Citizen‘s Charter

Consulting with your staff Consulting with your staff on the draft on the draft charter

Elke Löffler
Governance International
Citizen Charter, Second Training Seminar
Prague, 19-20 June Prague, 19-20 June 2006

Why you should consult on the draft charter with your staff

• The charter has to be owned by front-line staff – they are the ones who will have to make the charter real for users
• Middle managers have to buy into the charter project as well and support changes which will be necessary to meet the targets and commitments of the charter
• Top managers have to understand how the charter project contributes to the strategic objectives of your organisation (therefore the importance of a clearly defined hierarchy of objectives)
• Change management always brings about fear and anxiety, therefore staff (and unions) have to understand what the charter project is about

Approaches of staff consultation

Depending on the objective of the consultation and the organisational culture of an organisation the consultation may be

• Informal, e.g. presentation of the project and discussion with staff in a staff meeting
• Formal, e.g. organisation of a written survey

Given the hierarchical culture in many public agencies we recommend a written staff survey

The benefits of written surveys

1. It is possible to include all members of staff and to give them the chance to voice their views
2. A written survey assures full anonymity and honest feedback of staff

What makes a good survey

1. The response rate should not be below 50 % (if surveys are to create trust and ownership the response rate should be 70% ). Even with a return rate of +50% it is necessary to check the statistical representativeness of the sample (e.g. the profile of the respondents according to gender, age, rank)
2. The questionnaire has to be “fit for purpose” as far as the length, wording of the questions and contents of the questions is concerned (see policy brief on the design of surveys)
3. The survey has to be prepared and organised properly

Recommendations for the organisation of a written staff survey

• Awarenes s rais ing within your agency:
• Letter of announcement (alternative: announcement in the s taff journal) should be dis seminated approximately 14 days before the ques tionnaire is dis tributed
• Organisation of a s taff meeting as a kick-off event immediately before the ques tionnaire is dis tributed
• Vis ible and credible commitment of the leadership:
• Endorsement of the letter of announcement/announcement in the s taff journal
• Attendance and a supporting introductory s tatement at the s taff meeting
• Clear support from the middle-management:
• Middle managers should explicitly s tate their expectation of a high participation rate in the s taff survey at s taff meetings following the circulation of the announcement
• Explanation of the survey whenever neces sary and underscoring of its importance
• The middle-management should show concern regarding the completion of the ques tionnaires:
• Exercise gentle pres sure (ask about progres s , etc.)
• Shelter employees from external pres sures while they fill out the ques tionnaires
• Arrange a time/date for everyone to fill out the ques tionnaires s imultaneous ly (this is highly recommended: it reduces friction to a minimum and guarantees maximum participation).

Recommendations for the organisation of a written staff survey

• • Rais ing of employee expectations regarding the impartial undertaking of the survey and the implementation of s taff sugges tions aris ing from it:
• S et up an Employee Survey Project Team for preparing and conducting the survey and for the announcement of the survey results
• Introduce the Project Team at the s taff meeting
• Dis seminate a clear and s trong as surance from the leadership in the letter of announcement and at the s taff meeting that the results of the survey will lead tochanges
• Clear, and if pos s ible, active support from the s taff council(s ) and trade unions:
• Co-endorsement of the letter of announcement
• Clear commitment to the survey at the s taff meeting, an emphatic call for participation, and s tres s on the importance of the survey and the guarantee of anonymity (see below)
• Credible guarantee of anonymity:
• Involvement of a neutral third party (whenever pos s ible with a competency in all phases of the employee survey) e.g. an academic ins titution
• Mention the involvement of the third party in the letter of announcement/announcement in s taff journal
• Presentation by the third party at the s taff meeting, to demons trate their s tanding and their ability to achieve neutrality in the process
• Clear presentation of measures taken to secure anonymity when announcing the survey

Recommendations for the organisation of a written staff survey

• Guarantee a “water-tight” set of anonymity measures:
• No names on the ques tionnaire, no numbering or hidden coding of the ques tionnaires
• Ensure an unobserved location for the completion of the ques tionnaire
• In the data process ing, limited “breaking-down” of the answers (as a rule: limit the scope to include one socio-demographic characteris tic each, such as sex, age, salary or career profile group, or the divis ion of all the material along the lines of the organization's departments, divis ions, etc.)
• Des truction of the ques tionnaires after completion of the analysis
• Flexibility in the decis ion-making proces s of the project team concerning the selection of the bes t way to follow-up in the case of an insufficient response rate (e.g., a letter of reminder or oral reques t to all employees or to the middle-management; formal reques t in the s taff newspaper)
• When neces sary, decis ions need to be made about extens ions of dates /times . It mus t be ensured that changes are communicated to all employees.