OhMyGov News

How to Improve your Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey Results (Part Two)

2013-05-22T16:19:00Z

In my last column, I reported that the results of the latest government-wide Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey survey have been released. Over 687,000 federal employees completed the FEVS survey, and according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, "The 2012 FEVS indicates the Federal workforce remains resilient -- hardworking, motivated and mission-focused even amidst the many challenges facing Government today."

OPM also concluded that the Federal workforce remains mission-focused and hardworking, and Employee Engagement remains strong.

But it sounded troubling notes too, concluding that Federal employees' satisfaction with their jobs, pay and organizations are areas of continued risk. Further, on the Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework (HCAAF) Index, for the category which is probably of the greatest interest to the general public - Results-Oriented Performance Culture, almost half the Federal employees surveyed have consistently given this area the lowest score.

So what can be done?

In my previous column, I identified three areas that if handled well, will collectively make a big difference:

Communication
Employee Engagement
Manage Performance

Let's examine two other areas where you can make a difference.

Make sure you have the right supervisors and then develop them

From an employee's perspective, the supervisor is the face of the organization. Sure the leader sets the policy, direction and values; however, ultimately, the rubber meets the road in each employee's interaction with his supervisor. After all, if the leader gives a great speech that pumps up the employees and they are then advised by the supervisor to ignore the speech and simply do what she tells them, how do you think the employees are going to feel?

That is why you must have the right supervisors in place. For example, I once took over an organization where almost everyone (including me) felt that many of the supervisors were not right for the job. Some were simply too weak, others were too cynical while still others were not comfortable managing people. After giving everyone the chance to demonstrate what they could do, we wound up reassigning about half of them to non-supervisory jobs and replaced them with other, more qualified people who were better fits. Having the right supervisors in place made all the difference because we were now able to move together as a team with the supervisors who could move the organization forward.

Once you have the right ones in place, do everything you can to develop them so they have the right mindset and skill sets to lead their employees. Teach them how to communicate, treat people well, lead by example, manage performance, provide appropriate feedback, develop their employees and deal with poor performers. As they master these areas, the employees will both feel and perform better and everyone will win.

Looking at this issue from a different perspective, even with the best supervisors, there will always have challenges. After all, getting people to do what you want is never easy; nor is achieving stringent performance goals, managing leave, appraising your subordinates, dealing with difficult people, etc... while also attending many different meetings, answering a constant slew of e-mails, taking grief from the union, etc. Being a supervisor is simply a tough job in any industry.

A different and often better approach is to have self-managed teams wherein the employees eventually manage themselves and the supervisor serves as a coach/advisor to the team and focuses most of his energy on higher level issues. Under this approach, the team or unit slowly transitions from a traditional supervisor-centric model to one in which everyone ultimately becomes a leader, receives the appropriate training and development along the way and is able to handle the core work of the team. Such an approach results in a much higher degree of energy, focus and employee commitment and eliminates many of the problems everyone grapples with in the traditional unit model.

To convert to such a design takes time, effort, skill and most of all commitment; however, the payoff can be enormous. For further information on this approach, look for the upcoming on the subject I will be co-authoring with Paul Gustavson.

Make your organization more transparent

Two findings from the FEVS that really jumped out were:

Two out of 10 employees feel pay raises are related to their job performance;

Three out of 10 employees feel that their performance is recognized in a meaningful way and that promotions are based on merit.

This clearly indicates a lack of trust and a general belief among the employees that decisions are not being made for the right reasons. While not completely surprising since people who do not get the job they want or the bonus they think they deserve often become frustrated, there are strategies that can be used to alleviate the hard feelings that are often caused when these decisions are made.

I start out with one of my core HRM philosophies: Employees should always be able to see an action coming. I have developed this belief because in my experience, one of the single biggest sources of irritation for employees is when they cannot predict with some degree of confidence what their appraisal and reward, if any will be or who will get selected for a job. That is not to say that employees must become prescient and all-knowing - it simply means that they should have a good idea of how they are doing from management's perspective so they know what to expect (e.g. are they considered to be a star? average? below average?) and what they need to do to improve. That is because when employees have this information, they will generally be much more accepting of management's decisions since when they have the same basic information they most likely would have made the same decision.

