The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings were created in 2003 to provide federal agencies with incentives to focus on workforce issues. The rankings are based on employee responses to the Federal Human Capital Survey issued by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. The results of subsequent surveys were published in 2005 and 2007. This information assists government managers and leaders assess and respond to employee concerns and expectations.
The 2007 Best Places rankings include 283 federal organizations (30 large federal agencies, 31 small agencies and 222 subcomponents) and are based on the responses of more than 221,000 employees. The Federal Election Commission's participation rate of nearly 63% was almost 6% higher than the government-wide average participation rate. This reflects the dedication and commitment of our employees in making the FEC a better place to work.
Of particular note is the agency’s score in the Work/Life Balance category -- 7th among all small federal agencies. This category measures the extent to which employees consider their workloads reasonable and feasible and feel managers support a balance between work and life. Employees also rated the agency well in the Strategic Management category, which measures the extent to which they believe management ensures they have the necessary skills and abilities to do their jobs, is successful at hiring new employees with the necessary skills to help the organization, and works to achieve the organizational goals with targeted personnel strategies and performance management. The Support for Diversity Category also received high marks -- the extent to which employees believe that actions and policies of leadership and management promote and respect diversity.
The results of this latest survey also point to areas of needed improvement. While federal employees rated government Pay and Benefits low across the board, FEC management is committed to finding new and better ways of recognizing and rewarding outstanding performance. Similarly, employees scored the agency lowest in the Employee Skills/Mission Match category -- the extent to which employees feel that their skills and talents are used effectively and the extent to which employees get satisfaction from their work and understand how their jobs are relevant to the organizational mission. The recently established FEC Human Capital Survey Working Group is developing an action plan that will address and respond to these and other concerns of our employees.
While the most recent survey results are encouraging, agency leaders have pledged to work even harder to ensure that FEC employees are motivated, committed and engaged. Their goal is for the FEC to be recognized as one of the “most improved” agencies in the next Federal Human Capital Survey.
