Forget the best places to eat, live, or retire. We have the tally of the best places to work throughout the federal government. Compiled every two years and produced by the Partnership for Public Service and American University’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation, the rankings represent what’s billed as “the most comprehensive and authoritative rating of employee engagement in the federal government.”
It may be the only one, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
Organized by large agencies, small agencies, and agency subcomponents, the first and third categories are of most interest to defense fans. Of the 30 largest agencies, the Department of the Army takes top defense honors at 10th. The Department of the Air Force clocks in at 11th followed by DoD itself at 13th. The Department of the Navy (Navy and Marine Corps) is last in the group at 19th. Top honors in this set go to the Nuclear Regulatory Agency. At the very bottom at 30 is the Small Business Administration. The Department of Homeland Security squeaked in at 29th.
The agency subcomponents category breaks down the federal equivalent of the Dow. We see a truer picture, and DoD fares rather well. U.S. Army National Guard units top the defense entities at the 14th spot. The Office of the Secretary of Defense comes in at 77th. The whole U.S. Marine Corps lands at 94th. The lowest defense ranking honor goes to the Defense Contract Management Agency sliding in at 206th. (Would you want to work there?) Top dog in this category is Treasury’s Inspector General while Homeland Security’s Undersecretary for Science and Technology is dead last clinging to 222th. In comparison, the Federal Emergency Management Administration ranks 211th.
Researchers based their rankings on a variety of workplace categories. They looked at training and development, strategic management, pay and benefits, work/life balance, and more. Scores also were broken down by demographic — gender, age, and ethnicity.
The 2007 report is online and can be viewed here. Previous reports were compiled for 2003 and 2005.