Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in July 2024 the GNWT released the 2023 Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Report and attached an employee satisfaction action plan to that report. I do note, with some disappointment, that favourability scores were noted to decline across all indices relative to the 2021 survey. A couple of items I'd like to highlight, Mr. Speaker:
Only 58 percent of staff felt that innovation was valued in their work.
Only 52 percent said they felt valued as employees or that commitment to quality was a high priority.
Overall, morale lowered by 4.9 percent since the last report was done.
I do note that an action plan was published with the report, and I support all those action items; however, I do wonder if a few items were missing. One of them that I'd like to highlight today is the prevalence of overly burdensome bureaucratic processes and how those can, over time, grind people down and reduce morale. I've spoken to staff who have had to go through processes of multiple weeks to get approval to do something like respond to a comment on Facebook.
The other thing that I wonder needs more emphasis is the need for empowerment. I would note, Mr. Speaker, that when employees apply to the GNWT, they go through an incredibly burdensome hiring process where they have to do exams, they have to go through sometimes multiple interviews, and provide pretty serious qualifications only to get into a position sometimes where they have very little decision-making power and very little power to act without oversight by management. So I think reduction of micromanagement needs to be looked at as well.
Another quote that has stood with me, and I wanted to share today, is something that someone said to me the other day when I was chatting with them about how things are going at work - If you truly care about your work, your time at GNWT will be limited. That's an unfortunate sentiment for someone to hold in their job.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that we have an excellent, excellent public service. We have excellent staff at the public service. I request unanimous consent to finish my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I believe that we are going through processes that ensure that we have excellent people in their roles, and then often we're in that role putting them through processes which effectively tell them that their expertise isn't as valued as it could be. So I want us to be looking at that when we're thinking about employee satisfaction, and I want us to be looking at our processes and empowerment of staff, I think it could help us save money over time as we build up our internal capacity for decision-making, maybe we don't need so much management. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Members' statements. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
