Surrey County Council Organisation Wide and Quarterly Pulse Surveys

Surrey County Council commissioned M·E·L Research to deliver two research programmes.

The first was an organisation-wide Staff Survey. The purpose of the survey was to help the Council understand the issues they faced during the COVID-19 outbreak and how best the Council could address issues such as remote working, health and wellbeing whilst supporting children cand caring for family members etc. This insight enabled the Council to better support and help all staff during this challenging period. The results from this survey were also used as a baseline for the quarterly pulse surveys which were introduced in January 2021 and which will continue until 2026.

Quarterly Pulse Surveys

Historically, the Council has run an annual survey which all 10,000 staff are asked to complete (mainly online). The Council decided that this annual survey approach was no longer an effective form of engagement. This was because annual surveys usually generate a lag in results analysis, the survey is run ‘at the wrong time’ and results are shared as a ‘big reveal’ which becomes a static reputation for the year.

Using M·E·L Research’s extensive experience, quarterly pulse surveys have now allowed the Council to constantly understand how its staff are feeling so they can make improvements/changes in a timely manner. The pulse surveys conducted so far have included questions from the Council’s organisation wide survey but also national surveys (such as the Civil Service People and NHS Staff Surveys) to help monitor progress.

Solutions & Outcomes

Whilst benchmarking with other national surveys (such as the Civil Service People Survey) was important, M·E·L Research ensured the language, question wording etc met good practice guidelines. At the end of each pulse survey, M·E·L Research worked closely with the Council to provide clear and actionable insight.

• The Council are also using our quarterly outputs (such as PowerPoint slide deck and Dashboard reports) to help them identify improvements at a directorate and team level (where numbers allow) each quarter

• The Council are reviewing data for protected characteristics to better understand the experiences of minority groups. The Council are currently using this information with their Staff networks to agree collaboratively what changes need to be made going forward

Outcome

Tracking metrics have indicated some positive improvements in health and wellbeing (particularly sickness absence), the Council’s commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace and leadership.