So how do you ensure that employees have this information? The best way to do this is through a system of on-going communication, not on an ad hoc basis. Here are some ways of accomplishing this objective:

1. Monthly feedback sessions --- having monthly feedback sessions ensures that employees get up-to-date information as to how they are doing and gives them the chance to ask questions of management and offer their perspective on things. It is also a great opportunity to explore how the employee is doing relative to her individual development plan.

2. Employee report cards --- providing the employee with report cards along with the feedback sessions gives the employee timely performance information in writing so there are no surprises or secrets. These report cards should also contain data regarding how the employee is doing relative to the group's average so she will have sense of context.

3. Posting individual performance --- this means hanging a spreadsheet within the team that shows how each employee occupying the same position is doing relative to everyone else. This is intended to spur the group to talk to each other about performance and share best practices. At the same time, it is also intended to give each individual the same information that management has (I recommend assigning a letter or other symbol to each employee in order to protect their privacy) so they will see where they stand relative to their peers. Finally, it is designed to protect the organization from those supervisors who like to protect their favorites or go after people they don't like regardless of the numbers.

When employees have access to this much information, it tends to lift the cloud of mystery that generally hangs over most organizations. If they then see that management is making decisions based on the numbers, rather than based on who they like and/or don't like, it will build a sense of trust that rarely exists today and will improve the scores they assign to the organization under the FEVS.

Stewart Liff writes on human resources management issues in government for OhMyGov. A recipient of the President's Council on Management Improvement Award, he is the author of five books, including Improving the Performance of Government Employees. His expertise includes employee relations, labor relations, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), performance management, staffing, training, rewards and recognition, metrics, systems design and succession planning. More at StewartLiff.com

Event Preview: How to Measure Social Media in Government

2013-04-18T13:18:00Z

While social media has become part of every government agency's communications efforts, there is still disparity in how agencies collect and use social data. An upcoming conference entitled "How to Measure Social Media in Government" --- taking place from April 29 to May 2 in Arlington, VA --- will tee up a number of the opportunities and challenges of analyzing social media data in the public sector.

The 4-day event, hosted by the Advanced Learning Institute, includes two days of general sessions, plus two additional days of special workshops that offer a deeper dive into practical topics like Search Engine Optimization and developing content for YouTube. The event is being held at the Crowne Plaza Washington National Airport.

A range of federal and state agencies are scheduled to present at the conference, including the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Army's Fort Huachuca, Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Texas.gov, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Naval Center for Combat and Operational Stress Control, the Department of State, the VA, and others. A number of companies serving the government market will be presenting as well.

Among the case studies and interactive Q&A sessions on the schedule are:

-- Understanding Your Social Media Audience: Who Are They, Where Are They, & What Are They Looking For

-- How To Engage The Virtual Learning Audience Through Social Media

-- Monitoring Insights To Determine The Next Steps In Your Agency’s Social Media Strategy

-- How To Utilize Twitter To Build Your Audience And Establish Your Brand, Especially In Times Of Emergency

See the full conference agenda and register here. Note that OhMyGov readers receive a $200 discount on registration by using the code OhMyGov.

Social Media Strategies to Quell Sequestration Fears

2013-04-08T17:43:00Z

Federal managers facing sequestration and other cost cutting mandates can "gain control" of budget discussions by using elements of the social media network, according to an article in the Senior Executives Association (SEA) April 2013 "The Action" newsletter.

SEA is a nonprofit professional association representing the career executive corps of the federal government with the stated mission of improving the efficiency, effectiveness and productivity of the federal government. This mission is complicated more than ever as association members and other senior government leaders find themselves at a crossroads in this era of indiscriminate budget cutting, finding efficiency forced upon them but at the cost of diminished effectiveness and productivity. As a result, the association is reaching out to thought leaders to help bring that balanced approach back to the table.

One such way to find that balance, the article argues, is by adding real-time input from constituents, employees, and stakeholders through analysis of social media outlets. The space agency NASA is highlighted in the article as one organization that already seems to be doing a good job of this and is reaping the benefits. The SEA article recognizes that this task is enormous and the target ever changing, so it encourages members to seek out resources to help them gain back their control of budget discussions.

Federal Gov't Science and Social Media Policy: Q&A with Gretchen Goldman

2013-03-15T04:05:00Z

When you think of the many ways our federal government uses social media, "promoting scientific research" isn't likely to be at the top of your list. Yet amid the political chatter, policy news, and, lately, snow and sequestration talk, plenty of federally-supported science gets spread via social channels.

