EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE
Noon, April 19, 2007

PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE RANKS MORE THAN 280 FEDERAL AGENCIES BASED ON EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION AND ENGAGEMENT

Washington, D.C. – The Partnership for Public Service and American University’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation today released the 2007 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings. The rankings measure employee satisfaction and engagement and are based on a survey of more than 221,000 federal workers.

In Best Places, more than 280 federal agencies and subcomponents – representing 97 percent of the 1.9 million person federal workforce – are ranked within one of three categories: large agency, small agency and federal subcomponent. For the first time, scores and rankings are revealed for all agencies and subcomponents, from first to worst.

According to federal employees, the top 10 large federal agencies to work for are:

• Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Government Accountability Office
• Securities and Exchange Commission
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Department of Justice
• Department of State
• Social Security Administration
• General Services Administration
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Department of the Army

“Not only do the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings provide federal managers and government leaders with a road map for improving employee engagement and commitment, the rankings also raise red flags for areas of concern,” said Max Stier, Partnership for Public Service president and CEO. “In addition, the Best Places rankings provide job-seekers insight into the best opportunities for public service.”

"The whole idea of employee engagement is to make the workplace more productive," suggests Robert Tobias, director of American University's Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation. We are pleased to offer this benchmark that will provide agencies the information they need to attract the best and brightest career seekers for jobs in the public service.”

Among the Best Places to Work 2007 agency highlights:

• The most improved large agency is the Social Security Administration, increasing its index score from 60.6 in 2005 to 66.5 in 2007, an improvement of almost 10 percent.
• Among the 30 large agencies ranked in Best Places, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is the most improved, increasing its index score from 60.6 in 2005 to 66.5 in 2007, an improvement of almost 10 percent.
• The Department of Justice has been the biggest mover since 2003, with a 21 percent increase. DOJ has the third highest improvement among large agencies over the past two years, increasing its score from 64.5 to 69.
• The Department of State is the only other large agency whose employee satisfaction score has had a double-digit percentage increase (about 15 percent) since 2003.
• The Office of Personnel Management Strategic Human Resources Policy group increased from 48.8 to 70.6, a 45 percent gain that makes this unit the most improved of all of the 222 subcomponents ranked in 2007.
• The top ranked small agencies include, from first to third, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Merit Systems Protection Board and Office of Management and Budget.
• In the small agency category, the Federal Housing Finance Board is most improved, up by almost 18 percent. Export-Import Bank enjoyed a 17 percent increase and the Corporation for National and Community Service is up 10 percent.
• Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services is the number one small agency with the highest score of all 283 federal organizations.

The biggest area of concern among the agencies is that often the ones with the most room for improvement are showing the least amount of progress. Agencies that present areas for concern include:

• The Small Business Administration, the lowest ranked agency in 2005, remains at the bottom with a 4.4 percent drop in its score since 2005.
• The Department of Homeland Security ranked 29th out of 30 large agencies, even though its index score went up 1.5 percent. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s score dropped nearly 13 percent from 2005, placing it 211th out of 222 federal subcomponent organizations. DHS Headquarters ranks 216th among subcomponents (its score dropped 29 percent from 2005, the largest decline of any subcomponent). However, the Transportation Security Administration, the lowest-rated federal subcomponent in 2005, shows a 6 percent increase and no longer ranks last.
• The Department of Education declined this year by 3.5 percent, placing it 28th among the 30 large agencies ranked.
• Among the small agencies, the largest declines included the Federal Maritime Commission (down 13.5 percent), the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (-12.7 percent) and the Farm Credit Administration (-10.6 percent).

Key findings include:

• The 2007 government-wide employee satisfaction and engagement score is virtually unchanged (61.8 versus the 2005 score of 62.1).
• Overall, employee satisfaction and engagement increased from 2005 in 41 percent of all federal organizations: 37 percent of large agencies, 31 percent of small agencies, and 42 percent of subcomponents.
• Among racial/ethnic groups, Asians scored highest in overall employee satisfaction, with Hispanics second.
• Women are slightly more satisfied than men, and employees under the age of 40 have higher satisfaction scores than those 40 and over.
• The highest-scoring “best in class” workplace categories are, in order, employee skills/mission match, teamwork, pay and benefits, and work/life balance.
• In 2007, two categories — performance-based rewards and advancement, and employee skills/mission match — had higher scores than in 2005.

The Best Places rankings are compiled from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Human Capital Survey. The rankings reflect the views of more than 221,000 federal workers, almost a fifty percent increase from 2005 and more than twice the number who participated in 2003. In addition, employee responses rates have increased from 51 percent in 2003 to 57 percent in 2007.

Best Places ranks agencies according to 10 workplace categories including effective leadership, strategic management, teamwork, training and development, pay and benefits, and work/life balance. Agencies are also ranked by demographic categories including race, age and gender.

The 2007 Best Places to Work Web site, www.bestplacestowork.org includes agency rankings and profiles, detailed analysis of the rankings, trend data, fast facts and information for job seekers.

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