OMB to use workplace rankings in 2011 budget process

A nonprofit's biennial rankings of the best federal workplaces could inspire some agencies to shape up their performance, the head of the Office of Management and Budget said.

OMB Director Peter R. Orszag said he would ask agencies that scored poorly on the Partnership for Public Service's 2009 Best Places to Work Rankings, released on Wednesday, to submit improvement plans. The ratings will play a role in determining agency funding in the fiscal 2011 budget, he added.

"We should not just let this be a one-day news story," Orszag said. "It needs to be built into the way we run government."

The rankings are particularly important given the hiring challenges agencies face and the need to revitalize government's image, Orszag noted. Max Stier, president of the Partnership, said he hoped the marks would call attention to government performance at a time when agencies are looking for solutions, much as American Idol has reinvigorated the music industry.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held on to its spot as the best large agency for the second survey in a row. NRC was followed by the Government Accountability Office, NASA, the intelligence agencies and the State Department. The five highest-ranked small agencies were the Surface Transportation Board, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Congressional Budget Office, OMB, and the National Science Foundation.

Governmentwide, employee satisfaction scores increased 2 percent from 2007 to 2009, from an average score of 61.8 out of 100 possible points to 63.3. Seventy-one percent of participating agencies saw their scores rise in that same time period. Some individual agencies made substantial improvements. The Small Business Administration's marks rose 30 percent from 43.4 to 56.5 and the Office of Personnel Management's score increased 14 percent, from 54.9 to 62.7.

The rankings are based on OPM's biennial Federal Human Capital Survey. The 2008 survey included 210,000 employees from 83 agencies. Stier said the Partnership was working with private sector organizations and nonprofits to develop employee satisfaction measures similar to those used in OPM's survey, which federal agencies could use as benchmarks to measure their performance.

Bob Tobias, an adjunct professor at American University who is part of the team reviewing the Defense Department's National Security Personnel System, said the Partnership's rankings gave agencies incentives to improve their policies.

"I believe without this survey, we would not have the increases that were reported today," Tobias said. "And the results are pretty dramatic. Who in this room would not want a 20 percent increase without investing $1 in additional technology or additional skill training?"