NSW Public Service People Matter Survey
Every year, the NSW Public Service Commission runs the People Matter Employee Survey to ask employees about their experiences with their work, team, managers and organisation. The People Matter Employee Survey is a rich source of data to drive good practice across the 400,000 strong NSW public sector work force. This is the largest government employee survey in Australia, with over 185,000 responses in 2019 and over 50% of the workforce responding to the survey.
Since commencing in 2012, the People Matter Employee Survey has become an important annual organisational health check for the sector. Secretaries and senior leaders are highly invested in the process and use the results to pinpoint areas of concern and drive improvements.
The People Matter Employee Survey asks employees about their experience of unacceptable conduct, including workplace bullying and physical harm and/or sexual harassment or abuse. In 2019, 4% of NSW public sector respondents reported experiencing physical harm/and or sexual harassment or abuse, with a smaller number within this group reporting sexual harassment or abuse.
The NSW Public Service Commission is working towards a more contemporary survey strategy to ensure the most accurate reporting of sexual harassment but in the meantime, the survey data has already provided a deep understanding of the dynamics that relate to unacceptable conduct. Survey data, including insights about employee engagement; diversity and inclusion; flexible working; and wellbeing is shared with all departments and agencies. This information goes all the way down to the business unit level so that managers can understand their teams and improve work culture and reduce the risks related to sexual harassment.
The NSW Public Service Commission is exploring increasingly sophisticated analytics to understand how all these factors come together to shape employee experience. Data driven insights that help to target the right responses to the right places, is one of the next steps for the NSW Public Service Commission in continuing to promote inclusive workplaces with a zero tolerance for sexual harassment.