Smaller agencies biggest winners in 'Best Places to Work' survey

For federal employees looking for effective leadership, teamwork and ways to develop their skills in the workplace, think small.

The agencies rated by federal employees as the top five places to work in the government--the Office of Management and Budget, National Science Foundation, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Government Accountability Office and Securities and Exchange Commission-all have fewer than 3,500 employees.

The rankings of best agencies to work were issued Wednesday by the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit organization devoted to attracting people to work in government.

Based on information from the Office of Personnel Management's Federal Human Capital Survey, the rankings grade agencies on a number of qualities, as perceived by the 150,000 federal employees who completed the survey. Those dimensions include leadership, teamwork and use of skills, family-friendly culture, strategic management and support for diversity.

David Walker, comptroller general of No. 4-ranked GAO, which has 3,255 employees, said larger agencies face a bigger challenge in employee satisfaction. But, he said, the principles his agency uses "are scalable to the largest organization in government."

"You have to have visible communication from the top," Walker said.

OMB Deputy Director for Management Clay Johnson, whose agency took the top spot, said his 449 employees are dedicated to their mission, which drives his agency's success.

"As we face the war on terror and now Katrina, fiscal discipline--OMB's role--I think has been elevated," Johnson said. "There's great pride in our association with that mission."

OMB's highest ranking qualities were its level of "employee skills/mission match" and "teamwork." Max Stier, the Partnership's president, pointed out to Johnson in a forum on the rankings Wednesday that OMB was still ranked No. 20 in "work/life balance."

"We're not perfect," Johnson said. "Far from it."

Even farther from perfection, according to the rankings, are the Education and Homeland Security departments and Small Business Administration, which held the last three spots, in that order, of the 30 main agencies ranked. SBA fell 17.4 percent, the largest decrease, from the year before.

Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents about 150,000 federal employees, said it's "no surprise" that DHS ranked so low. Kelley linked the low rating to employees' fear over major personnel reforms that are under way in the department.

"I hope that the administration and DHS management take a good hard look at the results of today's ranking and make the connection that an engaged workforce is necessary to an effective department," Kelley said in a statement.

The Partnership for Public Service reported that employee engagement is one of the most critical components of overall satisfaction. According to the partnership, agencies across government have improved in this area. Since 2003, the 30 largest agencies improved 9 percent, on average, in employee engagement levels.

The survey also looked at small agencies and subcomponents of larger organizations. The top five in those rankings were the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the San Francisco region of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Seattle region of the EPA, the Merit Systems Protection Board and NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.

The survey also rated agencies by demographics. OMB had the highest ranking for female employees' satisfaction, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in the Treasury Department took that honor among subcomponents and small operations. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was the top place to work for workers younger than 40 as well as for black employees.

NASA, which had the top ranking last year, was No. 6 this time around. NASA has more than 18,000 employees.

The American University School of Public Affairs and Sirota Survey Intelligence, a private consulting firm, worked with the Partnership for Public Service to produce the rankings.