A memo from the White House and the heads of OPM and OMB seeks to improve employee engagement in the government. That’s been a growing concern in recent times highlighted by falling indicators in the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, especially in areas related to employees’ views of their leaders—and in particular, those at senior levels.
It sets a goal of improving the “engagement index” generated by that survey from 63 to 67 percent positive by 2016; that would return it to the level of 2011. In addition to views of leadership, that measure takes into account issues such as employees feeling encouraged to come up with new ways of doing their work, whether the job gives a feeling of personal satisfaction, whether expectations are clear and talents are well used and knowing how a job relates to the agency’s mission.
“This ambitious goal can only be met if we use the feedback from employees to inform actions by each leader, manager and supervisor, and empower supervisors at unit levels to foster a culture of employee engagement locally,” it says. In addition to looking to the viewpoint survey results, it says, labor representatives “can also provide valuable insights” and agencies “can also use pulse surveys, town halls, and focus groups to gain more frequent, timely, and focused feedback.”