Private Sector Comparison

During the first four years of the Obama administration, our federal government is projected to hire 600,000 new workers. Considering the many challenges facing our country and government’s central role in tackling them, federal agencies must be able to attract America’s top talent to fill these positions, in addition to holding onto top performers who are already in government. To meet its pressing talent needs, government must be competitive with private-sector employers.

Advantages and Gaps

So how does the federal government measure up with the private sector? Not so well.

Comparative data are available for 13 questions that are in the Best Places to Work “best in class” categories. The good news is that government improved its favorable response rate for 12 out of 13 questions. The bad news is that, virtually across the board, the private sector improved even more.

Overall, as the table below shows, federal employee scores are higher than private sector scores in two questions, lower in nine, and even in two. The 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	Gov 2008	Private 2008	Gap
I am given a real opportunity to improve my skills in my organization	63.9	60.0	3.9
The people I work with cooperate to get the job done	83.8	80.0	3.8
I like the kind of work I do	83.8	83.0	0.8
My work gives me a feeling of personal accomplishment	73.4	73.0	0.4
Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your job?	68.4	70.0	-1.6
I have enough information to do my job well	73.4	75.0	-1.6
How satisfied are you with your involvement in decisions that affect your work?	53.4	58.0	-4.6
How satisfied are you with the recognition you receive for doing a good job?	50.3	56.0	-5.7
Overall, how good a job do you feel is being done by your immediate supervisor/team leader?	66.2	74.0	-7.8
How satisfied are you with your opportunity to get a better job in your organization?	38.9	49.0	-10.1
How satisfied are you with the training you receive for your present job?	55.3	66.0	-10.7
Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your organization?	57.5	70.0	-12.5
How satisfied are you with the information you receive from management on what’s going on in your organization?	48.1	66.0	-17.9
Data source: OPM, 2008 Federal Human Capital Survey

Of particular concern for federal recruiters is that government’s edge in one area key area has been erased. Two years ago, government had a seven point edge over the private sector on the critically important question, “I like the kind of work I do.” That difference is now gone. Since government is limited in what it can do to compete on salary, it is important that government re-establish its edge as a place where the work is more rewarding and enjoyable.

Another factor that should set off alarms for federal leaders is that the biggest area of weakness for the government is information sharing by management – one indicator of effective leadership, which is the number one driver of employee satisfaction.

But, not all of the news is bad for government. On the question, “Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your job,” government went up (+1.5 percent), and the private sector went down (-1.4 percent), almost closing a pre-existing gap on overall job satisfaction entirely.

 

© 2009 Partnership for Public Service