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TAKING THE PULSE
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| Taking the Pulse, a GCMS change management survey, was fielded among CIC employees during the last two weeks of October 2003. This survey was designed to collect input from individuals considered “primary users” of existing CIC systems. An estimated 3,000 employees fell within the defined parameters of the survey. We received a total of 855 completed surveys, which provide a margin of error of +/- 2.8%, 19 times out of 20. The survey sample included a well-balanced representation of employees from the various regions, linguistic profiles (English and French), classifications, length of employment at CIC, and gender and age. |
| This survey was designed to capture baseline indicators of perceptions and understanding of the GCMS Project. As such, it was important to solicit input in the very preliminary stages of development. The findings will provide the basis for evaluation of future project team efforts throughout the implementation and inform the planning and development of communications and training materials as we move toward the first deployment in September 2004. These particular survey results do not reflect the extensive efforts undertaken by the Department in recent months to increase awareness and understanding. |
The survey findings indicate that broad awareness of the GCMS project is remarkably high, with 90% of respondents recalling having recently read or heard of the initiative. Self-assessed familiarity was also promising, with a majority of respondents who claimed to be either “very” (10%) or “somewhat” (44%) familiar with the project.
Nearly two-thirds claimed to have a good understanding of the reasons why GCMS was being implemented, and another 85% agreed that the Department would benefit significantly from integrating existing case management systems. Over half recognized the efforts of CIC leaders to support this initiative, while only 13% didn’t.
More specifically, however, awareness of both the short- and long-term goals of the project is limited, as is familiarity with the incremental approach to deployment.
Most employees concede that GCMS is likely to improve the reliability of the information they use, and thus improve the overall efficiency of the Department. They are somewhat less confident, however, that the system will be able to accommodate their individual system needs.
The majority recognized that the implementation of GCMS would likely change the way we currently processed applications, but significantly fewer expected it would have an impact on related departmental processes such as the organizational structure, training and staffing. Less than one in five respondents felt other members of their team had contemplated the broader implications of implementation.
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Perceptions of GCMS Q. Using a 5-point scale where 1 means strongly disagree and 5 means strongly agree, to what extent do you agree with each of the following statements?
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| The survey results also provide other valuable and interesting information on change management issues which, although not directly related to the project, help provide context for the GCMS implementation. |
While staff demonstrated a keen interest in exploring new ideas and acknowledged the efforts of senior management in facilitating the implementation of new CIC programs, workplace morale and resourcing emerged as key concerns.
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Change Readiness Q. Using a 5-point scale where 1 means strongly disagree and 5 means strongly agree, to what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? *Q. Using a 5-point scale where 1 means never and 5 means frequently, please indicate the frequency of each of the following.
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Although the Department’s approach to training received positive marks, respondents were more critical of the timeliness and the relevance of the training materials they received.
Most survey respondents provided a favourable assessment of efforts within their branch to share information with others, but were notably more critical when evaluating the timeliness and clarity of information they are given on new CIC initiatives and plans to implement new operational processes.
CIC Explore emerges as the vehicle of choice when staff are looking for reliable information on developments within the Department.
For more information, please contact:
Public Opinion Research and Analysis Unit
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
(613) 957-2685
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| Last Updated: 2005-06-02 |  |
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