Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS)

Starting in June 2024, over 27% of Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia (PSA) employees participated in the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). This annual survey measures federal employee satisfaction and experiences through 90 core questions, with additional questionnaire items focusing on issues like telework.  

Since its development in the early 2000s, FEVS has evolved to reflect changing workplace conditions and new government priorities. The 2022 update incorporated topics such as resilience, innovation, and participatory decision making, which have gained importance in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. OPM also developed indices – covering employee engagement, employee experience, global satisfaction, personal confidence, and DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility) – to gauge aspects of employee perspectives.

In the 2024 FEVS, PSA employees’ positive responses were on par with or exceeded those from 2023 for about 33% of the core questions. Notably, 18% of these gains reflected improvements in experiences with supervisors. PSA responses also surpassed government-wide averages on roughly 88% of questions, with 75 items (84%) identified as strengths, defined by OPM as having a 65% or higher positive response rate.

PSA employees reported strong alignment with agency goals (95%), clear understanding of their unit's goals (90%), and high confidence in the agency’s success at achieving its mission (90%). Additional strengths include a high sense of accountability (96%), satisfaction with meeting customer needs (93%), and commitment to contributing to the common good. Supervisors were rated positively for listening to employees' needs (85%), treating them with respect (91%), and supporting work-life balance (88%). Furthermore, employees expressed confidence in cybersecurity protection (91%).  

According to OPM, items with a 35% or higher negative response rate are considered challenges. While none of PSA's responses met this threshold, two areas for improvement emerged: communication across workgroups (23%) and employee involvement in work-related decisions (22%). In response, PSA has prioritized enhancing communication both horizontally and vertically, providing monthly project updates, and involving all employees in strategic planning training. To further address concerns, such as recognizing performance improvements and preventing favoritism, the agency is expanding training on hiring processes and feedback collection on human capital issues.  

In keeping with PSA’s commitment to continuous improvement, the agency has reviewed declines in certain satisfaction metrics. These include adaptability to changing priorities (78%, down from 83%), managing work disruptions (76%, down from 83%), and consistently looking for ways to enhance customer service (69%, down from 79%). These trends suggest a need for renewed focus on change management, and PSA plans to monitor responses and address identified issues moving forward.  

OPM provides data across several indices. PSA’s 2024 performance exceeded government-wide results across on all indices except one, though internal improvements were seen only in the DEIA: Accessibility category. Key index results for PSA in 2024 include:

While PSA's 2024 FEVS responses included positive indicators, overall improvements remain a priority. Employees continue to face challenges related to the pandemic, return-to-work adjustments, and management transitions. To address these, PSA is enhancing communication across all organizational levels and strengthening succession planning as part of change management. We recognize that employee satisfaction and feedback are integral to our mission, and we remain committed to supporting our team as they serve the federal sector, the public, and our customers. Looking ahead, PSA will focus on fulfilling its mission while prioritizing employee health, safety, and experience.