2020 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government Rankings Released

The Partnership for Public Service and the Boston Consulting Group released their annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings, which rank the best and worst places to work in federal government based on responses to the Office of Personnel Management's annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). This year, the rankings included employee reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic including views on their agency’s ability to communicate effectively, allocate resources, and carry out their mission through the pandemic. 

James-Christian Blockwood, the Partnership’s executive vice president, explained during an event outlining the survey results to agencies and stakeholders, “We want to learn about your formula for success. We want to share with others the specific data, examples and stories that demonstrate how a good employee experience drives your agency’s mission.”

Each agency was given an engagement score based on the answers to three questions on individual job satisfaction, satisfaction with their organization more broadly, and whether the employee would recommend their agency as a good place to work. The Partnership recently changed its methodology from previous years to calculate the 2020 scores.

Among seventeen large agencies, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) took the lead, with an engagement score of 86.6. In midsize agencies, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) ranked first with a score of 89.4. Among small agencies, the Congressional Budget Office led the group with an engagement score of 92.8.

Ranking at the bottom of the large agencies was the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with an engagement score of 61.1. For mid-size agencies, the U.S. Agency for Global Media ranked 25th out of 25 agencies. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) ranked 15th out of 25 and the General Services Administration (GSA) ranked 6th.

Overall, the Partnership found that public sector employee engagement lags behind the private sector, whose overall engagement score is eight points higher. The Partnership obtained comparable data on the private sector from Mercer.

However, public sector employees were roughly 6 percent more likely to say people they work with cooperate to get jobs done. Public sector employees were also more satisfied with their pay and more likely to report that supervisors treat them with respect and listen to what they have to say than in the private sector.

Meanwhile, private sector employees felt more satisfied with the handling of everyday workplace issues during the pandemic. The largest gap between public and private sector scores was on the issue of employee voice. Almost 43 percent of federal employees said results of the FEVS will be used by their leadership to make their organizations better places to work compared to 66 percent of private sector employees.

Further, 82 percent of private sector employees reported having trust and confidence in their supervisors, 6 percent more than in the public sector.

Partnership analysis of the scores explains, “Federal leaders should understand that the government competes with the private sector for the best talent, and they should endeavor to meet or exceed employee engagement levels seen in the best private sector companies. The best private sector organizations understand that increased employee engagement leads to better performance and outcomes, and federal leaders need to follow suit by placing greater emphasis on improving employee engagement and workplace culture.”