About

About

America deserves a federal government that is highly effective—meaning one that is efficient, innovative and responsive to the needs of the public. The nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service is committed to the idea that government is most effective when it has an engaged and satisfied workforce, strong leaders and the information to make smart decisions.  

The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® rankings, part of our effort since 2003 to strengthen the federal workforce and the management of government, offer the most comprehensive assessment of how federal public servants view their jobs and workplaces.  

Produced by the Partnership and Boston Consulting Group, the rankings and accompanying data give leaders a way to measure employee engagement and satisfaction across the federal workforce, as well as at individual departments, agencies and their subcomponents.  

The rankings also alert federal leaders to signs of trouble and provide a roadmap to better manage our government’s most important asset—its employees. At the same time, leaders across government can learn from success stories to help improve their own organizations, while potential job seekers can gain insights into how federal employees view their agencies. 

The best 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 improving employee engagement and the workplace culture. 

Participating federal organizations are ranked according to overall employee engagement and satisfaction. Most of those entities also are rated on 12 additional workplace categories such as leadership, innovation, work–life balance, and how agencies promote diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility best practices in their workplaces. 

This website provides an overview of each department, agency and subcomponent included in the rankings along with expert analysis of what the results mean. Users can conduct side-by-side comparisons of how agencies or their subcomponents rank in various categories and how they compare with other agencies. 

The Partnership for Public Service and BCG extend thanks to the Office of Personnel Management for its excellent administration of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey upon which the Best Places to Work rankings are based. 

Winners of the 2021 Best Places to Work award from the Partnership for Public Service
Winners from NASA, the Best Places to Work award from the Partnership for Public Service

About the Partnership and Boston Consulting Group

For more than 20 years, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service has been dedicated to building a better government and a stronger democracy. We work across administrations to help transform the way government operates by increasing collaboration, accountability, efficiency and innovation. 

Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm dedicated to advising clients in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. We partner with our clients to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their challenges, and transform their enterprises so that they achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations and secure lasting results. In our work with the federal government, BCG is recognized for bringing commercial insights and best practices to our public sector clients. To learn more, visit bcg.com.

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About the Top 10 Edition in Partnership with The Washington Post

In collaboration with The Washington Post, we produced an advanced look at a portion of the 2022 Best Places to Work rankings and data. This special preview featured the top 10 federal agencies in four categories: large, midsize and small agencies, as well as agency subcomponents.  

The rankings are based on responses to questions regarding whether employees believe their agency is a good place to work and whether they are satisfied with their job and their organization. 

We also released government-wide data on employee views regarding four important workplace issues: work-life balance, agency performance, work unit performance, and whether employees understand their agency’s goals and priorities and agree with performance feedback.  

The Partnership and BCG hosted an annual awards breakfast to honor top performing and most improved agencies on April 12, 2023. This event coincided with the release of the government-wide employee engagement and satisfaction score for 2022, the full rankings for all participating agencies, as well as data and analysis regarding a host of critical workplace issues. 

The Best Places to Work rankings shine the spotlight on agencies that are successfully engaging employees, provide a means of holding federal leaders accountable for the health of their organizations and provide insights for job seekers considering federal employment. At the same time, leaders across government can learn from those agencies that are excelling to help improve their own organizations with the goal of providing first-rate service to the public. 

The Partnership for Public Service and BCG extend thanks to the Office of Personnel Management for its excellent administration of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, which provide the basis for the Best Places to Work rankings along with individual agency surveys.

Badge for the 2022 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government: Top 10 Edition in Partnership with the Washington Post.