Leveraging the Annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey for Reflection and Change

USAID/Senegal harnessed the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) as a powerful tool to generate organizational and cultural change. The intentional and highly consultative process prioritized people, who are the most important resource in delivering on our development objectives. Demonstrating trust in people's perspectives, ideas, and capabilities leads to higher job satisfaction, a healthier and more resilient organization, and ultimately, better development outcomes. The Mission deliberately designed the process to strengthen relationships and empower all levels of employees to communicate and problem-solve, not to move the FEVS scores. 

As an immediate result of the FEVS survey analysis, mini-retreat meetings and a follow-up series of pause and reflect discussions, the Mission identified two major themes, including performance management and the need to make explicit USAID/Senegal’s unique organizational culture. The Mission also used the FEVS to establish five internal management priorities for the upcoming year, including building organizational resilience. The FEVS process set the stage for ongoing reflection and long-term action within the Mission.