State sector workers remain engaged despite tough times

Recent employee engagement surveys of State sector workplaces show staff engagement has remained constant over the last 12 months.

This result should be seen in the context of the recently released Kiwis Count 2009 survey, which showed that New Zealanders' satisfaction with the delivery of frontline services has increased over a similar period.

"This has come at a time when there is increased pressure on public servants to deliver more services with limited resources." says Minister of State Services, Tony Ryall.

"These results are encouraging as levels of employee engagement internationally and in New Zealand have been falling."

Employee engagement measures the commitment employees have towards their role and employer.  Improved employee engagement is linked to improved employee retention, reduced absenteeism, increased productivity, and improved service delivery. 

Over the past four years, 86,000 State sector employees have been surveyed about their level of engagement at work.

According to the surveyors, Gallup Organization, employee engagement in the New Zealand State sector is very close to overseas benchmarks.  In the 2009 survey, 11 agencies scored above average for public sector organisations, with the remaining 11 scoring either slightly below or at the bottom of the range.  

"These results present an opportunity for leaders and managers to build on their results and improve levels of engagement and productivity to deliver better frontline public services," says Mr Ryall.

In 2009, 8 agencies used the Gallup survey to measure employee engagement for the first time, while 14 agencies participated for the second or third time.  Of the 14 agencies who repeated the survey, 71 percent improved their position compared with other organisations in Gallup's database, 21 percent dropped and 7 percent maintained their position.

Results of employee engagement surveys across the State sector will be released annually.

Details available at: http://www.ssc.govt.nz/employee-engagement-2008-09

Kiwis Count results: http://www.ssc.govt.nz/kiwis-count-2009