MPS staff exit survey results

Report: 8
Date: 19 April 2001
By: Commissioner

Summary

This paper outlines the rationale for introducing the revised exit procedures and briefly describes the process. It also compares the results that have emerged from the analysed data obtained from the revised staff exit survey form during the first three quarters of its use (Apr-Jun; Jul - Sep; Oct-Dec 2000).

Over the period covered, pay has become less of an issue for police officers, with none of the respondents citing it as their main reason for leaving in the most recent quarter's data. However, for civil staff it remains a significant reason influencing their decision to leave the MPS.

A. Recommendation

That members note the contents of this report.

B. Supporting information

Background

1. A revised exit procedure has been developed to provide the MPS with better information as to why individuals leave prematurely and to identify trends in wastage.

2. In April 2000 a revised exit survey form was introduced, which was considered more user-friendly than the previous one. This was followed by the introduction in December 2000 of a structured interview between the leaving member of staff and the local personnel manager. (Appendix 1, Part 2).

3. This report focuses on the responses to the staff exit survey for the first three quarterly periods since the revised procedure was introduced.

The revised staff exit survey form

4. A copy of the form, see Appendix 1, Part 1. This is handed to all police and civil staff who leave the MPS prematurely, which is defined as voluntary resignation or transfer to another Force. The form is confidential and anonymous and after completion should be returned by the leaver direct to Performance Information Bureau. Leavers are under no obligation to complete the exit survey form but personnel managers are asked to give them every encouragement to do so.

Analysis of survey results

5. The following analysis is based on the questions asked in the exit survey form and, where appropriate, charts illustrating the results are attached as appendices.

6. It should be noted that the analysis is produced from data collected within the quarterly periods and is not necessarily from staff leaving within that period. In some of the categories the option 'other' had a relatively high response rate and requires the leaver to provide additional details if their answer does not fit with, or is in addition to, the options given on the form. The reasons given in answer to the 'other' category have not been incorporated in this report as they vary considerably and present no discernible pattern. They will, of course, continue to be monitored to identify emerging trends.

Police

Question 1: Main leaving reasons

7. See Appendix 2. Answers to this question have changed over the period. In the first quarter 'Pay' and 'Disillusioned with the MPS' were the highest responses each at 21 per cent. Since then, however, both have fallen. 'Disillusion' has fallen to 12 per cent and 'Pay' dropped dramatically to only 2 per cent in the second quarter and was not cited as a main leaving reason in the third quarter. The second quarter (July – Sept) was when the London Pay Lead was introduced for police officers, so it is perhaps understandable to see that become less of an issue from that time.

8. The percentage citing 'Joining another force' as the main reason for leaving has risen over the period from 18 per cent to just under a third (31 per cent). Of the lower percentage responses, 'Working environment' has risen steadily from 0 per cent in the first quarter to 5 per cent by the third quarter and both 'Harassment' and 'Discrimination' have dropped to 0 per cent over the period.

Question 2: Contributory factors to decision to leave

9. See Appendix 3. Consistently over the period 'Disruption of family' and 'Wish to leave London' have been the highest responses to this question scoring between 21 per cent and 33 per cent. 'Travelling/commuting has dropped over the period from 20 per cent to 14 per cent, but has remained one of the four highest responses throughout.

10. 'Difficulty finding accommodation' has dropped dramatically over the period. A third of respondents cited this as a factor in their decision to leave in the first quarter with only 6 per cent in the third.

11. 'Shift/weekend work' has risen strongly as a factor from only 3 per cent in the first quarter to a high of 21 per cent in the second quarter. It only dropped back to 14 per cent by the third.

Question 3: Areas for improvement

12. See Appendix 4. The percentage choosing 'Staff morale' as an area needing improvement has risen over the period from 40 per cent to 65 per cent over the period. 'Pay' is the second highest reason, although the percentage has dropped from 55 per cent to 44 per cent. This appears at odds with the drop to 0 per cent on 'pay' as a main reason for leaving. 'Leadership' is an area of improvement indicated by a growing number of respondents. It has risen from 10 per cent in the first quarter to 35 per cent (the third highest) in the third quarter. 'Allowances' has dropped from 43 per cent in the first quarter (the second highest) to 17 per cent by the third quarter.

13. Of the lower percentage responses both gender and racial equality have fallen as an area in need of improvement. 'Gender equality' has fallen from 8 per cent to 2 per cent and 'Racial equality' has fallen overall from 3 per cent to 0 per cent.

Question 4: What will you be doing now?

14. See Appendix 5. The most often cited responses to this question over the three quarters were 'Different type of job & organisation' and 'Leaving MPS for another force'. These two accounted for over two thirds of all responses. Those leaving without finding another job have fallen from 21 per cent in the first quarter to only 8 per cent by the third quarter.

Question 5: Differences between jobs

15. Only between 18 per cent and 35 per cent stated that their new job offered better pay and between 52 per cent and 67 per cent said better career prospects. The vast majority said that their new job was permanent (between 89 per cent and 94 per cent) and pensionable (between 77 per cent and 82 per cent). About half said that they would not be required to undertake shift work (between 49 per cent and 61 per cent). The vast majority were not returning to a previous employer (between 89 per cent and 98 per cent) and were going on to full-time work (between 94 per cent and 100 per cent). (There is no chart for this category due to the varied nature of the questions answered.)

Question 6: Enjoyment/benefit

16. See Appendix 6. Over the three quarters 'Friendly/team spirit', 'Experience/responsibility' and 'Variety' have been the three most popular responses to this question. 'Friendly team spirit' dropped in the second quarter to 15 per cent from 38 per cent, only to recover to 41 per cent by the third.

