Annual government survey shows staff satisfaction with work, desire for additional resources and more leadership support

According to the 2016 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in May, NIH Clinical Center employees enjoy their work but say they need more resources and leadership support. Over 700 CC federal employees participated in the FEVS survey this year. It is a key tool used to measure Federal Government employees' perceptions about their work experiences, organizations and leaders. The survey was sent to full- and part-time permanent federal employees.

The FEVS had some questions that were similar to the CC Employee Survey, administered to employees in February 2016. But the two surveys are very different feedback mechanisms. The FEVS is a broadly written survey sent annually to all federal employees. The CC Employee Survey was written specifically for CC staff in Building 10 and compared its results to U.S. hospital employees and other U.S. employees.

Compared to the 2015 survey results, this year's survey showed a 6% improvement in how satisfied CC employees are with their pay. In addition, 9% more participants than last year believe that the CC has prepared employees for potential security threats. Since the 2015 survey, there have been areas in which employee satisfaction decreased by 5% or more. These areas include: the workforce has the job-relevant knowledge and skills necessary to accomplish organizational goals, high level of respect for the organization's senior leaders, sufficient resources to get the job done and employees are protected from health and safety hazards on the job.

Less than half of CC employees who responded to the survey believe that the results will be used to make their agency a better place to work, similar to the results of the CC Employee Survey. In an effort to mitigate this concern, Dr. John I. Gallin, director of the NIH CC, will share the results with the new Chief Executive Officer, expected to be announced and in position in 2017, to assist in developing strategic and operational planning. In addition, the CC's Office of Workforce Management and Development will provide each CC department head with a copy of their individual survey results to help encourage discussions and action.