29 April 2008

New Zealand Police: Doubly disengaged

Poor leadership and heavy workload cited as factors.

New Zealand Police (NZP) has published the results of a Gallup-led Employee Engagement Survey, of 5,000 police officers.

Gallup found overall that half as many NZP staff (see Figure 1, below) were engaged and nearly twice as many police officers were actively disengaged compared to the New Zealand working population.

This figure ranks NZ police in the bottom quartile in overall engagement across Gallup clients surveyed across the world.

Figure 1. NZ police officers: disengaged because of poor management?

Catching criminals a bonus
Positives of life in the police were cited as:

• high camaraderie;
• helping communities;
• variety; and
• catching criminals.

These factors were countered by:

• a heavy workload;
• a lack of staff resources;
• the low perception of the job;
• not receiving recognition for good work; and
• little trust in the organization to provide an environment of fairness for employees.

Staff stated they weren't optimistic about the future of the NZP.

Quick solutions ruled out, but efforts underway
The engagement survey, a world first among police organizations, is one of the recommendations of a significant, 3-year Commission of Inquiry (COI) into New Zealand Police conduct. It's the first step of many towards creating a better working environment for officers.

"We're seeking to improve the way we do things and this initial survey provides us with a benchmark," said deputy commissioner Rob Pope, who added that there was much work to do. "This won't be a quick fix. Other organizations have taken many years to get where they want to be."

On the recommendation of the COI, the engagement survey will be subsequently be carried out each year. Other recommendations include widespread improvement of internal communication and training policies and measuring the usage and effect of "corporate instruments" such as online publications and documents sent to staff.

Long-standing problems
A former NZP Constable, who didn't wish to be named, told the Hub yesterday that officers have long faced deeply demoralizing working conditions and a lack of morale.

"They've got a real culture problem and there's very little desire to think freely or try new solutions. There's also a real problem with the way senior officers are rewarded for cutting costs. If they can save money by using 4 people to do the job of 8 they're given huge bonuses, while individual hard work isn't rewarded at all. It doesn't take long for people to get fed up with working like that."

The former officer said the engagement survey was a good step, but should have been done before. "I left several years ago and since then most of the people I worked with have left too. Those that remain say it's a case of same old, same old."

Racial tensions also a factor
The NZP came under further criticism from Dr Pita Sharples, police spokesperson for the NZ Maori party, who told Scoop website that the currently published results weren't the full story.

"The slideshows of 'selected highlights' on the police website whetted our appetite to learn more about the health of the police environment," said Dr Sharples. "But it appears the actual detailed results aren't being released."

"We know from previous research that Maori officers working in the NZP have reported their peers as holding negative attitudes towards Maori," added Dr Sharples.

Have your say
Are your organization's employees actively disengaged? Is poor leadership undermining your staff morale? What steps have you made to resolve these issues?

Discuss these issues and others with your peers in the Internal Comms Hub members group on the Communicators' Network.

Further links and resources:
Take the journey to find the magic pill to engagement

Engage your ears to engage your employees
Got a news story? Contact the newsdesk

News archive