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Since February 2004, employee surveys have been a regular part of how many government gathers employee input about their work environment.
Regular surveying provides employees with an opportunity to anonymously share information about their workplace, and helps management progress on issues that are important to employees and identify priority areas for action.
The survey responses are not connected to your name. All individual answers are anonymous. Senior management receives a summary of the information collected. Based on explicit guidelines for reporting on results, a minimum number of respondents within a group is required before summary results can be released.
Comments are grouped under themes to further protect individual anonymity.
The Evaluation and Accountability unit of the Public Service Commission conducts this employee survey.
The Evaluation and Accountability unit is required to adhere to the Canadian Evaluation Guidelines for Ethical Conduct, and Program Evaluation Standards. We follow sampling, analysis and reporting guidelines, which are based on best practice including Statistics Canada Guidelines, the FOIPOP Act and Rules of Conduct and Good Practices for market researchers.
An Employee Engagement Inter-jurisdictional Team, with representation from most provinces and territories, as well as the Federal Government, developed common employee survey questions to measure employee engagement for use by interested public service jurisdictions across Canada. The How's Work Going? employee survey incorporates all common questions.
Questions are submitted by departmental management to gather information for the additional development or refinement of programs/policies or initiatives.
All permanent civil servants, term, casual, contract and seasonal employees including CUPE Local 1867 and NSGEU Local 480, are encouraged to participate.
The employee survey provides an opportunity for you to provide candid input to help shape your work environment and create a better workplace for you and your colleagues.
Government values diversity in the workforce, therefore it is important to determine if there are work environment differences for designated group members (Aboriginal people, African Nova Scotians or racially visible persons, and persons with disabilities) compared to the perceptions of non-designated group members.
This information will help determine specific areas that require attention in order to create a more supportive and diverse work environment. A report will be produced for the corporate Diversity Round Table and posted online. Department level diversity reports are not created in order to protect the anonymity of employees.
Yes. The self-identification portion of the survey is voluntary. If you choose to do so, your information is confidential and will be presented in a summary format to protect individual anonymity.
The results will be shared with Senior Leadership teams and they may further engage employees in further research activities or committees, to explore the issues raised in the survey, so that specific action plans can be developed.
There has been progress since 2004. The most notable changes have been:
All departments/offices will have a report posted on the employee survey website. If you do not see your department listed, that means either your department did not have a high enough level of participation for a separate report and is then included in a group report.
Yes. Evaluators conduct additional analysis for diversity issues. This report will be posted to the employee survey website.
Deputies may chose a survey day during the survey period. The day will serve as a reminder for employees who may not have had the opportunity to fill out their survey. The day will encourage employees to set aside a few minutes to complete the survey.
Visit the survey website, novascotia.ca/psc/employeeCentre/employeeSurvey/. Your senior management team can respond to questions about your department's results and any follow up activities. For questions about the survey program, or corporate results, contact Kathy Cox-Brown at the Public Service Commission's Evaluation and Accountability division at coxbrokm@gov.ns.ca or by phone at (902) 424-1746.