Natalie
Saiz
Special Assistant to the Center Director for Organizational Change,
NASA Johnson Space Center

Creating an Innovative Culture Through Employee Engagement

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is known for having some of the most talented individuals in the industry—engineers, scientists, and astronauts, working on some of the most complex engineering and science projects in the world.  For the 9th year in a row, NASA has ranked #1 in Innovation and Employee Engagement.  While recruiting is important, it’s only the first step in the process.  The biggest challenge is how does an organization keep employees engaged and motivated to do their best, each and every day?  When employees are engaged, they are motivated to offer creative ideas and solutions to complex problems.

This presentation will focus on how NASA’s Johnson Space Center addresses engagement and the link to developing a creative and innovative culture.  Specific strategies will be discussed including the importance of having clear vision and mission objectives, first line supervisor involvement, employee resource groups, training related to inclusion and innovation, and barriers to innovation.  Specific measures from the annual Employee Viewpoint Survey, administered across all federal government employees, will be discussed throughout the presentation.

What you’ll learn from this presentation:

  • Proven strategies on how to create an innovative culture
  • Current methods NASA uses to engages their employees
  • Simple and accurate ways to measure engagement