006). This may be due to the fact that there has been a significant improvement in satisfaction with the learning opportunities respondents receive to provide them with the skills and knowledge to do their job (71% positive, an improvement of 15 percentage points since 2006). In addition to this, there has also been an improvement in the proportion of respondents who feel their performance has improved as a result of the skills and knowledge they have developed over the past year, which is also in-line with the Central Government benchmark.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of respondents who have line management responsibilities feel confident in their skills and abilities to manage their team (92%). This is a far higher percentage positive score than the question asked of all staff about whether their team is managed well (69% - see section 4.3.1), so it would seem that perhaps some managers perceive their management skills differently to how their staff perceive them.
The only question in this section of the questionnaire asked previously that has not improved is the question about whether respondents feel their performance was accurately reflected at the conclusion of the performance review process. Just under two-thirds of respondents (65%) gave a positive response to this question, which is below both the Central Government and private sector benchmarks (6 and 9 percentage points lower respectively).
Although most respondents feel they have the knowledge and skills they need to achieve their objectives, respondents are less positive about having the opportunities to progress their career in the SG, Agencies and Associated Departments, with just 49% responding positively. However this is an improvement of 5 percentage points since 2006 and is far more positive than the Central Government benchmark (32%) and higher than the private sector benchmark. This question has been identified as being a key driver of engagement with the SG so it is important that this progress is continued to improve levels of engagement with the SG further as there is still over a quarter of respondents (27%) who do not believe there are opportunities to progress their career.
Some respondents commented on their dissatisfaction with opportunities for career progression and the lack of support in progressing and reinforce the findings of the statistical analysis which found that perceptions of career progression opportunities is a key driver of engagement.
Perceptions of development and career progression also vary by band as seen in the graph below. In general it seems the more senior the respondent is the more positive they are likely to be about development and career progression opportunities with SCS respondents being the most positive.
Interestingly it seems female respondents are more positive than males about learning and development and opportunities for career progression as shown in the graph below.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it seems the longer respondents have worked for the SG, Agencies and Associated Departments, the less likely they are to feel there are opportunities to progress in their career. These results broken down by length of service are shown in the graph below:
23. I believe there are opportunities to progress in my career in the Scottish Government, Agencies and Associated Departments (NOT SECONDEE)
A larger proportion of respondents who are employed on a fixed term basis than permanent respondents feel their performance has improved as a result of the skills and knowledge they have developed over the past year (see graph below). However they are less likely than permanent respondents to believe there are opportunities to progress their careers in the organisation. This may be expected due to their type of employment, however it may raise concerns that these people are developing their skills and knowledge well and using the resources of the organisation to do so but are then not made good use of due to their contract ending. This may be perceived by some as a waste of resources and a loss of skills. Some fixed term respondents also commented at the end of the survey about their frustration of not being able to continue the work they have been doing.
4.3 Team and Line Management
4.3.1 Our Team
Perceptions of team working continue to be a strength for the SG and are improving, with most respondents (85%) indicating that their team co-operates to get the work done. This is one of the most positive results from the survey and is more positive than the Central Government (81%) and private sector (83%) benchmarks.
There has been a noticeable improvement in the proportion of respondents who feel that overall, their team is well managed: 69% of respondents agree this is the case, which is higher than in 2006 and also higher than the Central Government benchmark. This positive perception of the management of their team also reflects the fact that perceptions of line management have improved since 2006 as seen in the following section of this report.
Respondents employed on a fixed-term basis are more positive than permanent respondents about how well their team is managed: 76% of fixed-term respondents feel their team is well managed compared to 69% of permanent respondents.
Perceptions about whether teams regularly look for better ways of working with stakeholders/customers vary depending on how senior respondents are as shown in the graph overleaf. In general the more senior respondents are the more likely they are to believe their team regularly looks for better ways of working with stakeholders/customers.
28. Our team regularly looks for better ways of working with stakeholders/customers
4.3.2 Line Management
Overall perceptions of line management are quite positive and are continuing to improve gradually year-on-year, with most questions asked in 2006 showing some improvement.
