OPM will soon be sending out this year’s version of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, which is to be done in two steps and with recipients given six weeks to respond in each case.
The survey will serve as both an end point and a starting point: an end point because the results inevitably will be compared not only to last year’s results but also to the last such survey taken during the Bush administration (they were taken only in even numbered years until becoming annual starting in 2011); and a starting point because the results will serve as the baseline for the next administration.
“Your collective efforts in conveying to each and every employee the importance of their feedback to you, and how it will drive improvements in your agency, is the first step towards obtaining effective and meaningful FEVS results,” OPM said in a March memo to agencies announcing the schedule.
Although the memo did not say so specifically, the annual call for support commonly has been interpreted as meaning that employees should be allowed to fill out the survey during working time. That would take about an hour in most cases.
Results will begin coming out as early as August, although fuller reports, including detailed breakdowns by agency, typically aren’t issued until the autumn.
The survey also features large in the Partnership for Public Service’s annual report on the best—and worst—places to work in government, a report that can serve as a selling point for recruitment and other purposes, or as an embarrassment that results in internal agency initiatives seeking improvements.
