Willis Towers Watson (WTW) Producing More Propaganda for EPO "Cocaine Communication Managers"
To understand the term "Cocaine Communication Managers" see this ongoing series. Not only are there strikes; there are also coverups and suppression of communication. The Local Staff Committee The Hague (LSCTH) has this new paper about Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and its annual EPO-sponsored propaganda, pretending all is well when things are clearly dire.
In the words of LSCTH:
Dear members, dear colleagues,The 2025 staff survey by Willis Towers Watson (WTW) again contained a catalogue of biased questions. The consistently positive presentation of the results by WTW concealed most of the alarmingly negative outcomes in several categories. Some of the questions that received the most negative scores in the 2024 survey were simply omitted from the 2025 version.
In summary, the Local Staff Committee The Hague regrets that the staff survey is once again used as a PR exercise to please the President and the Administrative Council, rather than as a genuine tool for monitoring staff engagement. It will be submitted to the Council just as plans for further salary erosion are being explored and staff is in social unrest.
Here is the longer report:
Staff Committee The Hague
Comité du personnel de La Haye
Personalausschuss Den Haag12 March 2026
sc26007hpStaff survey 2025: fifty shades of green
Another greenwashing exercise
In the presentation of the results of the EPO Staff Engagement Survey 2025 by WTW, the same techniques are used to colour everything green as in the presentation of the EPO Staff Survey 2024.
Biased questions
Most survey statements are phrased positively (for example: “There is effective collaboration…”, “My manager supports me…”, “We treat each other with dignity and respect…”), which biases responses toward a positive outcome.
In addition, some of the questions that previously scored negatively are now linked to the teleworking scheme. As this scheme is largely embraced by staff, it creates an additional positive bias.
Stressing positive trends
A striking example of presenting results in green is the category “Communication & Management”. This is a considerably low result compared to the benchmark, showing –26 points (slide 12 of the presentation). In 2024 it was even worse. That seems to be reason enough to colour it green, highlighting the positive trend “most improved category” (slide 6).
Simply do not ask
In the 2024 WTW survey, there was a very negative outcome for the questions on reputation and quality of output. When updating the survey for 2025, these three questions were simply omitted:
• What do you appreciate most about Amicale activities and what would you like to see more of?
• We have a good reputation for the quality of our products and services. Yes, No, Other?
• I would recommend the EPO as a good place to work. Yes, No, Other?
Since the quality issues have not been fundamentally addressed, a negative outcome was certainly expected by the administration. A similar expectation seems to have existed regarding the last question: in the follow-up to the 2024 survey, some teams were asked why they had scored so low on this question and what they could do to improve.
So, where a very negative outcome is expected, the easy solution is: do not ask!
Ask at the right moment
One of the elements that staff consistently value, now and in the past, is remuneration. Given the current discussions, this deserves a closer look.
Staff again showed in the 2025 survey results in line with what is expected in international organisations (slide 9 of the presentation), which is roughly the same as in 2024.
Interestingly, following the salary erosion decision in the current SAP, the corresponding value had dropped significantly in 2022 (slide 10). At the end of 2023, salaries were brought back in line with the underlying method due to high Eurozone inflation. In the survey the following year, the corresponding value rose again.
This demonstrates the direct link between salary erosion and survey results. One may conclude that further erosion of salaries and pensions will seriously damage the most positive and attractive aspect for staff.
The administration can congratulate itself on the timing of asking this question: it was posed shortly before staff received the figures on the loss of purchasing power under the current SAP method. The social unrest and ongoing discussions would certainly have lowered this result, whereas the answers were still biased by the correction of the salaries in 2023.
Don’t ask what and why
Regarding well-being: the main question in the wellbeing category is centred on the team manager: “My immediate manager cares about my well-being.” The actual wellbeing of staff is not explored in the survey.
KPI achieved – all green and good!
Remarkably, the green-washed WTW 2025 presentation shows a value of 75 points for “sustainable engagement” (slide 6 of the presentation). The corresponding KPI of SP2028 is therefore already achieved. It should be noted, however, that according to WTW even this value is below the European norm (slide 12). At the same time it should be remarked that the sense of belonging has decreased slightly (slides 6, 26).
Conclusion
The aim of the greenwashing exercise in the 2025 staff survey is evidently to show the Administrative Council that everything is fine with staff at the EPO and staff is engaged despite salary cuts. It is even avoided to ask how attractive the EPO is perceived as an employer.
The survey is biased and the results are distorted in many ways. In fact, the conclusions of the CSC communication Staff survey 2024: fifty shades of green still apply.
This stands in stark contrast to the current social unrest at the EPO, driven by salary erosion and the president’s broken promises, demonstrating a very different reality.
Kind regards,
Your Local Staff Committee The Hague
Like many so-called 'analysts' or 'consultants', their true role is PR(opaganda) or marketing. They disguise it all as scientific and paint themselves as "independent". █