The social media policies of federal agencies don't always have the interests of federal scientists in mind, however, according to a study published today by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Grading Government Transparency --- Scientists' Freedom to Speak (and Tweet) at Federal Agencies looked at the social media policies of 17 federal agencies that employ scientists and graded them on a scale from A to F. The scoring took into account how well each policy protected scientific free speech, safeguarded against abuse, promoted openness and timeliness and several other measures. As the second such grading effort from UCS, the report tracks the progress of agencies on their media policies since 2008. Most agencies improved their performance according to UCS's evaluation criteria, though a disappointingly large number still earned grades of "Incomplete."

A bright spot in the report was the improvement made by a number of agencies in addressing personal views exceptions, whistleblower protections, and dispute resolution processes in their written policies. But, notes the report, "Most agencies today (as in 2008) continue to lack other important provisions, such as ... right of last review [and] access to drafts and revisions."

I asked Gretchen Goldman, an analyst at the Center for Science and Democracy and one of the report's authors, to discuss the impetus for the report and its findings.

OMG: Why did you decide to examine Federal agencies' social media policies and give them grades?

Goldman: We saw that federal agencies have embraced social media at varying levels. Past analysis has looked social media policies at agencies with an eye on performance metrics or on security and privacy of government information. We wanted to assess the policies from a different angle: Do they provide sufficient guidance to government employees, especially scientists? Do they adequately guide employees in a way that promotes responsible use while also affording them the freedom to use these tools to share their work? And how do different agencies compare? We analyzed the social media policies of 17 federal agencies to find out.

Your group wants to see better communication from federal scientists to the public. In what ways is the job of communicating science to the public different from other types of public outreach?

Science can be difficult to engage the public on. We see social media as a huge opportunity for communicating federal science. The accessibility, speed, and two-way communication options enable public engagement on government science that was never possible before. There are a lot of examples of agencies succeeding with science communication on social media. NASA held a Google+ Hangout with the International Space Station. FEMA uses social media to coordinate disaster response efforts. And NIH has used it to recruit study participants. Creating an environment where individual scientists-in addition to their agencies-can fully utilize these tools will only increase opportunities like these for connecting the public with federal science.

Name a few key things that a social media policy should do to support science communications.

The policy should help ensure the accuracy of scientific information released from official agency accounts. This means different things for different platforms. For blogs, scientists should have the right of last review before entries that significantly rely on their work are posted. For platforms like Twitter where this may not be realistic, there should be a mechanism for corrections to any scientific errors released.

Another key component of a social media policy is the right of scientists to identify their agency on their personal accounts, provided they make clear that they are not speaking for the agency. Scientists have much to contribute on social media and their professional affiliation can enhance their engagement since it adds to their credentials. But too many social media policies currently don't have these important provisions.

What did you find most surprising in your research?

We were most surprised by the diversity of results we found across federal agencies. There are agencies that have clearly mastered social media, with a clear policy and active participation on multiple platforms. There are other agencies with no policy or social media presence that we could find. Initiatives like the White House's Digital Government Strategy and the work of the Government Services Administration (GSA) have helped encourage agencies to embrace social media tools, but clearly there's still a long way to go when many agencies do not have a basic policy on social media.

Which aspects of social media usage are the thorniest for federal scientists and their agencies?

From the agency perspective, there is a lot of concern about losing control of the message. Agencies have missions that come with specific messages they want to communicate to the public. Social media tools sometimes are perceived as threatening this. But we've seen agencies address this well through education and management rather than restricting use of the tools. These agencies treat social media like other public-facing venues by emphasizing responsible use and requiring employees make clear when they are expressing their personal views rather than agency positions. Policies like these can allow agencies to preserve their official messaging while empowering their employees to use social media responsibly.

Who in the federal government has the most scientist-friendly social media policies?

The National Institutes of Health and the Department of Interior have very thorough policies that clearly guide their employees on social media outlets. Both institutions allow their scientists to identify their employer on social media sites, provided they include a disclaimer indicating the views expressed are their own. As part of our analysis, we created a model social media policy that agencies could adopt to afford their scientists and other employees basic guidance and freedom to use social media tools responsibly.

Where can people read and comment on the report?

