Recent BRAC Survey Shows an Increase in DISA Employee Retention

A recent survey of Defense Information Systems Agency employees reveals that more than half of the Agency’s headquarters current employees plan to “move with their jobs” when the agency headquarters relocates in phases to Fort Meade, Md., in 2010 and 2011.

DISA has been conducting annual surveys of the workforce for the past several years to gauge employees’ intentions and to determine employees’ concerns about the upcoming relocation that was mandated by the Base Realignment and Closure legislation in 2005.

According to Jack Penkoske, director of manpower, personnel and security, the latest anonymous survey conducted in late May 2009 revealed that 58 percent of the 4,300 DISA headquarters workers plan to stay in their jobs after the move.  This is a 19-percent increase from the 2008 survey.

“That’s a larger increase than expected. Only 13 percent said they would likely not move to Maryland, a 7-point drop, while 29 percent remained undecided, down 10 points,” said Penkoske. The increase in those moving and decrease in those not going is “a good jump in the right direction,” Penkoske said, because “the agency wants to keep as many experienced employees as possible”.

While the recession, retirement savings losses and the slow real estate market are playing a role in whether people move with their jobs, according to DISA, those surveyed said transportation was the biggest single factor in their decision as the majority of the employees live in Northern Virginia and are facing a residential move to Maryland or a much longer commute. DISA is looking to facilitate the creating of van pools and carpools to aid commuters.

More than 75 percent said the ability to work at least partly from home would make a difference in their final decisions. About 45 percent of the workforce already participates in the DISA telework program, which allows an employee to work up to three days a week from home.

DISA, a Combat Support Agency, engineers and provides command and control capabilities and enterprise infrastructure to continuously operate and assure a global net-centric enterprise in direct support to joint warfighters, National level leaders, and other mission and coalition partners across the full spectrum of operations.