Human Capital Survey

Employees Motivated by Mission of "Working for America"

Remarks by
THE HON. DAN G. BLAIR
Acting Director
U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Delivered at the
Human Capital Survey Results National Press Club

Washington DC
March 19, 2005

President George W. Bush has called on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to address human capital management challenges facing those who manage the Federal workforce. An important element in determining the state of the workforce is to seek out employee feedback.

Last fall, we asked Federal employees across the nation and around the world to tell us how well agencies manage their most important resource—their human capital.

They responded in record numbers. Nearly 150,000 people expressed their views on how leaders perform in their agencies, how performance is managed and recognized, and how mission needs are addressed through recruiting and training talent.

We are proud to report that our employees’ commitment to the mission of Working for America is as strong as ever. Ninety one percent of Federal employees believe the work they do is important. This proves our employees are dedicated to providing the services this nation wants and deserves. On the other hand, the survey also shows that employees believe more can be done to increase the effectiveness of the Federal workforce.

There is a strong perception that excellent performance is not properly recognized and that action is not taken against poor performers. And employees answering the survey said Federal agencies have more work to do to increase employees’ confidence in the leadership they receive The first administration of this survey in 2002 established the baseline for ongoing assessments of strategic human capital management in the Federal Government.

The 2004 survey provides a snapshot of Federal employee perceptions so we can compare results over time—government wide and at the agency level—to determine where we are making progress and where more work remains to be done.

These results provide Federal leaders with the information and guidance necessary to act on the results and build a strong framework to support the President’s human capital initiative and his Management Agenda.

The 88-question survey asked for employees’ views on leadership quality, performance culture, and talent capacity within the Federal workforce. The overall response rate to the survey was 54 percent.

Federal employees continue to be committed to working for America.

The extraordinarily high levels of commitment on the part of employees the Federal Human Capital Survey found in 2002 have continued and even improved.

That is borne out by these results:

• Ninety-one percent of Federal employees believe they do important work
• Eighty-three percent like what they do
• Seventy-one percent get a sense of personal accomplishment from their work
• Seventy-one percent of employees said “no,” when asked, “Are you considering leaving your organization within the next year, and if so, why?”
• Sixty-four percent of Federal workers would recommend their organization as a good place to work, an increase of 4 percent from 2002

Also, the survey confirms a high level of satisfaction with Federal benefits, especially paid leave, health, life, and retirement.

How Will the Federal Human Capital Survey Be Used?

Guided by the President’s Management Agenda, agencies have made concerted efforts to improve the quality of leadership, sustain a results-oriented performance culture, win the war for talent, and promote continuous workforce improvement.

These survey results provide each agency with its employees’ perspectives on the success of those efforts. Combined with other evidence, the survey findings allow OPM and agencies to evaluate the effects of human capital management policies and programs and to identify opportunities for improvement.

The results also may be used to suggest program or policy changes needed to strengthen agencies’ abilities to provide world class leadership, engage their employees, and compete for talent.

OPM will continue to use survey results as one of the available tools to assess individual agencies and their progress toward “green” status on the strategic
management of human capital under the President’s Management Agenda.

Conclusions

The conclusion we draw from the survey is Federal employees continue to believe strongly in working for America.

Employees give their immediate supervisors good marks and believe agencies recruit the right people and provide opportunities for development. And they show satisfaction with benefits programs, which continue to be modernized to meet changing needs.

Failure to modernize a human capital management system that does not recognize and reward high performance may undermine the commitment of the Federal workforce.

System improvements, however, must be combined with an effort by agencies to develop leaders and address skill gaps. By addressing both leadership and systemic deficiencies, agencies will be able to ensure they have the high performing workforce necessary to meet their missions.

This is an important survey which will be used to address the human capital management challenges affecting the dedicated Federal employees who so significantly impact the security and well-being of our Nation.

Thank You.

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