CRA 2005 Employee Survey

Summary Report for the Agency

• I - Background
• II - Significant Changes between the 2002 and 2005 Survey Results
  • Greatest Improvements compared to 2002 Results
  • Weaknesses Compared to 2002
  • Comparing the 1999, 2002 and 2005 Results
• III - Overview of the 2005 Results by Section of the Survey
  • My Job World
  • Communication with my Immediate Supervisor
  • My Work Unit
  • Skills and Career
  • Harassment and Discrimination
  • Staffing
  • Service to Clients
  • My Organization (the Agency)
  • Labour / Management Relations

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I - Background

In November and December 2005, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) conducted a survey to obtain employees’ views on various issues related to their well-being and the workplace. This is the third such survey of CRA employees. The first occurred in 1999 when the CRA (then Revenue Canada) took part in the Public Service Employee Survey. Agency employees were surveyed for the second time in 2002 when CRA (then the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency), as a separate employer, conducted its own survey concurrently with the Public Service Employee Survey. The 2005 survey questions are the same as in 2002 with minor adjustments. Approximately 50% of the 1999 survey questions were repeated in 2002. As in 1999 and 2002, this survey was administered by Statistics Canada. The CRA’s participation rate for the 2005 survey is 72.4%, while a 60.2% rate was achieved in 2002 and a 57.3% rate in 1999. Approximately 76% of the respondents to the 2005 survey also responded to the 2002 survey, while about 65% of the respondents to the 2002 survey also responded to the 1999 survey.

II - Significant Changes between the 2002 and 2005 Survey Results

The 2002 results stated in this report are different from those published in 2002. They have been adjusted to exclude Customs respondents’ results. However, 1999 data does include Customs responses.

In general, results have improved slightly from the last survey. Most of the results are about the same as in 2002 give or take a 1% difference while some are showing an increase up to 8%, and few others, a decrease as much as 9%. Increases from 2002 to 2005 are smaller than those observed between the 2002 and 1999 results, where 19 out of the 39 repeated questions showed improvements ranging from 11% to 27%.

Greatest Improvements compared to 2002 Results

• 81% of the respondents believed that their immediate supervisor assesses their work against identified goals and objectives --- 8% more than in 2002
  
  
• 81% agreed that they were familiar with the provisions of their collective agreement --- 7% more than in 2002
  
  
• 82% felt that they could discuss with their immediate supervisor the results they are expected to achieve --- 6% more than in 2002
  
  
• 78% agreed that they receive useful feedback from their immediate supervisor on their job performance --- 5% more than in 2002
  
  
• 87% said that, subject to operational requirements, their immediate supervisor supports the use of flexible work arrangements (e.g., flexible hours, compressed work weeks, telework) --- 5% more than in 2002; while a higher percentage of the respondents in 2005 said that they were currently working on compressed workweek (50% compared to 44% in 2002)
  
  
• 58% said that their immediate supervisor does a good job of helping them develop their career --- 5% more than in 2002
  
  
• 80% said that they have the flexibility to adapt their services to meet their clients' needs --- 5% more than in 2002
  
  
• A higher proportion of respondents requested a developmental assignment in the last three years --- 30% compared to 25% in 2002

Weaknesses Compared to 2002

• 48% believe they have opportunities for promotion within the Public Service, given their education, skills and experience --- 8% less than in 2002
  
  
• Of those who expressed an opinion, 42% of respondents felt that competitions were run in a fair manner when they were a candidate in competitions in the past three years --- 7% less than in 2002
  
  
• 53% believe they have opportunities for promotion within the Agency, given their education, skills and experience --- 6% less than in 2002
  
  
• 58% felt they can claim overtime compensation (in money or in leave) for the overtime hours that they work --- 6% less than in 2002
  
  
• 47% of respondents were “always” or “often” compensated in money or in leave for the overtime worked in the past year, while 33% indicated that it did not apply to them. In the 2002 survey, 56% of the respondents stated that they were compensated and 26% indicated that it did not apply to them. Leaving out the “Not applicable” answers, a proportion of 70% of the respondents were “always” or “often” compensated compared to 76% in 2002 --- 6% less than in 2002
  
  
• 42% felt that when they were candidates in competitions during the past three years, they had the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities for the position --- 5% less than in 2002
  
  
• Only 43% believe that senior management has made progress toward resolving the issues raised in the CCRA 2002 Employee Survey, while in 2002, 48% believed that senior management had made progress toward resolving issues raised in the 1999 survey --- 5% less than in 2002

Comparing the 1999, 2002 and 2005 Results

Thirty-nine non-demographic questions from the 1999 questionnaire are repeated in 2002 and 2005.

