At Cornwall Council, our communities and people are at the heart of our organisation. Our success relies on the great work our people do for residents and communities every day.
This is reflected in our People Strategy, which aims to inspire, support, and invest in our workforce. It is also reflected in Our Charter, which describes our values and ways of working.
These frameworks show:
- how we work together
- our cultural expectations
- our commitment to helping people thrive at work
We value our employees' voices and are dedicated to enhancing their work experience. Regular employee surveys allow us to gather feedback on what matters most to our employees.
These surveys help us understand different aspects of the employee experience across several areas:
- connection with the Council
- relationship with line managers
- confidence in senior leaders
- opportunities for personal growth
- work environment
- health and wellbeing
- inclusion and belonging
Our surveys also measure employee engagement using the Local Government Employee Engagement Index questions. Additionally, we include a Net Promoter Score to understand how likely employees are to recommend Cornwall Council as a place to work.
Listening to our employees helps us identify what we're doing well and where we need to improve. By acting on this feedback, we can boost employee engagement in our pursuit to deliver great outcomes for Cornwall in line with our Council’s vision.
High employee engagement is essential for us as an employer of choice and contributes to many positive outcomes, such as:
- better performance
- improved retention and recruitment
- and lower sickness absence rates
The insights we gain from our surveys are vital in shaping the actions we take to improve the experience our people have at work. We embed these actions into our corporate and local strategies and plans.
Teams use them to update their commitments to each other in their team charters. This ensures employee feedback directly influences the Council’s ongoing development and the delivery of our People Strategy.
By embedding employee voice into our strategic priorities, we reinforce the importance of listening to our people and shaping the future of the Council.
This alignment strengthens our collective commitment to making Cornwall Council:
A great place to work, where everyone feels valued and empowered.
We are proud to share our employee survey results, starting with the 2024 survey. Reinforcing our commitment to drive improvement and create a positive and inclusive workplace.
How we conduct the surveys
We carry out employee surveys every two years. Employees with more than one role can submit separate surveys for each role, ensuring we capture the diverse experiences of our workforce.
Find out more about our methodology
Response rates are calculated based on the total number of jobs, to give an accurate representation of employee feedback.
Interpreting the results
Survey results are presented as percentages of participants who responded. Where possible, we provide comparisons with previous surveys to track progress and identify trends over time.
Our surveys
View the results of our 2024 employee survey
National comparisons
The Local Government Association (LGA) collates employee survey data from local authorities to produce annual national benchmarks. We aim to compare our results with these national benchmarks.
Particularly the Local Government Employee Engagement Index questions and the Net Promoter Score.
Our employee survey runs from September. This means that our results are not available in time to meet the LGA's submission window, which runs from April to September.
Therefore, we submit our data in the following year's submission window.