DOT employees, please help us create an even better workplace

Even if you're a federal government employee, you may not know that OPM sponsors the Federal Human Capital Survey. This survey measures employees' perceptions of workforce conditions and management practices.

These practices affect employee engagement, satisfaction, commitment, and--ultimately--retention.

Now, we like retention. It's certainly better than the alternative, and it means that we're doing things right.  We owe nothing less to DOT workers; we owe nothing less to the American people.

So, this survey is important, and I hope the DOT community takes it as seriously as I do and responds honestly (and thoughtfully, please).

The 2010 survey is being called the "Employee Viewpoint Survey." This is a more accurate--and much friendlier--name. I hope that friendliness will translate into greater DOT participation. Because that's the result I really care about.

That's right. Now, wouldn't I rather hear good news? Sure. Do I want DOT to be the best workplace in the federal government? You bet. But I'd trade that to see DOT have the highest survey-response rate!

I'd rather our workers voice their complaints than sit on their hands and keep quiet. Because we can't fix a problem unless we hear about it. And we want to fix problems.

Look, I've worked hard this year to make the Department a more open workplace, and I hope people have noticed that. From town hall sessions and webcasts to my regular open-door hours, I have gone out of my way to learn what's going on inside DOT, how people feel about working here, what they like, what they would change.

This survey provides another opportunity to anonymously share opinions about how to make DOT an even better place to work.  We want a great response rate that reflects the viewpoints of a wide cross-section of DOT employees (and--not that I'm competitive--that blows away the other federal agencies).  More importantly, input helps us shape the future of the Department.

We take comments seriously. Upon receiving recommendations from last year’s survey, we instituted a training program for for first-line supervisors to enhance their leadership and management and improve their communications and employee engagement.  We've also required mandatory ethics training for all senior management personnel leaders at DOT, including both political appointees and career civil servants.

That's responsiveness.

Only by challenging ourselves individually and as a Department can we continue to achieve the exceptionally high level of performance that DOT reached over the twelve months. So, please, let us know what's up through the OPM survey.

The EVS is being emailed to a random sample of U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) employees during the first week of February and will remain open until the end of March.  Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Controllers, included in the sample, will receive paper surveys via postal mail at their office locations.

Please, all of you DOT-ers out there, take the time to respond.

It's good for you. It's good for DOT. It's good for America.

Comments

[T Penco]

Please consider how to give cross credit for retirement systems between the Federal government service and state employee service systems. Being able to join years of service credit for both would make switching to better jobs between the feds and state more enticing than staying put so that service time is credited just with the 'last job'. Retirement or pension salaries could be prorated between the affected fed or state government agency plans, but total government service years would be additive, or at least allow for valuation at the current job classification rate. Otherwise significant time served would be worthless just because the cost of living has increased and pension rates are only based on the last high year a long time ago.

[Dan Johnson]

With all due respect, Agency employees have been bombarded with pleas to tell management what it thinks by responding to this survey. For those of us who were not included in the sample, the unintended message comes through that, "We really want to hear from a select few and you're not one of them." I'm certain that's not the intent, but that's how it comes across when the reminders are broadcast across the entire Department.

[LADY GODIVA]

Whenever these highly professional DOT employees are re assigned to work at another agency in Washington, DC, the public has to jump through hoops to try and find them.
Since last March, several career employees from the Federal Railroad Administration's field office in Crum Lynne, Pa were reassigned to the Tiger Team and they worked long hours on the ARRA Act of 2009. Where is the photo gallery of these employees? I only see the same politicians who go from camera to camera. The hard work was accomplished by those employees who can't be found now. Did the office of PHMSA update their site for 2010? No. Some phone numbers are now "non working numbers"
Get your act together, guys at the DOT

[Internal communications]

Surveys like this are really valuable but only if management genuinely responds to them with tangible actions. In too many organisations, lip service is paid to doing surveys and they then sit on the shelf gathering dust.

[create a free blog]

Pa were reassigned to the Tiger Team and they worked long hours on the ARRA Act of 2009. Where is the photo gallery of these employees? I only see the same politicians who go from camera to camera.