Q 7. At work, my opinions seem to count.

**Summary**

-   Encourage employees to express their opinions.

-   Encourage employees to look for and take responsibility for
    solutions to problems, rather than merely complain about them.

-   Treat all opinions as valid and important contributions, but make it
    understood that not all could be put into practice.

**Key Findings**

"Even if \[my suggestion\] can\'t be done, I always feel like it\'s
looked at like it\'s a valued opinion."

Everyone wants to feel that they are making a significant contribution
in their workplace. There is very little that is more demoralizing to
employees than being excluded from significant decisions, particularly
decisions that affect their jobs. The ways agencies hear and process
employees' ideas shape, to a large degree, whether or not they feel
valued for their contributions.\
We heard that FSA's best managers encourage ideas to flow freely. They
consult with employees regularly to make sure those close to the action
have input into critical decisions. As shown in the headline quote and
the quote below, it is understood that not all ideas will be
implemented, but all suggestions will be considered.

*" I cannot sit here and say that my opinion doesn\'t count. I gave it,
it may not have been the best that was thrown out that day and it may
not have been the one that floats to the top, but my opinion was
heard."*

FSA managers also recognize that the process of refining ideas is still
extremely productive in terms of developing employees' commitment to and
confidence in the agency and reinforcing to employees that their efforts
can make the agency better.

*" We really learn a lot from each other. That\'s how we come to resolve
a lot of problems because if we didn\'t communicate with each other, you
couldn\'t put all of these little tidbits of information together and
find a resolution, you would just be butting your head on a wall. So I
really think it is good that you can express your opinion and if you
think something can be improved, that somebody is actually hearing
you."*

Many FSA managers hold regular team meetings. Rather than mandate their
workgroups to meet weekly or monthly, the managers work with their
respective groups to determine what schedule is most effective given
their tasks. The meetings are not an opportunity to sit around and gripe
and complain, but to address issues head-on and develop work plans to
solve them.

*" We listen to each other and we value each other\'s opinions."*

When asked what they like best about working with their teams, many of
the focus group participants responded that they enjoy the ability to
work independently while still knowing that their managers and team
members are there to support them. The recurring emphasis by FSA
employees on the importance of this protected independence suggests that
they are individuals for whom having a voice is important. They need to
be appreciated for their individual talents. They want to contribute to
their workplace. And the best FSA managers recognize this and provide
venues for them express their ideas.

*" We can go in \[MANAGER'S\] office and discuss \[anything\]. He has an
open-door policy, come in, we\'ll discuss it, and that\'s good."*

*" I couldn\'t imagine working here if I didn\'t feel like somehow what
I did had some importance and that I wasn\'t here just occupying space.
If I didn\'t make a contribution."*

What we discovered in analyzing the responses for this question is that
great FSA managers:\
1) encourage employees to express their opinions; 2) encourage employees
to look for and take responsibility for solutions to problems, rather
than merely complain about them; and 3) treat all opinions as valid and
important contributions, but make it understood that not all can be put
into practice.

**Relevant Quotes From FSA Interviews**

We really learn a lot from each other. That\'s how we come to resolve a
lot of problems because if we didn\'t communicate with each other, you
couldn\'t put all of these little tidbits of information together and
find a resolution, you would just be butting your head on a wall. I
really think it is good that you can express your opinion and if you
think something can be improved, that somebody is actually hearing you.
Even if it can\'t be done, I always feel like it\'s looked at like it\'s
a valued opinion.

Management will listen and consider your opinions. You\'re not just
sloughed off and not taken seriously.

What\'s the point of coming to work if the person that you\'re dealing
with doesn\'t really care about what you have to say or what\'s the
point of doing that job at that point?

We can go in \[MANAGER'S\] office and discuss something, a procedure
that could possibly be changed for some reason or another, he has an
open door policy, come in, we\'ll discuss it, and that\'s good.

I don\'t think any of us are shy about saying what we think.

Employees all want to feel valued and obviously if they feel that
freedom and know that it makes a difference to state their opinion and
they can see it actually had an effect, I think they feel as a valued
employee.

I cannot sit here and say that my opinion doesn\'t count. I gave it, it
may not have been the best that was thrown out that day and it may not
have been the one that floats to the top (inaudible words) but my
opinion was heard.

It means that somebody\'s listening. And they\'re helping you out when
you need it.

It gives you a sense of self worth. That management isn\'t being
authoritarian, they\'re taking your opinions into consideration and
mak\[ing\] you feel you\'re part of the team, not just saying okay, do
this this way, you get some input into it so it makes you feel warm and
fuzzy about being part of the team rather than just a worker being
dictated to.

Being a \[TYPE\] group, one way or the other your opinion is going to
influence how that \[PRODUCT\] is going to be structured and implemented
so really, you\'re really offering your opinion, especially when you\'re
designing things from scratch and then putting them into production and
yeah, your opinion weighs heavily on the outcome of the product.

I try to walk down at least one of my aisles every single day when I
first get in the door and say good morning. If I see somebody there, I
might stop, ask them how their night was, ask them about their kids, not
even a work issue because I think once you establish that, they feel
like you don\'t picture them as a number and just somebody generating
work and you really care about them personally, those numbers count. I
think they will say my opinion counts more when they think that I
actually think of them as a person and not just one of my \[team
members\] who\'s getting out a product.

We listen to each other and we value each other\'s opinions.

The best products come from people when they invent them themselves and
as a team so that everybody understands. I try to have a policy that I
will listen to all of the ideas, I do make the ultimate decision but
I\'m only as good as my staff. So it\'s important for me that they\'re
actually engaged in the decision making process and the development
process and that\'s where we get the trend to basically listen to
everybody\'s opinion and then ultimately we make a decision. If they\'ve
decided, then they\'re more likely to own it and do well at it as
opposed to something that I tell them to take on.

Many of us are recognized as an expert in our fields and so if you ask
someone a question about their field, you can be pretty confident that
you\'re getting a correct answer and I think that lots of people in the
building know.

And then \[MANAGER\] came and he trusted us enough to let us do what we
needed to do so it makes a big difference. You don\'t come in and feel
like you\'re working in an assembly line or something and you feel like
what you do and what you say and what you feel and your opinions are
really important.

I couldn\'t imagine working here if I didn\'t feel like somehow what I
did had some importance and that I wasn\'t here just occupying space. If
I didn\'t make a contribution.

**Development Questions**

What does the following survey question mean to you? "At DAM/USDA, my
opinions seem to count"

**Managers:**

Do you think the opinions of your people are important to your success?
Why or why not?

How do you give people the impression that you and the agency care about
their opinions?

**Employees:**

Do you feel your opinions are valued at DAM/USDA? Why or why not?

Do you feel your supervisor values your opinions? Why or why not?

How do you know your opinions count?