Of all the areas the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) measures, federal employees’ views of senior management may be one of the more difficult categories to unpack.

The “leaders lead” category on the FEVS typically results in lower federal employee scores than the category measuring views of immediate supervisors. But the senior driving score for this year’s survey further increased from 61 percent to 63 percent between 2023 and 2024, the Office of Personnel Management reported last month. Looking a little further, employee views of senior management have increased by 4% since 2022.

It’s certainly a positive finding in the government-wide results of the FEVS 2024, but looking deeper into the survey results, there appears to be variation based on how close employees are to their agency headquarters.

One FEVS data dashboardbreakdown of OPM results by each Federal Executive Council (FEB) The geographic region shows that federal employees in the “East” FEB—or those closest to many agency headquarters—have higher scores than those working in areas covered by the West FEB, which are mostly geographically farther from headquarters .

For example, to the FEVS 2024 question about how well managers communicate the organization’s goals, employees within the Eastern FEB boundaries had 71% positive responses. Those in the Western FEB region scored 6% lower, with 65% positive responses. Employees in the South and Central FEB regions scored 67% on the same FEVS question.

The trends in FEVS 2024 are not necessarily new. The Public Service Partnership, in an August report based on 2023 FEVS analysis, found that field office employees scored almost 10% lower than headquarters employees on how satisfied they feel with the recognition they receive they get it from their agencies. A recent Government Accountability Office report also found that there are often a disconnect between the agency’s headquarters and large areas of the country such as Alaska, Hawaii and the US territories.

“Frontline workers often feel overlooked by their management. Often these workers lack access to traditional communication channels, feedback mechanisms, clear professional development opportunities or involvement in key strategic decisions,” the Partnership wrote in its report on frontline federal workforce. “These limitations negatively affect employee engagement and can lead to long-term stagnation of employee experience.”

Senior agency leaders should meet these federal employees where they are, for example by sharing news or other updates through lines of communication that frontline staff already use regularly, the Partnership recommended.

“Leaders can start by putting themselves in the shoes of the frontline workforce,” the Partnership wrote. “Who does that worker trust? When is that worker most likely to engage with the wider workplace system? What motivates that person to stay informed?”

Traci DiMartini, human capital officer at the IRS, said that when she evaluates FEVS results each year, she tries to look at senior management’s scores in a broader context, also comparing them to an agency’s attrition rates.

“There’s that saying that people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad bosses,” DiMartini said during an event hosted by GovExec last month. “I also think they’re leaving unhealthy agencies that don’t have an upbeat, training-oriented approach… That’s another metric that we can look at and just see, how much turnover has there been in a particular office? And is it what I would call “good turnover”, ie people leaving for promotions or new assignments? Or is it a ‘bad business route’ where a lot of people just go and jump ship and don’t stay very long?’

In another 2024 FEVS question, when asked if senior leaders generate high levels of motivation and engagement in the workforce, federal employees in the FEB East region responded positively by 55%. In comparison, those in the South FEB region gave 52% positive responses, while those in the Central and West regions both had 49% positive results.

“Agency leaders, especially when interacting with front-line staff, must demonstrate how the day-to-day work of those employees contributes to the broader efforts of the organization,” the Partnership wrote. “Without explicitly emphasizing the link between strategy and implementation, front-line staff may perceive initiatives launched from headquarters as out of touch with their work.”

Getting leaders to make in-person visits to frontline staff is another way to demonstrate the value of field staff to the agency, the Partnership said. In addition, the organization recommended that agencies incorporate feedback from frontline employees early in planning or policy development.

Leaders at the Transportation Security Administration, for example, are trying to better connect with employees away from the agency’s headquarters by making regular on-site visits. Jason Nelson, TSA’s director of human capital, the Federal News Network said earlier this year, he’s been traveling to various airports around the country to speak personally with TSA personnel to try to clarify the message the agency is listening to.

Michael Shonrock, director of OPM’s Federal Executive Institute, said an additional challenge facing senior agency leaders is trying to manage multiple generations of federal employees at once.

“I purposefully engage with the different generations and ask them what they think could make things better and how we can make the things we do better. What I’m trying to do is weave all of these things together, and then it becomes a more inclusive discussion,” Shonrock said during the Oct. 24 GovExec event. “I think you just have to ask questions, get to know the individuals. You have to be visible and approachable as a senior leader and you have to ask questions.”

Developing and leveraging a leadership development program can be another way to improve senior leaders’ skills and, by extension, federal employees’ perceptions of them.

“You learn early in your career, especially in a leadership role, it’s not about you. It’s about your organization,” Shonrock said. “Helping people understand that this is going to be an investment and could help promote the agency.”

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