Under New Secretary, VA Employee Morale Improves In Recent Study

Recent data show that VA employee retention rates are better than comparable private-sector rates. Publicly reported employee-turnover rates in health care average between 20 to 30 percent…

Staff Report

In October the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that results from a recent VA job satisfaction survey showed a general trend of improving employee morale.

VA issued the 2018 All Employee Survey (AES) in June to its workforce of more than 375,000 employees, and 235,884 employees, or 62 percent, completed the assessment, surpassing the national response rate goal of 60 percent for this voluntary workplace survey.

The survey indicated progress in a number of key areas: satisfaction with one’s job (+8.8 percent); satisfaction with VA (+11.1 percent); and willingness to recommend VA as a good place to work (+10.9 percent).

Employees also reported seeing the results of employee surveys more often (+33.2 percent from 2014 to 2018), and employees reported improvements were being made based on survey results (+53.7 percent). Employees were also more likely to respond positively to items related to supervisor goal setting (+25.6 percent) and supervisor addressing employee concerns (+11.8 percent).

This improved employee experience relates directly to employee retention. Recent data show that VA employee retention rates are better than comparable private-sector rates. Publicly reported employee-turnover rates in health care average between 20 to 30 percent. VA’s employee-turnover rates average 9 percent.

When asked in this year’s survey what they care most about, VA employees listed the following areas as important ongoing focal areas for the department: having a civil and respectful work environment, having their concerns addressed by supervisors and having their talents used well in the workplace.

New VA Secretary Robert Wilkie called the results positive, saying he remains committed to improving employee engagement, a critical precursor for strong customer service, one of his key priorities.