Public versus private sector workplaces – a private look at some very public differences

Posted in: L.E.A.D. Survey News

For decades, public sector workplaces have been painted as wildly different from the private sector – but where do differences really show up? And are they meaningful enough to require a different approach to leadership and management. What makes the public sector what it is? What difference does this make in reality? Take a private look at some very public differences between employees in these two quite polarised sectors.

Latest results from the L.E.A.D. Survey highlight large differences between the views of employees in public and private sector organisations across Australia and New Zealand in a number of key areas.

To begin with, perceptions of organisational growth following the recent Global Financial Crisis appear to be vastly different:

Organisation perceived to growing…

• Publicly listed organisations – 69% of employees
• Private companies – 73% of employees
• Public sector – 37 % of employees

The tenure of employees is dramatically different with around double the proportion of 10+ year employees in public sector organisations – long term employees with high levels of knowledge and skill to offer the organisation:

Length of employment with organisation (% worked with organisation 10+ years)

• Publicly listed organisations – 24%
• Private companies – 19%
• Public sector – 43%

Yet public sector organisations appear to be suffering skills shortages at similar levels to publicly listed organisations and private companies, and in many of the same areas:

Organisation experiencing skills shortages (% yes)

• Publicly listed organisations – 68%
• Private companies – 64%
• Public sector – 71%

Skills shortages in key areas (technical areas/leadership/management)

Clearly there is a call for improved leadership skills in the public sector with more than one-third of employees (35%) reporting shortage in this domain, at least 50% more than in publicly listed (20%) and private organisations (21%).

The apparent need for improved skills in the area of leadership is further echoed in a series of results relation to:

Confidence that organisational goals and strategies will work (% very/quite confident)

• Publicly listed organisations – 76%
• Private companies – 75%
• Public sector – 60%

Trust in leader to achieve organisational goals (% great/moderate trust)

• Publicly listed organisations – 82%
• Private companies – 84%
• Public sector – 68%

Trust in communication about the future of the organisation (% great/moderate trust)

• Publicly listed organisations – 75%
• Private companies – 75%
• Public sector – 59%

Extent of communication about the organisation’s future (% great/moderate extent)

• Publicly listed organisations – 83%
• Private companies – 75%
• Public sector – 70%

Extent of communication about your future (% great/moderate extent)

• Publicly listed organisations – 65%
• Private companies – 68%
• Public sector – 51%

In all of these areas, public sector employees report poorer results when compared with publicly listed organisations and private companies. In the hunt for talented people and in the interests of finding and retaining good people to staff the public sector:

In light of these results, it is perhaps not surprising that the latest L.E.A.D. Survey results also show public sector employees as more likely to be considering jumping ship and more active in looking for new employment:

So, what do public sector leaders and managers need to do?

Public sector leaders and managers need to reflect carefully on these results and identify what they can do to address some of the clear issues being raised – the need for reassurance about the future, the desire for direction and perhaps most importantly, the extent to which employees trust their leaders and will work with them to achieve organisational goals. It’s time to get private with the public sector!!