U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Recruiting, Retaining, and Honoring a World-Class Workforce to Serve the American People

General Background

Q1. What is the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey?

A1. The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey is a tool that measures employees' perceptions of whether and to what extent conditions that characterize successful organizations are present in their agencies. The results set a baseline for ongoing Human Capital assessment in the Federal Government. The survey provides general indicators of how well the Federal Government is running its human capital systems. The survey results provide senior managers critical information. OPM and agency managers will use the findings to develop policies and action plans for improving agency performance.

Q2. What is the Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework and how can agencies use the survey results in connection with the Framework?

A2. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has developed a tool - the Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework - to guide agencies toward meeting the Human Capital Standards for Success. OPM structured the Framework to help agencies determine what they need to do, how they can do it, and how they can measure their own human capital success. Agencies can use the results of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey in conjunction with the Framework to determine the effectiveness of their human capital strategies and programs.

Q3. Who rates agencies on human capital management?

A3. As the President's strategic advisor on human capital issues, the Office of Personnel Management rates agencies on their strategic management of human capital.

Back to Top

Methodology

Q1. When was the survey administered?

A1. The survey was administered during April-June 2012.

Q2. Who participated in the survey?

A2. The 2012 survey was directed at full-time and part-time, permanent, non-seasonal employees. A total of 82 agencies participated in the survey effort, consisting of 37 Departments/large agencies and 45 small/independent agencies.These agencies comprise 97 percent of the executive branch workforce.

Q3. How was the survey administered?

A3. The survey was conducted electronically on the Internet, with employees notified by email of their selection for the sample. Paper versions of the survey were provided to a limited number of employees who did not have access to the Internet survey (less than one percent).

Q4. What was the response rate?

A4. The response rate was 46.1 percent.

Q5. What is the margin of error?

A5. The margin of error for all responses is plus or minus 1 percent.

Back to Top

Results of the Survey

Q1. Where can I see the Governmentwide results of the survey?

A1. You may see the results of the survey at www.fedview.opm.gov.

Q2. How can agencies use the results of the survey?

A2. The overall findings provide individual agencies a sense of the general human capital climate and information they can use as a basis for comparison with their own results. Working with this and other information, agencies can assess their own human capital management status, and develop a plan of action for improvement.

Q3. How can I see how my agency survey results compared to all responses for the survey?

A3. The survey results will be displayed at www.fedview.opm.gov under the Survey Results link. This site also contains reports that include survey results for the Departments and large independent agencies compared to all responses for the survey under the Published Reports link.

Q4. The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey report refers to "weighted" data. What are "weighted" data?

A4. When the data collected from survey respondents are adjusted to represent the population from which the sample was drawn, the resulting data are called weighted data. The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey weighted results represent all Federal employees covered by the survey.

The weighting process involves computing and assigning a weight to each survey respondent. The weight indicates the number of employees in the survey population the respondent represents. Information about demographic characteristics, such as gender, race, supervisory status, age, and agency size, are used to develop the weights.

The weight does not change a respondent's answer; rather, it gives appropriate relative importance to the answer.

Back to Top

Technical Assistance

Q1. If I have technical problems with using this Web page, who would I contact for help?

A1. For technical help, email evs@opm.gov.

Back to Top