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The EEOC fares well in the 1999 NPR Employee Survey. We found that we exceed, meet or are comparable to the government and private industry averages. We exceeded the government-wide average for many factors, particularly in the areas of customer orientation and empowering employees/job satisfaction. Also, employees' comments on reinvention suggest that we are doing a good job in this area. In an overwhelming majority of the areas surveyed, we exceed our own survey results from 1998, demonstrating efforts to continuously improve and embrace the reinvention philosophy.
There are several areas measured in the survey where the EEOC is doing well. We are well above the national average in improving the productivity of work units, streamlining the hiring process, and giving employees flexibility in how they accomplish their work. The areas of greatest increase from 1998 to 1999 include providing employees with electronic access to information to do their jobs (22 percentage point increase) and streamlining the hiring process (14 percentage point increase).
We met or exceeded the government average for many of the "best predictors" of customer orientation, job satisfaction and reinvention as a priority. Among them are:
The best predictors of customer orientation:
The best predictors of job satisfaction:
The best predictors of reinvention as a priority:
There are a number of other areas where we compared favorably to
the overall government average, in addition to the identified "best
predictors": (1) employees receive the training they need to
perform their jobs [60%, 7 percentage points over the national
average];
(2) employees are rewarded for working together in teams [45%, 9
percentage points above the national average]; (3) immediate
supervisor has effectively organized the work group to get the work
done [59%, 7 percentage points more than the national average]; (4)
the hiring process has been streamlined [23%, 11 percentage points
above the national average]; and (5) teams are used to accomplish
organizational goals [62%, 4 percentage points higher than the
national average].
We believe that the EEOC's labor-management partnership councils represent a significant asset for promoting communication needed for positive change throughout the organization. In 1995, the EEOC established a labor-management partnership structure nationwide. It consists of a National Partnership Council comprised of top management officials and union leadership, and 43 local partnership councils - one in each district and area office, and one in Headquarters. The partnership councils were established to improve labor/management relations, involve employees in the decisionmaking process, and address workplace issues. Our partnership councils have given Commission employees the opportunity to provide input into many decisions affecting their work, and to have their concerns addressed.
In 1999, there was no significant difference between EEOC results and governmentwide results; and most often our results are above government-wide averages. Also, from surveys conducted in 1998 and 1999, there were no significant decreases in our own survey results.
The survey results show EEOC at 27 percentage points below national average in the use of government credit cards for small office purchases. The EEOC implemented the use of government credit cards for this purpose nearly three years ago. However, access to the use of these cards for small office purchases is limited, which may explain the survey results.
We are targeting three areas for improvement because we believe improvement in these areas will have a significant impact on our ability to meet organizational goals and objectives; and these areas fell slightly below the national average. The three areas targeted for improvement are: (1) increasing employee access to information through computer technology; (2) increasing employee involvement in cross-functional teams; and (3) increasing emphasis on rewarding employees for creativity and innovation.
1999 Agency Data 54%
1998 Agency Data 32%
Government-wide 59%
1999 Agency Data 42%
1998 Agency Data 34%
Government-wide 44%
1999 Agency Data 27%
1998 Agency Data 21%
Government-wide 29%
We have made considerable progress in this area. From 1998 to1999, we increased 22 percentage points (from 32% to 54%) on the NPR Employee Survey and are now only 5 percentage points below the government-wide average. We aim to bring more information to each employee's desktop and make our work environment more efficient.
In fiscal year 1999, we established a solid technology infrastructure which included the installation of local area networks (LANS) in all but two of our 50 field offices; establishment of Wide Area Network (WAN) communications, and Internet access for headquarters and our 25 district offices nationwide; development of integrated information systems to update antiquated ones; and expansion of our web site. To build upon these accomplishments, in FY 2000 we will:
Our long term strategy includes integrating major Commission information systems in order to bring various types of information, mission-related or administrative, to employees' desktops more timely and with quality.
The EEOC has always recognized the strength of diversity in our workforce in many ways. One such way is to bring together employees with different perspectives, talents and skills to accomplish our work. Improving the diversity of work groups will aid in meeting organizational goals, while fostering a more collegial, collaborative and supportive work environment.
The Chairwoman's strategy for delivering fair, effective and efficient service to the public emphasizes a holistic approach to our work in both the private and federal sectors. Her strategy -- the Comprehensive Enforcement Program (CEP) -- links staff working in each phase of the agency's work. For example, in the federal sector program, CEP maximizes resources to eliminate discrimination in the government by linking all of EEOC's responsibilities outreach, complaint adjudication, on-site reviews, training, technical assistance and data collection. In the private sector program, enforcement and litigation staff are to work closely together in each of the six phases of the agency's work - outreach; educational and technical assistance; intake; mediation; investigation; decisions, conciliation and settlements; and litigation.
Also, we will use the introduction of our Quality Peer Review (QPR) Program as an opportunity to increase our use of cross-functional teams. The QPR Program will use cross-functional teams (consisting of office directors, attorneys, investigators, program analysts, etc.) to conduct peer assisted reviews and identify and share best practices across the agency. Also, QPR teams and offices reviewed will identify opportunities for improvement and discuss ways to improve processes to better serve our customers. We want to foster a climate of continuous improvement with this program by bringing together peers and empowering them to get results. We believe this program will drive improvements in customer orientation, job satisfaction, and reinvention - the"best predictors" identified in the survey. We will take the following next steps to implement the QPR approach of using cross-functional teams to accomplish work objectives:
In addition, we will use a long term strategy to implement the program nationwide and to make continuous program improvements.
The Chairwoman gives annual Organizational Performance Awards for outstanding achievement by an organizational entity within the agency. This year the awards will be used to recognize projects that support the agency's Comprehensive Enforcement Program (CEP). To qualify for an award, the project must be anchored in a key element of the CEP and demonstrate significant results in that element and one other key element of the CEP. In deciding who will receive the awards, we will also consider creativity, effective use of resources and appropriate labor-management interaction.
We are also developing a creative new strategy to implement the CEP in our field offices. As part of the strategy, we designated certain individuals from each field office to serve as "change agents." These individuals are responsible for developing and building support for office projects that support and implement the CEP. Their long term role is to build an agency-wide learning network to continue the change process to stimulate creativity and innovation.
In addition, one part of the QPR Program will recognize and reward exemplary work and tap into employees' creativity to solve problems. We will consider other ways to award creativity and innovation that will help us achieve our goals and objectives, because our restricted funding limits our capability to offer monetary awards as incentives.
Action steps we will consider taking in FY 2000 to reward creativity and innovation:
Our long term strategy for QPR involves finalizing the reward criteria and guidelines, implementing approaches to award creativity, and assessing and adjusting the QPR reward process.
The Chairwoman is committed to organizational excellence. Our organizational excellence is best achieved by garnering the talent and skills of our workforce and delivering fair, efficient and effective service to our customers. We embrace these values, which are reflected in our survey results, and will continue to address employees' concerns and pursue increased job satisfaction.
EEOC constantly seeks ways to better serve the public, enhance the quality of work life for our employees, and maximize our limited resources. The NPR survey results provide yet another opportunity to reflect on where we are and to take the opportunity to continuously improve.
For more information on the improvement strategy please contact Bill White, Director, Office of Communications and Legislative Affairs by:
Phone: (202) 663-4911
Fax: (202) 663-4912
E-Mail: bill.white@eeoc.gov