Waltham Forest Council's latest staff survey reveals a boost in employee engagement, signalling positive strides in the council's efforts to create a supportive and productive working environment. However, the survey also highlighted areas where employee sentiment has declined, prompting targeted action plans.
The findings were presented at the Scrutiny Coordinating Committee meeting on Wednesday, 16 July 2025, as part of a broader Workforce and Culture Update. The survey, conducted in autumn 2024, showed increased participation and improved engagement results across the majority of questions, according to the Workforce and Culture Update report.
The council's Workforce and Culture transformation programme, launched in September 2024, focuses on three key pillars:
- Building a highly engaged, productive, and diverse workforce
- Becoming an employer of choice
- Building, retaining, and recruiting inspirational leaders
The programme includes 26 levers for change, such as increasing leadership development, establishing a diverse empowerment programme, reducing agency spend, and improving staff performance and development. A full list of the levers is available in Appendix 1 – 26 Levers for Change.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are used to measure the success of the Workforce and Culture transformation programme. Headline indicators include targets for reducing agency headcount, decreasing ethnicity and gender pay gaps, and increasing the percentage of staff who feel they are treated equally and can be their authentic selves at work. For example, the council aims to reduce agency headcount to 280 by the end of financial year 2026/27 and decrease the ethnicity pay gap to 13.5%.
Since the programme's launch, several positive developments have been noted:
- Reduced Agency Spend: The council has decreased agency headcount by transferring agency workers into permanent roles, resulting in a £1.7 million reduction in agency spend over the last two quarters.
- Reduced Pay Gaps: Gender and ethnicity pay gaps continue to narrow year on year.
- Overhauled Performance and Development Cycle: The council has shifted its focus to continuous learning and equitable staff development.
- Launched Health and Wellbeing Action Plan: The plan aims to create a supportive and productive working environment with mental health and social support.
- Improved Career Pathways: The Future Pathways scheme has been established to improve career pathways for local care experienced young residents.
- Designed Thrive Diverse Empowerment Programme: This programme will offer learning and development opportunities for staff, focusing on colleagues within the PO4-PO12 bracket.
The staff survey results are representative of the workforce, with a 63% response rate, significantly higher than the average for local authorities, according to the Workforce and Culture Update report. The survey comprised both quantitative and qualitative feedback, with positive shifts in responses across questions relating to diversity and inclusion. Specific areas showing statistically significant increases (greater than 3%) include:
- Feeling safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done (10% increase to 52%)
- Perception of respectful treatment among colleagues (8% increase to 79%)
- Belief that all staff are treated equally, with no discrimination (8% increase to 55%)
- Feeling informed about what happens across the Council (7% increase to 78%)
- Workload manageability (6% increase to 58%)
- Senior leadership leading by example (5% increase to 65%)
- Satisfaction with the total benefits package (5% increase to 61%)
- Work/life balance (5% increase to 67%)
- Line manager leading by example (4% increase to 75%)
- Corporate Director leading by example (4% increase to 68%)
- Feeling that change is well managed across the council (4% increase to 43%)
- Feeling connected to people within the team (4% increase to 87%)
- Ability to be one's authentic self at work (4% increase to 69%)
- Job making the most of skills and strengths (4% increase to 62%)
Of the 39 questions that remained the same as in 2022:
- 24 have increased / improved (14 have a statistically significant increase of at least 3%)
- 10 have decreased / worsened (4 have a statistically significant decrease of at least 3%)
- 5 have seen no change
Appendix 3 – Headline Results provides a comparison of statistically significant results.
However, the survey also revealed some areas of concern. Statistically significant decreases were noted in responses to the following questions:
- Optimism about one's future at the Council (9% decrease to 44%)
- Intention to stay at the Council for at least the next 12 months (6% decrease to 75%)
- Access to the tools and equipment needed to do the job effectively (4% decrease to 63%)
- Receipt of good quality feedback on work (3% decrease to 66%)
The council is addressing these concerns through five key themes: Managing Change, Career Development and Progression, Fairness in Performance Management, Access to Tools and Equipment, and Readiness to Deliver Mission Waltham Forest.
The council plans to run a Pulse Survey towards the end of the year to assess staff feelings about developments across the council and identify areas for further support during change processes. The Pulse Survey will reflect the metrics used in the transformation programme to assess staff feelings about developments across the council. The council aims to use the survey to understand if there is anything else they can do to improve their support during change.