Overall, respondents appear to be more positive in their feedback on the 39 repeated questions from 1999. In the 2005 survey, there are 28 questions that yielded the same or better results than in 2002, while 37 questions of the 2002 survey showed much better results than in 1999.

The 2002-2005 improvement rates are more modest than the 1999-2002 rates: 7 results increased within a range of 4% to 8%, while in 2002, 35 questions had improved results within a range of 4% to 27% from 1999. In 2005, 11questions out of 39 showed lower results than in 2002 whereas in 2002, only 2 results were poorer than in 1999.

There were several key areas that showed continued improvement in results for both 2005 and 2002 surveys. Discussion with managers in regards to expected results to achieve has received the most improvement, reaching an agreement level of 82% (up from 76% in 2002 and 59% in 1999); employees’ satisfaction on feedback on job performance has increased to 78% (an increase of 20% from 1999) and supervisors aiding in determining learning needs is up to 66% (from 48% in 1999). In addition, supervisors have greatly improved in helping employees develop their careers, with 58% agreement by respondents as opposed to only 37% in 1999.

Although there were many instances where progress was maintained throughout the 6 years, there are some areas where decreases in satisfaction occurred after significant progress was made in 2002. Employees said that the quality of work suffered more often in 2005 than in 2002 due to a diminishing stock of resources (16% improvement from 1999-2002 followed by a 5% decrease from 2002-2005). Employees were skeptical in regards to information sharing from senior management (after a 17% improvement from 1999-2002, a 3% decrease followed in 2005). Employees were also concerned about the eagerness of senior management to address the concerns raised by the employee survey (after a 27% increase from 1999-2002, a 4% decrease occurred in 2002-2005).

III - Overview of the 2005 Results by Section of the Survey

1. My Job World

Overall, the results of this section are similar to 2002. The knowledge of the collective agreements and the use of the compressed workweek as an alternate working arrangement are showing the highest improvement while the two questions about compensation for overtime are showing a decrease.

Workload

• Seventy percent said they could complete their assigned workload during regular working hours, which is 2% more than in 2002. In 2005, a smaller percentage of respondents felt pressured by others to work more than their regular hours (13% compared to 14% in 2002).

Work-life balance

• A large proportion of the respondents (79% compared to 78% in 2002) felt they could balance their personal, family and work needs while 92% (91% in 2002) were satisfied with their current work arrangement (regular hours, compressed hours, etc).

Extra hours compensated

• In 2005, 58% of the respondents felt they could claim overtime compensation for extra hours worked (64% in 2002), while 23% disagreed with this statement and 19% answered “Don’t know” or “Not applicable”.
  
  
• In 2005, 47% said they were “often” or “always” compensated (56% in 2002) while 19% were “sometimes” or “rarely/never” compensated (18% in 2002) and another 33% did not know or felt it did not apply to them compared to 27% in 2002.

Quality of work

• Respondents suggested that the quality of their work “often” or “always” suffers because of:
  • constantly changing priorities --- 32% (31% in 2002)
  • lack of stability in the organization --- 29% (27% in 2002)
  • too many approval stages --- 26% (23% in 2002)
  • unreasonable deadlines --- 20% (19% in 2002)
  • having to do the same or more work, but with fewer resources --- 32% (27% in 2002)

Official languages in the workplace

• Almost all respondents (95%) felt that the materials and tools provided for work are available in their language of choice (94% in 2002).
  
  
• Similar to 2002, 89% felt free to use the official language of their choice in preparing written material; and, 84% believe training offered by the Agency is “always” (70%) or “often” (14%) available in the official language of their choice.

Work environment

• 91% believe they have the materials and equipment they need to do their job (89% in 2002)
  
  
• 59% felt they were classified fairly (58% in 2002)
  
  
• 55% felt they were encouraged to be innovative or take initiative in their work (54% in 2002)
  
  
• 37% believe they had a say in decisions and actions that impact their work (36% in 2002)
  
  
• 81% were familiar with the provisions of their collective agreement (74% in 2002)

2. Communication with My Immediate Supervisor

It is evident that many improvements have taken place regarding communications since 2002; while two results are the same as 2002, all other results show an increase ranging from 1% to 8%.

