The Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), often in the shadow of other DOJ agencies, was big news at Main Justice Wednesday. A respected biennial survey measuring federal employees’ satisfaction with their workplaces ranked the division first out of 216 government agencies polled, up from second in 2007.
John Cruden
Acting Assistant Attorney General John Cruden, I’m told, deserves a lot of the credit. A career DOJ lawyer and past president of the District of Columbia bar association, Cruden keeps a foot in the trenches, despite his management heights. “He’s like a rah-rah general out rallying the troops,” one ENRD staffer says.
If you agree, disagree, or have any insights to add, please email me at tips@mainjustice.com and I will be sure to reflect your views — confidentially, of course, unless you specify otherwise.
You can read Cruden’s bio here.
The other person who should get a nice shout out is Bob Bruffy, the division’s executive officer, I’m told. While Bruffy’s job doesn’t give him much direct interaction with line attorneys, he greases a lot of the personnel and administrative wheels that make the division run smoothly.
You can view the rankings here on The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government 2009 web site. In November the ENRD — originally known as the Public Lands Division — will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Below is the text of a congratulatory email Cruden sent to ENDR staff on Wednesday:
To: Everyone in ENRDRe: We’re #1!
I am extremely pleased to report that the Best Places to Work in Government Survey Results were announced this morning, and the Environment and Natural Resources Division was rated the Number One Best Place to Work among 216 agency subcomponents, with an overall score of 83.5!
The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government is based on responses from 212,000 civil servants from 279 federal agencies and subcomponents. The Partnership for Public Service and American University’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation use data from OPM’s Federal Human Capital Survey to rank agencies and subcomponents on a Best Places to Work index score, which measures overall employee satisfaction. In addition to this overall employee satisfaction rating, agencies and subcomponents also are scored in workplace categories such as effective leadership, employee skills/mission match and work/life balance, and ENRD placed in the top 5 federal organizations in ten of these categories. The Department of Justice was ranked #7 among Large Agencies.
On a personal note, I must say that every day that I come to work I am awed by the warmth, intelligence and dedication of the women and men who work in the Environment and Natural Resources Division, and it is a privilege to serve this great Nation with you. For years I have told anyone who would listen that the Environment Division is the jewel of the Justice Department, and today our Best Places ranking validates and reinforces the fact that ENRD is a great place to work.
John
The massive federal employee survey is conducted every other year by the Partnership for Public Service and American University’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation, using data from the Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Human Capital Survey. Federal employees fill out detailed questionnaires about their workplaces, which they turn in anonymously.
Overall, the Department of Justice ranked 7th out of 30 Cabinet-level and other large agencies. Read the large agency rankings here. On rankings broken down by agency divisions, however, the DOJ took four of the top 10 slots. (ENRD # 1; Civil Division #3; Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys #6; Tax Division #9).
But it wasn’t all good news for DOJ. Some components ranked low, like the Office of Justice Programs at #197. Again, if you have any insight about what’s wrong there, please email me at tips@mainjustice.com.
Drilling down into the data, ENRD and other DOJ agencies dominated many categories but did poorly in others. On work-life issues, for example, ENRD ranked near the bottom in at #152. The Criminal Division came in at #133 in work-life balance, and the National Drug Intelligence Center ranked #146.
But the DOJ absolutely dominated in categories related directly to professional satisfaction. Check out this table from the survey below:
Top-Ranked Agencies for Utilizing Employee’s Skills and Talents
Read Crudon’s bio here.
