The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) was named the “2017 Most Improved Among Federal Inspectors General” by the Partnership for Public Service.
The award was based on the results of the annual Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Federal Viewpoint (FedView) Survey. Max Stier, the founder and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, presented the award to the DoD OIG during a special presentation held January 29 at the Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia.
In addition, Stier noted that the FedView Survey showed that the DoD OIG was not only the most improved Inspector General office, it was also the most improved component of the DoD.
The Partnership for Public Service is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that strives for a more effective government for the American people by working to promote employee engagement across the federal government. Each year their agency honors the top and the most-improved federal agencies in their annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings.
Prior to the award presentation, Stier spoke to an audience of OIG senior leaders and the OIG Employee Engagement Council about what he identified as key takeaways from the survey results.
“It’s really important to understand that this is not about happy employees,” said Stier. “It’s about whether your employees are engaged; whether they’re going to give their discretionary energy to achieve the goals, because that is the most fundamental asset you have.”
Stier also described how recent data shows higher employee engagement leads to higher productivity, higher customer satisfaction, and less absenteeism, adding that higher employee engagement begins with having good leadership.
Although Stier’s organization ranks federal agencies, he suggested that practices in the private sector should also be considered.
“If you only compare yourself to government, you are not operating in the world we are in today, because the private sector is doing much better than the government in engaging its workforce,” he said.
Stier told the OIG that there is room for continued growth, and he challenged the OIG not to rest on its laurels.
“You need to be proud of the change that’s occurred, but then you also need to be looking forward to the change that still needs to occur,” he said. “Sitting still is falling back; you have to keep moving forward.”
DoD OIG Principal Deputy Inspector General Glenn Fine concurred, “These survey results indicate we are moving in the right direction – in a very significant way – and we need to keep moving in that direction,” PDIG Fine said.
He said the results of the FedView survey reflect the efforts of many employees and managers throughout the OIG, who have worked hard to improve OIG processes, communication, employee engagement, and other areas important to the OIG mission.