Agencies Prodded on Employee Satisfaction

OPM has issued a memo to agencies telling them to assess their performance on employee satisfaction as reflected in the human capital survey, which is taken every other year and whose results were most recently reported earlier this year. It told agencies to identify the 10 items on which they scored lowest compared to the rest of government; any items on which employee satisfaction decreased since the prior survey; and indicators in which the agency scored lower than the rest of government. Agencies are to conduct follow-up activities, such as focus groups with employees and labor organizations, to identify the reasons for dissatisfaction, and then develop an action plan that is to include targets for improvement and how progress will be measured. Indicators should be regularly monitored and frequent updates provided to managers and employees, it said.