Federal Manager's Daily Report

The annual Public Service Recognition Week will be May 1-7, a week in which government service at the federal and other levels is recognized through various activities including naming the finalists for one of the top awards for federal employees, the Service to America Medals.

Materials from sponsoring organizations including the Public Employees Roundtable and the Partnership for Public Service include a resource guide for agencies that suggest the key messages to be conveyed are: “government workers are doing important work that positively affects all of us every day; government needs people like you to address the incredible challenges our nation is facing; public servants deserve thanks for working diligently on our behalf; and government service is public service.”

It says, for example, that the week “is an ideal time to recognize outstanding individual employees, teams of employees or programs. Awards programs and peer awards effectively demonstrate that government can be effective and that excellence is the rule rather than the exception.”

Other suggestions include holding employee appreciation events such as a breakfast; encouraging agency leaders to put out personal messages about the importance of public service; putting up banners, posters and signs thanking agency employees; using internal communications channels to publicize the accomplishments of employees; giving out certificates of appreciation; thanking employees personally and in handwritten notes; and inviting employees to come into management offices during open hours or a mid-day break.