Less than half of staff at Bristol City Council believe top execs ‘are trustworthy'

Less than half of staff working at Bristol City Council believe top bosses are trustworthy according to a new survey.

Only 49% of Bristol City Council staff agreed that senior leaders “are trustworthy and act with integrity”, with one in 10 council workers disagreeing with that statement. An annual staff survey, filled out by more than 3,500, showed ongoing concerns about top council bosses.

While the results have improved since recent years, the latest staff survey reveals problems still persist. Councillors on the human resources committee will consider the results and grill council bosses on how trust in bosses can be improved, on Thursday, September 22.

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A recent committee report said: “We can see an ongoing trend that the number of colleagues who feel that senior leaders understand the challenges of their day-to-day work is low. [But] there are continued positive trends we can look to build on, reflecting the efforts made to improve two-way communication between colleagues and senior leaders over the past few years.”

Senior leaders include executive directors, directors and heads of services. Asked whether they were interested in and listened to the views of employees, 43% of council staff agreed and 24% disagreed. Asked whether senior leaders “understand the challenges of my day to day work”, only 26% agreed while 41% disagreed.

Results of the annual staff survey at Bristol City Council show a lack of trust in senior leaders (Copyright Unknown)

Elsewhere in the survey, only a quarter of staff agreed that the council is now a better place to work than 12 months ago, and only a third thought “meaningful action will be taken following this survey”. 3,589 council staff carried out the survey, which ran from April to May this year, representing 55% of the council’s workforce.

Results were more positive when staff were asked about their relationship with direct line managers and wider teams. Most staff also agreed they could achieve a good work-life balance, health and safety concerns are taken seriously, and that they are treated with “dignity and respect”.