A mixed method study: Understanding employee performance at U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leaders must communicate effectively. The problem the research study addressed was federal employees ranked DHS 29 out of 30 federal agencies in the Federal Human Capital Survey. Lack of communication, leadership, and employee engagement were listed as reasons for the low rating and high employee turnover. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the relationship between leadership, communication, and employee performance within United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency within DHS. This study's findings included (a) supervisor leadership and communication significantly predict employee and organizational performance, (b) field employees have lower perceptions of leaders than headquarters employees, and (c) employees who learned of the study through paper fliers rated leaders lower than employees who received electronic invitations.