Summary of the Evaluation of the Public Service Employee Survey

Survey description

• The Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) has been conducted every three years since 1999. It collects public service employees’ opinions on their engagement, leadership, workforce and workplace.
• In 2014, 182,165 public service employees in 93 departments and agencies completed the survey.
• To deliver the 2014 PSES, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat spent $2.3 million in salaries and services, of which $1.2 million was paid to Statistics Canada, which administered the survey.

Evaluation scope and methodology

• The evaluation examined the PSES from its inception in 1999 to 2014 but focused on the 2014 PSES, in particular, program design, activities, outputs and immediate outcomes.
• Performance, relevance, and alternative approaches to design and delivery were examined.
• The evaluation was based on multiple sources of evidence:
  • a review of PSES foundational documents
  • a trend analysis of PSES results
  • an examination of public service employee surveys in Canada’s provinces and territories, and in the US, the UK and Australia
  • interviews with deputy heads, Secretariat executives and other stakeholders
  • a survey of primary users (PSES departmental champions and heads of human resources)

Evaluation constraints and limitations

• Employee perspectives are not represented in the evaluation other than those of union representatives.
• Non-participating departments and agencies were represented by one interviewee from a small agency.
• Jurisdictions were reluctant to release expenditures.
• Changes to response scales limited the trend analysis that could be performed on PSES historical results.

Program outcomes

• Improvements lead to a high-performing and engaged public service that delivers on government priorities now and in the future.

Performance measures

• Extent to which PSES results inform decisions about people management

Evaluation findings

Need for program remains – Yes

• The PSES fulfills a critical need to regularly assess employees’ engagement and their views on key aspects of their jobs and their workplace.

Program aligns with government priorities and Secretariat roles and responsibilities – Yes

• Ministerial mandate letters support public service effectiveness, productivity and well-being. Budget 2016 supports evidence-based improvements through the use of employee surveys.

Recommendations

• The Secretariat should develop a strategy to proactively address government-wide issues highlighted in the PSES results. Such a strategy should include the Secretariat:
  • playing a stronger leadership role in government-wide initiatives for change while respecting individual deputy head accountabilities
  • bringing greater consequences to departments and agencies regarding their PSES performance, depending on their level of improvement
  • taking specific actions to address those issues that could benefit from government-wide intervention.
• The Secretariat should develop a plan to enhance the PSES program that addresses the following:
  • providing timelier insights to departments and agencies on employee engagement, the workplace, the workforce and leadership issues
  • facilitating ongoing consultation with organizations and continual improvement of survey tools and products
  • enabling a wider range of analysis, including collecting additional targeted data
  • ensuring that the PSES represents the state of the art in survey methodology and remains pertinent to key user and stakeholder groups