Quarter of staff say Bristol City Council became a better place to work this year

Almost a quarter of staff members say Bristol City Council is becoming a better place to work according to a recent survey. This year saw a large jump, from 18 per cent of staff last year saying the council was a better place to work than 12 months ago, to 23 per cent this year.

However, that result is less than in 2022, when 24 per cent responded positively, and 28 per cent in 2020. The annual staff survey was not carried out in 2021 due to the pandemic.

This year also saw a slight increase in trust in top bosses at the council, including executive directors, directors and heads of service, from 45 per cent last year to 46 per cent this year saying they are “trustworthy and act with integrity”. The latest results of the staff survey will be discussed by councillors on the human resources committee on Tuesday, September 17.

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A committee report said: “Our annual staff survey is one of the tools we use to understand colleagues’ experiences of working for the council. It helps us identify areas of strength and how we can make positive changes where improvements are needed.

“Colleagues’ views on senior leadership have improved since a downturn last year. Indicators of organisational performance and employee engagement have all increased with responses to feeling it is a better place to work than last year seeing the biggest improvement.”

Just over half of the more than 6,000 people working for the council responded to the survey. Staff were given an incentive to respond, as the council promised to donate money to charity, with a higher amount donated if more people responded.

The survey was open from May 14 to June 11. One major shift that happened two weeks before the survey launched was Marvin Rees, the former Labour mayor, leaving office after eight years. However it’s unclear if the change in leadership has impacted the results of the staff survey.