The APS Employee Census is a survey administered to all APS employees, and collects information on important workforce issues, such as job satisfaction, employee engagement, performance management and leadership. This gives us insights into what we do well, and what we can improve to ensure our department a great place to work.
2020 was as a year of significant change for the APS as a whole and particularly for the department. 2020 commenced with a large scale MoG, directly impacting two of the largest business Groups (Employment and Skills) and requiring major changes to the Corporate Services teams.
The onset of COVID-19 required a rapid and intense response in nearly all business areas and in the corporate support areas. 64 per cent of DESE respondents (49 per cent APS wide) identified that they conducted work directly related to COVID-19. Given the context of 2020, it is pleasing to see that most Groups had small increases in both engagement and well-being scores.
The Department participation rate for the census was 90 per cent (for comparison, the overall APS participation rate was 78 per cent), the second highest response rate amongst large agencies and in line with similarly high participation rates from previous years.