Dear SBA Team,

We are pleased to share the results of SBA’s 2012 Employee Viewpoint Survey that you took a few months ago.

First, we’d like to thank everyone who participated in the survey.  Our response rate was 65 percent, significantly higher than the government-wide participation rate of 46 percent this year.

The 2012 results saw some key areas of improvement and our results in many areas continue to exceed or equal government-wide results.

For example, we saw a significant increase in the question of how prepared employees are for potential security threats. This is a good indicator that ongoing efforts around emergency processes are showing results.

However, there are also places where we can improve. We’ve already taken significant steps to address these areas through the launch of our new performance management system and new tools such as the Talent Management Center. As these new programs are implemented and utilized, they will significantly address some of the challenges that have been raised.

We take the results of these surveys very seriously and have already begun conversations and meetings about ways to address the feedback we received. This will be a collaborative process – and we look forward to an ongoing dialogue.  Our goal is to ensure that the SBA is the best place to work in the federal government.

Thanks again to all of you who took the time to fill out the Employee Viewpoint Survey. We will be scheduling meetings to further discuss the results and our plans going forward.

Sincerely,