The report is available on our website at www.ucsusa.org/GradingGovernmentTransparency. And we invite you to join the conversation on our blog at http://blog.ucsusa.org/ where my colleagues, Francesca Grifo and Michael Halpern have blog posts on the report.

Follow Gretchen Goldman on Twitter at @GretchenTG

Follow OhMyGov on Twitter at @ohmygov

Gen. McChrystal and Joe Theismann To Keynote FOSE Conference and Expo

2013-03-14T10:48:00Z

The popular FOSE conference and expo, a fixture on the government IT calendar each year, returns to Washington, DC, this May 14-16 at the Washington Convention Center.

Keynoting FOSE this year is General Stan McChrystal, the former commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, along with Joe Theismann, the legendary quarterback of the Washington Redskins. Gen. McChrystal will speak about the state of international affairs and security challenges facing the U.S., while Theismann will talk about "Managing to Win."

Other speakers include:

Senator Tom Carper of Delaware

Craig Killough, Vice President of Organization Markets, Project Management Institute

Jan Frye, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Acquisition and Logistics, Department of Veterans Affairs

Daniel Burrus, Futurist, Technology Strategist, and Trends Forecaster

The full FOSE educational program includes 5 conference tracks --- Cloud & Virtualization, Cybersecurity, Mobile Government, Big Data and Business Intelligence, and Project Management --- that focus on case studies and lessons learned, with a strict "no selling" policy. On the expo floor, attendees can interact with hundreds of exhibitors and take advantage of workshops and solution sessions geared at all aspects of government technology, from biometrics to office equipment.

Special features at FOSE 2013 will include Government Tech Talks that present 3 strategies in 15 minutes or less, and an App Arcade that gives attendees a chance to test drive the latest apps developed for government.

The free Expo showcases industry partners and their solutions, covering everything from cybersecurity and information assurance to big data and business intelligence. Registration also includes free access to the Government Security Expo, held jointly with FOSE.

OhMyGov readers can use the code "OhMyGov" when registering. More information and full conference agendas are available at FOSE.com

Follow FOSE on Twitter at @FOSE

Follow OhMyGov on Twitter at @ohmygov

2013 Federal Pay Calendar

2013-02-28T21:44:00Z

Have you been looking for a 2013 federal pay calendar? Well, you've come to the right place!

OhMyGov! has the pay calendar you've been waiting to pin to your cubicle or hang in your home office. With no end to the sequestration, those pay dates are even more important than ever. So if you want to know when that money will appear in your bank account, plus all those federal holidays, pay periods and your payroll dates, use our 2013 Federal Pay Calendar.

The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (and how to improve YOUR results)

2013-02-13T19:18:00Z

The results of the latest government-wide Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey have been released. Over 687,000 federal employees completed the FEVS survey, and according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (PDF):

The 2012 FEVS indicates the Federal workforce remains resilient - hardworking, motivated and mission-focused even amidst the many challenges facing Government today.

The Federal workforce remains mission-focused and hardworking

Nearly all Federal employees report that their work is important, they are constantly looking for ways to do their job better, and they are willing to put in the extra effort to get the job done. This finding is consistent across the 82 Federal agencies that participated in the 2012 FEVS.

Eight out of 10 employees like the work they do, understand how their work relates to the agency's goals and priorities, and rate the overall quality of the work done by their work unit as high.

Employee Engagement remains strong

Employee Engagement scores are relatively consistent with the 2010 levels. Approximately two out of three employees report positive conditions for engagement still exist in their agencies.

Federal employees' satisfaction with their jobs, pay and organizations are areas of continued risk

This year employee responses were down two percentage points when recommending their organization as a good place to work (67 percent) and down three percentage points with their satisfaction with their job (68 percent) and organization (59 percent).

Satisfaction with pay (59 percent) had the greatest impact on the Global Satisfaction scores, as it decreased by four percentage points. This is pay satisfaction's lowest level since the 2004 survey administration.

Two out of 10 employees feel pay raises are related to their job performance.

Three out of 10 employees feel that their performance is recognized in a meaningful way and that promotions are based on merit.

Though some areas trended downward, results vary by agency and subcomponents within agencies. The FEVS presents an opportunity for agency leadership to make improvements.

While the Survey indicates that several key areas are trending downward, it also states that there are plenty of opportunities for improvement, which is true.