Relations with the supervisor

• Similar to 2002, 82% of respondents felt they can count on their immediate supervisor to keep his/her promises, and 81% agree that their supervisor keeps them informed about issues affecting their work (80% in 2002).
  
  
• A majority of respondents (79%) also felt that their supervisor would take them seriously with regard to suggesting ways to improve how things are done in their unit (78% in 2002).
  
  
• Three quarters (75%) of the respondents believe that their immediate supervisor distributes the work fairly (74% in 2002), and 87% felt that, subject to operational requirements, their immediate supervisor supports the use of flexible work arrangements (e.g., flexible hours, compressed work weeks, telework), an increase of 5% from 2002.

Communication

• Similar to 2002, 89% of the respondents felt free to use the official language of their choice while communicating with their supervisor.
  
  
• Seventy-eight percent of the respondents felt that they can disagree with their immediate supervisor on work-related issues without fear of reprisal (76% in 2002).

Performance management

• Sixty-six percent of the respondents agree that their immediate supervisor helps them determine their learning needs, up from 62% in 2002, and 78% felt that they receive useful feedback on their job performance, an improvement of 5% from 2002.
  
  
• Noteworthy improvements from the 2002 results occurred in the areas of: employees discussing results they are expected to achieve with their immediate supervisor, where 82% agreed that this occurs as compared to 76% in 2002; and, employees having their work assessed against identified goals and objectives (81% agreed that this occurs compared to 73% in 2002).

Recognition

• Seventy-five percent of the respondents also felt that they get adequate recognition, whereas in 2002 only 73% believed this to be the case.

3. My Work Unit

Teamwork and commitment

• Similar to 2002, 90% of the respondents are proud of the work carried out in their work unit, and 84% responded that they work cooperatively as a team in their work unit, an improvement of 1%.
  
  
• In their work unit, 87% said they learn from their mistakes and do what it takes to correct them, which is 1% less than 2002. In 2005, slightly fewer respondents believe that their unit periodically takes time out to rethink the way it does business (61% compared to 62% in 2002).

Turnover

• In 2005, a smaller percentage of respondents believed that staff turnover had been a significant problem in their work unit during the past 3 years (40% compared to 43% in 2002).

Values and ethics

• Results show that only 60% of respondents are satisfied (61% in 2002) with the way in which informal complaints on workplace issues are resolved in their work unit.
  
  
• It is evident that most of respondents (85%) felt free to use the official language of their choice during meetings in their work unit (86% in 2002).
  
  
• Similar to 2002, 93% responded that every individual, regardless of race, colour, gender or disability would be/is accepted as an equal member of the team.

4. Skills and Career

Training

• More than three quarters of the respondents (78% compared to 77% in 2002) felt they received the training necessary to do their job and, similar to 2002, 69% of respondents agreed that they were able to get on-the-job coaching to improve the way they do their work.

Developmental assignment

• There was a decrease of 1% in the percentage of respondents (30%) who would be reluctant to ask for a developmental opportunity while there was an increase of 5% in the percentage of respondents who actually requested a developmental assignment in the last three years (from 25% in 2002 to 30% in 2005). Of those respondents who indicated that they had requested a developmental assignment in the last three years, a smaller percentage of respondents (43%) stated that their request had been denied (46% in 2002).
  
  
• A majority of respondents (67%) believe they have opportunities to develop and apply the skills they need to enhance their career (65% in 2002).

Career development and promotion

• The proportion of respondents who felt that their supervisors and the Agency were providing support for career development has increased in 2005 by 5% and 2%, respectively to 58% and 60%.
  
  
• Overall, 75% are satisfied with their career progress in the Public Service, compared to 73% in 2002.
  
  
• Respondents are less optimistic than in 2002 with regards to opportunities for promotion. In 2005, fewer respondents believe they have opportunities for promotion within the Agency or the Public Service, given their education, skills and experience. A proportion of 53% believe it is possible within the Agency while 48% felt they have more chances in the Public Service. In 2002, results were respectively of 59% and 56%.

5. Harassment and Discrimination

Harassment

• Eighteen percent of respondents indicated that they had been victims of harassment on the job over the last two years, which is an increase of 3% from 2002. Of those that indicated “yes”, they indicated that it was most likely to have been from co-workers or individuals with authority over them.
  
