employee engagement

Each year, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) distributes an employee satisfaction survey to millions of federal employees. It's called the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). The average federal response rate is about 40%.

In a single year, my communication efforts significantly contributed to raising the organization's survey response rate to above 80%.

• My first step: Create a dynamic communication plan. The plan kept our team members and senior leaders informed, updated, and aware of our goals and objectives.

• I created an FEVS SharePoint page to amplify our messaging and share additional content, like unique FEVS email signature blocks, desktop backgrounds, how-to guides, and more.

• During the month leading up to the survey, I developed messaging that stressed the importance of employee feedback. Instead of providing the standard, OPM messaging, I created an information graphic that highlighted the programs and activities our organization adopted based on employee responses to previous surveys. We titled the graphic, "We Hear You." The graphic was organized into three of areas that employees told us were most important to them: communication, training, and recognition.

• We created a communication theme for each month-long survey. One year, the theme was sports-related ("When it Comes Out, Knock it Out"). The next year, the theme was racing ("Rev up for EVS! Accelerate your workplace!").

• I created several short, engaging videos to support our messaging. One video explained how the survey was confidential. Another video explained confusing survey terminology. And a third video showed that our leaders wanted and valued their opinions.

• That first year, our Agency -- and the other 10 Bureaus and Offices -- took notice of our communication efforts. Our Office had surpassed their Bureau and Office response rates by 20% to 50%.

• With that in mind, the next year we added a twist: we turned the FEVS into a competition. "It's us against them." With the help of two or three Bureau and Office administrators, we posted some fun, back-and-forth challenges.

• Eventually, the other Bureaus and Offices (and our lead agency) started following our lead. And by the fourth year, our initial efforts had raised the agency's FEVS response rate to well above 70%.