The study consisted of a documentation and literature review, which informed the revisions made to the original DPSA ESS questionnaire. The review of the literature showed that the Burke-Litwin model is a tool that expresses a high degree of reliability and validity in measuring employee satisfaction and organisational change in general. The revised ESS pilot questionnaire - supported by the theoretical framework of the Burke-Litwin model of organizational change - was therefore implemented in this study to determine whether it is a valid and reliable research instrument to assess employment satisfaction in the public sector in a South African context. Once the content validity of the questionnaire was established through expert approval, the final revised ESS questionnaire was piloted.