Employee survey results published

Thank you to all 2,329 colleagues who shared their views in response to our employee survey, helping to provide us with a comprehensive picture of what it’s like to work at our council.

Your feedback helps us understand what is working well, where we need to improve and, most importantly, where we need to focus our efforts to make a positive difference for employees and the communities we serve.

What you told us

The results show many positive aspects. Our strongest scores relate to employees' experiences within their teams and with their line managers. This suggests that employees generally feel supported, engaged and valued by those they work with every day.

Some of the key highlights include:

• 94.9% of employees said they are clear about their role and responsibilities
• 90.6% said their team works well together
• 89.1% feel listened to by their line manager
• 88% feel supported by their line manager to do their job well
• 84.2% would recommend our organisation as a good place to work

These results reflect the commitment, professionalism and teamwork demonstrated across our organisation every day.

The survey and accompanying comments also highlighted areas where employees would like to see improvements such as:

• workload and staffing pressures
• career progression and development opportunities
• tools, systems and technology to support work
• communication and visibility from senior leaders
• feeling informed about decisions that affect employees
• recognition, wellbeing and organisational support

While these scores show where improvement is needed, they also provide a clear opportunity for us to focus our efforts on the issues that matter most to employees.

Many colleagues took the time to share detailed comments and suggestions. In response to the question ‘what one thing would you change about East Lothian Council if you were Chief Executive?’, 1,109 suggestions were submitted for Laurence to review, with all the themes emerging from the responses being clear and consistent.

The main priorities identified for change identified were:

• improve senior leadership communication and transparency - employees want clearer communication from senior leadership, greater transparency around decision-making and a better understanding of council priorities and finances
• strengthen leadership visibility - there were calls for senior leaders to be more visible, accessible and connected with front-line employees
• invest in employees - employees would like more access to training, development and career progression opportunities, together with stronger recognition and retention initiatives
• reduce bureaucracy and improve efficiency - many employees highlighted the need to simplify processes, reduce unnecessary administration and improve digital systems and technology
• address workforce pressures - employees highlighted the need to ensure staffing levels and resources keep pace with growing demands and workloads
• enhance the ‘One Council’ culture - many responses focused on improving collaboration across services, reducing silo working and strengthening our collective approach to delivering outcomes.

As part of the survey, respondents were also invited to vote for a local organisation to receive £500 through supplier Community Benefit funding. We're pleased to confirm that East Lothian Foodbank received the highest number of votes and will receive the donation.

What happens next?

Over the coming weeks, Service Managers will share their team results with colleagues. Each service will identify three specific actions based on their results, to help drive real change. Progress against these actions will be reviewed by the Corporate Leadership Team every six months. There will be clear accountability and follow-through to ensure improvements are delivered.

Our Chief Executive, Laurence, will be responding directly to the main themes raised through the survey and comments in a separate video update – look out for this being published in due course.

Thank you once again to everyone who took the time to complete the survey and share their experiences, ideas and suggestions. Your feedback provides a strong foundation for meaningful action, and we are committed to ensuring that the results help us to build on our strengths, address the challenges identified and ensure East Lothian Council continues to be a great place to work and deliver valued services for our communities.

Hayley Barnett, Head of Corporate Support