The Best Places to Work

Transcription

1 BEST P L AC ESTOWORK.ORG The Best Places to Work IN T H E F EDERAL GOVERN M EN T 07 RANKINGS

2 America deserves a federal government that is highly effective meaning one that is efficient, innovative and responsive to the needs of its citizens. The nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service is committed to the idea that government works best when it has an engaged workforce, good leaders and the processes, structures and information to make smart decisions. We accomplish our mission by identifying opportunities to make government work better, offering solutions to fix government where it is broken and collaborating with people inside and outside government to bring about change. The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings, part of our effort to improve the federal workforce and the management of the government, offer the most comprehensive assessment of how federal public servants view their jobs and workplaces. The rankings provide employee perspectives on leadership, pay, innovation, work life balance and a range of other issues. The rankings and accompanying data give federal leaders a way to measure employee engagement of the federal workforce as a whole as well as at individual departments, agencies and their subcomponents. This serves to alert federal leaders to signs of trouble and provides a roadmap to better manage our government s most important asset its employees. Best-in-class private sector organizations understand that increased employee engagement leads to better performance and outcomes, and federal leaders need to follow suit by placing greater emphasis on strengthening the workforce and the workplace culture. Please go to bestplacestowork.org for detailed data showing where agencies stand and for resources that can help turn the Best Places to Work rankings into a plan for change.

3 A LOOK ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT The 07 Best Places to Work data show a.-point jump in employee engagement compared to 06, for a score of 6. out of 00. This represents the largest yearly increase in the history of the Best Places to Work rankings, the highest overall score since 0, and builds on a.-point improvement during the previous two years. At the same time, 7.8 percent of federal organizations saw their overall employee engagement scores increase in 07 compared to 7. percent in 06, 70. percent in 0,. in 0 and just percent in 0. The 07 data also show improvements in all of the 0 workplace categories examined by the Partnership in collaboration with Deloitte. The biggest increases came in the support for diversity, which moved up. points and had a score of 9. out of 00, and employee views on pay, which moved up.0 points to 7.. How do we calculate the index score? The Best Places to Work index score is calculated using a proprietary weighted formula that looks at responses to three different questions in the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey conducted by the Office of Personnel Management. I recommend my organization as a good place to work. (Q. 0) Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your job? (Q. 69) Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your organization? (Q. 7) For the purpose of our reporting, we use the term employee engagement interchangeably with the Best Places to Work index score to refer to the satisfaction and commitment of the workforce and the willingness of employees to put forth discretionary effort to achieve results. GOVERNMENT-WIDE INDEX SCORE TREND 80 PRIVATE SECTOR 77.8 INDEX SCORE (OUT OF 00) YEAR Government-wide Best Places to Work in the Federal Government index score: Partnership for Public Service. Private-sector index score: Mercer Sirota. Learn more at bestplacestowork.org.

4 Of the 0 workplace categories, employee skills-mission match had the highest score at 77.0 and performance-based rewards and advancement had the lowest score at.. Effective leadership, the key factor in determining employee engagement, underperformed in 07 as it has every year since the rankings were first launched in 00. This category, which registered a score of.8 out of 00, encompasses employee views on supervisors, fairness, senior leaders and empowerment. The steady increase in government-wide employee engagement follows a concerted effort during the past several years by federal agencies to improve working conditions. Maintaining this momentum will require a strong commitment from the Trump administration to continue to improve the employee experience from training and developing leaders to ensuring employees have a positive work environment and the resources they need to do their jobs. Having a highly-motivated and engaged workforce is critical to a well-functioning government and the success of our country. While there has been progress, the federal government still lags well behind the private sector. According to data provided by employee research firm Mercer Sirota, the 07 employee engagement score for private sector employees is 77.8 out of 00, 6. points higher than the federal government. Only federal agencies scored above the private sector average this year. Federal leaders should understand that the government competes with the private sector for the best talent, and federal leaders should endeavor to meet or exceed employee engagement levels seen in the best private sector companies. GOVERNMENT-WIDE SCORES BY CATEGORY.8.8 EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP EMPLOYEE SKILLS MISSION MATCH 7..0 PAY.6. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT TEAMWORK 6.6. INNOVATION TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT WORK LIFE BALANCE 9.. SUPPORT FOR DIVERSITY..9 PERFORMANCE-BASED REWARDS AND ADVANCEMENT