Respondents are positive about the objectives they have been set with around three quarters of respondents indicating they are fully involved in setting their work objectives (77%) and therefore feel their objectives clearly set out what is expected of them in their job (75%). Core respondents are more likely than Agency respondents to feel they are fully involved in setting their work objectives (80% of Core respondents compared to 71% of Agency respondents).
Interestingly, it seems that in general, the more senior a respondent's line manager is the more likely they are to feel they have been fully involved in setting their work objectives as shown in the graph overleaf. This is also reflected in the breakdown of this question by respondent's band in that the more senior respondents are the more likely they are to feel they have been fully involved in setting their work objectives. However, we do not see a similar pattern of responses when we breakdown the results of the question about whether respondents feel their objectives clearly set out what is expected of them in their job, by band of their line manager.
36. I am fully involved in setting my work objectives
36. I am fully involved in setting my work objectives
Satisfaction with recognition is also quite positive with 73% of respondents feeling their line manager recognises and acknowledges when they have done their job well, which is in line with both the Central Government and private sector benchmarks.
Although respondents are generally quite positive about their line manager, the least positive results in this section of the questionnaire are about communication from their line manager. Just 65% of respondents feel their line manager communicates effectively to give them the information they need to do a good job. Although this is 2 percentage points more positive than in 2006, it is still slightly lower than both the Central Government and private sector benchmarks (69% and 71% respectively). However, although a similar proportion of respondents feel confident that, on important matters, their manager communicates their thoughts and feelings upwards (63%), this result is more positive than the Central Government and private sector benchmarks (both 59% positive).
It seems that the more senior a respondents line manager is the less positive respondents are about the communication from their line manager as shown in the graph below. Respondents whose line manager is Band A are more likely than those whose line manager is Band B, C or SCS level to feel their line manager communicates effectively to give them the information they need to do a good job.
32. My line manager communicates effectively to give me the information I need to do a good job
The least positive result in this section is about line managers motivating and inspiring staff to be more effective in their job: just 59% feel this is the case. However, although this seems quite a low result, it is an improvement of 3 percentage points since 2006 and is higher than the Central Government benchmark (55%) and only 2 percentage points lower than the private sector benchmark.
Interestingly, respondents who indicated they are a gay man are more positive than those who are heterosexual/straight about their line manager motivating and inspiring them to be more effective in their job (73% positive compared to 60% of those who are heterosexual/straight). In addition to this a larger proportion of gay men (78%) than those who are heterosexual/straight (67%) feel their line manager takes a genuine interest in their development.
In general, respondents who are employed on a fixed-term basis are more positive than permanent respondents about their line manager as seen in the graph overleaf. However they gave less positive responses than permanent respondents about being fully involved in setting their work objectives and feeling these clearly set out what is expected of them in their job.
4.4 Working Environment
Overall perceptions of the working environment have improved slightly since 2006, but satisfaction with the physical working environment is still below the Central Government and private sector benchmarks. Just 58% of respondents feel their physical working environment allows them to be productive in their job, an improvement of 4 percentage points since 2006 but 9 percentage points below the benchmarks. These results also vary by location as shown in the graph below, with respondents from Meridian Court and Pentland House responding less positively about their working environment than respondents from other buildings. Respondent from Europa House were the most positive about their working environment.
38. The physical working environment allows me to be productive in my job
Respondents were also asked to indicate if they have any concerns about any aspects of their working environment by ticking one or more of a number of options/types of concern. Overall 74% of respondents to the survey selected at least one of the options listed indicating they have concerns about at least one aspect of their working environment. The graph below shows the proportion of respondents to the survey who selected each type of concern. Temperature and ventilation, the availability of meeting rooms and noise levels still appear to be the main areas for concern amongst respondents not happy with their working environment, as was the case in 2006.
39 Please indicate if you have any concerns with the following aspects of your working environment
Respondent perception of the Information and communication technology ( ICT/ IT) is similar to that seen in 2006 with just under two thirds of respondents (65%) indicating the ICT/ IT in the SG helps them to do their job more effectively. However perceptions of ICT/ IT vary by location as shown in the chart overleaf: respondents from Saughton House are far more positive than respondents from other buildings, whilst the least positive response came from respondents who selected 'Other' from the list of buildings listed in the questionnaire.
42. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT/ IT) in the Scottish Government helps me to do my job more effectively
The questionnaire asked respondents to provide details of any comments they may have about the information and communication technology in the SG. These comments were then themed based on the different issues they covered and the graph below lists the number of comments given for each theme.
43 If you have any comments about the Information and Communication Technology (ICT/IT) in the Scottish Government, please provide more details:
This shows that 29% of the comments given were about the support they receive from the ICT/ IT team. Many comments were from respondents who are happy with the support they have received, though most of these were from Core respondents rather than Agency respondents. However, there were also comments from respondents who are not happy with the support they have received, were not sure who to contact or who the IT teams are.
Many comments also mentioned a lack of staff within the ICT/helpdesk teams to meet the needs of users. There were also comments from remote workers who experience problems getting the support they need for their IT needs.
The next most commented on theme within the comments about ICT/ IT was about e RDM/ Objective, with 24% of respondents who made a comment about ICT/ IT commenting on this. The comments generally show respondent dissatisfaction with e RDM/Objective software.
Many comments were made about other software generally by 18% of those who made a comment about ICT/ IT. Many of these comments are from respondents explaining that they feel the systems and software used within SG need updating and feel the systems work too slowly and break down too often.
Only just over half of respondents (51%) feel their work area takes account of its impact on the environment. However, this question received quite a high neutral response (36%) and may be an indication that many respondents may not be sure whether their work area does take account of its impact on the environment. It may also be an indication that some respondents are not quite sure what the question is asking, or may feel that some people do take account of their impact on the environment, whilst others do not.
Overall, 62% of respondents feel that if they have a Health and Safety concern, they know it will be acted upon. However this result varies by location, with respondents from Pentland House being least likely to feel this way. They are also the least positive compared to those from other buildings in response to the question about whether they feel their work area takes account of its impact on the environment.
4.5 Senior Management
4.5.1 Perceptions of Senior Management amongst Core respondents
The definition of "Strategic Board" stated in the questionnaire explained this consists of the Permanent Secretary and the five Directors-General ( DGs). The questions about the Strategic Board elicited very low positive responses and high neutral responses as seen in the chart above. This is quite typical of results seen in other Central Government organisations and is often due to many staff not being close enough to the Strategic Board to be able to say how they feel one way or the other. It can also sometimes be due to some respondents believing that some Board members are more effective than others.
It is encouraging to see that there has been an improvement in the proportion of core respondents who feel the SGis well managed (37% positive compared to 30% in 2006). This is also more positive than seen elsewhere in Central Government (28%). However there is still room for improvement as this is 6 percentage points lower than the private sector benchmark and this question has also been found to be a key driver of engagement with the SG. It is therefore important to continue to improve perceptions of how well managed the SG is to gain improvements in the level of engagement.
Questions concerning senior management often elicit low positive results in employee engagement surveys of this kind, as is the case with some of the SG results, and is often due to respondents not having enough contact with senior managers to have a strong opinion about them. The fact that 23% of respondents do not feel senior managers in their Directorate are sufficiently visible reflects this and may be the main explanation for some of the uncertainty amongst respondents about how to respond to the questions. This is also reflected in some of the comments written provided at the end of the questionnaire by respondents who feel senior managers need to be more visible.
The wording of the questions in this section of the questionnaire has been updated since 2006 and now asks about the senior managers within the respondent's Directorate, whereas in 2006 the questions just asked about senior management as a whole across the SG. Therefore this year we are unable to compare the results of these questions as the emphasis of the questions has changed.
Although just over half of respondents (55%) have confidence in the senior managers in their Directorate, fewer respondents feel their senior managers set a good example to staff in the way they work, clearly explain the reasons behind major decisions or work together across organisational boundaries to deliver outcomes (43%, 42% and 42% respectively). However as mentioned before, these low positive responses are being driven partly by high neutral responses, particularly in response to the question about whether senior managers work together across boundaries to deliver outcomes.
