Here's another dialogue-generating poll, courtesy of the government's intranet. Back in December, civil servants were asked about the next step they would be taking in their career. And, for most of them, it was out of government. Among the 436 bureaucrats who responded to the survey, 150 said they were looking for "career change outside of the BC Public Service" - the most frequent response. "Say it ain't so!!" read the commentary accompanying the poll results. "I suppose we could do the math differently and add up the responses to say that more of you are looking for promotional opportunities either within or outside of your ministry but we can't hide from the results."

"Our retention stats are actually way better than the private sector's but those too are a changin'," the commentary continued. "Nearly twice as many people resigned from the public service last year as retired despite all the attention given to the alarming stats you see on retirees. We know it's partly about a changing demographic and people who no longer see themselves in the same organization for their whole career (despite how diverse the work opportunities can be within the broader public service community). But what else is it?" Indeed. The following is a complete copy of that survey.

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The Results are in!

Poll results on career management

So we asked you how you plan to manage your career. The majority of you said your next step was a career change outside of the public service. Say it ain’t so!! I suppose we could do the math differently and add up the responses to say that more of you are looking for promotional opportunities either within or outside of your ministry but we can’t hide from the results.

Our retention stats are actually way better than the private sector’s but those too are a changin’. Nearly twice as many people resigned from the public service last year as retired despite all the attention given to the alarming stats you see on retirees.

We know it’s partly about a changing demographic and people who no longer see themselves in the same organization for their whole career (despite how diverse the work opportunities can be within the broader public service community). But what else is it?

How do you plan to manage your career?

Lateral opportunity within my ministry 36
Lateral opportunity to another area of govt 46
Staying where I am thanks 47
Promotional opportunity to another area of govt 54
Promotional opportunity within my ministry 103
Career change outside of the BC Public Service 150