A Less Rosy Picture

Another less optimistic way to look at the FEVS report is to note the following:

About 33% of the employees do not believe that positive conditions for engagement exist in their agencies.
About 33% of the employees do not believe their organization is a good place to work.
32% of the employees are dissatisfied with their jobs.
41% of the employees are not satisfied with their organization.

When you extrapolate these numbers across a government-wide workforce of about 1.6 million Federal employees, those numbers are actually pretty scary. For example, the results suggest that over 640,000 Federal employees are not satisfied with their agencies.

Human Capital Assessment and Accountability

A different way to look at this is to examine the results of The Human Capital Assessment and Accountability Framework index. The HCAAF index uses a set of metrics to evaluate Federal agencies' human capital management. The HCAAF looks at four key areas: Leadership & Knowledge Management, Results-Oriented Performance Culture, Talent Management, and Job Satisfaction. The FEVS is one of the tools used to develop these overall scores.

Here are the overall results for the Federal Government in these four areas. For additional perspective, let's compare the results in each of the four categories to the surveys from 2010, 2008 and 2006:

HCAAF Scores 2006 - 2012

2012 2010 2008 2006

Leadership/Knowledge Management 60% 61% 59% 58%

Results-Oriented Performance Culture 52% 54% 54% 53%

Talent Management 59% 60% 60% 59%

Job Satisfaction 66% 69% 67% 67%

As you can see, the overall scores have declined by 1% to 3% from their high in each category, with pay most likely being the largest contributor to these declines. However, regardless of the year in which you look at the numbers, it is still quite clear that the Federal Government has enormous opportunities to improve --- in every category.

Most troubling, if you look at the category which is probably of the greatest interest to the general public --- Results-Oriented Performance Culture --- even under the best of circumstances, almost 800,000 Federal employees have consistently given this area the lowest score.

What can be done?

With Sequestration looming, it is unlikely that most agencies will have an enormous amount of money to throw at this issue. That is simply the current reality. However, there are several things that can be done which will collectively make a big difference. Let's review a few of them now.

Communication

Communication always seems to be a workplace issue, whether it is in the private or public sector. The best way to address it is to develop and maintain a two-way communication strategy that shares information in a whole-brain manner. After all, you don't want your employees spending an inordinate amount of time around the water cooler griping because they don't know and/or understand what is going on.

By making a conscious effort to both transmit and receive information, you will be in a better position to know what your employees are thinking and feeling and be able to make adjustments when necessary.

Here are some concrete steps you can take which will reduce some of the frustration and discontent among the troops:

Have frequent information sessions with the employees through town hall meetings, team meetings, newsletters, etc. Better to over-communicate than under-communicate.
Be honest and upfront with them. Tell them what to expect with respect to future pay, cutbacks, Sequestration, etc. If possible, any bad news should come directly from you rather than from the newspaper or through the grapevine.
With respect to workload challenges, let them know what you are doing to address the current situation. Share the pressures you are under so they have a realistic idea of what you are dealing with. Moreover, let them know the strategies you are pursuing to try and make things better and invite them to share their ideas with you.
Periodically remind everyone that things are not as bad as they might appear. That is because while pay increases have clearly been limited, millions of people are out of work and would gladly take a government job if they could get one.
Manage by walking around. If people see you everyday and you interact with them, they will conclude you are truly concerned about them. Moreover, they will be much more inclined to talk with you and give you a realistic sense as to what is really happening on the floor.

Employee Engagement

A "turned on" workforce is what everyone strives for, but since one out of three employees don't feel that way, more needs to be done in this area. Here are some steps you can take to address this issue:

People want to be part of something bigger than them. To do this, connect them to the mission. Sounds simple enough but it often doesn't happen because of workload pressures, bureaucracy, poor management, etc. After all, if you only talk about numbers; that is all people will think you care about. Therefore, when you talk about your metrics, also talk about the people you serve. Design your physical plant using Visual Management principles** so that it "breathes" your mission, describes your history and showcases your many success stories. Nothing breeds success better than success.

(**Editor's Note: For more on visual management, see Stewart Liff's recent articles on OhMyGov.com wherein he explains how this novel approach to management has helped transform some government agencies. For a complete description of the concept, see Stewart's book Seeing is Believing: How the New Art of Visual Management can Boost Performance throughout your Organization, written with Pamela A. Posey.)

