Focus on Organizational Performance
The Focus series is a collection of reports that present the results of the 2014 Public Service Employee Survey (PSES), broken down by theme. Focus on Organizational Performance looks at results in the area of organizational performance and examines how they relate to results for other aspects of the workplace. The information provided in this report is intended to help target efforts to improve people management practices in the public service.
Results and Comparisons Over Time
The 2014 PSES asked seven questionsSee Footnote 1 relating specifically to organizational performance. These questions asked employees how often they feel that the quality of their work suffers as a result of a specific factor. The seventh question, “overly complicated or unnecessary business processes”, was not covered in the previous two surveys. Table 1 shows the results for all seven questions.
| Question number | Question | 2008 (%) |
2011 (%) |
2014 (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Table 1 Notes
|
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| Q21 | I feel that the quality of my work suffers because of... | ||||
| a. | constantly changing priorities. | 41 | 40 | 40 | |
| b. | lack of stability in my department or agency. | 35 | 34 | 37 | |
| c. | too many approval stages. | 43 | 45 | 48 | |
| d. | unreasonable deadlines. | 28 | 28 | 27 | |
| e. | having to do the same or more work, but with fewer resources. | 42 | 44 | 48 | |
| f. | high staff turnover. | 38 | 31 | 31 | |
| g. | overly complicated or unnecessary business processes. | n/aSee Table 1 – Note * | n/aSee Table 1 – Note * | 44 | |
Because of the wording of Q21 (“I feel that the quality of my work suffers because of…”), an affirmative response (“Always/Almost always” or “Often”) indicates a negative situation. This means that the higher the percentage, the more negative the situation.
In 2014, employees were more likely to express negative views about aspects of organizational performance than they were in previous years, particularly with respect to approval stages, stability and resources.
In 2014, 40% of employees indicated that the quality of their work suffers because of constantly changing priorities (Q21a), unchanged from 2011 (40%) and similar to 2008 (41%). Additionally, 37% of employees felt that the quality of their work suffers because of lack of stability in their organization (Q21b), higher than in 2011 (34%) and slightly higher than in 2008 (35%). Almost half of employees (48%) indicated that the quality of their work suffers because of too many approval stages (Q21c), higher than in 2011 and 2008 (45% and 43%, respectively).
The 2014 results show that 27% of employees felt that the quality of their work suffers because of unreasonable deadlines (Q21d), similar to 2011 and 2008 (28%). Almost half of employees (48%) reported that they feel the quality of their work suffers because of having to do the same or more work but with fewer resources (Q21e), higher than in 2011 (44%) and much higher than in 2008 (42%). Further, 31% of employees indicated that the quality of their work suffers because of high staff turnover (Q21f), unchanged from 2011 (31%) and much lower than in 2008 (38%).
In 2014, 44% of employees indicated that the quality of their work suffers because of overly complicated or unnecessary business processes (Q21g).
Demographic Findings
Occupational category
The 2014 PSES results show that views on organizational performance vary among occupational categoriesSee Footnote 2. Employees in the Executive category tended to express less negative opinions than employees in other occupational categories about the impact of constantly changing priorities, lack of stability in their organization and high staff turnover on the quality of their work. However, Executive employees expressed more negative opinions than employees in other occupational categories in relation to the impact of unreasonable deadlines on the quality of their work.
Employees in the Administrative Support category were the least likely to indicate that the quality of their work suffers because of too many approval stages, unreasonable deadlines, having to do the same or more work with fewer resources, and overly complicated or unnecessary business processes.
The widest range of results among employees in the different occupational categories related to lack of stability (Q21b). Operational employees were twice as likely as those in the Executive category (50% compared with 25%) to indicate that the quality of their work suffers because of lack of stability in their organization. In other occupational categories, 34% to 39% of employees felt that lack of stability in their organization causes the quality of their work to suffer (see Figure 1).
Figure 1 - Text version
Figure 1 illustrates the proportion of employees in each occupational category who responded affirmatively to 21b (I feel that the quality of my work suffers because of lack of stability in my department or agency).
| Executive | Scientific and Professional | Administration and Foreign Services | Technical | Administrative Support | Operational |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25% | 35% | 39% | 39% | 34% | 50% |
Years of service
The organizational performance results show a clear pattern based on years of service: newly recruited employees were the least negative about organizational issues that impact the quality of their work. This pattern was the most pronounced in relation to perceptions of having to do the same or more work, but with fewer resources (Q21e) (see Figure 2).
Figure 2 - Text version
Figure 2 illustrates the proportion of employees who responded affirmatively to Q21e (The quality of my work suffers because of having to do the same or more work, but with fewer resources) by years of service in the public service and in their current organization.
| Years of Service | Less than 1 year | 1 to 4 years | 5 to 9 years | 10 to 14 years | 15 to 19 years | 20 to 24 years | 25 to 29 years | 30 or more years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In public service | 15% | 33% | 46% | 51% | 55% | 55% | 55% | 54% |
| In organization | 25% | 41% | 49% | 53% | 55% | 55% | 56% | 56% |
Organization size
The survey results show that the smaller the organization, the less likely employees are to express negative opinions about organizational issues that affect the quality of their work. The widest range of results by organization size was among employees who felt that the quality of their work suffers because of too many approval stages (Q21c), with 22% of employees of micro-organizations (those with fewer than 150 employees) citing this factor as an issue, compared with 53% of employees of large organizations (those with 5,000 to 5,999 employees) (see Figure 3).
