How Labor stays green

President's Management Agenda score cards

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao today gave her secret formula for getting to green on the President’s Management Agenda: employee buy-in.

In a speech at the 2007 Government Performance Summit, Chao said organizational progress comes when employees have the same goals and they believe in achieving them.

“Only when there is heartfelt embracing of our values will there be progress,” she said.

Labor Department officials communicate with employees in simple messages — about two paragraphs per message, Chao said. Messages go to even the lowest-level employees.

Officials there have encouraged programs to attract professionals, particularly those with master’s degrees in business administration.

Meanwhile, the management agenda’s quarterly Executive Branch Management Score Card grades departments and agencies on five areas: workforce, competitive sourcing, financial performance, e-government, and budget and performance integration.

Labor is the first department to get the top “green” scores in all areas, and it has remained there over the past six quarterly score cards. On the department’s score card for March 31, 2005, however, it received a “yellow” rating in competitive sourcing.

A green score means an agency is implementing its initiatives as planned; it is the top rating an agency can receive. A yellow score shows a need for adjustments to achieve objectives in a timely manner, and a red score means an initiative is in serious jeopardy.