Civil staff

Question 1: Main leaving reasons

17. See Appendix 7. Answers to this question have remained fairly consistent over the three quarters. 'Better job offer elsewhere' has been the reason that the highest proportion of respondents cited as their main leaving reason (between 19 per cent and 24 per cent). However, it should be noted that it is likely that to receive a better job offer, the leaver is actively seeking another job.

18. 'Poor pay' is consistently the reason cited by the second highest proportion of respondents (between 18 per cent and 15 per cent). The third highest proportion has alternated between 'Disillusioned with the MPS' and Moving from the area'.

Question 2: Contributory factors to decision to leave

19. See Appendix 8. Answers to this question have again remained fairly consistent over the period. 'Travelling/commuting' has been the highest contributory factor with around 22 per cent of respondents stating this as a factor. 'Wish to leave London' has been the second highest reason cited throughout the three quarters with between 15 per cent and 18 per cent. The third highest reason has remained 'Effect of duties on health' with between 11 per cent and 7 per cent, although this category has fallen over the period. 'Look after children/elderly' has risen from 1 per cent in the first quarter to 6 per cent by quarter three.

Question 3: Areas for improvement

20. See Appendices 9 and 10. The top three answers to this question have been the same throughout the period. Every quarter, around three quarters of civil staff (between 72 per cent and 75 per cent) have said that 'Pay' would need to be improved for them to have continued working for the MPS. Pay has been around 15 per cent higher than the next reason each quarter.

21. The second and third highest have been 'Staff morale' and 'Career prospects'. These two have fluctuated between 51 per cent and 59 per cent with 'Career prospects increasing its percentage slightly over the period.

22. Other results of note are from within the smaller percentage responses. Both 'Childcare' and 'Educational assistance' have double or nearly doubled their response rate and 'Racial equality' has risen from 1 per cent in the first quarter to 5 per cent by the third.

Question 4: What will you be doing now?

23. See Appendix 11. Answers to this question are again consistent over the three quarters with nearly one third citing 'Different type of job & organisation' followed by similar job in different organisation (range between 24 per cent and 28 per cent).

24. Over the period the number of staff who, when leaving the MPS, have 'not yet found another job' has fallen dramatically from 16 per cent in the first quarter to only 3 per cent in the third quarter.

Question 5: Differences between jobs

25. The vast majority stated that their new job offered better pay (between 78 per cent and 85 per cent) and career prospects (between 87 per cent and 94 per cent), was permanent (between 93 per cent and 97 per cent), pensionable (between 86 per cent and 94 per cent) and that they would not be required to undertake shift work (between 70 per cent and 78 per cent). The vast majority were not returning to a previous employer (between 89 per cent and 98 per cent) and were going on to full-time work (between 90 per cent and 97 per cent). (There is no chart for this category due to the varied nature of the questions answered.)

Question 6: Enjoyment/benefit

26. See Appendix 12. Again, responses to this question have been consistent throughout. 40 per cent of leavers felt that 'Friendly/team spirit' was what they had most benefited from whilst working for the MPS. This response is somewhat contradictory to previous answers, as poor staff morale was the second highest response when asked what would need to be improved within the MPS (54 per cent). The second highest response was 'Experience/responsibility' with between 16 per cent to 22 per cent. 'Good hours/holidays' which was the second highest response in the first quarter has fallen to only 5 per cent by the third quarter.

Main points raised from the staff exit survey form

27. Police views on pay appear to have changed over the period with no police respondents citing pay as their main reason for leaving in the third quarter against 21 per cent in the first period of analysis (Apr-Jun '00). However, 44 per cent of police officer respondents still thought that an improvement in pay necessary for them to continue with the MPS. The reduction in the number of officers citing pay as the main leaving reason suggests that the increase in the London Pay Lead has had some impact.

28. Pay continues to be one of the main areas cited by civil staff as affecting their decisions and as needing improvement in order for them to continue working for the MPS. The vast majority of civil staff respondents stated that they would receive pay increases in their new jobs.

29. Most staff agreed that the friendly / team spirit was what they had most enjoyed whilst working for the MPS, although most also stated that staff morale needed to be improved for them to stay.

Return rates

30. Return rates for the exit survey forms have been monitored since the start of the third quarter (October - December 2000), when a system was established that would accurately match responses with the leaving quarter. The return rate compares the total number of forms received for the quarter with the total number of premature leavers for the same period. The overall return rate for the third quarter's survey forms is 39 per cent although police and civil staff return rates differ, with the police rate at 26 per cent and civil staff 45 per cent. The police return rate has improved within the quarter, doubling from 19 per cent for those leaving in October to 40 per cent for those who left during December. Civil staff return rates have remained between 40 per cent and 50 per cent throughout the quarter.

Next steps

31. The Personnel Policy Branch is about to undertake a review of the exit survey process, which will include identifying ways to improve return rate.

32. To enhance the process and to improve the feedback received exit interviews with the local personnel manager are now offered to leavers. Personnel Managers are required to produce a quarterly summary report of the interviews they have conducted during the period. These summaries (the first of which will cover the period up to March 2001) will be collated in Personnel Department and summarised. The first reports are expected from Personnel Managers during April.

A further report will be submitted to the HR Committee when the next quarter's returns have been summarised.

C. Financial implications

None.

D. Background papers

None.

E. Contact details

The author of this report is Keith Beney, Personnel Department, MPS.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 1

• Appendix 1 (parts 1 and 2): Staff exit survey/Exit interview form is available from MPA.

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