The federal government is not running efficiently, according to a January 2017 survey of workers by ASQ, a professional association for quality experts.
Polling 146 members from sectors including defense, health care, military, transportation, finance and agriculture, ASQ found only 7.53 percent considered the government very efficient, with almost half of survey participants feeling senior government leaders provided little or no support for quality improvement initiatives.
The vast majority rated the government either somewhat efficient (38.36 percent), not very efficient (37.67 percent) or not at all efficient (10.96 percent). One voter opted for extremely efficient, while seven said they were not sure.
Infrastructure, defense, and health and human services were identified as top areas that could benefit from efficiency improvement and cost-cutting, followed by the related areas of customs, immigration and homeland security.
Waste-elimination methodologies and Lean Six Sigma topped the list of ways respondents felt government could improve efficiency, with the shifting strategies and priorities of administrators, as well as organizational fears about the impact of cost-cutting on jobs and project funds selected as the main hurdles.
Suggested first steps to implement quality tools included generating a commitment from management/leaders to integrate their use and providing training for key agency teams, clarifying goals and tool roles, and allowing the tools time to work before switching processes.
More information on the survey and associated quality tools can be found on ASQ.org.
Quality pros say fed efficiency is poor but can improve
