NWS Surveys
Federal Viewpoint Survey (FEVS)
The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), run by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), captures employee satisfaction across governmental agencies and offices. The FEVS is released annually and results are reported through OPM’s Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework (HCAAF) indices: Leadership and Knowledge Management, Results-Oriented Performance Culture, Talent Management, and Job Satisfaction, as well as the Global Satisfaction, Employee Engagement, and New Inclusion Quotient indices.
The survey “measures employee’s perceptions of whether and to what extent, conditions characterizing successful organizations are present in agencies.” Agency-specific FEVS results show percentages of respondents’ negative, positive, or neutral perceptions of NWS practices. Reporting is generally at the Region, Center, Portfolio Office, Assistant Administrator for Weather Services, Office of Planning & Programming for Service Delivery, and the Office of Chief Operating Officer levels.
NWS FEVS results are used to:
Support ongoing priorities, including the President’s Management Agenda;
compare results with those of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce, and the Federal Government;
Identify development and improvement strategies, and evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies (Organizational Health);
Allow NWS and its organizational units to assess successes, areas of concern, and trends by comparing earlier data with the most recent results; and
Guide future policies and/or initiatives.
[NEW] 2023 NWS FEVS RESULTS
Local Assessment Tools
An office culture survey was developed by the Office of Organizational Excellence (OOE) to help you gauge the office health/culture environment.
Note, if an office has or plans to conduct an Office Culture Survey this assessment will qualify given the "Upward Assessment” questions are incorporated; doing so will avoid survey fatigue and redundancy.
To ensure we work toward achieving these goals and address this workforce-led recommendation in a consistent manner across the organization, NWS managers and supervisors are now required to conduct a formal or informal upward review every three years with their office and share the results upward two levels in their supervisory chain.
Ways to fulfill this requirement include conducting:
A formal 360° Feedback Assessment (through vendors such as the Center for Creative Leadership, OPM, The Training Connection, or various professional development programs (NOAA LCDP)).
An informal “Upward” Assessment, in collaboration with the office NWSEO steward, using this template & survey. Note, if an office plans to conduct an Office Culture Survey, this updated assessment (v2.0) will qualify given the "Upward Assessment” questions are incorporated; doing so will avoid survey fatigue and redundancy.
POCs: Lisa.Schmit@noaa.gov, Lisa.Love@noaa.gov, Katie.Collins.Garrett@noaa.gov
As we approach the end of year performance review process, one tool that may be useful to get a more well-rounded gauge of how an employee is doing and also provide guidance and insight into their future career development is a peer assessment. These types of assessments can be conducted anonymously and need to be developed in conjunction with your local NWSEO representatives.
These interviews are utilized in organizations across the US as a means to better understand the employee experience and respond to workforce needs. These interviews are conducted between the supervisor and employee with a focus on the workplace environment and job satisfaction. An employee or supervisor can request a Stay Interview. The end goal is to build trust, foster engagement, improve morale, allow the workforce to feel heard and valued, and ultimately help retain employees.
Exit Surveys
It is your responsibility as a manager/supervisor to offer every employee that departs from your office an opportunity to provide input on their experience through one of the following:
[For employees leaving the NWS/NOAA] – this standardized NOAA Exit Survey
[For employees leaving your office but staying within NOAA/NWS] – this standardized NWS Exit Survey for internal position moves
Information from these surveys will allow both NOAA and NWS to gather valuable information on why employees leave and how to improve working conditions for future retention.
Organizational Health Index (OHI) Survey
The Organizational Health Index (OHI) is a tool used to measure the organizational health of the NWS. Administered by McKinsey, it gives insight into not only how regions, offices and portfolios are doing in comparison to the Weather Service as a whole, but allows us to benchmark the Weather Service against other public sector organizations; roughly 1,900 surveys are administered with 5+ million responses. The survey is conducted every 3 years to ensure maximum time for organizational health changes to take place, given that they take time. To obtain your latest local office results, please reach out to your management team or contact Lara.Pagano@noaa.gov.
