{"id":15319,"date":"2020-03-02T18:30:57","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T23:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opsweb.wpengine.com\/?p=15319"},"modified":"2020-10-21T15:56:27","modified_gmt":"2020-10-21T19:56:27","slug":"employee-engagement-is-more-than-just-a-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourpublicservice.org\/blog\/employee-engagement-is-more-than-just-a-survey\/","title":{"rendered":"Employee engagement is more than just a survey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The evidence is clear \u2013 engaged employees are better employees. According to a Gallup analysis<\/a>, business units with higher levels of employee engagement saw 41% less absenteeism, 24% lower turnover and 17% higher productivity. And these results are not unique to the private sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent analysis<\/a> of performance data from nearly 150 Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals across the country, the Partnership for Public Service found that higher patient satisfaction, better call center performance and lower nurse turnover were all associated with a more satisfied and committed workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employee engagement is not a foreign topic to today\u2019s\nfederal leaders, but it is an area where they often struggle to find ways of\nmaking enduring progress and reaping the performance benefits. The challenge is\navoiding the tendency of making engagement a priority only when it\u2019s time to\nsurvey employees or analyze results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we\u2019ve seen at many agencies across government, substantial, lasting change requires agency leaders to make employee engagement a year-round priority<\/a> and a process of continuous improvement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make engagement a year-round priority<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This past January, the Partnership honored the Best Places\nto Work in the Federal Government<\/a>. Among\nthem was the General Services Administration, where employee engagement steadily\nrose by nearly 13 points between 2014 and 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent profile<\/a> by the Partnership, GSA\u2019s former chief human capital officer, Antonia Harris, credited the success to the agency\u2019s multi-year approach. \u201cEngagement is a continuous process at GSA,\u201d Harris said. \u201cThis includes creating a culture where the impact of employee engagement is considered in management decisions to the same degree as budgetary or other operational aspects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, Robert Gibbs, associate administrator for the Mission Support Directorate at NASA \u2013 the top-ranked large agency for the past eight years \u2013 attributed the space agency\u2019s success<\/a> to leadership\u2019s willingness to solicit candid employee feedback at multiple times throughout the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gibbs also noted that improving engagement is just as much\nabout small, everyday changes as it is large-scale initiatives. \u201cIt\u2019s hardly\never one big thing that really changes the game, but it\u2019s listening to concerns\nover whatever it might be\u2014the quality of research in some of our centers, the\navailability of parking\u2014all these things that seem small and somewhat\ninsignificant, but contribute to quality of life at work,\u201d Gibbs said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employee engagement isn\u2019t just about happy employees. When agency leaders make engagement a year-round priority, real improvements can happen \u2013 improvements that translate to better performance and, ultimately, a more effective government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you interested in more insights on the federal workforce? Check out our other in-depth analyses in the Fed Figures series:<\/p>\n\n\n\n