TSA Needs to Tackle Root Causes of Employee Unease: GAO
When Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees received as much as a 30 percent pay raise last summer, finally bringing them in line with General Schedule (GS) counterparts, TSA Administrator David Pekoske said the raise will help the agency retain talent, recruit talent, and boost morale.
After all, the agency has traditionally ranked at the low end of the government’s annual employee engagement survey, including on rankings for pay satisfaction.
Now, a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds that while the raises have improved TSA’s employee engagement scores (it saw a 4 point rise in 2023, higher than the broader Department of Homeland Security), the agency is still staring down a long runway toward improving overall employee experience.
GAO found that while TSA made progress, specifically by holding focus groups and putting together Employee Engagement Action Plans (EEAPs), it has not addressed “root causes” of dissatisfaction among Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) who are the frontline screeners at U.S. airports.
“Our interviews with TSOs and analysis of TSA survey results found that dissatisfaction persists among TSOs regarding how TSA manages and recognizes employee performance. By identifying the root causes of dissatisfaction and implementing steps to address them, TSA could better target their actions to improve employee engagement and result in a more effective workforce,” wrote GAO.
The report identified five drivers influencing employee engagement:
· Managing and recognizing employee performance
· Providing opportunities for career development
· Supporting employee work-life balance
· Demonstrating responsiveness to employee input
· Ensuring communication from management
In each driver, GAO noted that TSA has made progress, but is still falling short.
As for managing and recognizing employee performance, GAO found that TSA focus group participants were concerned about the “inconsistent application of the performance management process” and expressed frustration with “inadequate formal and informal recognition for good work.”
While TSA has implemented a one-hour training course for managers and an awards program, GAO said “it did not fully address the challenges that we and TSA identified regarding inconsistent application of the performance management process.”
When it comes to providing opportunities for career development, GAO focus group participants expressed dissatisfaction with opportunities to advance their careers, including a “lack of clarity” about the promotions process and “favoritism.” Employees also flagged “unhelpful” training.
In supporting work-life balance, employees told GAO that frequent schedule changes and challenges in taking time off, all negatively impact employee views, as has a rise in overtime due to staffing challenges.
TSA has taken steps such as hiring more TSOs and changing its electronic time and scheduling system, but GAO recommends more be done.
In responding to employee input, employees told GAO that they are concerned with the way TSA responds to feedback from TSOs. Some TSOs also expressed dissatisfaction that their feedback was not acted on. GAO says TSA took steps to improve engagement on employee input, but has so far, failed to act on them.
And with ensuring communication from management, GAO noted that employees at all five airports they met with expressed frustration with the communications process. That includes headquarters relying on email, which TSOs cannot frequently access while on the job.
While TSA has taken steps including launching a mobile app and a newsletter, GAO says more needs to be done.
GAO issued nine recommendations to TSA to analyze and identity the “root causes” of dissatisfaction. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) concurred with all nine.