70 percent of staff responded to the 2024 Employee Perspective Survey

The 2024 results show improvement in some areas of staff concern, but much remains to be done.

Earlier this year, almost three-quarters (70 percent) of you participated in our annual Smithsonian Employee Perspective Survey (SEPS). I am very grateful for this feedback, as it helps me and my leadership team focus on what you identify as critical workplace culture concerns. I commit to you that Smithsonian leadership relies on the SEPS results to help cultivate a workplace we can all be proud of and invested in.

I was pleased to see that our most favorable results in this year’s survey were in overall job satisfaction and unit communication and collaboration. This speaks to our strong sense of mission and tells us that employees feel positive about the work they do, who they do it with, and how their work is connected to their unit’s goals and priorities.

The results also make clear that there are areas needing more attention—such as our organizational nimbleness and openness to innovation. We have focused on addressing these areas in response to your feedback in past surveys, and I was pleased to see that our efforts have contributed to improvements compared to last year. But I know that we have more work to do.

We rely on your feedback to do that work and bring about positive change in our workplace. When I wrote to you about last year’s survey results, I shared that the 2023 results reflected a need for us to cultivate a more successful hybrid workplace. As one effort to improve in this area, the Smithsonian reintroduced the Alternative Work Schedule (AWS) program. This relaunch offered Smithsonian units a clear and structured framework for units to tailor AWS programs to their needs—and adopted a more efficient approach to the program by automating the request process.  I was encouraged to see an increase in your satisfaction with the telework programs in your units reflected in this year’s SEPS results. We will continue to look for ways to make our workplace more flexible to meet the needs of our ever-evolving workforce.

The data collected in the employee survey offers a snapshot of both individual and shared feelings about working at the Smithsonian. Over the coming months, the Office of Human Resources and the Office of Digital Transformation will work together to further analyze the data and identify additional themes and trends. This analysis will guide us as we seek solutions to our most pressing needs.

One of our goals is to have the Smithsonian become an even more important resource to the nation by reaching every home and classroom.  As we do that, even in face of resource uncertainty, it is critical that we effectively communicate and engage staff.  Your feedback from the employee survey helps us continually improve our employee communications and engagement.

A SharePoint site will soon be available that allows you to see your specific unit-level summary reports. The link for your unit’s results will be sent to you separately once it is ready. In order to maintain the anonymity of the results, only units with ten or more respondents will receive unit-specific results. To assist unit leadership, OHR will help units develop tailored action plans that include understanding results, identifying areas of strength and weakness, and developing strategies to address challenges and bolster areas of success.

Thank you again for participating in the survey, for your candid feedback, and for everything you do on behalf of the Smithsonian. Your responses to the 2024 Smithsonian Employee Perspective Survey will help shape the way we improve our workplace culture now and in the years ahead.

View the complete report: SEPS 2024 Summary