2010 Police workplace survey

Police engagement on par with State Sector
New Zealand Police levels of staff engagement compare favourably with other State Sector employers according to the 2010 NZ Police Workplace Survey. 

The results of the survey show, conducted by Auckland based JRA (NZ) Ltd, shows overall engagement of Police staff is 70.1 percent, compared to a State Sector benchmark of 72.4 percent. 

Police HR Manager Organisation Development, Alan Cassidy says the survey shows levels of police staff engagement are similar to those found in other state sector agencies.  Mr Cassidy says 2010 is the first year Police have conducted the workplace survey using a tool provided by JRA. 

Survey findings
The survey results will be used by Police to help improve overall employee engagement and to make Police a better place to work, with the survey repeated annually to track progress and help drive further improvement. 

While there is wide variety in the results of the survey, the variation is generally consistent with what would be expected in a large, widely-distributed organisation. 

Mr Cassidy says that in the survey's open ended questions staff identified their co-workers and camaraderie as the one thing that makes New Zealand Police stand out as a great place to work - 51.9% identifyed this. 

"Pride in helping deliver safer communities was the next highest rated theme with 15.6% of staff identifying this. Staff were also asked in the open ended questions to identify the things that need to change to make New Zealand Police a great place to work, " says Mr Cassidy.

The most common themes to emerge were:

  • staffing - 25.7%,
  • resources, tools and equipment - 12.4% and,
  • the amount of administration work versus front line work - 8.8%. 

Staff engagement
"In most Police working environments the number of engaged staff is matched by the number of disengaged staff.  Our engagement index is 70.1 percent, compared to the State Sector average of 72.4. 

"While this gap is not statistically significant, Police accept the need to improve engagement.  The actions we take in response to the survey will aim to improve the index over time," says Mr Cassidy. 


Actions to be taken
The survey results have been widely distributed within NZ Police, with mangers and supervisors asked to discuss the results with staff and identify areas to work on and the actions needed to address local issues.

"This process is now well advanced across the organisation. The focus has been on identifying and addressing areas where practical steps can be taken within the next 12 to 18 months. This will help to demonstrate the organisation's commitment to taking action the results of the survey."

Mr Cassidy says two key themes that have been identified as national focus areas are "communication" and "recognition".

Districts and service centres have been asked to improve:

  • 'bottom up' communication;
  • focusing on increasing the input and involvement of staff; and
  • improving the recognition of the day to day achievements and efforts of staff.  

"While we are still in the process of developing responses, initial indications show there has been good input from staff in many areas."

Mr Cassidy says the types of actions identified so far include:

  • reviewing induction processes for new supervisors and NCOs with increased emphasis on improving communication and feedback
  • reducing barriers between management and staff by providing more channels for both formal and informal interactions
  • addressing resourcing issues by reviewing  and improve 'rostering to risk'  arrangements and reviewing file management processes with a view to reducing paperwork for frontline staff
  • establishing Area Working parties to contact 'best practice' areas and workgroups within Police to get ideas for local initiatives.

Changes will be delivered in a variety of ways including the incorporation of engagement actions into district and service centre business plans in the coming years.  Action on these plans is monitored on a quarterly basis to check on progress, Mr Cassidy says.

Further information