The key feedback to focus on for action in this section is to ensure senior managers explain the reasons behind major decisions as a quarter of respondents (25%) gave a negative response to this question, the highest negative response in this section.
'Management' was the theme from the verbatim comments provided at the end of the questionnaire which received the most comments with some respondents expressing their dissatisfaction with senior management.
4.5.2 Perceptions of Senior Management amongst Agency and Associated Department respondents
The questions about the Management Board/the Top Team elicited quite low positive responses and high neutral responses as seen in the chart above. As mentioned previously, this is quite typical of results seen in other Central Government organisations and is often due to many staff not being close enough to the Board/Top Team to be able to say how they feel one way or the other. It can also sometimes be due to some respondents believing that some Board/top Team members are more effective than others.
Although the positive responses are quite low, the overall perception of how well managed their Agency/Associated Department is, is more positive than seen elsewhere in Central Government: 48% of respondents feel their Agency/Associated Department is well managed compared to just 28% of respondents across Central Government overall. This is also more positive than the private sector benchmark (43%). Perceptions of senior leaders is seen to be an issue generally across Central Government and this is reflected by this large difference in the benchmark norms. This question has also been found to be a key driver of engagement and so it is important to continue to improve perceptions of how well managed the organisation is to gain improvements in the level of engagement.
Over a quarter of Agency and Associated Department respondents (26%) do not think senior managers in their work area are sufficiently visible and this may be why there are such high neutral responses to the questions about their senior managers. However there are a few other quite high negative responses to questions about senior management in their work area: only 42% of respondents think senior managers in their work area clearly explain the reasons behind major decisions and 29% do not think they do.
This is also reflected in some of the comments written provided at the end of the questionnaire by respondents who feel senior managers need to be more visible.
'Management' was the theme from the verbatim comments provided at the end of the questionnaire which received the most comments with some respondents expressing their dissatisfaction with senior management.
4.5.3 Differences in perceptions of Senior Management between respondent demographic groups
The responses from Agency/Associated Department and Core respondents to the questions about senior management have all been combined together and analysed by the different demographic breakdowns to identify differences in opinion between different respondent groups.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, SCS level respondents are more likely than other respondents to feel the SG/Agency/Associated Department is well managed as shown in the graph below. Results for this question do not vary substantially between respondents who are Band A, B and C. However results to the two questions about the Strategic Board/Top Team do not vary substantially by Band.
44. The Scottish Government/My Agency/ Associated Department is well managed
There is also a difference in perception amongst respondents depending on how long they have worked at the SG. Respondents who are new to the organisation are the most positive whilst those who have worked there for over 5 years are the least positive and their perceptions do not differ greatly after that.
Respondents employed on a fixed-term basis are more positive than permanent respondents in response to the questions about the Strategic Board/Management Board/Top Team as shown in the graph below.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Band C and SCS respondents have far more positive perceptions of local senior management than other respondents, whilst perceptions do not vary substantially between Band A and B respondents. These results are presented in the graph below.
Permanent respondents are noticeably less positive about senior management than those employed on a fixed term basis.
4.6 Communication in the Organisation
Perceptions of communication are quite mixed. Just under two-thirds of respondents (63%) feel the information about what's going on in the SG is relevant to them/their work, which is a slight decline of 3 percentage points since 2006.
Above average proportions of respondents in comparison to the Central Government benchmark feel the SG does a good job of keeping them informed about matters affecting them and feel they have the opportunity to contribute their views to decisions that will affect their work. However these results have seen a slight decline since 2006.
Only 48% of respondents feel information about what is going on in the Scottish Government is communicated at an appropriate time or communicated in a way that helps them to do their work. This latter result has also changed very little since 2006. However it seems these results are not driven by high negative responses, but rather high neutral responses, suggesting many respondents may not be sure whether information is communicated at an appropriate time or in a way that helps them do their work. Or they may feel that information is communicated at a good time or in a way that helps them some of the time, but not always and so is in need of improvement.
The lowest percentage positive response received in the survey was the question about whether respondents think that generally the different parts of the Scottish Government communicate effectively with one another. Just 27% of respondents believe this is the case. Although this is the least positive response to the survey it has seen an improvement of 5 percentage points since 2006, so the result is heading in the right direction.
