Dont participate in the 2014 People Survey

PCS People Survey Policy

The PCS National Executive Committee is calling on all members in the civil service not to participate in the 2014 People Survey because:

• A non-participation policy was democratically agreed by delegates at the 2013 national PCS Conference
• People Survey results are misquoted and misused against our members to justify the government’s civil service reform agenda to cut jobs, cap pay and introduce ever harsher civil service performance management procedures
• Members across the civil service are under pressure to complete the People Survey with positive responses.

Last year PCS members in the DWP provided extensive evidence of how the DWP People Survey was discredited by pressure on staff to complete the staff survey with positive responses and a range of bad practices which included:

• Members being pressurised to complete it
• Inappropriate incentives
• Manipulating questions and response categories
• Influencing how people should respond
• Scaremongering about office closures

People Survey discredited

DWP has accepted that all of these bad practices undermine the integrity of the survey and evidence shows it creates cynicism and reduces people’s likelihood of participating in the future...

DWP ‘Myth Busters’ guidance was put on the People Survey Intranet site in July 2014 telling managers: don’t put pressure on people to complete the People Survey, don’t use incentives for completion, don’t try to change the questions, don’t influence how people use the response categories, don’t use the People Survey to threaten staff. However, PCS believes that much more effective action needs to be taken to abolish local bad practices and end improper pressure on staff to complete the People Survey by giving positive responses.

Support non participation

The PCS DWP Group Executive Committee is calling for all members in DWP to boycott the 2014 People Survey.

Non participation is the democratically agreed national Policy of PCS. The Survey is voluntary and you have a have a right to not participate in the 2014 People Survey in support of PCS Policy.