I’ve spent more than 30 years and counting in human resources, consulting with rocket scientists, engineers, and some of NASA’s top executives. Over the years, I’ve learned that NASA lessons can be applied to other contexts, including churches and non-profits.
In fact, I was excited to bring my NASA experience to bear in a new context as Chief HR & Inclusion Officer (or CHRIO, pronounced “cheerio”) for Space Center Houston—a 450-person non-profit science and space exploration learning center that serves as Official Visitor Center for NASA’s Johnson Space Center (hosting more than 1.3 million guests each year)!
As Peter Drucker (an American management consultant, educator, and author, whose writings contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of the modern business corporation) puts it:
Let me help you build your organizational culture the NASA way—starting with strong core values and expected behaviors…and aligning your talent management, rewards, and recognition strategies with your desired culture.
NASA worked hard to intentionally build a culture of inclusion & innovation (for practical tips and strategies, check out my LinkedIn article here.
To measure your culture & engagement, take a playbook from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS)—a 100-question tool that measures employees’ perceptions of whether, and to what extent, conditions characterizing successful organizations are present in their agencies. From this survey, NASA earned the Best Place to Work in Government for 12 straight years.
Create your own engagement survey. That’s what I did upon arriving at Space Center Houston, creating our own 30-question instrument with items on effective leadership; teamwork & commitment to excellence; inclusion & diversity; and overall satisfaction & engagement.
With the results, focus on the “Critical Few” improvements. Organizations at all levels receiving survey feedback should select 2-3 areas of improvement from the survey. For us at Space Center Houston, we started with shapes and patterns across the organization in 2023. Then, offer an opportunity for employees to volunteer to serve on improvement initiative teams. Tie the new initiatives and the ideas for improvement to the survey feedback.
Communicate…Communicate…Communicate. Make sure employees know:
- Your Survey Results
- Where You Will Target Improvements (and engage them, where you can!);
- How You’re Doing; and
- What They Need to Know about Policies, Programs, and Initiatives.
I’ve been working closely with this process and approach for nearly 15 years; and I can assure you that it works in organizations of all sizes.
Additionally, it should be noted that over the last 20 years, 60-70% of engagement scores are driven by employees’ perspective of their leaders, so you need to start by investing in developing your leaders.
I can help you design a leadership development strategy and strategies to improve your culture and employee engagement.
Let’s talk about how I can help your organization shoot for the stars!