  
• For the question asking whether or not respondents had been victims of physical violence on the job over the last two years; as in 2002, 1% responded “yes.” Of that one percent, it was most likely to have been from co-workers, individuals with authority over them, or members of the public.

Discrimination

• With regard to discrimination, 16% of respondents indicated that they had been victims of discrimination on the job over the last two years (an increase from 14% in 2002). Of those who experienced discrimination, it was generally experienced from individuals with authority over the respondent and the type of discrimination experienced was more often related to sex 37% (same as in 2002), age 31% (same as in 2002) or race 26% (23% in 2002), national or ethnic origin 24% (20% in 2002).

Prevention

• Almost three quarters of the respondents (74%) indicated agreement that the CRA works hard to create a workplace that prevents harassment and discrimination, which is 2% less than in 2002, and a lower percentage than in 2002 are satisfied with the way in which the CRA responds to matters related to harassment and discrimination (56% compared to 60% in 2002). However, for both questions a significant percentage of respondents (13% and 29% respectively) said that they don’t know or that it did not apply to them.

6. Staffing

All results to questions of this section experienced slightly lower results than in 2002.

• About 75% of respondents agree that the people hired can do the job compared to 77% in 2002, and 59% agree that the process to choose those people is done fairly, which is down from 61% in 2002.
  
  
• For the question as to whether employees had an opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities during selection processes within the last three years, 42% (47% in 2002) of the respondents agreed while 30% disagreed and another 28% indicated that they don’t know or that it did not apply to them.
  
  
• The percentage of respondents who have had one or more promotions over the last three years is down from 2002, with 28% of respondents having had at least one promotion down from 31%, and 8% had two or more promotions down from 10%. Sixty-four percent had no promotions compared to 59% in 2002.

7. Service to Clients

In this section, three results out of four show a significant increase from the 2002 Survey.

• The vast majority of respondents (82%) agreed that their work unit has clearly defined service standards, and 80% felt that those standards are regularly applied; in 2002 results were 79% and 76% respectively.
  
  
• Similar to 2002, 57% agreed or were aware of the existence of mechanisms for linking client feedback or complaints to employees who can act on the information.
  
  
• Most of employees (80%) felt they had the flexibility to adapt their services to meet the needs of their clients, which is up from 75% in 2002.

8. My Organization (the Agency)

Overview

• Respondents felt strongly that they are committed to making their organization successful (95% compared to 94% in 2002), that they are treated with respect by the organization (86% as in 2002) and that the organization is a good place to work (86% compared to 87% in 2002).
  
  
• As in 2002, 78% of respondents are satisfied with their career in the Public Service.

Employees

• Close to three quarters of the respondents (74%) are confident of their ability to explain the organization’s direction (up from 71% in 2002) and 82% felt that they communicate well with others in the organization (83% in 2002) who work on similar projects or issues.
  
  
• Additionally, 72% of the respondents know where to seek help in resolving an ethical dilemma (71% in 2002). However, 34% felt that they cannot initiate a formal redress process without some fear of reprisal, which is an increase of 1% from 2002.

Management support

• In 2005, a smaller percentage of respondents felt that senior management does a good job of sharing information (58% compared to 61% in 2002).
  
  
• In 2005, 80% believe that senior management actively supports the use of flexible work arrangements (76% in 2002).
  
  
• In 2005, a greater percentage of respondents believed that management was committed to ensuring occupational health and safety (87% compared to 85% in 2002), while 81% of the respondents knew where to go for help in resolving a health and safety situation, an improvement of 3%.
  
  
• The 2005 survey results indicate that 55% agree that senior management would try to resolve concerns raised in this survey while 59% felt so in 2002.

9. Labour / Management Relations

• Eighty-six percent of respondents felt their immediate supervisor understands and respects the provisions of their collective agreement and 80% agreed that senior management respects the agreement. Both results are up from 3% and 2% respectively.
  
  
• One respondent out of two felt that senior management engages in meaningful consultation with their union (50% compared to 48% in 2002); however, it is noteworthy that 35% of respondents (37% in 2002) are unable to offer an opinion. Likewise, 40% of respondents (42% in 2002) do not know if the relationship between their union and senior management is highly productive, although 39% (37% in 2002) believe it is.