The annual Employee Viewpoint Survey will be distributed to federal workers next month, and while now may be a little late for managers to think about how they are engaging and motivating their staffs, it's never too late to start planning for the long term.
So what's a manager to do? Just Google it, says Tom Fox, director of the Center for Government Leadership at the Partnership for Public Service. He writes in the Washington Post's Federal Coach column that managers could look at Fortune magazine's most recent 100 Best Companies to Work For. Google, which is No. 4 on this year's list, has numerous perks, including free food and laundry service, but the company's most notable driver of employee satisfaction is leadership, Fox writes. Recent Partnership surveys have also proved leadership to be the No.1 driver of federal employee engagement and performance, he adds.
Using Google as an example, Fox encourages federal agencies to use employee feedback to determine what makes an exceptional leader, assess the strengths and weaknesses in leadership, and invest in training and coaching to help leaders succeed.
Google is a top competitor for IT employees, so what can agencies learn from their example? How will your agency's leadership influence your responses on this year's Employee Viewpoint Survey?
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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