Q1. What is human capital?
Q2. What is the Federal Human Capital Survey 2002?
Q3. What is the President’s Management Agenda?
Q4. What is the Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework
   and how can agencies use the survey results in connection with the
   Framework?
Q5. Who Rates Agencies on Human Capital Management?

Methodology

Q1. When was the survey administered?
Q2. Who participated in the survey?
Q3. How was the survey administered?
Q4. What was the response rate?
Q5. What is the margin of error?

Q1. Where can I see the results of the survey?
Q2. How can agencies use the results of the survey?
Q3. What are some key survey findings?
Q4. How can I see how my agency survey results compared to all
   responses for the survey?
Q5. The Federal Human Capital Survey report refers to “weighted” data.
   What is “weighted” data?

Technical Assistance

Q1. If I have technical problems with using this web page, who would I 
   contact for help?

General Background

Q1. What is human capital?
A1. Our Federal workforce, our most important asset.

Q2. What is the Federal Human Capital Survey 2002?
A2. The Federal Human Capital Survey is a tool that measures employees' perceptions of whether and to what extent conditions that characterize successful organizations are present in their agencies. The results set a baseline for ongoing Human Capital assessment in the Federal Government. The survey provides general indicators of how well the Federal Government is running its human capital systems. The survey results provide senior managers critical information to answer the question: What can I do to make my agency work better? It also serves as a tool for OPM to assess individual agencies and their progress toward “green” status on Strategic Management of Human Capital under the President’s Management Agenda.

Q3. What is the President’s Management Agenda?
A3. The President's Management Agenda, announced in the summer of 2001, is an aggressive strategy for improving the management of the Federal Government. It focuses on five areas of management weakness across the Government where improvements and the most progress can be made. Those areas are:

• Strategic management of human capital
• Competitive sourcing
• Improved financial performance
• Expanded electronic government
• Budget and performance integration

Q4. What is the Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework and how can agencies use the survey results in connection with the Framework?
A4. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Office of Management and Budget, and the General Accounting Office developed the Human Capital Standards for Success, which agencies must meet in order to be rated “green” on the Strategic Management of Human Capital. OPM has developed a tool — the Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework — to guide agencies toward meeting the Human Capital Standards for Success. OPM structured the Framework to help agencies determine what they need to do, how they can do it, and how they can measure their own human capital success. Agencies can use the results of the Federal Human Capital Survey in conjunction with the Framework to determine the effectiveness of their human capital strategies and programs.

Q5.Who Rates Agencies on Human Capital Management?
A5. As the President’s strategic advisor on human capital issues, the Office of Personnel Management rates agencies on their strategic management of human capital. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has responsibility for rating the agencies on the other four goals established in the President’s Management Agenda. 

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Methodology

Q1. When was the survey administered?
A1. The survey was administered from May to August of 2002. Documents located at timeline recaps the main steps in the administration.

Q2. Who participated in the survey?
A2. The survey was administered to employees of 24 major executive branch agencies represented on the President’s Management Council. Of these 24 agencies participating, 189 subelements/organizational components participated. These agencies comprise 93 percent of the executive branch workforce. Over 100,000 employees completed the survey.

Q3. How was the survey administered?
A3. The survey was administered electronically to over 200,000 federal executive branch agency employees. A very small number of employees requested a paper version of the survey.

Q4. What was the response rate?
A4. The response rate was 51 percent.

Q5. What is the margin of error?
A5. The margin of error for all responses is plus or minus 1 percent.

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Results of the Survey

Q1. Where can I see the results of the survey?
A1. You may see the results of the survey at http://www.fhcs.opm.gov.

Q2. How can agencies use the results of the survey?
A2. The overall findings provide individual agencies a sense of the general human capital climate and information they can use as a basis for comparison with their own results. Working with this and other information, agencies can assess their own human capital management status, and develop a plan of action for improvement.

Q3. What are some key survey findings?
A3. The survey shows that the President’s human capital initiative is building on a solid base of employee competence, personal commitment, and sense of mission. It also shows that the Federal Government needs to pay more attention to how it:

• rewards good performance;
• develops and supports effective leaders; and
• recruits and deploys talent.

Q4. How can I see how my agency survey results compared to all responses for the survey?
A4. The survey results will be displayed at http://www.fhcs.opm.gov under the Reports link. This site contains reports that include survey results for the agencies of the President’s Management Council compared to all responses for the survey. 

Q5. The Federal Human Capital Survey report refers to “weighted” data. What is “weighted” data?
A5. Weighted data is the collected survey data that is adjusted to represent the population from which the sample is drawn. The data might be weighted on the basis of any demographic characteristics such as gender, race, supervisory status, age, and so on.

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Technical Assistance

Q1. If I have technical problems with using this web page, who would I contact for help?
A1. For technical help, email fhcs@opm.gov.

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