Background, Aims and Objectives
Section P.1 of the Annual Reports (Government Agencies) Notice 2017 (the Annual Report Directions) requires that the Head of Service produce a report on culture and behaviour within the ACT Public Sector workforce. The Agency Survey is the method by which information on culture and behaviour is collected from ACTPS directorates and public sector bodies.
The aim of the Agency Survey is to collect data on the outcomes delivered under the Respect, Equity and Diversity (RED) Framework and identify how the values under the ACTPS Code of Conduct are being embedded into workplace culture1 . These objectives are met through collecting and analysing information via the Agency Survey on the following topics:
- the significant achievements, activities, awards and recognition received throughout the reporting period;
- learning and development activities provided by directorates and public sector bodies;
- human resource strategies employed by directorates and public sector bodies (i.e. attraction and retention, Attraction and Retention Incentives (ARIns), workforce planning, managing performance);
- disciplinary action and preventing bullying and harassment; and
- the tools and measures used by directorates and public sector bodies to implement the RED Framework and Employment Strategies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and People with Disability.
Methodology
The ACT Government 2018 Agency Survey was administered by the Workforce Capability and Governance Division (WCGD) within the CMTEDD.
The Agency Survey has been conducted by this method over the past three years.
The Agency Survey was distributed on 14 June 2018 and was open until 18 July 2018. A writable PDF instrument was sent to contacts at each participating directorate and public sector body. Information was then gathered by each directorate and public sector body, and was collated and analysed by WCGD. All seven ACTPS directorates and nine of the 12 public sector bodies completed the Agency Survey.
Development of the Survey Instrument
The Survey Instrument was initially developed in collaboration with Human Resources (HR) Directors in 2016. The Agency Survey was then restructured to reflect the main strategic objectives for ACTPS people planning: an agile, innovative, responsive and engaged workforce.
The 2018 Agency Survey provided respondents with the opportunity to provide information on significant achievements throughout the reporting period and actions or initiatives that their directorate or public sector body had undertaken during the reporting period. This allowed directorates and public sector bodies to support their data with contextual information and commentary.
The Survey Instrument, a writable PDF, was prepared by WCGD and emailed to directorates and public sector bodies to enable them to participate at their own convenience. Upon completion of the Agency Survey, directorates and public sector bodies were required to gain approval from their delegate prior to submitting their responses to WCGD.
A full copy of the 2018 Agency Survey can be found at Appendix 4.
Reporting Notes
- Questions that have multiple response options will result in percentages that could add up to more than 100 per cent. In the case of open-ended questions, respondents often provide more than one reason for their response and in these cases, percentages will add up to more than 100 per cent.
- Data has been rounded to one decimal place and as such, percentages may not add up to exactly 100 per cent on certain graphs.
- Where possible, comparisons are made within this report between 2016-17 results, 2015-16 results and those results collected by Qualtrics for the 2014-15 reporting period, and Insightrix for the 2013-14 reporting period.
1 From the Annual Reports (Government Agencies) Notice 2017, (the Annual Report Directions) Section P.1 Culture and Behaviour.