Leadership engagement is the number one indicator of the best federal agencies to work in, according to Mallory Barg Bulman, vice president of research and evaluation at the Partnership for Public Service, which Wednesday released its \u201c2017 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government\u201d rankings with Deloitte.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is really important and critical that leaders listen,\u201d said Bulman, adding that positive changes in agency rankings can often be \u201cdirectly related to leaders paying attention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, Bulman said that the FBI\u2019s effective senior leadership score noticeably decreased after the firing of Director James Comey, and the FBI\u2019s overall score dropped 2.1 points from 2016 to 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bulman added that the second most important factor is the skills-mission match between employees and agencies because \u201cit is really critical to look at federal employees\u2019 ability to meet the mission of their agency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year\u2019s top large agency, NASA, has consistently remained at the top of the \u201cBest Places to Work in federal Government\u201d rankings and has increased their scores every year since the rankings began. This year they achieved a score of 80.9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNASA has continually committed to improvement,\u201d said Bulman, explaining that the agency\u2019s consistent score increases from year to year indicated that the agency \u201chasn\u2019t rested with good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DHS also made notable advances with a 6.2-point increase from last year\u2019s score, though the agency still remains in last place among large agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, the federal government did very well, with a 2.1-point rise in federal employee engagement compared to 2016, the highest level of engagement since 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe gains in federal employee engagement are promising and indicate that an intentional focus on the management of the workforce can make a difference,\u201d said Max Stier, Partnership president and CEO. \u201cA highly-motivated and engaged workforce is critical to a well-functioning government and the success of our country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the government still lags over 16 points behind the employee engagement of the private sector, according to data provided by employee research firm Mercer | Sirota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen comparing the government to the private sector, we must see greater progress,\u201d said Stier. \u201cFederal leaders should understand that the government competes with the private sector for the best talent, and the government should endeavor to meet or exceed employee engagement levels seen in the best private sector companies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. Army\u2019s Cyber Command was featured on the rankings for the first time, and scored 147th of 150 subcomponents evaluated, with a score of 46.6, which was over 15 points less than the score achieved by the Army overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the report\u2019s scoring categories, though Cyber Command scored very well with Employee Skill Mission Match, 71.2, the subcomponent scored dead last in effective leadership with a score of 48.2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cBest Places to Work in the Federal Government\u201d rankings are based largely on data from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey that was conducted by the Office of Personnel Management. This year OPM initially withheld the data on 186 agencies and subcomponents in the survey after reviewing its privacy policies, but released the missing data on December 5, 2017. The \u201cBest Places to Work in the Federal Government\u201d rankings will be revised to reflect this data in early 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOPM\u2019s decision to now provide more complete government-wide data will make it easier for agencies to compare themselves to their federal counterparts, and help Congress and the Trump administration engage in comprehensive oversight of federal workforce management,\u201d said Stier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n