Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service: Employee Survey
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) commissioned M·E·L Research to deliver an organisation-wide employee survey designed to capture robust, confidential insight into staff experiences of working within the Service. The client context was one of ongoing organisational focus on workplace culture, conduct, leadership, and inclusion, alongside a clear requirement to monitor progress against earlier engagement activity.
SFRS wanted to better understand how employees experienced day-to-day working life, including perceptions of misconduct and inappropriate behaviour, confidence in reporting, workplace culture, motivation, leadership, development opportunities, equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and confidence in line management. A key requirement was that the survey should allow comparison with a range of previous internal research exercises, including a specific misconduct survey, an earlier HMI staff survey, and results from a council-wide staff survey.
This requirement presented a number of challenges. Previous surveys had used different question wordings and response scales, meaning that any trend analysis needed to be handled carefully, with clear caveats around comparability. In addition, the subject matter included potentially sensitive topics such as misconduct, bullying, discrimination, and confidence in senior leadership. Ensuring staff felt able to respond honestly and confidentially was therefore critical to the success of the project.
The Service also includes a diverse workforce with different contractual groups (Green Book and Grey Book staff), operational and non-operational roles, and geographically distinct response areas. Capturing insight that was both representative and sufficiently granular to explore differences across roles and locations was an important part of the brief.
Approach
M·E·L Research designed and delivered a bespoke employee survey, working closely with SFRS to ensure the content met organisational needs while remaining accessible and appropriate for a wide range of staff roles. The questionnaire was specifically tailored to inform and monitor SFRS’s ambition to be a great place to work.
Survey design and development
The question set was bespoke, drawing on previous SFRS engagement activity to allow comparison where feasible.
Content incorporated elements from:
- A previous SFRS misconduct survey
- An earlier HMI staff survey
- A council-wide staff survey
- Where comparisons were made, caveats were clearly noted to reflect differences in scales and wording.
Primary research methodology
Method: Online self-completion employee survey
Fieldwork approach: Confidential, organisation-wide distribution to all employees
Sample size: 265 completed surveys
Response rate: 43% of the workforce
Responses were analysed by key workforce characteristics, including:
- Contractual group (Green Book / Grey Book)
- Role and management responsibility
- Length of service
- Geographic work area (e.g. Response North, South, West)
- Where sub-sample sizes were too small (e.g. part-time staff or some protected characteristic groups), results were treated with caution and not over-interpreted
The survey covered a wide range of themes, including:
- Misconduct and inappropriate behaviour (witnessing, experiencing, reporting, and confidence in processes)
- Workplace culture, respect and fairness
- Motivation, pride, and feeling valued
- Senior leadership communication, trust and decision-making
- Confidence to provide feedback and challenge at different management levels
- Development opportunities and career progression
- Feedback mechanisms and organisational responsiveness
- EDI, discrimination, and awareness of reporting mechanisms
- Line manager confidence in people management responsibilities
Outputs
Analysis
Quantitative analysis was undertaken across the full dataset, with breakdowns by role, location, and contractual group where sample sizes allowed.
Findings were interpreted in the context of previous engagement activity, with explicit caveats around comparability.
Particular care was taken when reporting on sensitive topics, ensuring results were framed accurately and responsibly.
Reporting and deliverables
M·E·L Research produced a comprehensive written report supported by clear data visualisations and summary charts. The report set out:
- Overall organisational strengths, such as high levels of team pride, respect between colleagues, and confidence among line managers.
- Areas for future focus, including perceptions of change management, trust in senior leadership, and confidence that issues raised would lead to change.
- A clear summary section highlighted key messages to support internal discussion and prioritisation.
Use of findings
The survey provided SFRS with a robust evidence base to track progress over time and to inform internal conversations about workplace culture and leadership effectiveness, while giving staff a confidential platform to share their views.
The outputs were designed to support SFRS in:
- Understanding staff experience across different parts of the organisation
- Identifying strengths to protect and build upon, particularly at team and line management level
- Pinpointing areas requiring further attention, including leadership communication, responsiveness, and organisational change processes
- Informing future action planning around culture, conduct, and inclusion
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