Liverpool City Council: Employee Survey
Liverpool City Council commissioned an organisation-wide employee survey in 2025 to measure staff engagement, workplace culture, leadership, wellbeing, equality and inclusion, and experiences of change. The survey formed part of the Council’s ongoing programme of staff listening and was used to assess progress against its Strategic Improvement Plan and organisational values.
The survey results were intended to provide both a corporate overview of staff experience and detailed local insight to support improvement planning at Directorate and Service Area level.
Approach
The project involved the design, delivery and analysis of an organisation-wide employee survey.
The survey was primarily delivered online. In addition, paper copies of the questionnaire were distributed to employees without an email address to ensure that staff without regular digital access were able to take part.
The questionnaire covered a broad range of themes, including organisational values and behaviours, working at Liverpool City Council, leadership and line management, communication, workplace wellbeing, equality and diversity, personal development, change within the Council, and working with elected members. Employee engagement was measured using a defined engagement model comprising four drivers: Voice, Integrity, Leadership and Engaged Managers. Engagement levels were calculated using five-point agreement scale questions and reported as percentages of engaged employees.
Quantitative analysis was conducted at an organisation-wide level, by Directorate, and by Service Area. Year-on-year comparisons were included where questions had remained consistent with previous surveys, allowing changes in staff perceptions between 2024 and 2025 to be assessed.
Open-ended survey responses were reviewed and analysed thematically. Text comments were used to identify common concerns and areas of positive experience, including management practice, communication, workload, wellbeing, development opportunities and organisational culture.
Outputs
The project delivered a comprehensive set of reporting outputs to support different levels of decision making across the organisation.
An overall headline report was produced, presenting key findings for the Council as a whole. This report included engagement results, trend analysis, headline strengths and challenges, and thematic findings covering leadership, wellbeing, equality and inclusion, communication and change. It highlighted areas of improvement since 2024, as well as issues requiring further attention, such as senior leadership visibility, staff influence over decision making, workload pressures in specific parts of the organisation, and disparities in experience for disabled staff .
In addition to the overall report, seven Directorate-level reports were produced, providing tailored analysis for each Directorate, including engagement scores, comparative benchmarking against the organisational average, and identification of local strengths and risks.
A further 28 Service Area-level reports were delivered, enabling managers to access detailed, localised findings relevant to their teams. These reports supported targeted action planning by highlighting variations in engagement, morale, workload, leadership perceptions and wellbeing at service level.
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