Make sure your employees are involved in all aspects of the work. That is, involve them in setting goals, workload planning, performance management, self-development, etc. The more people are engaged in all facets of the work experience, the more they will be turned on.
Utilize the team concept. Most people don't want to work alone; they want to work with others and be part of something special. In addition, given the length of time that people spend at work, they often need to establish meaningful social connections with their co-workers. Setting up a team environment is the best way to accomplish your work and build relationships among the employees.
Consider self-managed teams. They take teamwork to a completely different level and if done correctly, help create an environment where everyone can be a leader. Moreover, they produce a much higher degree of employee involvement, employee knowledge and engagement.
Make sure your systems are carefully aligned and support teamwork. Otherwise, you will send mixed messages. For example, high partitions generally inhibit teamwork. If you only reward individual performance, people will be less likely to help each other. Remember, organizations are perfectly designed to get the results that they get.

Manage Performance

In my experience, most people want to be part of a winning organization. They want to work for an organization where performance is valued and people are treated fairly. In order to accomplish this, here are some actions you can take:

Share the performance goals and actual performance statistics with everyone so they know what the goals are and how they are doing (at both the group and individual levels.) I strongly advocate posting this information in locations where employees meet.
You should have daily (15 minutes is usually sufficient), weekly and monthly performance meetings as appropriate to discuss group performance. This will ensure that everyone is involved and has the chance to participate.
Employees should receive periodic feedback on how they are doing relative to their performance standards (monthly is preferable.) Along these lines, consider providing them with a monthly report card telling them how they are doing.
You should have reliable consequences for every level of performance, regardless of whether you like the employees or not. In other words, people should always be able to see an action coming, whether it is good, neutral or bad. However, in the FEVS Survey, only 41% of the respondents agreed that "Awards in my work unit depend on how well employees perform their jobs." Clearly, many people believe that awards, among other actions, are not reliably given based on performance. (As stated earlier, only two out of 10 employees felt that pay raises are related to their job performance.)
Most importantly, DEAL with your problem employees; do not move them. After all, this continues to be perhaps the most frustrating area for Federal employees. For instance, in response to the following statement, "In my work unit, steps are taken to deal with a poor performer who cannot or will not improve," only 29.7% of the employees responded affirmatively, meaning over 1.1 million Federal employees do NOT feel that poor performers are properly dealt with.

These are only some relatively simple but effective actions you can take to improve your results. In my next column, I'll discuss additional steps you can take to improve the views of your employees.

Stewart Liff writes on human resources management issues in government for OhMyGov. A recipient of the President's Council on Management Improvement Award, he is the author of five books, including the just-released Improving the Performance of Government Employees. His expertise includes employee relations, labor relations, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), performance management, staffing, training, rewards and recognition, metrics, systems design and succession planning.

#SOTU Social Media Guide - Tonight's Politics on Twitter

2013-02-13T00:36:00Z

Already the day’s highest trending topic, tonight’s State of the Union (#SOTU) will undoubtedly be making waves on social media for the next few days – starting with play-by-play commentary from the White House, politicians, the media, and the public-at-large on social media all evening.

A quick primer for tonight’s events on social media:

Once again the White House will be streaming an enhanced version of the speech that features graphics, data and stats that highlight the issues the President is discussing on WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU. They will also live stream that broadcast through the White House Live App on Facebook, YouTube and their Google+ page.
During a special “Open for Questions” event following the speech, a panel of senior advisors will be answering questions about the President's address submitted by citizens via Twitter (using the hashtag's #WHChat & #SOTU), Google+ and Facebook, as well as from the live in-person audience of White House Social participants. (More details on the White House’s plans can be found here).
Expect some heavy traffic on the White House’s official Twitter hashtag for the conversation about guns and violence, #NowIstheTime. (This hashtag seems to have gained more traction than the much derided #My2k, about the fiscal cliff).

And it’s not all just about POTUS this evening. Since 1966 the major opposition party has promoted an official response to the president’s speech (that year it was the influential Sen. Dirksen and future president Gerald Ford, at the time a House member, responding to President Johnson).

This responsibility is both a coveted and dreaded speaking role, and this year the challenge goes to first-term Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). Rubio is in almost exactly the same position as Governor Bobby Jindal was four years ago when he rebutted the President’s speech – a prominent politician, son of immigrants, hailing from the South, and sold as “the savior” of the Republican Party.