5 AGENCY RANKINGS For the sixth year in a row, NASA increased its Best Places to Work score and has retained its standing as the number one large federal agency. The space agency s employee engagement score is 80.9 out of 00, a.-point increase from 06. NASA is followed by the Department of Health and Human Services, with a score of 70., and the Department of Commerce, which received a score of 69.. In the midsize category, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission took top honors with a score of 8.9, followed by the Government Accountability Office at 8. and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation with a score of 8.9. The top-ranked small agency in 07 is the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service with a score of 86.9, followed by the U.S. International Trade Commission at The Office of the General Counsel at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission won top honors for agency subcomponents with a score of 9.8, followed by the Office of the Inspector General at the Tennessee Valley Authority at 9.. The most improved large agency is the Department of Homeland Security, which raised its score by 6. points but still ranks last out of 8 agencies in this category. The Department of the Army had the second biggest increase for large agencies, improving.6 points for a score of 6.. The National Labor Relations Board is the most improved midsize agency, with a 7.-point increase and a score of The Small Business Administration s score rose 7. points, making it the second most improved midsize agency. Among small agencies, the Millennium Challenge Corporation saw the most improvement with a.8-point increase. The most improved subcomponent is the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command U.S. Army Forces Strategic Command, which raised its score by 8.8 points. While the majority of agencies improved their employee engagement scores in 07, some had a more difficult time. The Department of State experienced the biggest decrease in employee engagement among large agencies, with a drop of.8 points. The Department of Justice s score fell by points, and the intelligence community lost about half a point, moving from third to fifth place in the large agency rankings. In the midsize category, the National Credit Union Administration saw its score decline by.9 points and the Environmental Protection Agency s score decreased by almost one point. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board ranked last among the 8 small agencies and its score dropped by points. The Office of General Counsel at the Department of Education experienced the biggest decline among subcomponents, dropping points.

6 LARGE AGENCIES,000 OR MORE EMPLOYEES INDEX SCORES RANK AGENCY SCORE CHANGE National Aeronautics and Space Administration Department of Health and Human Services Department of Commerce 69.. Department of Transportation Intelligence Community Department of Labor Department of Agriculture Department of State Department of the Interior Department of the Navy 6.8. Department of Justice Social Security Administration Department of the Army 6..6 Department of the Treasury Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, Defense Agencies, and Department of Defense Field Activities Department of the Air Force Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Homeland Security.0 6.

7 SCORE S BY C AT E G ORY EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP National Aeronautics and Space Administration 7.7. Intelligence Community 6.. Department of Health and Human Services 6.. Department of Commerce Department of Labor EMPLOYEE SKILLS MISSION MATCH National Aeronautics and Space Administration 8..7 Department of Health and Human Services 8.0. Intelligence Community Department of Transportation 79.. Department of Agriculture 79.. National Aeronautics and Space Administration 7.. Intelligence Community Department of Commerce 6..0 Department of Labor 6..0 Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, Defense Agencies, and Department of Defense Field Activities (DOD) 6.. PAY STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT National Aeronautics and Space Administration 68.. Department of Health and Human Services 6..0 Department of State Department of Labor Department of Commerce 9.6. INNOVATION National Aeronautics and Space Administration 8..9 Intelligence Community Department of Health and Human Services 69.. Department of State 67.. Department of the Navy 6.8. TEAMWORK National Aeronautics and Space Administration 8.0. Intelligence Community Department of State 7.6. Department of Transportation 7..9 Department of Labor The Best Places to Work IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 0 View the complete rankings by category at bestplacestowork.org.

8 MIDSIZE AGENCIES,000,999 EMPLOYEES INDEX SCORES RANK AGENCY SCORE CHANGE Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Government Accountability Office 8..8 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 8.9. Federal Trade Commission 8.. Securities and Exchange Commission Peace Corps Smithsonian Institution Consumer Financial Protection Bureau National Science Foundation General Services Administration 7.7. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 7.. U.S. Agency for International Development National Credit Union Administration National Labor Relations Board Department of Energy Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Personnel Management Environmental Protection Agency Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency Federal Communications Commission 6.8. Department of Housing and Urban Development 6.. National Archives and Records Administration 6.. Department of Education Small Business Administration Broadcasting Board of Governors..8

9 SCORE S BY C AT E G ORY EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP Federal Trade Commission Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 7.7. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Peace Corps EMPLOYEE SKILLS MISSION MATCH Federal Trade Commission Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 8.. Securities and Exchange Commission 8..8 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 8.9. Peace Corps Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Securities and Exchange Commission 76.. Nuclear Regulatory Commission General Services Administration Office of Personnel Management PAY STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Federal Trade Commission 7.0. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 7.6. Peace Corps 7..9 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Consumer Financial Protection Bureau INNOVATION Federal Trade Commission Peace Corps National Science Foundation 7.. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 7.6. General Services Administration 7..6 TEAMWORK Federal Trade Commission 8.8. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 8..9 Peace Corps Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 78.. The Best Places to Work View the complete rankings by category at bestplacestowork.org. IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 0

