Management Actions from the Federal Employee Viewpoint (FEVS) Survey

CA IB-2015-012
Information Bulletin

July 2, 2015

In Reply Refer To:
1400-711 (CA910) P

EMS TRANSMISSION: 7/6/15
Information Bulletin No. CA-2015-012

To:                   All Employees

From:               State Director

Subject:           Management Actions from the Federal Employee Viewpoint (FEVS) Survey
                         Results

The purpose of this Information Bulletin is to update all BLM California employees regarding the actions California has taken this past year as a result of the 2014 FEVS results; and provide information where employees can gain further assistance.

Background - During the November 2014 State Leadership Team meeting, members went through the results of the most recent (2014) FEVS and discussed employee responses to the listening sessions conducted by each office.  An outcome was the development of an FEVS Team to look deeper into three areas of potential improvement.  Those areas were training in Employee Performance Appraisal Plan (EPAP) creation, initiation, and implementation; training in employee competitiveness in the hiring process; and filling vacancies.  The FEVS Team was comprised of Rich Burns, Ukiah Field Manager; Joy Gipson-Taylor, EEO Manager; Christine Foley, Supervisor for Workforce Relations; Yolande Petty, Employee Development Specialist; Tom Zale, El Centro Field Manager; Elaine Downing, NFFE Union President; Jennifer Mata, Redding Field Manager; Gabriel Garcia, Bakersfield Field Manager; and Martha Maciel, DSD Communications.  The FEVS Team’s mission was to create as well as implement an action plan and start moving on “closing the gaps” on the identified issues of concern.

Actions Taken

Filling of Vacancies – One of the first outcomes of the FEVS was accomplished by Human Resources (HR). To meet the “Filling of Vacancies” issue, HR implemented the process of emailing links to advertised BLM vacancies to all BLM California employees.  This helped by letting people know of potential job opportunities and where those jobs were located.  Human Resources will continue this process of keeping employees aware of job opportunities.

Workshops and Information Sources – Another of the outcomes is the implementation of an EEO/HR communications workshop entitled Crucial Conversations.  The first of which was held in the Ukiah Field Office.  This two-day course is designed to teach skills for speaking persuasively and not abrasively, fostering teamwork and better decision making through communication, building communicative ways to accept new and changing ideas, and providing techniques to resolve individual and group disagreements.  Field Offices, Divisions and Branches may request this workshop through the Employee Development Specialist. 

Also, an enhancement was added to the HR Sharepoint site to inform employees about opportunities for personal skill building.  Currently within the Site’s “Employee Development Corner” is a resource for developing effective interview skills. 

Training for Employees on Being Competitive in the Hiring Process – Team members were tasked to identify training sources, and find examples of successful resumes.  At present, six websites were identified along with multiple opportunities for training in DOI Learn on building a good resume, and how to handle oneself in an interview.  Online sources for resume and interview opportunities are:

Another opportunity for helping employees to become more competitive includes EEO/HR workshops on the process for filling vacant positions, writing good resumes, and how to conduct a good job interview.  These workshops will be held at all BLM California offices over the next few years.

EPAPs – Training in EPAPs includes managers and employees. Specific to managers, HR is to offer a comprehensive course this fiscal year for creating meaningful EPAP elements and how to effectively evaluate employees through the EPAP process.  Employees interested in obtaining further information about EPAPS are encouraged to access DOI Learn.  A three hour instructor led course is available through DOI Learn for all employees titled DOI Performance Management System - Employees.  The course provides an overview of the purpose; roles and responsibilities; and procedural requirements of the DOI performance management system. EPAP training will also be included in the EEO/HR workshops. 

Next Steps – The latest FEVS has recently been released, I want to encourage all employees who received notice and access to the survey questionnaire to participate.  Completing the FEVS is an opportunity for employees to collectively let management know where attention needs to be focused to make our workplace better, desirable, responsive, and welcoming to all employees.

I also want to encourage management to continue to share information about FEVS implementation regularly at All Employee meetings.  In addition, all managers are encouraged to continue the communications of requesting feedback from employees on further FEVS actions to consider in the future.

Successes have been made and I want to keep the positive accomplishments going.  Thanks too to everyone who has already participated in the recent survey, listening sessions, and/or have taken the time to attend the training and workshops being offered.  Questions regarding this IB can be directed to Rich Burns, Ukiah Field Manager, at (707) 468-4070 or via email at rburns@blm.gov.
 

Signed by:                                                                                                      
Joe Stout                                                                                                        
Associate State Director                                                                                

Authenticated by:
Richard A. Erickson
Records Management

Office

California State Office

Fiscal Year

2015