Methodology

The Partnership for Public Service created the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® rankings to provide a comprehensive rating of employee satisfaction across federal government agencies and their subcomponents.

The 2012 Best Places to Work rankings include 362 federal organizations (19 large federal agencies, 22 mid-size agencies, 29 small agencies and 292 subcomponents). Large agencies are those organizations with more than 15,000 full-time permanent employees. Agencies with between 1,000 and 14,999 full-time permanent employees are included in the mid-sized category. Small agencies are those with at least 100, but fewer than 1,000 full-time permanent employees. 

The vast majority of the data used to develop these rankings was collected by the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). The survey was administered April 2 through June 30, 2012 to full-time and part-time permanent executive branch employees. The survey was completed by more than 687,000 federal workers, for a response rate of 46.1 percent. Participating agencies comprise 97 percent of the executive branch workforce. The Best Places to Work rankings also include responses from about 9,000 additional employees at seven agencies who were surveyed at the same time and had a response rate of more than 50 percent. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Government Accountability Office, Smithsonian Institution, Congressional Budget Office, Farm Credit Administration, Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Peace Corps provided data from their own surveys. In addition, the rankings incorporate responses from employees of the Intelligence Community, which conducted its own similar surveys, but did not report the number of respondents due to classification restrictions.

The OPM data were weighted to represent all federal employees covered by the survey, accounting for probabilities of selection, as well as demographic characteristics such as age, gender, race, supervisory status and agency size. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level for results based on the entire employee sample. The margin of error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. 

The Best Places to Work statistical model, developed with CFI Group in 2003, is based on the same methodology used in its American Consumer Satisfaction Index. The Best Places to Work index is calculated by the percentage of positive responses (Strongly Agree/Agree or Very Satisfied/Satisfied) to three workplace satisfaction questions and is weighted according to a proprietary formula. The workplace environment scores are calculated by averaging the percentage of positive responses in 10 categories, including effective leadership, employee skills/mission match, pay and work/life balance. A regression analysis is then performed to determine the categories with the most influence on the Best Places to Work satisfaction score. The alternative work and employee support programs category includes program participants only, and those who said, “No Basis to Judge,” are removed from the calculation.

The Partnership would like to thank OPM for its excellent administration of the FEVS survey, without which the rankings would not be possible.

#	Index	Sub Index	2012 Survey Question
40	Best Places to Work Index		I recommend my organization as a good place to work
69	Best Places to Work Index		Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your job?
71	Best Places to Work Index		Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your organization?
30	Effective Leadership	Empowerment	Employees have a feeling of personal empowerment with respect to work processes
63	Effective Leadership	Empowerment	How satisfied are you with your involvement in decisions that affect your work?
17	Effective Leadership	Fairness	I can disclose a suspected violation of any law, rule or regulation without fear of reprisal
37	Effective Leadership	Fairness	Arbitrary action, personal favoritism and coercion for partisan political purposes are not tolerated
53	Effective Leadership	Leader	In my organization, leaders generate high levels of motivation and commitment in the workforce
54	Effective Leadership	Leader	My organization’s leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity
61	Effective Leadership	Leader	I have a high level of respect for my organization’s senior leaders
64	Effective Leadership	Leader	How satisfied are you with the information you receive from management on what’s going on in your organization?
43	Effective Leadership	Supervisor	My supervisor/team leader provides me with opportunities to demonstrate my leadership skills
44	Effective Leadership	Supervisor	Discussions with my supervisor/team leader about my performance are worthwhile
47	Effective Leadership	Supervisor	Supervisors/team leaders in my work unit support employee development
52	Effective Leadership	Supervisor	Overall, how good a job do you feel is being done by your immediate supervisor/team leader?
4	Employee Skills/Mission Match		My work gives me a feeling of personal accomplishment
5	Employee Skills/Mission Match		I like the kind of work I do
11	Employee Skills/Mission Match		My talents are used well in the workplace
12	Employee Skills/Mission Match		I know how my work relates to the agency’s goals and priorities
13	Employee Skills/Mission Match		The work I do is important
79	Alternative Work and Employee Support Programs		How satisfied are your with... Telework? (participants only)
80	Alternative Work and Employee Support Programs		How satisfied are your with... Alternative Work Schedules (AWS)? (participants only)
81	Alternative Work and Employee Support Programs		How satisfied are your with... Health and Wellness Programs (for example, exercise, medical screening, quit smoking programs)? (participants only)
82	Alternative Work and Employee Support Programs		How satisfied are your with... Employee Assistance Program (EAP)? (participants only)
83	Alternative Work and Employee Support Programs		How satisfied are your with... Child Care Programs (for example, daycare, parenting classes, parenting support groups)? (participants only)
84	Alternative Work and Employee Support Programs		How satisfied are your with... Elder Care Programs (for example, support groups, speakers)? (participants only)
70	Pay		Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your pay?
15	Performance-Based Rewards and Advancement		My performance appraisal is a fair reflection of my performance
22	Performance-Based Rewards and Advancement		Promotions in my work unit are based on merit
31	Performance-Based Rewards and Advancement		Employees are rewarded for providing high quality products and services
32	Performance-Based Rewards and Advancement		Creativity and innovation are rewarded
65	Performance-Based Rewards and Advancement		How satisfied are you with the recognition you receive for doing a good job?
67	Performance-Based Rewards and Advancement		How satisfied are you with your opportunity to get a better job in your organization?
21	Strategic Management		My work unit is able to recruit people with the right skills
27	Strategic Management		The skill level in my work unit has improved in the past year
29	Strategic Management		The workforce has the job-relevant knowledge and skills necessary to accomplish organizational goals
57	Strategic Management		Managers review and evaluate the organization’s progress toward meeting its goals and objectives
34	Support for Diversity		Policies and programs promote diversity in the workplace (for example, recruiting minorities and women, training in awareness of diversity issues, mentoring).
45	Support for Diversity		My supervisor/team leader is committed to a workforce representative of all segments of society
55	Support for Diversity		Managers/supervisors/team leaders work well with employees of different backgrounds
20	Teamwork		The people I work with cooperate to get the job done
26	Teamwork		Employees in my work unit share job knowledge with each other
58	Teamwork		Managers promote communication among different work units (for example, about projects, goals, needed resources)
1	Training/Development		I am given a real opportunity to improve my skills in my organization
2	Training/Development		I have enough information to do my job well
18	Training/Development		My training needs are assessed
68	Training/Development		How satisfied are you with the training you receive for your present job?
9	Work/Life Balance		I have sufficient resources (for example, people, materials, budget) to get my job done
10	Work/Life Balance		My workload is reasonable
42	Work/Life Balance		My supervisor supports my need to balance work and other life issues.