O fficial Inf
or
mation Act Request
Request
er’s det
ails
Dat
e: 29
May 2023
Nam
e: Al
Em
ail: f yi-reques
t-22326
-[email address]
Ref
erence nu
mber: ENQ-45967-T0Q1D0
Dear
Al
I ref
er to your request r
eceived on 3 May 2023 for:
• The l
ength o
f time each of the 29 employees were in the CME before leaving
• The av
erage
cost to recruit new staff at the EPA
• How the EP
A are actively trying to retain talent and reduce recruitment costs
• How
managem
ent is assessed for their leadership and development skil s
• The s
taff sa
tisfaction results for CME specifically
• The general themes in the exit interviews
• The num
be r of complaints made about senior management in the CME (including
thos
e wher e no
formal action was taken).
The answers to your questions follow.
The length of time each of the 29 employees were in CME before leaving
1
The average cost to recruit new staff at the EPA
We do not collect this information. The cost of recruiting new staff would include staff costs
(time taken by recruitment advisor, hiring manager, and any other staff involved in
administration tasks such as setting up interviews) and there would also be external costs,
such as for advertising. This part of your request is refused under section 18(e) of the Official
Information Act 1982 (OIA), because the information does not exist.
How the EPA is actively trying to retain talent and reduce recruitment costs
In 2022, the EPA sized all EPA roles, based on updated position descriptions to ensure that
EPA roles were relative to the market. To ensure transparency, a matrix of all job sizes at the
EPA is accessible to all staff.
Roles were resized using the KornFerry methodology. Roles were assessed and given
“points” based on three key dimensions:
• know-how
• problem solving
• accountability
The KornFerry methodology is widely used across the public sector, which helps ensure EPA
is consistent with other public sector organisations. (Please note position descriptions are still
updated or created from time to time and the EPA wil use the KornFerry job sizing
methodology as and when required.)
The EPA strives to offer regular training opportunities to all staf , and each business group
has its own training budget.
How management is assessed for leadership and development skil s
The EPA has the following performance development cycle
2
Managers (including people leaders) have a similar performance appraisal process to staff.
People leaders are encouraged by their managers to regularly seek learning opportunities.
The EPA offers both external and internal leadership courses for people leaders.
The staff satisfaction results for CME specifically
Please find attached the CME group engagement scores for the past three years. Verbatim
comments for the CME group have been withheld under section 9(2)(ba)(i) of the OIA as
releasing this information would be likely to prejudice the supply of similar information, or
information from the same source, and it is in the public interest that such information should
continue to be supplied.
We consider there is good reason to withhold some information for the reasons outlined
above, and there are no reasons why it would be in the public interest to release it.
The general themes in the exit interviews
Staff can choose to undergo an exit interview conducted on behalf of the EPA by a third-
party organisation. An analysis drawn from interviews conducted from May 2021 to
November 2022 showed the following general themes:
1. Flexibility and autonomy
2. Subject matter
3. Induction
4. Processes
5. Communication
6. Management/leadership approach/style/micromanagement
7. Different treatment of employees
8. Workload
Complaints made about senior managers in CME
There have been no complaints received about senior management in CME.
I hope this information is helpful. You have the right to seek an investigation and review by
the Ombudsman of this decision. You can contact the Ombudsman on 0800 802 602, or by
email at
[email address] If you have any further queries, please do not
hesitate to contact us via
[email address]
Yours sincerely
Kellie Houlton
General Manager, People and Capability
3
Document Outline
