Annual Report 2016-17

63 Our people Our staff Our staff are essential to our success and to ensuring we meet our goals and deliver our services. The Commission employed 40 people (34 full- time equivalent) in judicial education, legal research, complaints, information technology and administrative roles (last year: 41). Figure 12 shows the average number of employees in these roles over a 5-year period. Our small staff numbers mean that retired judicial officers sometimes help us with specialised tasks such as updating bench books and examining complaints. Serving judicial officers also help by generously giving their time to serve on our various committees. Appendix 4 provides details of all our committees. Performance and satisfaction Figure 12. 5-year comparison of average number of  employees by employment category 33 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 31 31 34 Senior executive Administration/management support Sentencing/judicial education 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 Total 40 41 41 39 39 32 Staff satisfaction at a high 91% Our annual internal staff survey measured how committed, stimulated and supported our people felt. This year, we received a 55% response rate (22 of 40). Overall satisfaction with the Commission as an employer remains very high. 100% of the staff who responded strongly agree or agree that: • their work directly contributes to the Commission’s mission and purpose (last year: 100%) • they are willing to put in extra effort to achieve a professional result (last year: 100%) • they achieve a work/life balance with the Commission’s flexible work practices (last year: 100%). The majority of staff (16) agree that there is effective communication of information and there has been an improvement since last year. Two people expressed dissatisfaction and 4 were neutral. Other results are: • 95% of staff consider that their working environment is safe, secure and comfortable (last year: 96%): see p 68 • 91% are engaged in their current role (last year: 100%) • 91% are provided with sufficient resources and time to undertake their work (last year: 100%) • 91% of staff felt that their requests for training to meet their professional development needs were well supported (last year: 96%) • 86% of staff felt there were good levels of teamwork and cooperation within projects that they were required to work on at the Commission (last year: 96%) • 86% of staff felt trusted and valued at the Commission (last year: 91%). Percentage Themes Difference from Public Sector 88% Diversity and inclusion + 20 87% Engagement with work + 15 78% High performance + 15 75% Employee engagement + 10 74% Communication + 14 74% Public sector values + 13 62% Senior managers + 15 Figure 13. Commission results in People Matter Employee Survey 2017 Commission rates highly in NSW Government 2017 People Matter Employee Survey The Public Service Commission conducted a People Matter Employee Survey in 2017. The survey measured employee engagement, senior managers, communication, engagement with work, high performance, public sector values, and diversity and inclusion. Figure 13 shows that, with a 50% response rate, the Commission rated very highly in 7 specific areas compared to the overall public sector.