10 SMALL AGENCIES EMPLOYEES INDEX SCORES RANK AGENCY SCORE CHANGE Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service U.S. International Trade Commission National Endowment for the Arts Farm Credit Administration Overseas Private Investment Corporation National Transportation Safety Board Office of Management and Budget Millennium Challenge Corporation Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Office of Special Counsel Corporation for National and Community Service Federal Labor Relations Authority Consumer Product Safety Commission National Endowment for the Humanities Railroad Retirement Board Merit Systems Protection Board Federal Maritime Commission Surface Transportation Board Federal Housing Finance Agency National Gallery of Art Office of the U.S. Trade Representative International Boundary and Water Commission Commodity Futures Trading Commission 8.6. Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.0 -. Export-Import Bank of the United States Selective Service System Federal Election Commission Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

11 SCORE S BY C AT E G ORY EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service National Endowment for the Humanities 7.6. National Endowment for the Arts U.S. International Trade Commission Federal Labor Relations Authority EMPLOYEE SKILLS MISSION MATCH Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service National Endowment for the Arts National Endowment for the Humanities 8.6. National Transportation Safety Board U.S. International Trade Commission Farm Credit Administration Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Federal Housing Finance Agency National Endowment for the Humanities 7.9. National Transportation Safety Board 7.7. PAY STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Federal Labor Relations Authority Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service 76.. U.S. International Trade Commission 7.. Office of Management and Budget Office of Special Counsel 7.. INNOVATION Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service National Endowment for the Arts Office of Management and Budget National Endowment for the Humanities U.S. International Trade Commission TEAMWORK Office of Management and Budget 8.8. National Endowment for the Arts National Endowment for the Humanities 8.. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service 8.. Office of Special Counsel View the complete rankings by category at bestplacestowork.org.

12 AGENCY SUBCOMPONENTS SUBAGENCIES, BUREAUS, DIVISIONS, CENTERS AND OFFICES* INDEX SCORES RANK AGENCY SCORE CHANGE Office of the General Counsel (FERC) 9.8. Office of Inspector General (TVA) Office of Support Operations (SEC) Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (Treasury) 8..9 Office of Financial Management (SEC) Office of Energy Market Regulation (FERC) Office of the Inspector General (DOT) Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA) Division of Investment Management (SEC) Office of General Counsel (SEC) National Enforcement Program (SEC) 8.6. Directorate for Biological Sciences (NSF) 8. N/A Division of Corporation Finance (SEC) 8..6 U.S. Army Audit Agency (Army) Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA) National Examination Program (SEC) 8.9. Office of Enforcement (FERC) Stennis Space Center (NASA) 8.9 N/A 9 Johnson Space Center (NASA) Directorate for Education & Human Resources (NSF) 8.6 N/A 0 Division of Trading and Markets (SEC) Bureau of Economic Analysis (Commerce) 8..9 Office of Energy Projects (FERC) 8.. Environment and Natural Resources Division (DOJ) Armstrong Flight Research Center (NASA) Langley Research Center (NASA) Tax Division (DOJ) Kennedy Space Center (NASA) Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (Treasury) Directorate for Computer & Information Sciences & Engineering (NSF) 80. N/A 9 Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (SEC) Employee Services (OPM) Federal Highway Administration (DOT) 79.. *NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES VARIES View the complete rankings of 9 subcomponents at bestplacestowork.org.

13 SCORE S BY C AT E G ORY EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP Office of the General Counsel (FERC) Office of Support Operations (SEC) Stennis Space Center (NASA) 77. Office of the Inspector General (DOT) Johnson Space Center (NASA) N/A EMPLOYEE SKILLS MISSION MATCH Office of the Inspector General (TVA) Office of the General Counsel (FERC) Office of Support Operations (SEC) Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA) 87.. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (Treas.) Office of the Inspector General (TVA) 9.. Office of Financial Management (SEC) Office of Support Operations (SEC) Office of Human Resources (SEC) Office of the Inspector General (GSA) 8..8 PAY STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Office of the Inspector General (TVA) Office of the General Counsel (FERC) Office of Support Operations (SEC) Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (Treas.) Bureau of Economic Analysis (Commerce) 7..6 Air Force Elements, U.S. Transportation Command (Air Force) 7. N/A INNOVATION Office of the Inspector General (TVA) Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA) 8.. Johnson Space Center (NASA) 8.. Office of Support Operations (SEC) Langley Research Center (NASA) 8..8 TEAMWORK Office of the General Counsel (FERC) Office of the Inspector General (TVA) Environment and Natural Resources Division (DOJ) Office of the General Counsel (EPA) 8. Office of Support Operations (SEC) 8.7 View the complete rankings by category at bestplacestowork.org. N/A 8.8

