For the second time in the past 2 years, the Surface Transportation Board again was ranked #1 among small federal agencies by the Partnership for Public Service (PPS) in the 2010 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings released on September 1, 2010, in Washington, D.C.
Of the federal agencies considered "small" (those independent agencies with at least 100, but fewer than 2,000, full-time, permanent employees) by the PPS in its fifth annual ranking, the Board was ranked #1 according to an overall index score measuring the performance of agencies and agency subcomponents related to employee satisfaction and commitment. Among 34 small agencies, the STB achieved a top index score of 86.8 (up from its 2009 score of 80.4, and higher than the scores achieved by any other agency, small or large).
The "Best Places to Work" rankings, compiled by the PPS and The American University's Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation (AU), offers a comprehensive assessment of federal employee satisfaction. To develop the 2010 rankings, PPS and AU evaluated federal employee satisfaction among 290 federal agencies and subcomponents representing more than 263,000 federal civil servants. Agencies were ranked using 10 workplace environment indices, including employee skills-mission match, strategic management, teamwork, effective leadership, performance-based rewards and advancement, training and development, support for diversity, family-friendly culture, pay and benefits, and work-life balance. The 2010 rankings were based on a U.S. Office of Personnel Management Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, undertaken in February-March 2009 and issued in July 2010.
"This award is a testament to every Board employee," said STB Chairman Daniel R. Elliott III. "They should be proud of their dedication and hard work. It is also to their credit that they have created and nurtured a culture of collegiality in which innovation is treasured and rewarded."
In the past year, Chairman Elliott has implemented more flexible work schedules, established weekly Chairman's Open-Door Hours and instituted "Genius Awards" to recognize employees who come up with good ideas.
The STB is an economic regulatory and adjudicatory agency charged by Congress with, among other things, resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad restructuring transactions. The agency is decisionally independent, although it is administratively affiliated with the U.S. Department of Transportation. To learn about career opportunities at the Board in the future, visit our Website, at http://www.stb.dot.gov, or USAJOBSŪ, at http://www.usajobs.com/ . The full PPS "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government" report can be viewed via http://ourpublicservice.org/OPS/pressroom/releases/release_100901_bptw.shtml .
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