Written By Greg Krause & Rachel Holly
As America’s workforce contemplates the future of work, some workplaces are facing a bit of an identity crisis. Workday routines and expectations have dramatically evolved in the COVID era, and the idea of resuming “normal” life does not necessarily include traditional office on site life anymore. As a result, employee engagement – and creating a sense of community among co-workers – has become more important than ever.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), an AvantGarde client, is just one of many federal agencies taking on the challenge of increasing employee engagement for both pandemic and post-pandemic life. In 2020 the Department launched the Office of Innovation and Engagement (OIE) to enhance employee engagement and inspire innovation across the Department. AvantGarde has played a major role in helping to support all of DOT by leading the charge within the OIE in developing and delivering a suite of organizational assessments and engagement opportunities that will become the standard in how the office supports DOT as they work to help the Department achieve excellence in employee engagement.
Working closely with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in this endeavor is AvantGarde Senior OD expert team member Greg, who is helping the organization undertake an effort to identify engagement issues and challenges within its divisions.
With work like this, NHTSA had one of the largest increases in engagement scores within DOT for 2020, in a year when DOT ranked as the third on the list of large agencies in the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government.
Innovative initiatives such as the DOT OIE Project will no doubt become increasingly common – and increasingly critical – among organizations adapting to hybrid workforces. Regardless how the work environment evolves in the next few years, AvantGarde looks forward to utilizing its Human Capital and Organizational Development (OD) expertise and experienced consultants to help clients find, develop, and support their employee engagement opportunities – and ultimately drive organizational success.
AG is honored to have served DOT for nearly 10 years now and looks forward to the continued partnership with the agency!
For agencies or organizations looking to focus on employee engagement improvements or programs contact the AG team at rholly@avantgarde4usa.com.