U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

Q1. What is human capital?
Q2. What is the Federal Human Capital Survey?
Q3. What is the President’s Management Agenda?
Q4. What is the Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework
   and how can agencies use the survey results in connection with the
   Framework?
Q5. Who rates agencies on human capital management?

Methodology

Q1. When was the survey administered?
Q2. Who participated in the survey?
Q3. How was the survey administered?
Q4. What was the response rate?
Q5. What is the margin of error?

Q1. Where can I see the Governmentwide results of the survey?
Q2. How can agencies use the results of the survey?
Q3. How can I see how my agency survey results compared to all
   responses for the survey?
Q4. The Federal Human Capital Survey report refers to “weighted” data.
   What are “weighted” data?

Technical Assistance

Q1. If I have technical problems with using this Web page, who would I 
   contact for help?

General Background

Q1. What is human capital?

A1. Our Federal workforce, our most important asset.

Q2. What is the Federal Human Capital Survey?

A2. The Federal Human Capital Survey is a tool that measures employees' perceptions of whether and to what extent conditions that characterize successful organizations are present in their agencies. The results set a baseline for ongoing Human Capital assessment in the Federal Government. The survey provides general indicators of how well the Federal Government is running its human capital systems. The survey results provide senior managers critical information to answer the question: What can I do to make my agency work better? It also serves as a tool for OPM to assess individual agencies and their progress toward “green” status on Strategic Management of Human Capital under the President’s Management Agenda.

Q3. What is the President’s Management Agenda?

A3. The President's Management Agenda, announced in the summer of 2001, is an aggressive strategy for improving the management of the Federal Government. It focuses on five areas of management weakness across the Government where improvements and the most progress can be made. Those areas are:

• Strategic management of human capital
• Competitive sourcing
• Improved financial performance
• Expanded electronic government
• Budget and performance integration

Q4. What is the Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework and how can agencies use the survey results in connection with the Framework?

A4. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Office of Management and Budget, and the General Accounting Office developed the Human Capital Standards for Success, which agencies must meet in order to be rated “green” on the Strategic Management of Human Capital. OPM has developed a tool — the Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework — to guide agencies toward meeting the Human Capital Standards for Success. OPM structured the Framework to help agencies determine what they need to do, how they can do it, and how they can measure their own human capital success. Agencies can use the results of the Federal Human Capital Survey in conjunction with the Framework to determine the effectiveness of their human capital strategies and programs.

Q5.Who rates agencies on human capital management?

A5. As the President’s strategic advisor on human capital issues, the Office of Personnel Management rates agencies on their strategic management of human capital. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has responsibility for rating the agencies on the other four goals established in the President’s Management Agenda. 

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Methodology

Q1. When was the survey administered?

A1. The survey was administered between the end of May and August 2006.

Q2. Who participated in the survey?

A2. The survey was administered to full-time, permanent employees of 29 major agencies represented on the President’s Management Council (PMC) and 59 small, independent agencies that accepted an invitation to participate in the survey. There were 302 subagencies participating in the survey. Participating agencies comprise 97 percent of the Executive branch workforce.

Q3. How was the survey administered?

A3. The survey was conducted electronically on the Internet, with employees notified by email of their selection for the sample. Paper versions of the survey were provided to a limited number of employees who did not have access to the Internet survey.

Q4. What was the response rate?

A4. The response rate was 57 percent.

Q5. What is the margin of error?

A5. The margin of error for all responses is plus or minus 1 percent.

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Results of the Survey

Q1. Where can I see the Governmentwide results of the survey?

A1. You may see the results of the survey at http://www.fhcs2006.opm.gov.

Q2. How can agencies use the results of the survey?

A2. The overall findings provide individual agencies a sense of the general human capital climate and information they can use as a basis for comparison with their own results. Working with this and other information, agencies can assess their own human capital management status, and develop a plan of action for improvement.

Q3. How can I see how my agency survey results compared to all responses for the survey?

A3. The survey results will be displayed at http://www.fhcs2006.opm.gov under the Results link. This site also contains reports that include survey results for the agencies of the President’s Management Council compared to all responses for the survey under the Published Reports link.

Q4. The Federal Human Capital Survey report refers to “weighted” data. What are “weighted” data?

A4. When the data collected from survey respondents are adjusted to represent the population from which the sample was drawn, the resulting data are called weighted data. FHCS weighted results represent all Federal employees covered by the survey.

The weighting process involves computing and assigning a weight to each FHCS survey respondent. The weight indicates the number of employees in the survey population the respondent represents. Information about demographic characteristics, such as gender, race, supervisory status, age, and agency size, are used to develop the weights.

The weight does not change an FHCS respondent's answer; rather, it gives appropriate relative importance to the answer.

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Technical Assistance

Q1. If I have technical problems with using this Web page, who would I contact for help?

A1. For technical help, email fhcs@opm.gov.

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