Comparing LAC and TNA as Places To Work

Survey results show Library and Archives Canada (LAC) employees are significantly more negative about their organization as a place to work than those of The UK National Archives (TNA).

That's the result of benchmarking LAC against TNA in official surveys.

TNA is one of 97 organisations across the UK Civil Service that participates in The Civil Service People Survey. The last survey took place during October 2012, results are summarized in an 'Employee Engagement Index', a measure of how engaged employees are with their work. The index is based on responses to five of the key questions in the people survey:

I am proud when I tell others I am part of The National Archives
I would recommend The National Archives as a great place to work
I feel a strong personal attachment to The National Archives
The National Archives inspires me to do the best in my job
The National Archives motivates me to help it achieve its objectives

The index at 66% overall places TNA as a Civil Service High Performer. Read the survey results at http://goo.gl/yXzbd.

Through Reference Services at LAC I received a prompt answer to a query on whether LAC conducts surveys on its employee morale and how the results of such surveys may be accessed.

I was directed to the Public Service Employee Survey, online as a whole at
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pses-saff/index-eng.asp with the results for a 2011 survey for LAC at
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pses-saff/2011/results-resultats/bq-pq/74/index-eng.aspx

While there do not seem to be point-blank questions about morale, several of the questions under "Organization Results" capture details that speak to this question. Out of 23 questions for which results are given showing the variance from the Public Service of Canada (PSC) average LAC ranked lower than average in all but one question.

On the positive side LAC management can celebrate receiving a 1% greater positive rating, 88% rather than 87%, than the PSC overall in response to "During meetings in my work unit, I feel free to use the official language of my choice".

On the negative side, there was a 10%  or greater gap (greater than 20% in bold), with responses less positive than the PSC average, for the questions:

- I feel that the quality of my work suffers because of…lack of stability in my department or agency
- My department or agency does a good job of communicating its vision, mission and goals.- My department or agency reviews and evaluates the progress towards meeting its goals and objectives.
- If I am faced with an ethical dilemma or a conflict between values in the workplace, I know where I can go for help in resolving the situation.
- Discussions about values and ethics occur in my workplace.
- Senior managers in my organization lead by example in ethical behaviour.- I have confidence in the senior management of my department or agency.- Senior management in my department or agency makes effective and timely decisions.
- I believe that senior management will try to resolve concerns raised in this survey.
- Essential information flows effectively from senior management to staff.
- I think that my department or agency respects individual differences (e.g., culture, work styles, ideas, etc.).
- Overall, my department or agency treats me with respect.
- My department or agency is committed to creating a diverse workforce.
- I would recommend my department or agency as a great place to work.- I am satisfied with my department or agency.

The question "I would recommend my department or agency as a great place to work" was asked in both the TNA and LAC surveys. At TNA there was a 65%
positive response, very comparable to the PSC average at 64%. But the figure for LAC is way down at 41%.

No only do the responses show an overwhelmingly more negative view of LAC senior management by employees than for the PSC as a whole, but LAC responses are generally more negative than in the previous survey.

Two years later how is LAC senior management doing in addressing these deficiencies?