On 24 September, Scotland’s Engagement and Culture network had its first discovery session. The aim was to share practical steps on how to boost people engagement in the workplace and how small steps can make a real difference.
7 government departments were represented and all network members played a part in delivering the session. Elizabeth Harrison, Army Personnel Centre Civil Secretary, Ministry of Defence set the scene for the day.
Colin Lawrie from the Insolvency Service led a session that explained the journey his team had been on over the last few years. He shared the practical changes they have implemented which have led to his team being one of the highest engaged teams across the Insolvency Service.
Not only has there been an 11% increase in people survey engagement results to 71%, but there has also been a noticeable increase in team performance.
In 2016 to 2017 the authorisation rate from the Insolvency Service Legal Services stood at 93% - a 50% increase in output with 2018 to 2019 seeing a further 7% increase to 100%. These figures indicate a clear connection between engagement and performance.
Karina Duffy from the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Services spoke about Civil Service Benefits including annual leave, flexible working and family-friendly policies which served as a gentle reminder of the wide-ranging benefits we have access to as civil servants.
The final session of the day was led by Tammy Baillie, HM Revenue and Customs and Lesley Ann Lang, Department for Work Pensions (DWP). This generated a great deal of discussion and opportunity for colleagues to share and relate to various aspects of people engagement.
This was an interactive session where attendees were asked to rate how they feel about 3 areas:
I am proud to work for the Civil Service
the Civil Service values the work I do
my department supports positive behaviours and culture
Sarah Jones, Head of Devolved Nations Team, Health and Safety Executive, closed our session thanking attendees for their honesty and involvement and how the group will be looking at the outputs from the session to help inform future events.
At the beginning and end of the session, we asked attendees ‘How engaged do you feel today?’ We are delighted to share that we saw a rise from 19% feeling really engaged at the start of the workshop to 40% at the end of the session. The hope of the group is that engagement filters back to the attendee’s workplace and they share the positives from the session.
If you would like to know more about the session please email network lead - Marion Joass, DWP
Our network is always looking for new members at all grades.
And, now Tammy Baillie has taken up the role of CS Local Scotland and Northern Ireland coordinator, we are looking for a new sponsor. If you are Grade 7 or above and have a real passion for people engagement please email Tammy Baillie