Response to Survey of Organizational Culture

*an appeal to our senior bureaucrats and other government leaders*

While efforts such as the e-newsletter, service excellence awards, all-staff/ Branch meetings, formal departmental events, and surveys (such as these) do certainly have their place, it is important to remember that organizational culture is not an "add-on" or an overnight fix: it is simply an attribute and a by-product of the business, and can only be built one employee at a time.

To front-line employees (the "face" of our department), fancy terminology and carefully-planned "Culture-Building" events lack resonance. Employees need to know how their tasks fit into the big picture, they need to be listened to (not just heard), and they need to be recognized by their immediate supervisors - not in a contest, not once a year with a Departmental birthday cake, but simply with a smile and a "well done!"

Finally, we need to grow our service culture with the training and grooming of young talent. We need to encourage young graduates, and show them that the public service offers exciting and challenging career opportunities. We need to respect their ideas - which may conflict with our more traditional ones - and invite their participation. We need to offer them the chance to put their education and intelligence to good use in serving our country and its citizens.