Figure 3 - Text version
Figure 3 illustrates the proportion of employees who responded affirmatively to Q21c (I feel that the quality of my work suffers because of too many approval stages) by size of organization.
| Micro (fewer than 150 employees) | Very Small (150–499 employees) | Small (500–999 employees) | Medium (1,000–4,999 employees) | Large (5,000–9,999 employees) | Very Large (10,000 employees or more) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too many approval stages | 22% | 37% | 43% | 49% | 53% | 47% |
Key Observations
Perceived lack of stability in an organization linked to less positive opinions about the organization
Lack of stability in an organization was the organizational issue most often and most strongly linked to other aspects of engagement, leadership, workforce and workplace. Employees who identified lack of stability as an issue that affects the quality of their work also tended to express less positive opinions about their organization, particularly in relation to satisfaction with their organization, senior management, support for high level of service and clarity on organizational goals.
Lower levels of satisfaction with organization
Employees who cited lack of stability in their organization as a reason for declining work quality were less inclined to report satisfaction with their organization. For example, 39% of employees who felt that the quality of their work suffers because of lack of stability (Q21b) agreed that they are satisfied with their organization (Q59), compared with 86% of those who did not feel that their work suffers because of lack of stability. Similarly, among those who felt that lack of stability (Q21b) negatively affects their work, 39% agreed that they would recommend their organization as a great place to work (Q58); that proportion was 85% for those who did not feel that lack of stability negatively affects their work.
Less positive views of senior management
Employees who identified lack of stability in their organization as an impediment to work tended to express less positive views of senior management than those who did not. For example, among employees who felt that the quality of their work suffers because of lack of stability (Q21b), 30% agreed that they have confidence in the senior management of their organization (Q40); that proportion was 77% for those who did not feel that their work suffers because of lack of stability. Further, 22% of employees who cited lack of stability (Q21b) as an issue believed that senior management in their organization makes effective and timely decisions (Q41), compared with 69% for those who stated that lack of stability was not an issue.
Lack of support to provide a high level of service
Employees who indicated that the quality of their work suffers because of lack of stability (Q21b) were less likely than those who did not to report that they have support at work to provide a high level of service (45% compared with 85%, Q18).
Ineffective communication and lack of review of organizational goals
Employees who reported that a lack of stability reduces the quality of their work were less likely than those who did not to agree that their organization communicates its goals or reviews the progress towards meeting its goals. Employees who felt that the quality of their work suffers because of lack of stability in their organization (Q21b) were less likely than those who did not to also agree that their organization does a good job of communicating its vision, mission and goals (47% compared with 83%, Q45). Similarly, 42% of employees who indicated that their work suffers because of lack of stability (Q21b) reported that their organization reviews and evaluates the progress towards meeting its goals and objectives (Q46); that proportion was 81% for those who did not indicate that their work suffers because of lack of stability.
Excessive red tape linked to less positive views of senior management
Employees who felt that the quality of their work suffers because of red tape (overly complicated or unnecessary business processes) were less likely than those who did not to view senior management in a positive light. Specifically, 27% of employees who reported that overly complicated or unnecessary business processes (Q21g) negatively affect the quality of their work agreed that their senior managers make effective and timely decisions (Q41); that proportion was 68% for those who did not report red tape as a problem. Similarly, 29% of employees who felt that that overly complicated or unnecessary business processes negatively impact the quality of their work (Q21g) also believed that senior managers will try to resolve concerns raised in the survey (Q42); that proportion was 68% for those who felt that red tape did not impact the quality of their work.
Unreasonable deadlines and shortage of resources linked to workload issues
Employees who indicated that unreasonable deadlines and fewer resources are negatively affecting the quality of their work also tended to report issues with workload. Specifically, employees who felt that the quality of their work suffers because of unreasonable deadlines (Q21d) were less likely than those who did not to indicate that they can complete their assigned workload during their regular working hours (47% compared with 87%, Q20).
Also, among employees who felt that the quality of their work suffers because of having to do the same or more work, but with fewer resources (Q21e), 53% indicated that they can complete their assigned workload during their regular working hours (Q20); that proportion was 91% for employees who did not indicate that their work suffers because of a shortage of resources.
Methodological Notes
For the purposes of this report, results for the two most positive responses on the scale (e.g., “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree”) were added together to create a single percentage total for positive responses. Similarly, results for the two most negative responses on the scale (e.g., “Strongly disagree” and “Somewhat disagree”) were added together to create a single percentage total for negative responses. The totals used to calculate the percentages do not include the responses “Don't know” and “Not applicable.”
The observations in this report do not necessarily indicate relationships of cause and effect, but they can provide insight into connections between different aspects of the workplace.
For additional results and for the distribution of respondents by demographic characteristics, consult the 2014 PSES website.
Appendix
| Occupational Category | Occupational Group |
|---|---|
| Executive | CI-EXC, DM, EC(CRA), EX, EXPCX, GR-EX, LC, MGT, PL, RLE |
| Scientific and Professional | AC, AG, AR, AP-AA, AP-PA, ASG-ITS-LA, AU, BI, CH, CI-SPC, DE, DS, EC, ED, EN, ES, FO, HR, LA, LP, LS, MA, MD, MT, ND, NU, OP, PC, PH, PM-MCO, PS, SE, SG, SI, SW, UT, VM |
| Administration and Foreign Services | AS, CO, CS, FI, FS, HR(CRA), IS, OM, PE, PG, PM, TR, WP |
| Technical | AI, AO, CIPTC, DD, EG, EL, EU, GT, PI, PY, RO, SO, TI |
| Administrative Support | CIASC, CM, CR, DA, OE, ST |
| Operational | CX, FB, FR, GA, GL, GS, HP, HS, IN, LI, PO-IMA, PO-TCO, PR, SC, SR |
| Other | AB, CIVIL, FT, Governor in Council, GR, IM, MDMDG, MG, NB, RE, REG, RM, SP(CRA), Student, UNI, Other |
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