When looking at the results for sub-groups, generally, the more senior respondents gave more positive responses than less senior respondents. In particular SCS and Band C respondents are more positive to the questions about communication than other respondents as shown in the graph below. Responses between Band A and B respondents did not vary greatly.
4.7 Finance in the Scottish Government
Overall perceptions of financial management within the SG seem to have improved slightly since 2006, as all four questions asking about respondent perceptions of financial management have shown some improvement. The biggest improvement is in response to the question about whether respondents feel that, in their experience, the SG has a culture of sound financial management: 36% of respondents think it has, which is an improvement of 8 percentage points since 2006. This is still quite a low positive response however so there is still room for improvement.
However, this low positive response seems to be driven by a high neutral response (42%) rather than a high negative response, which is an indication that many respondents may not be quite sure if the SG has a culture of sound financial management or may feel that the culture is more sound in some parts of the SG compared to other parts. This is evident by the results when broken down by those respondents who manage a budget compared to those who do not manage a budget, as shown in the graph overleaf. Respondents who manage or monitor a Direct Running Cost ( DRC) or Programme budget are more positive about financial management within the SG than respondents who don't manage or monitor a budget and have far lower neutral responses than those who do not manage or monitor a budget. However, it is still concerning that over a quarter of respondents who manage or monitor a budget do not feel the SG has a sound culture of financial management.
58 In my experience, the Scottish Government has a culture of sound financial management
Overall, 14% of respondents are currently involved in managing or monitoring a Direct Running Cost ( DRC) budget, and 25% are involved in managing or monitoring a Programme budget as part of their job.
The tables below show that the more senior the respondent the more likely they are to manage or monitor a budget. Most SCS members manage or monitor a budget whilst far smaller proportions of respondents in the other bands do.
Therefore it is not surprising that, when looking at the results for sub-groups, SCS members are more positive about financial management within the SG than respondents within other bands as seen in the graph below.
Although the perception of financial management within the SG is quite negative, it is worth noting that the key driver analysis conducted to assess which issues have the greatest impact on levels of engagement within the SG shows that perceptions of financial management have very little impact on levels of engagement. Therefore, although some of the questions about financial management are some of the lowest scoring questions in the survey, the issues identified as key drivers of engagement in section 1.3.1 should be prioritised for potential areas for action before considering trying to improve perceptions of financial management.
Respondents were asked if they have needed to obtain financial information or advice in the past 12 months, and 47% of respondents have needed to. Those who have were then given a list of ways in which they could obtain and access financial information or advice and asked to select which they have used in the past 12 months and then rate how satisfied they are with each of them. The graph overleaf shows the proportion of respondents who use each form of communication: this shows that the finance team are now the most used source of financial information and advice, closely followed by the BCLO and 'other colleagues'.
The sources used least often and found least useful are the SETV Financial Awareness Programme, external consultants and the 'Finance skills for all' - e-Learning toolkit. The sources respondents are least satisfied with in terms of the quality of information or advice provided are the Finance Intranet Pages, SEAS Team/Purchase to Pay and the SG Short guide to Finance.
63a Which of the following have you used in the past 12 months to obtain information or advice about finance?
63b How satisfied are you with the quality of information or advice you were provided with? (Only answered by those who indicated they use each method)
4.8 Policy Design and Delivery
Around a quarter of respondents (28%) indicated they are directly involved in the design or development of policies for Scottish Ministers. The questions listed in the graph below were only answered by those respondents:
Perceptions of policy design and delivery have improved noticeably since 2006. However, it should be noted that the wording of some of the questions has changed slightly and now refer to the design and development of policy rather than the design and delivery of policy.
Almost three-quarters of respondents (73%) feel that, in their experience, they are working effectively with external stakeholders in the design and development of policy, an improvement of 8 percentage points since 2006.
Overall, 65% of respondents feel that, in their experience, the design and development of policy is based on sound evidence, which is an improvement of 6 percentage points since 2006. Interestingly, Band A and SCS respondents are more positive than Band B and C respondents in response to this question as shown in the graph overleaf.
