Your voice matters – here’s what changed after the 2025 staff survey

In less than a month, we’ll be launching this year’s Staff Engagement Survey. Before we do, we wanted to take a moment to look back - and show why taking part matters.

When you shared your views in the 2025 Staff Engagement Survey, you told us what was working, what wasn’t, and where you wanted to see change. We didn’t just collect that feedback - we’ve been using it to shape real actions across the organisation.

Here are some examples of how your feedback has directly influenced what we’re doing.

Creating a more inclusive workplace:

You told us we need to do more to recognise and support neurodiversity at work.

What’s changed:
A new Neurodiversity Policy has been developed to help build a more inclusive environment for everyone. The policy now needs to go through the appropriate sign‑off process. Once this is complete, we’ll let everyone know where they can read it and what support is available. Alongside the policy, we’re strengthening guidance, learning opportunities, and wellbeing resources to support both staff and managers. Some neurodiversity resources are already available on our Learning & Development and Employee Wellbeing intranet pages.

Improving flexibility and time off:

You told us that time‑off policies aren’t always well understood or applied consistently.

What’s changed:
We’re developing a clear communications campaign to raise awareness of the different time‑off options available, reviewing application processes to make them simpler, and identifying where managers need additional support or training. This work is aimed at making flexibility clearer, fairer, and easier to navigate.

Putting wellbeing at the heart of the organisation:

You told us that wellbeing is about feeling valued, supported, and able to thrive at work.

What’s changed:
Your feedback helped shape a shared, organisation‑wide understanding of wellbeing, backed by visible senior leadership commitment. We continue to promote mental health resources, self‑help support, Health & Wellbeing Champions, and affordable healthcare options - making it easier to find help when you need it.

Tackling workload pressures:

You told us that workload and capacity pressures are a real concern.

What’s changed:
Managers are being encouraged to review workloads more consistently, supported by corporate Transformation and Digital teams. We’re also exploring how automation and AI could reduce administrative burden and free up time for higher‑value work.

Stronger communication and leadership visibility:

You told us that internal communication and leadership visibility could be improved.

What’s changed:
A dedicated project group is reviewing how we communicate with different groups of workers, supported by surveys, focus groups, and best‑practice research. At the same time, leaders are becoming more visible through service visits, rotating forums, regular engagement opportunities, and meetings with new starters.

Recognising and valuing staff:

You told us you’d like a more consistent and meaningful approach to staff recognition across the organisation.

What’s changed:
We’re taking steps to develop a clear and consistent staff recognition framework that works for everyone. A project group will be established to explore ideas and best practice, with staff focus groups helping to shape what good recognition looks like in practice. Our aim is to create an approach that feels genuine, fair, and aligned with what staff have told us they value - supported by practical tools and guidance for managers so recognition is applied consistently across teams.

Making appraisals fair, consistent, and meaningful:

You told us you want the appraisal and performance review process to be fair, transparent, and applied consistently across the organisation.

What’s changed:
We’ve completed a review of the appraisal process, using your feedback from the Staff Engagement Survey to help identify where improvements were needed. This work is focused on making sure expectations are clear, conversations are meaningful, and the process is applied consistently across teams.

The refreshed approach will support high‑quality performance and development conversations and aligns more closely with our One Council core values and behaviours - helping everyone understand not just what is expected, but how we work with others. We’re also developing guidance to support managers, so appraisals are used as a positive opportunity to recognise good work, discuss development, and agree next steps, rather than a transactional exercise.

Why this matters:

None of this work would have happened without staff telling us what matters to them.

The Staff Engagement Survey gives everyone a voice, and it genuinely influences priorities, policies, and how we work together. Some changes take time, but your feedback continues to shape the direction we’re heading in.

Have your say again in 2026:

When the 2026 Staff Engagement Survey launches in June, we’d really encourage you to get involved.

Whether your experience is positive, challenging, or somewhere in between - your views help us understand what’s happening on the ground and where we need to focus next.