Staff Reporting and Staff Development by Anstey E.;

Author:Anstey, E.; [ANSTEY, E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2017-05-08T00:00:00+00:00

EFFECT OF A CONFERENCE

That training conferences can bring about a marked increase in the confidence of supervisors in their organization’s staff reporting arrangements is demonstrated by the results of an attitude survey carried out in the British Civil Service Commission. Some nine months after the conference described on pages 41-42, a similar reporting conference was held, attended this time by 100 junior executive officers. Just before the conference they were asked to fill in a simple questionary about reporting, and six months later, by which time any transient enthusiasm kindled by the conference would probably have died out, they were asked to answer the same questions again. Their replies to two questions, as shown in the following tables, were of particular interest:

Question 1. How would you rate the design of this report form?

Rating Replies before

conference Replies six

months later

Extremely well designed 10% 18%

Well designed 52% 61%

Satisfactory on the whole 38% 20%

Badly designed 0% 1%

The form was now somewhat better thought of, and the odds were more than 100 : 1 against the shift in opinion being due to chance.

Question 2. Do you think that the present standard of reporting is as uniform as practicable among reporting officers?

(a) within the same Branch? (b) in different Branches?

Replies to (a) Replies to (b)

Before

conference Six months

later Before

conference Six months

later

Yes 35% 78% 16% 66%

No 29% 12% 37% 19%

No opinion 36% 10% 47% 15%

The first point that stands out is that, prior to the conference, the general climate of opinion among these junior executive officers was pretty unfavourable. About a third thought that there was plenty of room for improvement in standards, particularly as between different Branches. This demonstrated the need for training. The conference brought about a dramatic shift in outlook, both changes in the above table being statistically significant beyond any shadow of doubt. About a quarter of the reporting officers remained unconvinced, and though 85 per cent. of them expressed a desire to attend refresher conferences, it is doubtful whether any further training would have altered their minds. In the Civil Service Commission an attempt was made to secure progressive uniformity of standards by other means, as will be described on pages 48-49.

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