These are some of the damning results of this year’s BBC staff survey, the results of which were published in this week’s staff magazine, Ariel.
The 2010 survey – the first since 2008, which had 14,249 responses – took place in May this year, before controversial changes to the organisation’s pension scheme were announced.
It finds only 50% of staff (a rise of just 1% on the last survey) think there are opportunities to develop their career there, and only 54% think the BBC is ‘going in the right direction’ (although this is up 6%).
While there was a nine-percentage point increase in those who thought the ‘the reasons for change are well communicated’, the figure for 2010 is still only at 54%.
This year, only 61% of respondents said they felt free to use their judgment to make editorial decisions – down from 62% in 2008.
The total response rate to the 2010 survey was 65% - up from 61% in 2008.
Commenting on the findings in Ariel, director of people Lucy Adams said: "Managers can’t look at the results and simply say ‘oh, that’s interesting’, and then carry on as before. It’s up to them to make improvements."
More than 500 managers will now receive the full results of the findings in the next two months. Feedback from them will go to director-general Mark Thompson’s senior team in early 2011.
Despite these negative findings, though, the survey still found 75% would still speak highly of the BBC as an employer (up 8% on the 2008 figure).
Exclusive: BBC staff survey slams executive culture
HR magazine has discovered that little more than a third (38%) of BBC employees believe senior leaders communicate their strategies effectively, while just 45% of staff feel BBC executives behave in a way that is consistent with the broadcaster's values.