14 ABOUT BEST PLACES TO WORK The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings the most comprehensive and authoritative rating of employee engagement in the federal government are produced by the Partnership for Public Service and Deloitte. For 6 years, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service has been dedicated to making the federal government more effective for the American people. We work across administrations to help transform the way government operates by increasing collaboration, accountability, efficiency and innovation. Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world s most admired brands, including 80 percent of the Fortune 00 and more than 6,000 private and middle market companies. Our people work across more than 0 industry sectors to deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to make their most challenging business decisions with confidence, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society. In the federal government space, more than 7,0 Deloitte professionals are dedicated to serving U.S. federal clients with wide-ranging missions. Deloitte applies a mix of private-sector insights and public-sector experience to work with federal agencies to rethink, reduce and restructure from day-to-day operations to large-scale transformations. To learn more, visit deloitte.com/federal KEY BEST PLACES TO WORK FINDINGS The 07 government-wide data show increases in employee satisfaction in all 0 workplace categories that the Partnership and Deloitte measure. Categories include effective leadership, teamwork, work life balance, strategic management, support for diversity and pay. The biggest improvement came in support for diversity. For the first time in the Best Places to Work rankings, the Department of Transportation was ranked in the top five large agencies after a steady climb from the bottom of the rankings in 009. This shows it takes commitment by management and time to strengthen employee engagement. The Department of State experienced its largest single-year decrease (.8 points) since the beginning of the rankings in 00, with a big drop (9. points) in how employees view their senior leaders. This is the first time the State Department has not been included in the top five large agencies since 0. The Economic Development Administration has increased its score by 8. points since the 0 rankings were released, rising from 0. that year to 68.6 in 07. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also has experienced a sizable increase of.7 points during the past two years, improving from.0 in 0 to 6.7 in 07. The Secret Service remains in last place among all agency subcomponents with a score of just.0 out of 00. The Partnership and Deloitte found that the federal government has a highly mission-focused workforce, but needs stronger leadership. This is troubling because the Best Places to Work data show that effective leadership remains the key driver of employee engagement as it has been every year since the rankings were launched in 00, followed by the match between agency mission and employee skills, and satisfaction with pay.

15 METHODOLOGY The vast majority of the data used to develop these rankings were collected by the Office of Personnel Management through its Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. The survey was administered May through June 07 to permanent executive branch employees and was completed by 86,0 federal workers. This represents a response rate of. percent, a decline of 0. points from 06. The Best Places to Work rankings also include responses from more than,000 additional employees at nine agencies that were surveyed at the same time and had a response rate of more than 0 percent. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Government Accountability Office, Peace Corps, Smithsonian Institution, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Office of the Inspector General at the Tennessee Valley Authority, Office of the Inspector General at the United States Postal Service, and the U.S. Army Audit Agency provided data from their own surveys. In addition, the rankings incorporate responses from employees at the nation s intelligence agencies, which conducted a similar survey but did not report the number of respondents because it is classified. Organizations are ranked within one of four groupings: large agency (,000 or more employees), midsize agency (,000-,999 employees), small agency ( employees) and agency subcomponent (subagency, bureau, division, center or office). The 07 rankings include 0 federal agencies and their subcomponents: 8 large federal agencies, midsize agencies, 8 small agencies and 9 subcomponents. OPM initially withheld employee survey data on a sizable number of small agencies and subcomponents, making it impossible to include these organizations in the rankings the Partnership for Public Service and Deloitte publicly released on Dec. 6, 07. OPM provided additional data on December following a review of its privacy policies, and the rankings in this brochure and on our website have been updated to include the previously missing small agencies and subcomponents. The OPM survey data were weighted to represent all federal employees on demographic characteristics such as age, gender, race, supervisory status, agency size and occupation. The survey results have a margin of error of plus or minus one percent. The Best Places to Work statistical model, developed with CFI Group in 00, is based on the same methodology used in CFI Group s American Customer Satisfaction Index. The Best Places to Work index is calculated based on the percentage of positive responses to three workplace satisfaction questions and is weighted according to a proprietary formula developed with Hay Group in 007. The workplace environment scores are calculated by averaging the percentage of positive responses to questions in 0 categories, including effective leadership, employee skills mission match, pay and work life balance. We use regression analysis to determine the categories with the most influence on the Best Places to Work engagement score. The Partnership for Public Service and Deloitte extend thanks to the Office of Personnel Management for its administration of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, upon which the Best Places to Work rankings are based.

16 00 New York Ave NW Suite 00 East Washington DC 000 (0) 77-9 ourpublicservice.org CFC #0 99 North Lynn St Arlington, VA 09 (7) 88-6 deloitte.com/federal Copyright 07 Partnership for Public Service. The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government is a registered trademark of the Partnership for Public Service. All rights reserved.