65. In my experience the design and development of policy is based on sound evidence
The most notable improvement is the proportion of respondents who feel that, in their experience, people across policy areas work together in the design and development of policies: 62% feel this is the case, which is an improvement of 11 percentage points since 2006.
It is also positive to see that, although only 42% of respondents believe the SG are effectively involving members of the public in the design and development of policy, this is also more positive than in 2006 (34%).
4.9 Work Culture
4.9.1 Work Life Balance
Note: The % positive result for question 71 is the proportion of respondents who do not feel the level of stress in their job has a negative effect on their work, and the % negative result us the proportion of respondents who feel the level of stress in their job does have a negative effect on their work.
A similar proportion of respondents compared to 2006 feel able to strike the right balance between their work and home life with 69% indicating this is the case. This is 2 percentage points higher than in 2006 and in line with the Central Government and private sector benchmarks (67% and 66% respectively). Although this is quite a positive result, it is of concern that there has been a decline in the proportion of respondents who do not feel the level of stress in their job has a negative effect on their work (41% positive compared to 46% in 2006) (this was a negatively worded question and therefore the percentage positive response is a combination of the Strongly disagree and Disagree responses). However this is in line with the Central Government benchmark (38%). It is therefore quite interesting that although over two thirds of respondents feel able to strike the right balance between their work and home life, fewer feel positive about the level of stress in their job. This is a pattern often seen across different Central Government organisations and may be due to respondents being keen to only work their contracted hours but feel under a lot of pressure to be able to get their work done effectively within that time.
When looking at the results for sub-groups, as would be hoped, respondents with alternative working patterns are more likely than other staff to feel able to strike the right balance (72% compared to 68% of respondents not working alternative working patterns).
Line managers and more senior respondents are less likely to be satisfied with their ability to strike the right balance between their work and home life. Just 63% of line managers compared to 74% of other respondents feel able to strike the right balance between their work and home life. In addition, just 39% of line managers compared to 43% of other respondents do not feel the level of stress in their job has a negative impact on their work. The graph overleaf shows the breakdown of the stress and work life balance questions by band. Interestingly, although in general the more senior respondents are the less likely they are to feel able to balance their work and home life, this pattern is the reverse when looking at the results to the question about stress by band as SCS respondents are less likely to feel the level of stress has a negative impact on their work. This may be due to them having a different view of what is expected of them. Some respondents commented at the end of the questionnaire about the level of pressure and stress they experience.
4.9.2 Treatment of Staff
It is very encouraging to see that perceptions of how staff are treated have improved since 2006 and that over three quarters of respondents (79%) think the SG respects individual differences. This is an improvement of 4 percentage points since 2006 and far more positive than the Central Government benchmark and higher than the private sector benchmark (66% and 73% respectively). This question has also been found to be a key driver of engagement and so it is important that this positive result is maintained.
It is also positive, in comparison to the Central Government benchmark, that over half of respondents (52%) think it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done in the SG. This is a slight improvement of 2 percentage points since 2006 and is 9 percentage points higher than the Central Government benchmark. There is still room for improvement to continue however as this is slightly below the private sector benchmark (54%) and there are still 21% of respondents who do not think it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done.
Overall, 47% of respondents believe that if they experience a problem with a colleague, that it will be handled effectively. However, a smaller proportion of respondents feel that if they experience a problem working with a manager that it will be handled effectively (37%). Both of these results look quite negative but it seems the low positive responses are being driven more by high neutral responses than by high negative responses. This may be due to many respondents not being sure how things would be handled if they experienced problems with colleagues or a manager. It is of concern though that almost a quarter of respondents (24%) do not feel that if they experience a problem working with a manager that it will be handled effectively.
One of the least positive responses to the survey was that about how effectively poor performance is dealt with: just 28% feel poor performance is dealt with effectively in their work area. Although this has improved by 4 percentage points since 2006 there is still room for improvement as this is just in line with the Central Government benchmark and 9 percentage points lower than the private sector benchmark. This is seen as an issue generally across most Central Government Departments and this is reflected by the difference between the Central Government and private sector benchmark norms. Some comments made by respondents at the end of the questionnaire also reflect some dissatisfaction with how poor performance is managed and with the processes in place to deal with poor performers.