This speech may well be Rubio’s make-or-break moment, whether he thinks of himself as a savior of the party or not. Most argue that 2009 was a definite stumbling point in Jindal’s trajectory into the national spotlight, and there will be plenty of Wednesday morning quarterbacking on his 2016 prospects.

Sen. Rubio is definitely influential on social media (see our analysis here) and has been a rising star online for some time. Since it was revealed on February 6th that Rubio would fill the role, he is gaining even more traction and visibility online with over 14,000 mentions of him on Twitter the following day and continued growth in followers.

Expect Rubio’s speech to be hotly debated online – and its implications for Rubio as a viable candidate in 2016. You can see an early preview of his speech here.

Some other social media activities from the GOP this evening:

For the third year in a row, the Tea Party is organizing an official response as well, and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul will be stepping to the podium – another rising star with his own aspirations for Washington. Expect increased traffic for the hastags #TeaParty and #tcot along with his comments.
Republican leaders will also be taking questions throughout the speech and afterwards with the #SOTUGOP hashtag.
Groups like RNC Research (@RNCResearch) will be live fact checking #SOTU this evening on Twitter – queue a handful of instant controversies over phrasing…
In a bit of planned political name calling, Rep. Steve Stockman is planning a #YouLie hashtag fact check campaign.
The GOP has even set up an official facts and charts page on their site - www.GOP.gov/SOTU - that will rebuff the White House’s own attempts at data-driven live coverage.
Expect the GOP to almost entirely ignore the #NowIstheTime hashtag on Twitter, or find a way to attempt and hijack it. They have already embraced their own hashtag for the night, #NotSerious, to question Obama’s commitment to real reforms.

Whether you engage with the State of the Union through social media or not, expect #SOTU to be a trending topic for the next couple of days as the public debate plays out online.

We of course will be offering some thoughts during the speech as well, and you can always see our commentary on Twitter (@OhMyGov).

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OhMyGov specializes in providing media analytics, business intelligence and performance management consulting services to government agencies, politicians, political campaigns, and private organizations that lobby or work with government. Learn more here.

Military Hosts Role of Social Media Discussion on Twitter: #ArmyChat

2013-01-23T21:06:00Z

The U.S. Army hosted an online chat today via its official @USArmy Twitter account to talk about the role of social media in the organization, and how the Army employs tools like Twitter to tell its story.

Staff Sgt. Dale Sweetnam (@DSweetnam) responded to a host of questions and comments labeled #ArmyChat for about an hour this afternoon, serving up a number of helpful points on how to best manage content on different platforms and how to engage with users across the web.

Sweetnam also responded to some questions about the Army’s policy regarding soldiers and employees tweeting from their personal accounts. The Army has actually developed a social media handbook that encourages members of the military to use the Internet to share information while being mindful that OPSEC (Operations Security) is always a top priority when speaking publicly.

According to OhMyGov’s media tracking platform, the U.S. Army has more than 220,000 followers for its @USArmy handle alone, and has grown its Twitter following by 3% since January 1. The Army ranks second among large government agencies in Media Power and also has almost 1.7 million Facebook followers of the main U.S. Army page.

You can see the entire chat session here on Twitter.

Today’s #ArmyChat produced more than 175 tweets, with 17 direct responses from @USArmy to questions posed by the Twitter community. Overall, the Army noted in a tweet that the chat session was a success, and that it plans other similar events in the future.

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How Government Can Leverage Graph Search to Expand on Facebook

2013-01-23T14:41:00Z

Facebook announced last week that it is rolling out a new feature for its social media empire called Graph Search, which is billed as a new way to discover information online. One of the notable parts of this new search approach is that Facebook is making user interactions a key component of the math that drives the results – which is unique from traditional search engines, and has implications for those in government and politics looking to succeed in social media.

Graph Search is hyped as a powerful new tool that for the first time allows someone to answer life’s most important questions, like “What movies are liked by people who like Mitt Romney?“ or “Do my coworkers enjoy fly fishing?”

Not impressed? Perhaps you should be.

This type of dynamic search could open up new opportunities and some pitfalls for those in government and politics who have a presence on the web. Here is a quick primer of what you will want to know.

How Graph Search Works

One thing to clear up right out of the gate, the term ‘Graph Search’ refers to the way that Facebook and others organize interconnected content – in graphs of intersecting data. Every piece of content on Facebook has its own audience, and it is all contained within a user’s own ‘social graph.’

