If you’re not a job seeker or a public employee, why should you care about the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government?
Based on the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) and produced by the Partnership for Public Service and the Boston Consulting Group, the rankings rate government agencies on a variety of factors.
But what does it mean for the average taxpayer? “The public deserves great government, and Best Places offers a road map for how to get there,” said Max Stier, the partnership’s president and CEO.
This project is being published in collaboration with the Partnership for Public Service and Boston Consulting Group, which together produce the annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings. The rankings are based on the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey conducted by the Office of Personnel Management and 14 other agencies’ independent surveys.
Surveys make one thing clear: “Current leadership and mission are the two biggest drivers of Best Places scores,” according to Stier. Election years have little impact on current scores, which were based on last year’s data.
Stier added, “I hope the results will be used by the president and by Congress to hold leaders accountable for their stewardship of the federal workforce.”
There’s much to be done on that front.
Take Congress, for example, essentially Uncle Sam’s board of directors. It is the prime example of an institution that needs to be held accountable for the government’s performance. Capitol Hill’s repeated inability to pass budgets on time severely hampers the ability of agencies to plan, prepare and perform.
The “most important reason” government doesn’t perform better, Stier said, is leaders “have not prioritized the investments necessary to improve the performance over time. And in general, those are people issues.
“We can and should do better,” he added, “and the public would benefit enormously if leaders truly prioritized the health of the organizations they run.”
— Joe Davidson
Large (15,000 or more employees)
- Founded: 1958
- Employees: 18,000 full- and part-time; 35,000 contractors
- Head of agency: Bill Nelson
- More about this ranking
This is the 12th year NASA placed No. 1 in this category, and the accomplishments keep coming: Frank Rubio became the first American astronaut to spend more than a year in space, samples returned from an asteroid for examination, and the agency established multiple ways of sharing climate data and fostered relationships with international partners. Four astronauts are set to travel back to the moon on the Artemis II mission. “We operate as a crew,” said Administrator Bill Nelson last year about his immediate team, Col. Pam Melroy and Bob Cabana, and the rest of NASA employees. “We have to depend on each other. I’m the fellow responsible, but I give credit to them.”
Midsize (1,000-14,999 employees)
With a 96 percent retention rate and a frequent spot in the top five of the annual survey, GAO seems to practice the good management techniques it promotes through its multiple reports and reviews. Subjects range in scope and subject matter, from modernizing the Coast Guard air fleets for search and rescue missions to analyzing the role of the Federal Home Loan Banks during the time Silicon Valley Bank failed. The agency also reviews federal rulemaking in accordance with the Congressional Review Act. Its leader, Gene Dodaro, is celebrating his 50th year at the agency, the last 15 years as the comptroller.
Small agencies (100-1,000 employees)
This is the first time the NIGC is in the top 10. Regulating over 500 gambling businesses, the NIGC offers everything from classes about cybersecurity to financial literacy to help businesses manage their books better. The goal is to to teach financial and legal management while ensuring tribes are the primary beneficiaries of the revenue the businesses bring in ($40.9 billion in gross revenue in fiscal year 2023).
Subcomponents
John Hanley and his team have been allocating funds from the sale of real estate owned by the Sears company to ensure that money went toward employee pensions. With private companies and government programs like the American Rescue Plan keeping the PBGC busy, it has been more important than ever for Hanley to divide the work equitably. “I want to make certain that we don’t have people who end up taking too much singular responsibility on a matter,” he said.
