Private Sector Comparison
To be effective, the federal government must attract and retain the best and the brightest. This challenge will be increasingly critical as the war for talent heats up. Over the next five years, 44 percent of all federal workers will become eligible to retire, and more than 550,000 federal employees are projected to actually leave the government. Moreover, the supply of replacement talent is shrinking, as workers between the ages of 25 and 54 decrease as a percentage of the overall labor force.
To succeed in this inevitable war for talent, government must be competitive with private sector employers. That is why it is more important than ever that the federal government be able to position itself as a premier employer not only for new college graduates, but for other job seekers too.
Advantages and Gaps
According to an analysis by Hay Group, the employee satisfaction and engagement index score for large private sector companies is 71. With an index score of 61.8, the federal government clearly lags the private sector when it comes to worker engagement, but that does not mean this gap cannot be closed. Three federal agencies’ scores actually exceed this private sector benchmark showing that, under the right conditions, government workers can be just as engaged, if not more engaged than peers in the private sector.
Comparative data are also available for 13 questions that are in the Best Places to Work “best in class” categories. Overall, as the table below shows, federal employee scores are higher than private sector scores in three questions, lower in eight, and even in two.
As the table illustrates, one important question where federal employees scored higher is the extent that they “like the kind of work” they do. Federal employees score seven points higher on this question than private sector employees. The other two areas where federal employees score higher are cooperation among coworkers to accomplish a job and the opportunity to improve skills in their organization. On the other hand, federal employees score lower on questions relating to satisfaction with their jobs and their organizations.
Question Comparison: Government and Private Sector
| Percent Positive | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Question Item: | Fed.Gov't | Private | Difference |
| I like the kind of work I do. | 83% | 76% | 7% |
| I am given a real opportunity to improve my skills in my organization. | 62% | 60% | 2% |
| The people I work with cooperate to get the job done. | 83% | 82% | 1% |
| My work gives me a feeling of personal accomplishment. | 73% | 73% | 0% |
| How satisfied are you with your involvement in decisions that affect your work? | 54% | 54% | 0% |
| I have enough information to do my job well. | 72% | 74% | -2% |
| How satisfied are you with the recognition you receive for doing a good job? | 49% | 52% | -3% |
| How satisfied are you with your opportunity to get a better job in your organization? | 37% | 40% | -3% |
| Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your job? | 68% | 71% | -3% |
| How satisfied are you with the training you receive for your present job? | 54% | 61% | -7% |
| Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your organization? | 56% | 63% | -7% |
| Overall, how good a job do you feel is being done by your immediate supervisor/team leader? | 66% | 74% | -8% |
| How satisfied are you with the information you receive from management on what's going on in your organization? | 47% | 60% | -13% |
Data source: OPM, 2006 Federal Human Capital Survey
Closing the Gaps
While federal employee scores are lower than the private sector in several key areas that require further attention, 2007 scores improved over 2005 in questions concerning the sense of personal accomplishment, satisfaction with involvement in decisions affecting work, and level of information received from managers. For the first two questions, the federal government eliminated the 2005 gap completely.
Interestingly, for 10 of the 13 question areas, private sector scores dropped since 2005, while the federal government improved in five, held steady in three, and declined in five.
The Best Places to Work rankings — the most comprehensive and authoritative rating of employee engagement in the federal government — are produced by the Partnership for Public Service and American University’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation (ISPPI).
