DIVERSITY NEWS May 2010 Yvonne: The Department of Veterans Affairs’ updated strategic plan includes… 3 guiding principles, 4 strategic goals, 3 integrated objectives, 14 integrated strategies, 13 MAJOR initiatives, and 38 SUPPORTING initiatives. One of the 13 MAJOR initiatives addresses the transformation of human capital management. The primary GOAL of this initiative is to make VA “a great place to work” and “an employer of choice.” This initiative will require VA to address the issues that have the greatest impact on RECRUITMENT and RETENTION. And the first STEP in that process will be to IDENTIFY what those issues ARE. In a previous edition of Diversity News, we talked about the characteristics of a “great place to work” and what it takes to be or become “an employer of choice.” In THIS edition of Diversity News, we’ll talk about the reasons people CHOOSE to come to work for an organization, and why they CHOOSE to STAY. For more than 25 years, the Corporate Executive Board has been identifying BENCHMARKS and “best practices” to address business challenges. Within the Corporate Executive BOARD, the Corporate Leadership COUNCIL, which recently changed its name to CLC Human Resources, focuses on issues related to human resources— For example, recruiting, retaining, developing, and engaging employees. In 2006, the Corporate Leadership Council launched a research initiative to examine how organizations can best ATTRACT and RETAIN the employees they need. The FIRST report published under that initiative offered a new framework for understanding how the perceived value of working for an organization—that is, the “Employment Value Proposition”—attracts candidates and builds employment commitment. For that report, the Corporate Leadership Council conducted a survey of more than 58 thousand employees at 90 different organizations. In addition, the Council reviewed job postings, company Web sites, business press articles, consultant literature, academic and business research, and interviews with Council members. From a master list of more than 200 organizational characteristics that can possibly affect the “employment value proposition,” the Council identified 38 DISTINCT attributes. The Council then divided those 38 characteristics into five categories: The organization… The work… The rewards… The opportunities… And the people. According to the Corporate Leadership Council, “Rewards” and “Opportunities” have the greatest impact on candidate ATTRACTION. But “People” and “Organization” factors have the greatest impact on employee COMMITMENT. Brenda: Within the “employment value proposition” category of “The Organization,” the Corporate Leadership Council includes these organizational attributes: The degree of RESPECT that the organization shows employees. The organization’s commitment to ETHICS and INTEGRITY. The EMPOWERMENT or level of INVOLVEMENT employees have in decisions that affect their job and career. The organization’s product or service QUALITY reputation. The SIZE of the organization’s workforce. The competitive POSITION that the organization holds in its markets. The desirability of the organization’s INDUSTRY to the employee. The organization’s level of commitment to having a diverse workforce. The level of awareness in the marketplace for the organization’s products or services. The extent to which the organization invests in modern technology and equipment. The amount of RISK that the organization encourages employees to take. The organization’s level of commitment to environmental health and sustainability. The reputation of the clients and customers served in performing a job. The organization’s level of commitment to social responsibility. Whether the work environment is formal or informal. And whether or not the organization’s reputation as an employer has been recognized by a third-party organization. For SOME of these characteristics, we can use results from the Federal Human Capital Survey to identify opportunities for improvement at VA. For example, in the 2008 administration of the survey, only half of VA employees said they were satisfied with their involvement in decisions that affect their work. And only 43 percent said that they had a feeling of personal empowerment with respect to work processes. The same percentage said they believe that leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. A little over half of VA employees said that they believe supervisors are committed to a workforce representative of all segments of society. And a little over 60 percent said they believe policies and programs promote diversity in the workplace. Yvonne: Within the “employment value proposition” category of “Work,” the Corporate Leadership Council includes these attributes: Whether the employee’s job RESPONSIBILITIES match his or her INTERESTS. The opportunity provided by the job to work on INNOVATIVE, “leading edge” projects. The extent to which the job allows employees to BALANCE their work and their other interests. The amount of RECOGNITION provided to employees by the organization. The level of IMPACT the job has on organizational outcomes. The LOCATION of the jobs the organization offers. And the amount of out-of-town business TRAVEL required by the job. As with the previous category of organizational attributes, we can use results from the Federal Human Capital Survey to identify opportunities for improvement at VA. For example, in the 2008 administration of that survey, 87 percent of VA employees said that they like the kind of work they do… 77 percent said that their work gives them a feeling of personal accomplishment… And 95 percent said that the work they do is important. But only 60 percent said that they feel encouraged to come up with new and better ways of doing things… …and only 37 percent said that creativity and innovation are rewarded. 