JSC leads federal government in innovation
2016-04-19
Johnson Space Center ranked first in innovation in the 2015 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). The first-place ranking was against 318 federal agency subcomponents. Three specific questions were used to measure innovation:
JSC’s innovation index jumped to 80.4 percent between 2014 and 2015, an increase of 2.2 percentage points—quite a jump given the sample size.
“We’re proud that this survey shows the strong culture of innovation at JSC,” said Brady Pyle, director of Human Resources (HR) at JSC. “It’s a sign that more of our employees are engaged and involved. At the same time, we recognize that there is room for improvement (for nearly 20 percent of our team).”
The goal of JSC 2.0 is to advance human spaceflight by being lean, agile and adaptive to change. Pyle said JSC’s top ranking is an indication of the successful emphasis that JSC Director Ellen Ochoa and senior leadership have placed on 2.0 change efforts.
The survey is a powerful tool for employees to influence change at NASA by providing real feedback on issues that matter most for job satisfaction and engagement. JSC’s HR Office analyzes the results of several different indices each year and has made specific and positive changes based on the FEVS results.
In recent years, trend data clearly indicated a need for enhancing transparency and fairness in career-development opportunities. In response, JSC designed numerous initiatives to address these concerns. For example, in 2014, the Transparent Opportunities Pilot (TOP) explored options for making career opportunities such as rotations, reassignments and project team participation more widely known and available to all employees. More than 23 percent of JSC employees participated in the pilot, and the lessons learned are now being implemented across the center.
Building on the success of TOP, the NASA Employee Talent Search (NETS) tool was deployed in February 2015 to improve the effectiveness of JSC’s internal placement processes through greater transparency, expanded access and improved responsiveness. JSC employees can search and apply for a variety of career-building opportunities that support mission and organization needs.
“Encouraging innovation motivates us to bring our best ideas to work every day,” said Debbie Denton-Misfeldt, associate director of HR. “The JSC workforce is excited by challenges, which present opportunities for increasing employee engagement. When we are engaged, productivity increases and overall commitment to the mission increases.”
As an agency, NASA ranked first as the best place to work in the federal government among large agencies (greater than 15,000 employees) for the fourth year in a row. To find out more about JSC’s results, you can visit the FEVS website and view the various indices for agencies and subcomponents.
NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said, “Those of us who work at NASA know it’s a great place to work. We are the world leader in space exploration and cutting-edge science missions and contribute to the economic vitality of our great nation. We challenge our employees to carry out missions that benefit humankind. What job could be better than that?”
The Office of Personnel Management administered the FEVS to more than 421,000 government employees in 2015. The 2016 survey will open in early May and run through mid-June, so all civil servants are highly encouraged to participate.
Michelle Fraser-Page
NASA Johnson Space Center
- I feel encouraged to come up with new and better ways of doing things.
- I am constantly looking for ways to do my job better.
- Creativity and innovation are rewarded.
JSC’s innovation index jumped to 80.4 percent between 2014 and 2015, an increase of 2.2 percentage points—quite a jump given the sample size.
“We’re proud that this survey shows the strong culture of innovation at JSC,” said Brady Pyle, director of Human Resources (HR) at JSC. “It’s a sign that more of our employees are engaged and involved. At the same time, we recognize that there is room for improvement (for nearly 20 percent of our team).”
The goal of JSC 2.0 is to advance human spaceflight by being lean, agile and adaptive to change. Pyle said JSC’s top ranking is an indication of the successful emphasis that JSC Director Ellen Ochoa and senior leadership have placed on 2.0 change efforts.
The survey is a powerful tool for employees to influence change at NASA by providing real feedback on issues that matter most for job satisfaction and engagement. JSC’s HR Office analyzes the results of several different indices each year and has made specific and positive changes based on the FEVS results.
In recent years, trend data clearly indicated a need for enhancing transparency and fairness in career-development opportunities. In response, JSC designed numerous initiatives to address these concerns. For example, in 2014, the Transparent Opportunities Pilot (TOP) explored options for making career opportunities such as rotations, reassignments and project team participation more widely known and available to all employees. More than 23 percent of JSC employees participated in the pilot, and the lessons learned are now being implemented across the center.
Building on the success of TOP, the NASA Employee Talent Search (NETS) tool was deployed in February 2015 to improve the effectiveness of JSC’s internal placement processes through greater transparency, expanded access and improved responsiveness. JSC employees can search and apply for a variety of career-building opportunities that support mission and organization needs.
“Encouraging innovation motivates us to bring our best ideas to work every day,” said Debbie Denton-Misfeldt, associate director of HR. “The JSC workforce is excited by challenges, which present opportunities for increasing employee engagement. When we are engaged, productivity increases and overall commitment to the mission increases.”
As an agency, NASA ranked first as the best place to work in the federal government among large agencies (greater than 15,000 employees) for the fourth year in a row. To find out more about JSC’s results, you can visit the FEVS website and view the various indices for agencies and subcomponents.
NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said, “Those of us who work at NASA know it’s a great place to work. We are the world leader in space exploration and cutting-edge science missions and contribute to the economic vitality of our great nation. We challenge our employees to carry out missions that benefit humankind. What job could be better than that?”
The Office of Personnel Management administered the FEVS to more than 421,000 government employees in 2015. The 2016 survey will open in early May and run through mid-June, so all civil servants are highly encouraged to participate.
Michelle Fraser-Page
NASA Johnson Space Center