To show how the new feature works, at the company’s press conference, CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly asked the new search engine the following questions as examples, and got exactly the results one would want from these social queries.

My friends who live in Palo Alto and like "Game of Thrones"
Friends of friends who are single men in San Francisco and are from India
NASA Ames employees who are friends of Facebook employees
Bars in Dublin, Ireland liked by people who live in Dublin, Ireland

This shows the broad variety of applications that Graph Search aims to fulfill – travel, research, recruiting and even dating. It is currently in beta testing among a portion of Facebook’s 1 billion active users, and Graph Search is definitely unique among search options on the web.

Traditional search (Google, Bing) is designed to take a set of keywords and provide the best possible results from the internet that match those words and phrases. The pages are ranked based on the prominence of the particular source on the web compared to others – generally with sites like NYTimes.com at the top and smaller ones like a personal blog towards the bottom.

On Facebook, Graph Search will be populated first with content from Facebook itself, limiting the scope for queries. Importantly, Graph Search will also base the top results on a user’s own social graph and the amount of interactions, likes and shares that a user and their friends have with a particular piece of content. This interaction-driven approach to search means if more of someone’s friends like a particular page, picture, article or link it will appear at the top of results, and this differentiation has implications for how an organization should approach Facebook as a tool for outreach in social media.

(You can find out more about Graph Search’s functions by checking out this official announcement, and summary articles here and here.)

Augmenting Your Approach to Facebook

Graph Search is a long way from replacing the big search engines, but this tool dramatically increases the number of searches that will start on Facebook instead of the broader internet – and that will change the way that any organization’s content is found online.

Here are some techniques to prepare for the new feature:

1. Grow Your Network
Graph Search reemphasizes the importance of actual connection in social media, not just having a presence. When someone likes your page, you instantly become a part of the search database for every single one of that user’s friends (and friend’s of friends in some cases).

Not actively growing followers on Facebook means missing out on all of that potential search visibility and being excluded from the conversation.

For example, if someone were to search for information about ‘civil rights’, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights will only appear within these listings if their friend’s have liked the OCR’s page. If they have not (or the searcher has not), then results will show for other organizations with that focus. If multiple friends have liked the page, then results will appear closer to the top.

2. Be Share-Worthy
While one person liking you will expose your page to hundreds of searchers, a user sharing content that you have posted will add even more dynamic results to those queries.

Liking your page means that your general overview (and the keywords contained within) will become accessible through search, but blog posts, photos and articles you post and are shared by users will include that expanded content in their search algorithm and their friends’ searches as well, even if neither person follows your page directly.

That means you gain more exposure to the search algorithm and can be found by an increasing number of different queries if you are actively engaging with the Facebook community.

The Army Corps of Engineers is commonly known for their civil works projects in the U.S. like dams and levees. By spreading information through likes and shares on Facebook about the Corps other missions and objectives – like overseas or military projects, environmental work, or research – the ACE becomes a part of search results for all of these topics as well and will rise in the results as more users interact with them in different ways besides just liking their page.

3. Target Your Information
Graph Search also presents a major advantage for organizations in understanding their social networks and how best to target their content and information. With the demonstrated ability to layer a search query (‘Movies liked by people who like Mitt Romney’), any user can investigate the entire Facebook community’s interconnectedness and glean useful information about their own network.

If an employee at the National Gallery of Art searched for ‘people who like the NGA and modern art’ or ‘African-American art’, they will get a list of Facebook followers that have both interests. With that knowledge, the NGA could promote their recently acquired works from Glenn Ligon and know how many of their followers will be more likely to share that information with their friends. Or in planning a new exhibit or promotion, the NGA could see which artists their followers like in general to know what pieces to highlight to attract more visitors.

Organizations can now know not only who likes them, but also what else interests those users, what they talk about, and what they share – a treasure trove of information for strategic outreach. Targeting users with information they are more likely to promote and share themselves increases visibility for the organization and overall presence within every user’s social graph.

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There is still plenty we don’t know about how exactly the functionality will be implemented. For instance, will Graph Search also search users’ status updates for keywords? But we do know that for the first time it organizes information on the social network so it can be put to good use.

Organizations should be mindful of the potential impact this new feature can have as they develop their strategic plans for outreach and marketing online. We have always known that engagement with audiences was the key to success – now, Facebook has created a formula to prove it.