Staff at an all-hands Meeting with Secretary Ernest Moniz. | Energy Department Photo.
In the few months since I joined the Department of Energy as a Senior Advisor, I’ve quickly come to embrace the principle that employees are the Department’s greatest asset. The Energy Department is mission-focused and it is undeniable that our talented, hardworking, and dedicated employees are essential to achieving mission success.
At a time when 21 percent of our federal workforce is likely to retire in the next five years and competition for talented workers is fierce, Secretary Moniz and Deputy Secretary Sherwood-Randall are keenly interested in creating a workplace culture that not only attracts the best and the brightest, but supports and empowers us throughout our entire careers at Energy and in government. That means maximizing flexibilities in work schedules, encouraging continual learning opportunities, supporting national service and social activities, and exploring a host of other great programs that are important to employees. Essentially, the goal is to make the Energy Department not just a place to work, but a place where employees thrive.
In support of this very important goal, Secretary Moniz and Deputy Secretary Sherwood-Randall created the Workplace Improvement Forum, an employee-focused initiative to identify and develop strategies and recommendations to improve the work environment and overall work experience of DOE employees, beginning at headquarters.
The Forum is in the early stages and we want to hear from YOU -- our DOE workforce -- on what you think are the best strategies for engaging with you to improve the DOE workplace and your work experience. I invite you to join me in shaping this new initiative that will make DOE one of the best places to work in the federal government. A first step as we stand up the Forum is to engage in a number of listening sessions to solicit employee feedback as we identify areas of focus for the Forum.
Employees are invited to participate in brownbag sessions to share your thoughts on workplace improvement priorities. Visit Powerpedia’s Workplace Improvement Forum page for a full schedule of brownbag meetings in Germantown and Forrestal. The next upcoming meetings are on Friday May 29 at 9am in Germantown and at noon in Forrestal.
More information about the Forum, including the schedule for our brownbag sessions, can be found on Powerpedia at https://powerpedia.energy.gov/wiki/Workplace_Improvement_Forum.
Questions? Email workplaceimprovement@hq.doe.gov
