5 Workforce Focus (85 pts.) The WORKFORCE Focus Category examines HOW your organization ENGAGES, manages, and develops your WORKFORCE to utilize its full potential in ALIGNMENT with your organization’s overall MISSION, strategy, and ACTION PLANS. The Category examines your ability to assess WORKFORCE CAPABILITY and CAPACITY needs and to build a WORKFORCE environment conducive to HIGH PERFORMANCE.

Item 5.1 - Workforce Engagement (45 pts.)                                                                                                                                                     Process

HOW do you engage your WORKFORCE to achieve organizational and personal success?

Describe HOW your organization ENGAGES, compensates, and rewards your WORKFORCE to achieve HIGH PERFORMANCE. Describe HOW members of your WORKFORCE, including leaders, are developed to achieve HIGH PERFORMANCE. Describe HOW you assess WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT and use the RESULTS to achieve HIGHER PERFORMANCE. Within your response, include answers to the following questions: 5.1a. WORKFORCE Enrichment (1)   HOW do you determine the KEY factors that affect WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT? HOW do you determine the KEY factors that affect WORKFORCE satisfaction? HOW are these factors determined for different WORKFORCE groups and SEGMENTS? (2)   HOW do you foster an organizational culture that is characterized by open communication, HIGH-PERFORMANCE WORK, and an ENGAGED WORKFORCE? How do you ensure your organizational culture benefits from the diverse ideas, cultures, and thinking of your WORKFORCE? (3)   HOW does your WORKFORCE PERFORMANCE management SYSTEM support HIGH-PERFORMANCE WORK and WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT? HOW does your WORKFORCE PERFORMANCE management SYSTEM consider WORKFORCE compensation, reward, recognition, and incentive practices? HOW does your WORKFORCE PERFORMANCE management SYSTEM reinforce a CUSTOMER and business focus and achievement of your ACTION PLANS?  5.1b.  WORKFORCE and Leader Development (1)   HOW does your LEARNING and development SYSTEM address the following: factors for your WORKFORCE and your leaders? • your organization’s CORE COMPETENCIES, STRATEGIC CHALLENGES, and accomplishment of its ACTION PLANS, both short-term and long-term • organizational PERFORMANCE improvement, and INNOVATION • ethics and ETHICAL business practices • the breadth of development OPPORTUNITIES, including education, training, coaching, mentoring, and work-related experiences, as appropriate  (2)   HOW does your LEARNING and development SYSTEM address the following factors for your WORKFORCE? •  their LEARNING and development needs, including those that are self-identified and those identified by supervisors and managers • the transfer of KNOWLEDGE from departing or retiring workers • the reinforcement of new KNOWLEDGE and skills on the job? (3)   HOW do you evaluate the EFFECTIVENESS and efficiency of your LEARNING and development SYSTEMS? (4)   HOW do you manage EFFECTIVE career progression for your entire WORKFORCE? HOW do you accomplish EFFECTIVE succession planning for management and leadership positions? 5.1c. Assessment of WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT (1)   HOW do you assess WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT? What formal and informal assessment methods and MEASURES do you use to determine WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT and WORKFORCE satisfaction? HOW do these methods and MEASURES differ across WORKFORCE groups and SEGMENTS? HOW do you use other INDICATORS, such as WORKFORCE retention, absenteeism, grievances, safety, and PRODUCTIVITY to assess and improve WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT? (2)   HOW do you relate your WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT assessment findings to KEY business RESULTS reported in Category 7 to identify OPPORTUNITIES for improvement in both WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT and business RESULTS?

Notes: N1. “WORKFORCE ” refers to the people actively involved in accomplishing the work of your organization. It includes your organization’s permanent, temporary, and part-time personnel, as well as any contract employees supervised by your organization. It includes team leaders, supervisors, and managers at all LEVELS. People supervised by a contractor should be addressed in Category 6 as part of your larger WORK SYSTEMS. For nonprofit organizations that also rely on volunteers, “WORKFORCE” includes these volunteers. N2. “WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT” refers to the extent of WORKFORCE commitment, both emotional and intellectual, to accomplishing the work, MISSION, and VISION of the organization. N3. The characteristics of high-performance work” environments (5.1a[2] and 5.1a[3]) in which people do their utmost for the benefit of their customers and for the success of the organization are key to understanding an engaged workforce. These characteristics are described in detail in the definition of “HIGH-PERFORMANCE WORK”.   N4. Compensation, recognition, and related reward and incentive practices (5.1a[3]) include promotions and bonuses that might be based on PERFORMANCE, skills acquired, and other factors. In some government organizations, compensation SYSTEMS are set by law or regulation. However, since recognition can include monetary and nonmonetary, formal and informal, and individual and group mechanisms, reward and recognition SYSTEMS do permit flexibility. N5. Your organization may have unique considerations relative to WORKFORCE development, LEARNING, and career progression. If this is the case, your response to 5.1b should include HOW you address these considerations. N6. Identifying improvement OPPORTUNITIES (5.1c[2]) might draw on your WORKFORCE-focused RESULTS presented in Item 7.4 and might involve addressing WORKFORCE-related problems based on their impact on your business RESULTS reported in response to other Category 7 Items.

For additional description of this Item, see 5.1 Workforce Engagement Description.