Serious Fraud Office committed to improving leadership

A review by Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) has found that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) are responding positively to address staff feedback on leadership.

Following the 2018 Civil Service People Survey, the Chief Operating Officer approached HMCPSI requesting an independent assessment of SFO staff engagement. This was to address a slight decline in engagement scores, which in previous years had been slightly higher than the Civil Service average. The review looked in particular at concerns surrounding leadership and managing change.

One of the central findings was that although a sharp focus on delivery of casework is positive from a core business perspective, a side-effect of this approach has been a culture of delivery which has in some cases lead to a tolerance of neglectful approaches to management and unacceptable behaviours.

There was also variation in how far staff thought managers demonstrated their commitment to SFO values. Although the experience was not universal, some staff felt that senior managers did not engage with them, failed to comply with the performance management process and address performance issues unrelated to delivery of casework, or showed favouritism towards other staff.

Work to tackle these issues is already underway, including the SFO’s proactive approach to this review, but it is important that people culture is seen as being a corporate priority and addressed as part of a consistent, holistic strategy to reinforce staff confidence in management and role models.

Commenting on the report, HM Chief Inspector Kevin McGinty, said:

“The fact that the Director and Chief Operating Officer of the SFO asked us to undertake this review clearly demonstrates how serious they are in engendering a culture that puts people first at the SFO. As the report shows there are some aspects that need to improve, but setting clear people priorities as part of the core SFO aims will improve engagement scores.”

Note to editors

  1. The full review can be found here (297 kB)
  2. The review was formally requested in February 2019, following the Civil Service People Survey 2018, which ran from 1 to 31 October.
  3. HMCPSI has long experience of undertaking both inspection and management activity to assess leadership, governance as well as assessing factors that may impact ‘organisational temperature’.