Methodology

The Partnership for Public Service and the Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation created the Best Places to Work rankings to provide a comprehensive and authoritative rating of employee satisfaction across the agencies and their subcomponents in the federal government.

The data used to develop these rankings was collected by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) through its Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, completed in February and March 2010. This survey, formerly known as the Federal Human Capital Survey, was distributed to more than 500,000 full-time, permanent executive branch employees. The survey achieved a response rate of 52 percent, resulting in a final sample of over 263,000 employees. The agencies included in the study account for 97 percent of the executive branch workforce.

Working with the consulting firm Hay Group, the Partnership for Public Service and the Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation created a statistical model to transform this raw survey data into specific measures of workplace satisfaction. We created the overall Best Places to Work index plus composite scores for each of ten work environment categories. We then used this information to calculate the results for each agency and subcomponent, as well as demographic groups in these organizations. Finally, we performed statistical analysis for each of the 290 federal agencies and subcomponents to identify the relationship between the ten workplace satisfaction dimensions and the overall Best Places to Work index score for each organization.

The Best Places to Work index score is calculated based on three different survey questions related to job satisfaction, weighted according to a statistical analysis developed by Hay Group.

This year, for the second time, we included four sub-dimensions for one of the workplace categories – Effective Leadership. This provides a more in-depth analysis of this important dimension, including identifying which individual aspects of leadership are the most significant drivers of employee satisfaction. The Effective Leadership sub-dimensions include: Empowerment, Fairness, Leaders, and Supervisors.

We rated and ranked almost all agencies and subcomponents with 100 or more employees. Agencies with at least 2,000 full-time permanent employees are included in the “large agency” category.

We gathered the snapshot data for each agency or subcomponent from OPM’s FedScope database. All current workforce information is from fiscal year 2009, unless otherwise noted.

#	Index	Sub Index	2010 Survey Question
40	Best Places to Work Index		I recommend my organization as a good place to work
69	Best Places to Work Index		Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your job?
71	Best Places to Work Index		Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your organization?
30	Effective Leadership	Empowerment	Employees have a feeling of personal empowerment with respect to work processes
63	Effective Leadership	Empowerment	How satisfied are you with your involvement in decisions that affect your work?
17	Effective Leadership	Fairness	I can disclose a suspected violation of any law, rule or regulation without fear of reprisal
37	Effective Leadership	Fairness	Arbitrary action, personal favoritism and coercion for partisan political purposes are not tolerated
53	Effective Leadership	Leader	In my organization, leaders generate high levels of motivation and commitment in the workforce
54	Effective Leadership	Leader	My organization’s leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity
61	Effective Leadership	Leader	I have a high level of respect for my organization’s senior leaders
64	Effective Leadership	Leader	How satisfied are you with the information you receive from management on what’s going on in your organization?
43	Effective Leadership	Supervisor	My supervisor/team leader provides me with opportunities to demonstrate my leadership skills
44	Effective Leadership	Supervisor	Discussions with my supervisor/team leader about my performance are worthwhile
47	Effective Leadership	Supervisor	Supervisors/team leaders in my work unit support employee development
52	Effective Leadership	Supervisor	Overall, how good a job do you feel is being done by your immediate supervisor/team leader?
4	Employee Skills/Mission Match		My work gives me a feeling of personal accomplishment
5	Employee Skills/Mission Match		I like the kind of work I do
11	Employee Skills/Mission Match		My talents are used well in the workplace
12	Employee Skills/Mission Match		I know how my work relates to the agency’s goals and priorities
13	Employee Skills/Mission Match		The work I do is important
73	Family Friendly Culture		Telework
74	Family Friendly Culture		Alternative Work Schedules (AWS)
75	Family Friendly Culture		Health and Wellness Programs (for example, exercise, medical screening, quit smoking programs)
76	Family Friendly Culture		Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
77	Family Friendly Culture		Child Care Programs (for example, daycare, parenting classes, parenting support groups)
78	Family Friendly Culture		Elder Care Programs (for example, support groups, speakers)
70	Pay		Considering everything, how satisfied are you with your pay?
15	Performance-Based Rewards & Advancement		My performance appraisal is a fair reflection of my performance
22	Performance-Based Rewards & Advancement		Promotions in my work unit are based on merit
31	Performance-Based Rewards & Advancement		Employees are rewarded for providing high quality products and services
32	Performance-Based Rewards & Advancement		Creativity and innovation are rewarded
65	Performance-Based Rewards & Advancement		How satisfied are you with the recognition you receive for doing a good job?
67	Performance-Based Rewards & Advancement		How satisfied are you with your opportunity to get a better job in your organization?
21	Strategic Management		My work unit is able to recruit people with the right skills
27	Strategic Management		The skill level in my work unit has improved in the past year
29	Strategic Management		The workforce has the job-relevant knowledge and skills necessary to accomplish organizational goals
57	Strategic Management		Managers review and evaluate the organization’s progress toward meeting its goals and objectives
34	Support for Diversity		Policies and programs promote diversity in the workplace (for example, recruiting minorities and women, training in awareness of diversity issues, mentoring).
45	Support for Diversity		My supervisor/team leader is committed to a workforce representative of all segments of society
55	Support for Diversity		Managers/supervisors/team leaders work well with employees of different backgrounds
20	Teamwork		The people I work with cooperate to get the job done
26	Teamwork		Employees in my work unit share job knowledge with each other
58	Teamwork		Managers promote communication among different work units (for example, about projects, goals, needed resources)
1	Training/Development		I am given a real opportunity to improve my skills in my organization
2	Training/Development		I have enough information to do my job well
18	Training/Development		My training needs are assessed
68	Training/Development		How satisfied are you with the training you receive for your present job?
9	Work/Life Balance		I have sufficient resources (for example, people, materials, budget) to get my job done
10	Work/Life Balance		My workload is reasonable
42	Work/Life Balance		My supervisor supports my need to balance work and other life issues.

 

© 2010 Partnership for Public Service

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