Top Trends
Each year’s Best Places to Work rankings provide a valuable snapshot of current conditions in our federal workforce. With four previous sets of rankings dating back to 2003, the 2010 rankings add key insights into short- and long-term trends in workplace conditions both at the government-wide and agency level.
The government-wide 2010 Best Places to Work index score is 65.0, up 2.7 percent from the 2009 score. Since 2003, the overall score is up 7.4 percent.
Looking at individual federal organizations, 68 percent saw their overall ratings increase in 2010. More specifically, 80 percent of large agencies, 69 percent of small agencies and 67 percent of subcomponents enjoyed an increase.
Of the 10 workplace dimensions included in Best Places to Work, three improved from 2009. By contrast, government-wide scores on all of the dimensions increased from 2007 to 2009. “Pay” saw the biggest increase, moving up 4.3 percent. Eighty-nine percent of large agencies reported improvements in this category. “Teamwork” had the biggest decrease, but it began as one of the highest scoring dimensions, and it continues to hold the second spot in spite of the lapse.
For the fourth time in a row, “Effective Leadership” is the main driver of employee satisfaction and commitment in the federal workplace. Although federal employees graded their leaders a little bit higher – up 3.4 percent since 2009 – leadership continues to be one of the lowest-rated workplace dimensions.
Out of all 43 questions asked as part of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey and used in the Best Places to Work rankings, the percentage of favorable responses significantly improved roughly half of the time. Eleven questions saw a significant decrease. The questions with the biggest drops were about cooperation, diversity policies and programs, and satisfaction with telework.
Participation in the 2010 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey conducted by the Office of Personnel Management was at an all-time high of 263,000, covering 97 percent of the executive branch workforce. More than 212,000 federal employees responded to the 2008 OPM survey for the report, while the 2006 survey covered 221,000 federal workers. Response rate was highest in 2006 at 56.7. It dropped to 50.9 in 2008, and increased to 52.2 in 2010.
Biggest Movers
Among large agencies, the biggest climber since 2009 was the Department of Transportation (DOT), which improved its score by 15.8 percent. DOT’s movement was propelled in part by an increase in positive survey responses coming from its largest subcomponent, the Federal Aviation Administration. The other biggest gainer in the past year for large agencies was the Department of Treasury, which was up 8.2 percent.
Using 2003 as the benchmark, the Justice Department and the State Department have climbed the furthest. Justice has improved its score by 22 percent, moving into the top 10. State’s score is up 20 percent, and it now ranks as one of the top ten large agencies as well.
Among small agencies, the Federal Labor Relations Authority (+250 percent) and the Federal Communications Commission (+23.6 percent) improved their scores the most during the past year.
There are also some dramatic improvements among agency subcomponents. Within the Department of Justice, the National Drug Intelligence Center increased its score by 29 percent, while the department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division maintained its position as the government’s top-rated subcomponent for a second year in a row. The National Park Service, part of the Department of Interior, improved by 6.6 percent in the 2010 rankings.
Not all federal organizations were able to improve their scores. Among large agencies, the Securities and Exchange Commission had the largest drop for the second year in a row, with a 6.4 percent decline. Among the small agencies, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative dropped 22.6 percent while the Office of Management and Budget dropped by 16 percent.
The Best Places to Work rankings — the most comprehensive and authoritative rating of employee satisfaction and commitment 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).
