REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Army Materiel Command employees are leading the way for Army civilians in the Federal Employees Viewpoint Survey.

With only a week left until the survey ends, participation from three AMC organizations are trending higher than the Army’s 50% participation goal, said Tom Dimitri, AMC G-1’s chief of Capabilities, Operations and Analysis Division. In addition, five AMC organizations are projecting higher participation than in 2019.

The FEVS is an annual survey designed to indicate employee trends throughout the federal workforce. It is administered by the Office of Personnel Management. The deadline for civilian participation is Oct. 27.

“FEVS helps support the extraordinary work being done by federal employees and improve our service to the warfighter and the American people,” said Lisha Adams, executive deputy to AMC’s commanding general, in an email to AMC employees. “We need employee perspective to accurately measure the engagement level of the workforce and understand what organizational factors are impacting readiness.”

Currently, AMC Headquarters and two of its major subordinate commands – Army Contracting Command and Security Assistance Command – are reporting employee participation that is trending higher than the Army’s participation goal, with AMC HQ coming in at 38%, ACC at 45% and USASAC at 39%. If participation rates continue, the three organizations should surpass the Army’s 50% participation goal by Oct. 27, Dimitri said.

ACC and USASAC as well as Communications-Electronics Command, Financial Management Command and Army Medical Logistics Command are all reporting higher participation levels than last year. In all, AMC has 10 major subordinate commands with about 100,000 federal civilians eligible to participate in the survey.

This year’s survey questions reflect the unique workplace challenges of 2020, including a section on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted employee work loads and wellbeing. The survey theme is “Empowering Employees. Inspiring Change.”

“This is an opportunity for employees to confidentially voice their opinion about their work, organization and leaders. The information is incredibly important in identifying areas of strength and opportunities for improvement across AMC,” Adams said.

Employees are allotted time during their work day to complete the survey, which takes about 15 minutes.

In support of the AMC global enterprise, Headquarters G-1 employees have provided FEVS data and analysis to subordinate organizations so “they can see where they are succeeding and where they can improve,” said AMC’s deputy chief of staff, G-1 (Personnel) Max Wyche.

“The solutions to many of the challenges our commanders and directors face require them to tailor programs and procedures to local conditions. So we've empowered our subordinate organization leaders with the authorities they need to address recruitment and retention challenges and build effective work/life balance programs.”

Results of the survey are reviewed by AMC leaders, and actions are taken in areas identified for improvement.

“Last year’s survey identified actions we needed to take to improve hiring practices and awards,” Adams said. “The Army has used input from previous FEVS and other appropriate measurement tools to make several changes, such as improvements in the supervisor training course, a focus on Individual Development Plans, additional modules in the DPMAP training, and flexibility in competitive professional development.”

The larger the number of survey participants, the better information the Army and AMC leaders have to determine opportunities for improvement. The FEVS provides data for consideration when developing employee programs and policies. This year’s addition of COVID-19 questions provide data to inform Army policy and guidance on pandemic response, teleworking and other issues, and to assess mission continuity and delivery of critical services during a pandemic.

“I encourage our team to be a catalyst for change through participation in the FEVS. In the end, improving employee engagement and addressing any issues that could negatively impact the organization will pay huge dividends for Army readiness,” Adams said.

As in year’s past, this year’s survey was emailed to employees from OPM (evar@opm.gov) with a unique link to take the FEVS. Survey questions solicit feedback on critical work-life areas that drive employee engagement, satisfaction and retention.

AMC employees with questions about the FEVS, should contact Charmaine Harrington at Charmaine.b.harrington.civ@mail.mil. Technical issues can be directed to evar@opm.gov. For additional information on the 2020 FEVS, visit the OPM website at https://www.opm.gov/fevs or watch the FEVS video at: https://www.dvidshub.net/video/766354/2020-army-fevs-participation-campaign.