However, this low positive score is being driven by both a high neutral and negative response rather than just a high negative response. 39% of respondents gave a neutral response indicating that many may not be sure how poor performance is dealt with. This is a pattern often seen in response to this question as proceedings to deal with poor performance are usually conducted confidentially and so respondents are unlikely to see much of what is happening. It is still of concern though that almost a third of respondents (32%) do not feel poor performance is dealt with effectively and this may be due to them being aware of people who they do not feel performs effectively, or it may be that they feel underperformers are not treated differently to those who perform well. This is something often heard about by ORC International when conducting focus groups with staff in different Central Government departments.
Respondents were also asked if, in the last year, they experienced bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation whilst working in the SG: 10% of respondents indicated that they have experienced this kind of behaviour. Of these respondents, 39% reported the incident(s), which is a slight improvement since 2006 when 36% reported it. Of the 39% who reported it, 8% reported it formally involving HR and 31% reported it involving management but not HR.
Larger proportions of some groups of respondents indicated they have experienced bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation whilst working in the SG:
- 12% of respondents who work alternative working patterns compared to 9% who do not, have experienced bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation;
- 11% of female respondents compared to 8% of males have experienced bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation;
- 21% of respondents who have a Long Term Illness / Health Problems / Disability, compared to 9% of other respondents, have experienced bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation;
- 12% of respondents with childcare responsibilities compared to 9% of those who don't, have experienced bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation;
- 15% of respondents who care for a friend or relative who is frail, disabled or has long term health problems compared to 9% of those who don't, have experienced bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation;
- 10% of permanent respondents compared to 5% of respondents employed on a fixed term contract have experienced bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation;
- Results by ethnic origin show that 16% of respondents who are not of a White ethnic background, compared to 10% of white respondents, have experienced bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation;
Respondents who experienced bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation were asked to describe their experience if they wished to and the count of comments by theme are listed in the chart below.
72c Please describe your experience if you wish to (e.g. what form the bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation took; how you felt the issues were dealt with)
4.10 Engagement with the Scottish Government
Respondents are quite positive about the SG and there has been some improvement since 2006 where comparisons are available and results are generally more positive than seen across Central Government as a whole. However, levels of engagement are lower than those seen across the private sector and so there is still room for improvement. It is therefore important to focus on improving the results for the questions identified as key drivers of engagement listed in section 1.3 and mentioned throughout this report, as improving these results will have a greater positive impact on engagement than taking action on the other questions in the survey.
It is positive that almost three quarters of respondents (74%) intend to still be working for the SG/its Agencies/Associated Departments in 12 months' time (this question was not included in the questionnaire sent to secondees). This is more positive than both the Central Government and private sector benchmarks (67% and 71% respectively).
It is also encouraging that almost three quarters of respondents (73%) think the SG is a good place to work, which is an improvement of 3 percentage points since 2006, higher than the Central Government benchmark (66%) and the same as the private sector benchmark. In addition to this there has been an improvement in the proportion of respondents who would recommend the SG as a good place to work: 64% would, an improvement of 4 percentage points since 2006. This is also more positive than the Central Government benchmark (56%). However there is still room for improvement to continue as this result is lower than the private sector benchmark (70%).
A potential area for concern is that there has been a slight decline in the proportion of respondents who feel valued for what they can offer the SG (52% positive compared to 55% in 2006). This is slightly higher than the Central Government benchmark of 48%, but lower than the private sector benchmark of 56%.
Interestingly, some respondents wrote comments at the end of the questionnaire specifically in relation to the engagement questions. However, not all of these reflect the issues identified as key drivers of engagement in the statistical analysis conducted.
Only 31% of respondents feel positive action is being taken following the last Employee Survey and this is one of the least positive responses received to the survey. This question received a high neutral response of 47% which is an indication that many respondents may not be aware of all of the actions implemented since the previous survey or what impact they may have had. Some comments made by respondents at the end of the survey also reflect dissatisfaction with action taken following the last survey.
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