Civil Service People Survey for members in CPS

The annual Civil Service People Survey went live on 19 September and runs until 6pm on 13 October.

Management has provided OU codes so that your responses will be associated with where you work.

If you have not received your OU code, then ask you line manager for it.

Information about the survey and how to access it has been published on the CPS intranet in a People Survey hub.

Should I complete the survey?

Yes, do complete it.

Despite there being no joint statement from the CPS and departmental trade unions this year, the PCS group executive is supportive of the survey and encourages you to complete it.

The survey is a key mechanism for people to provide feedback to the department about of their working lives – what is going well and what could be better. Complete it carefully and honestly.

Management says the survey will take about 20 minutes to complete. For some people it can take longer. There is no need to complete it all in one go. Take the time you need to complete it.

Do reflect before providing your responses and make sure they count. Complete the demographics section, as this allows meaningful analysis of the responses by groups, other than just by the CPS organisational structures.

You might not know all the answers to the questions or indeed feel comfortable about disclosing information. All we ask is for you to complete those questions you feel able to complete.

The results will be analysed by area/directorate/division/team, and by demographic groupings.

We can use the analyses to advance the causes of PCS members: particularly where they reveal bullying and prejudice or differences in the treatment of people based where they work, on level of responsibility, age, disability; gender, sexuality, ethnicity / culture, and social heritage. However, good quality data from the survey is essential. Without it, any analyses are harder to interpret for your representatives.

Your wellbeing and happiness at work is important to your union. Your participation in and contribution to the People Survey is essential to help us push for beneficial changes and improvements for all PCS members.

Your group executive will collaborate with the employer and our sister trade union, the FDA, when reviewing the results and to agreeing and progressing actions arising from the survey.

Your demographics

Declare as much as you feel able to. If you have a disability or long-term health condition, then say so. If you do not, then say so. If you identify as LGBTQi+ then say so. Record as best you can your ethnicity/cultural inheritance and your social inheritance. Say how you identify in terms of gender. Your demographics will be associated with your responses, but it will not be possible to use them to identify you.

The big question – confidentiality?

The Cabinet Office and Qualtrics, who together run the survey, have a legal responsibility to protect the confidentiality of information about you and your identity.

Confidentiality is assured for anyone who completes the People Survey. Individuals and their responses cannot be identified by people doing the analysing. No standard reports will be produced from the People Survey for teams or groups by demographics that have fewer than ten respondents.