Board to Undergo Safety Culture Assessment of Itself
Mike Nartker
WC Monitor
10/17/2014
Employee dissatisfaction at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has hit a four-year low, according to the results of the 2014 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, which the DNFSB posted on its website this week. The survey found a drop in positive responses from Board employees in four key areas compared to last year—leadership and knowledge (48 percent compared to 54 percent in 2013); results-oriented performance (46 percent compared to 48 percent in 2013); talent management (50 percent compared to 53 percent in 2013); and job satisfaction (50 percent compared to 54 percent in 2013). According to a white paper outlining the results of this year’s survey, DNFSB employees have reported a steady drop in positive responses in the four areas since 2011.This year’s survey was conducted by the Office of Personnel Management, and out of 101 Board employees eligible to participate, 74 completed the survey.
In language roughly similar to that used to explain last year’s poor survey results, the Board attributed the results of this year’s survey, in part, to what it called “a period of significant change” employees are experiencing. “Some changes have been dictated by external forces and some have been directed from within. Several of the most important internal changes have come as a result of employee feedback from previous surveys. Change of this magnitude is difficult to manage under the best of circumstances; however, when combined with several years of minimal or no pay increases, cutbacks in awards, reductions in employee benefits, and general budgetary uncertainty, it creates the perfect storm to magnify employee discontent,” the Board said.
Survey Finds Sharp Drop in Positive Responses Concerning Senior Leadership
Among the survey’s findings is a sharp drop in positive responses to questions concerning the Board’s leadership. Only about 15 percent of survey respondents answered positively when asked, “How satisfied are you with the policies and practices of your senior leaders?”, compared to approximately 30 percent last year. Only about 23 percent responded positively to the statement, “I have a high level of respect for my organization’s senior leaders,” compared with approximately 44 percent last year. And only about 32 percent of survey respondents responded positively this year to the statement, “My organization’s senior leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity,” compared to almost 65 percent in last year’s survey.
Board Sees Some ‘Signs of Progress’ in New Survey Results
While describing this year’s survey results as “disappointing,” the Board sought to stress what it described as “signs of progress” seen in response to actions taken over the past year to address employee morale concerns. “First, despite the overall dissatisfaction expressed in the survey, Board employees still like the work they do and feel that it is important (positive responses to these items were 70 percent or higher),” the Board’s white paper says. “In addition, employee satisfaction with their immediate supervisors is trending upward. More significantly, the Board noted marked improvement in key questions related to performance management,” the white paper says, adding, “Over the last 3 years, new performance systems were implemented to address persistent employee concerns about accountability for work, dealing with poor performers, and ensuring differences in performance were recognized in a meaningful way. The 2014 survey results show that the Board’s efforts to address performance management issues are finally beginning to bear fruit.”
Despite Morale Issues, Staff Doing ‘A Great Job,’ Chairman Says
DNFSB Chairman Peter Winokur told WC Monitor this week that, to learn more about employees’ concerns, the Board has brought on the Logistics Management Institute to conduct focus groups and the Board’s new Inspector General will be conducting a “fairly extensive” safety culture and climate assessment of the DNFSB. “So we’re putting a lot into trying to understand why, despite the fact that I formed an employee committee, and despite the fact that we felt we were making progress in some areas, we’re still seeing these concerns,” Winokur said, adding that he expects to have the results from the Logistics Management Institute’s efforts by the end of this year, with the safety culture assessment expected to be a longer-term project. “Those questions on the survey don’t really pinpoint exactly where the problem might be,” Winokur said. “I believe that we do need these focus groups. I believe we need a much more in-depth, detailed, study than what that employee viewpoint survey says. There’s no question there’s a major problem here that needs to be addressed, but we definitely need specifics to understand what’s going on.”
Winokur emphasized the DNFSB is doing “a great job executing its mission” despite employee morale issues. “I think generally across the complex, when you look at the communications the Board has with the Department of Energy, this staff is doing a great job. So they’re professional. Whether morale is high or low, they’re getting the job done and I’m very confident of that and that’s the most important thing to me,” he said. “This staff is getting the job done. I hope anybody can objectively look at that and see that we are doing our work and doing it pretty dang effectively throughout the complex. These issues are issues we can address. … There’ve always been management challenges, and this is the latest round of management challenges we need to deal with.”
Results Didn’t Impact Retirement Plans, Chairman Says
Winokur also denied speculation that the results of this year’s employee survey played a role in his decision to not seek re-nomination to the Board. “I’ve been looking at retiring for a fairly long time. I’ve worked for 46 years. I think I’ve earned the right to retire,” Winokur said. “My term is over on Oct. 18. That was my commitment to the Board. So here I am, and really it’s kind of an important point with my term being over, I really have to give a signal to people about whether or not I want to continue on the Board for another five years or I’m going to leave the Board. And it’s been my thought for quite a long period of time that it was time for me to step down and retire.”
