Introduction:
The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) is an annual organizational climate survey administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that assesses how employees jointly experience policies, practices, and procedures characteristic of their agency and its leadership. It offers insight into whether, and to what extent, workplace conditions characteristic of successful organizations are present at their organization by tracking employee perceptions in many critical areas including workplace experience, agency leadership, and employee engagement, among other things. At an agency-wide level, FEVS is an important tool for USDA to assess the success of improvement initiatives, identify aspects for workplace improvements, and shape human resource policies and programs.
Additional information about the FEVS can be found on the OPM website.
OPM administered the 2023 FEVS to all non-political, full-time, part-time, permanent, and intermittent Federal employees onboard as of November 2022.
Per the Annual Employee Survey (AES) regulations (5 CFR Part 250; Subpart C - Employee Surveys), USDA is posting our 2023 FEVS results. This brief provides an assessment of the results and highlights our employee engagement improvement strategy.
Interpretation of USDA’s Results:
The 2023 OPM FEVS was conducted at USDA for 8 weeks starting the week of May 8th and closing on July 7th. OPM sent a survey invitation to 84,437 eligible USDA employees, of which, 48,358 employees responded, resulting in a final adjusted response rate of 55.34%. USDA saw a 5% increase in its 2023 FEVS final adjusted response rate when compared to 2022 (50.06%) – outpacing Very Large Agencies and Government-wide percentages by double digits.
Table 1: USDA vs. Government-wide FEVS Response Rates
|
Fiscal Year |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
USDA Response Rate |
64% |
55% |
51% |
46% |
46% |
51% |
55% |
|
Government-wide Response Rate |
46% |
41% |
43% |
44% |
34% |
32% |
39% |
|
Very Large Agencies |
41% |
37% |
39% |
41% |
29% |
35% |
35% |
The 2023 OPM FEVS results are reported across five indices: 1) Employee Engagement, 2) Global Satisfaction, 3) Performance Confidence, 4) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA), and 5) Employee Experience. The Employee Engagement Index consists of three sub-indices: Leaders Lead, Supervisors, and Intrinsic Work Experience. The DEIA index is designed to align with Executive Order 14035: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce and consists of four sub-indices: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. The Employee Experience Index is new to the 2023 OPM FEVS and measures the extent to which employees are engaged by their work and their organization. This index seeks to understand employees' perceptions relative to their experiences at work in response to their interactions with the organization (i.e., job and organizational attachment). This index gives agencies another tool for assessing whether actions to improve engagement have had the intended effect.
When compared to the prior year's results, USDA’s 2023 results indicate an improvement in FEVS scores across all 4 historical indices (Employee Engagement, Global Satisfaction, Performance Confidence, and DEIA). Notably, the 2023 results show a substantial increase in the Global Satisfaction Index (60.71%), which increased by 1.86% compared to the 2022 score (58.85%). The Leaders Lead sub-index (59.05%) continues to be the lowest-scoring Employee Engagement sub-index. However, the results show a significant improvement in the sub-index score, which increased by 3.65% compared to the 2022 score (56.41%). Although the score remains below the 65% positive response rate strength threshold, USDA is trending in the right direction. Conversely, the Supervisors sub-index (82.09%) was the highest-scoring Employee Engagement sub-index.
The following tables show USDA’s 2017 through 2023 FEVS results across all five key indices, including an analysis of how USDA performed compared to Government-wide and Very Large Agencies’ 2023 results.
Table 2: USDA FEVS Index Scores (2017—2023)
|
FEVS Indices |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Global Satisfaction |
67% |
62% |
60% |
64% |
59% |
59% |
61% |
|
Employee Engagement: Overall |
68% |
65% |
65% |
69% |
70% |
70% |
72% |
|
Employee Engagement: Leaders Lead |
54% |
49% |
49% |
55% |
55% |
56% |
59% |
| Employee Engagement: Supervisors | 77% | 77% | 76% | 79% | 82% | 82% | 82% |
|
Employee Engagement: Intrinsic Work Experience |
73% |
71% |
70% |
74% |
73% |
73% |
74% |
|
Performance Confidence |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
86% |
84% |
85% |
|
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA): |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
71% |
73% |
|
DEIA: Diversity |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
75% |
75% |
|
DEIA: Equity |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
67% |
69% |
|
DEIA: Inclusion |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
76% |
77% |
|
DEIA: Accessibility |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
68% |
71% |
| Employee Experience | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 74% |
Table 3: 2023 FEVS Indices Results Compared to Government-wide and Very Large Agencies
|
FEVS Indices |
USDA |
Very Large Agencies |
Government-wide |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Global Satisfaction |
61% |
63% |
64% |
|
Employee Engagement: Overall |
72% |
71% |
72% |
|
Employee Engagement: Leaders Lead |
59% |
61% |
61% |
|
Employee Engagement: Supervisors |
82% |
80% |
80% |
|
Employee Engagement: Intrinsic Work Experience |
74% |
74% |
74% |
|
Performance Confidence |
85% |
83% |
84% |
|
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA): |
73% |
70% |
71% |
|
DEIA: Diversity |
75% |
71% |
71% |
|
DEIA: Equity |
69% |
66% |
67% |
|
DEIA: Inclusion |
77% |
76% |
76% |
|
DEIA: Accessibility |
71% |
69% |
69% |
|
Employee Experience |
74% |
73% |
73% |
The FEVS results, paired with the employee feedback collected throughout various USDA employee engagement events over the past year, provide us with critical employee experience insights that are shaping USDA’s short- and long-term employee engagement strategy and initiatives.
USDA 2023 FEVS Results (XLSX, 15.5 MB)
USDA’s Employee Engagement Improvement Strategy:
USDA’s Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) leads USDA’s FEVS improvement efforts. Work is underway to improve our “Best Places to Work in the Federal Government” rankings on employee satisfaction, engagement, and morale according to the Partnership for Public Service, which supports and informs USDA’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan (PDF, 9.6 MB) and its priority to “Make USDA a Best Place to Work.”
These efforts include ongoing meaningful employee engagements and listening to feedback; analyzing data to identify USDA's strengths and challenges; communicating results of surveys and outcomes of our actions and activities to all levels within the Department; providing guidance for the completion of Agency and Staff Office Employee Engagement Action Plans; and implementing a USDA-wide engagement strategy for maximum organizational effectiveness and enhancements.
OHRM facilitates USDA’s FEVS Champions Community of Practice (CoP), comprised of leadership and representatives who are points of contact from all of USDA’s 29 Mission Areas, agencies, and staff offices. The FEVS Champions CoP’s purpose is to collaborate across the Department, share best practices, and develop strategies to improve our collective FEVS results. Additionally, USDA’s FEVS Champions CoP will continue close collaboration and partnerships with other Departmental groups such as the USDA Employee Resource Groups and the Unions to promote employee engagement, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
USDA leadership is committed to improving employee engagement throughout our agencies and offices and encourages all employees to get involved to “Make USDA a Best Place to Work.”
If you have any questions, please contact the USDA Employee Experience Team (EmployeeExperience@usda.gov).