The cross-civil service Employee Engagement score ticked up by two points to 58 points in 2012, representing a return to its level in 2009. Meanwhile, the score in the ‘Leadership and Managing Change’ category also rose, going up by three points to 41 points. This compares favourably with the 38-point scores achieved in both 2009 and 2011; the tally dipped in 2010, to 37 points.
However, a big gap remains between staff engagement levels and views of senior leaders: within the departments of state, the average gap is 18 points – with the biggest gaps in the Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office. And while perceptions of managers have improved in about half the departments, the other half have seen a decline or no change.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport saw the biggest drop in positive perceptions of its leadership and ability to manage change, with an 11 point fall. The department’s overall engagement score also fell by 12 percentage points, to 45 per cent.
The fall may be explained by the fact that in September, soon after the Olympic Games and a month before the survey was carried out, the department’s permanent secretary Jonathan Stephens wrote to all staff telling them that they would have to reapply for their posts.
A DCMS spokesman said: “These results are – inevitably – a snapshot taken at a difficult time for DCMS, when most people in the organisation had been put at risk of redundancy. But we are not complacent about the need to focus on progress.”
The Department for Education saw the second biggest drop in the Leadership and Change Management category, with a six point fall. Its staff engagement score fell by three points.
Within the Leadership and Managing Change category, two questions saw particularly sharp declines in confidence in managers. The proportion of staff feeling positive that the department as a whole is managed well fell by 10 points to 39 per cent; and the proportion of those who believe the DfE board has a clear vision for the future was down 12 points to 31 per cent. The DfE has been undergoing a period of upheaval following the exit of former permanent secretary Sir David Bell last February, and faces further big cuts.
The communities department, where civil service head Bob Kerslake is perm sec, saw its engagement score rise by three points, and faith in its leadership rise by six points. However, at 43 points, engagement remains well below average.