68 percent of VA employees responding to the survey agreed with the statement, “My supervisor supports my need to balance work and family issues”… But only 29 percent said that they were satisfied with work-life programs. Only 32 percent said they were satisfied with alternative work schedules… And only 22 percent said they were satisfied with telecommuting. Only 38 percent agreed with the statement, “Awards in my work unit depend on how well employees perform their jobs”… And only 47 percent said that they were satisfied with the recognition they receive for doing a good job. [Camera 1] Within the “employment value proposition” category of “Rewards” the Corporate Leadership Council includes these attributes: The COMPETITIVENESS of the job’s financial COMPENSATION package. The COMPREHENSIVENESS of the organization’s HEALTH benefits. The comprehensiveness of the organization’s RETIREMENT benefits. And the AMOUNT of holiday and VACATION time that employees earn annually. As with the previous categories of organizational attributes, we can use results from the Federal Human Capital Survey to identify opportunities for improvement at VA. For example, in the 2008 administration of that survey, 55 percent of VA employees said that they were satisfied with their pay. 60 percent said that they were satisfied with their health insurance benefits. 59 percent said that they were satisfied with their retirement benefits. 84 percent said that they were satisfied with their paid vacation time. And 80 percent said that they were satisfied with their paid leave for illness. Yvonne: Within the “employment value proposition” category of “Opportunity” the Corporate Leadership Council includes these attributes: The developmental and educational opportunities provided by the job and the organization. The future career opportunities provided by the organization. The growth rate of the organization’s business. Whether or not employees are rewarded and promoted based on their achievements. And the level of stability of the organization and the job. As with the other categories of organizational attributes, we can use results from the Federal Human Capital Survey to identify opportunities for improvement at VA. For example, in the 2008 administration of that survey, 64 percent of VA employees said that they are given a real opportunity to improve their skills in their organization.. 60 percent said that supervisors in their work unit support employee development… And 55 percent said that supervisors in their work unit provide employees with opportunities to demonstrate leadership skills. 59 percent of VA employees responding to the survey said that they are satisfied with their opportunity to get a better job in their organization… But only 38 percent believe that AWARDS in their work unit are based on how well employees perform their jobs. Only 34 percent believe that PROMOTIONS in their work unit are based on merit… And only 24 percent believe that PAY raises depend on how well employees perform their job. Brenda: Within the “employment value proposition” category of “People” the Corporate Leadership Council includes these attributes: The quality of the organization’s senior leadership. The quality of the organization’s managers. The organization’s reputation for managing people. Whether the work environment is team-oriented and collaborative. Whether working for the organization provides opportunities to socialize with other employees. And the quality of the co-workers in the organization. As with the other categories of organizational attributes, we can use results from the Federal Human Capital Survey to identify opportunities for improvement at VA. For example, in the 2008 administration of the Federal Human Capital Survey, only half of VA employees responding to the survey said that they had a high level of respect for their organization’s senior leaders. Only 43 percent said that their organization’s leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. And only 39 percent said that leaders in their organization generate high levels of motivation and commitment in the workforce. On the other hand, 61 percent say that they have trust and confidence in their supervisor. And 63 percent say that managers, supervisors, and team leaders work well with employees of different backgrounds. Attitudes toward co-workers are even more positive than attitudes toward supervisors. For example, 84 percent of VA employees would rate the overall quality of work done by their work group as “Good” or “Very Good.” 81 percent say that the people they work with cooperate to get their job done. And 77 percent say that employees in their work unit share job knowledge with each other. In addition, 74 percent say that the workforce has the job-relevant knowledge and skills necessary to accomplish organizational goals. Yvonne: In 2009, the Corporate Leadership Council published an update to their research on the “employment value proposition.” As in the previous report, the Council looked at the “employment value proposition,” and how it is affected by the 38 characteristics in the five categories. And this time, the council looked at ways to improve employee EFFORT as well as retention. According to the Corporate Leadership Council, with respect to ATTRACTING employees, the top five most valued organizational attributes in 2009 were the same as in 2006: compensation, future career opportunities, work-life balance, development opportunities, and organizational stability. With respect to KEEPING employees, however, there have been some changes to the top five most valued organizational attributes. The top five drivers of COMMITMENT are now: Jobs-interests alignment, Manager quality, Co-worker quality, The organization’s reputation for managing people, And the degree of respect that the organization shows employees. According to the Corporate Leadership Council, the most important change that organizations can make in order to increase employee commitment is to give employees more say over their own work. In future editions of Diversity News, we’ll have more to say about how diversity and inclusion fit into the Department of Veterans Affairs’ strategic plan… but that’s all the time we HAVE for THIS edition of Diversity News. We appreciate your watching, and we hope you’ll tune in again next month. Until then, for more frequent updates of diversity news, sign up for our free weekly e-mail news service: NewsLink. Just send an e-mail message to odi@va.gov, with the words “Subscribe NewsLink” in the subject line. 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