Today, the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) released the 2021 Staffing and Non-partisanship Survey results and Highlights Report.
The survey collected feedback from employees, hiring managers and staffing advisors on a wide range of topics related to hiring in the federal public service. Statistics Canada administered the survey, and 75 440 employees from 75 federal departments and agencies completed it.
The results demonstrate considerable progress since the last survey in 2018, with improved results on employees' views on the transparency, fairness and merit-based nature of federal public service staffing processes. Results also indicated employees' satisfaction with their organization's ability to successfully recruit the staff needed for daily operations and to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other findings point to important issues that will require action on the part of the PSC as well as departments and agencies. For example, we must address some perceptions:
- 53% of employees believe that appointments depend on who you know; however, this perception is more prevalent among members of visible minorities (61%)
- on all questions related to merit, fairness and transparency, Indigenous respondents expressed less positive views than their counterparts, with an average difference of 7.5 percentage points
- 66% of hiring managers either don't know if, or don't believe that, individuals who are given priority consideration represent a valuable source of qualified candidates
The PSC will continue to analyze results and work with key stakeholders to make further strides in improving public service hiring.
