Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT)
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE)
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT)
In the office of Representative Burgess Owens, fostering a positive workplace environment is a top priority, and the office has implemented several policies and practices to promote collaboration, camaraderie, and effective communication among staff. Staff participate in annual staff retreats, which provide an opportunity for the entire team to come together, bond, and focus on enhancing their ability to serve constituents effectively. During these retreats, the office invites external speakers, such as senior staffers from other congressional offices, to share their insights and experiences with their team. These sessions offer valuable perspectives and lessons learned from others in the field. The office has worked hard to cultivate a culture of self-improvement. Managers and staff work collaboratively to set clear goals. If shortcomings are identified, they are dealt with immediately, with no recriminations or hard feelings. This also breeds an attitude that taking risks are not only acceptable, but encouraged, resulting in new ideas for the office mission and operations. Through their collaborative approach and supportive culture, the office strives to create an environment where every staff member feels valued, empowered, and inspired to make meaningful contributions to our mission of serving the people of Utah's 4th District.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE)
The office of Representative Don Bacon operates with the understanding that if you put your people first and empower them, they will put the mission first. Their office offers benefits including a flexible telework policy, compensatory time off, and three office- sanctioned fitness breaks per week. The office has the best staff retention rate and the smallest turnover index number in the entire Nebraska delegation. The ability to focus on the mission in an open door and collaborative environment is one of the primary reasons that the Congressman has been recognized by the Center for Effective Lawmaking as the most effective Republican House Member in the last congress, as well as being a previous Democracy Award winner for the best constituent services. At any given point, there are almost always staff members enrolled in educational programs at the graduate level. In addition, the office frequently helps staff members get accepted into various fellowship programs. With a robust intern program, the office staff work with interns on actual legislative matters and the program also includes multiple one-day field trips hosted by the Chief of Staff to locations such as the National War College and Annapolis for the purposes of gaining a broader understanding of the history of American government and its various departments.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA)
The office of Representative Seth Moulton's workplace culture originates from the Member himself, or as he likes staff to refer to him: Seth. The Member built his team's culture on General Stan McChrystal's book Team of Teams, and it is required reading for every new hire. From this book came the management style their team uses, where they operate as a network with a shared consciousness, built on trust and respect, and empowered execution, meaning that anyone in the organization can take action without needing approval as long as they provide all contextual information to leaders. The office has a budget line-item for individual professional development, such as a toastmasters membership or DEI training. If the budget isn't used, the office uses it for all-team training, and most recently, they participated in a full-day public speaking course. The office has a designated "ministry of fun," chaired by two volunteers: one from the DC team and one from the District Office. The office has done a variety of activities including trivia, Zumba, guided meditation with a Buddhist monk, wiffle ball, and boat rides. The office uses Donut, an app that schedules random pairs of staff for a 'coffee' meeting, which offers the chance for members of different teams to connect with staff they may not work as closely with, such as a healthcare policy staffer in DC and a regional director focusing on transportation and economic development in the District. The office also does staff retreats twice per year, switching off between DC and the District Office. Additionally, the leadership team circulates quarterly surveys to get feedback on how they're doing as an office. Lastly, the office implemented a new process of writing 'dear future intern' letters as part of interns' exit process. The goal is for new interns to learn from the class before them, and feel connected to other interns, all while learning what worked for them, and what the others wish they knew on their first day/week/month. None of this is surprising, as the Moulton office has previously won Democracy Awards in all three other categories.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
Senator Tammy Duckworth has a saying she repeats to her team: "what's the point in working for a Senator's office if you can't work to improve things you care about?" She's passionate about hiring staff with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences because she truly values hearing from as many perspectives as possible. She also knows that if her staff succeeds, the State of Illinois and her constituents will benefit as well. To that end, the office hosts yearly staff retreats, conducts quarterly check-ins for staff to connect and communicate with their supervisors, and runs a year-long mentorship program that matches new staff with a longer-tenured employee for confidential advice and guidance as well as provides formal trainings and monthly group check-ins. The office boasts a "passion projects" initiative that encourages staffers to spend time on projects they care deeply about even if those projects are outside of their work portfolio, and successful past passion projects have included writing and introducing legislation, drafting oversight letters, supporting grant applications and penning op-eds for the Senator. Additionally, the office has a dedicated staff member who leads a DEIA committee that hosts "lunch and learns" with guest speakers and helps ensure that the office and the Senator herself are approaching their work through a DEIA lens. As a mother to two young girls and someone deeply cognizant of the competing pressures caregivers in the workforce face, the Senator also works hard to make sure that staff who are caregivers for family members feel fully supported by her office.
