I want to highlight one of the areas they deem high risk --- they called it "human capital shortfalls." I call it "the brain drain."
They cited many examples, including: the imminent retirement of large parts of the Social Security Administration's workforce, hampered recruitment and retention in the Armed Forces and the State department, and skill loss following downsizing at NASA. GAO warns that a lack of people "dramatically undermines agencies' abilities to efficiently and effectively serve the American people." They call for strategic human management as one of five key actions needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
The federal government is not alone. Many states, counties, and other jurisdictions have also started to face the fact that over the next 5 years some critical mass, often 40-50%, of their workforce will be eligible to retire. Many have created 'succession planning' efforts to plan for an orderly transition to the next generation of public service employees.
We fear that succession planning as an answer is too timid! The public sector is facing a crisis that threatens its very survival. People are leaving. And due to past hiring freezes or downsizing, the reservoir of future leaders, managers, and critical technical staff is dry!! Further, traditional recruitment strategies are no longer working. The strategic questions are these: What happens if you want to hire and no one wants to work for you-or any other government organization? Since workforce shortages are structural, how can the public sector successfully wage a 'war for talent' over the next 30 years?
In our engagements, our clients have begun to develop new kinds of strategies:
Strategy 1: Win the competition to attract Gen X and Yers.
Find out more about their worldview, and make yourself attractive to them as an employer.This strategy asks public employers to do market research into the employment desires of younger people. Do they desire autonomy of action? Do they want more flexible, personal time? Find out! Then consider how you can change to meet their needs.
Strategy 2: Win the competition to retain the talent you have.
The flip side of the above is to ask what it would take to keep the great performers around -and then figure out a way to deliver. Some clients are providing additional financial rewards based on performance (i.e. gainsharing). Others are creating personally meaningful incentives to not retire. Others are creating new ways for individuals to contribute after retirement.
Strategy 3: Position now to provide excellent public services with 40% fewer employees.
Some clients are redesigning their services as if 40% of their people are already gone. These redesigns have taken out unnecessary steps or controls, set up world class performance-based contracts, or empowered customers to 'serve themselves.'
Strategy 4: Find talent, not necessarily employees.
This means making it easy for others to do public good without necessarily becoming public employees. For example, a corporation "adopts" a neighborhood school to guarantee that every child is read to 30 minutes a day. This means getting more facile in a talent-brokering world, such 'trolling' the resumes posted on the Web.
Strategy 5: Grow your own.
Several clients are establishing partnerships with colleges, high schools, and even elementary schools to help students visualize a career in the public service. Others have students experience public careers through meaningful internships and part-time work while they are still in school.
This work has only begun-our clients are on the 'bleeding' edge of this issue. Are you a public sector leader who realizes the seriousness of the situation and wants to work along with us to generate new designs and strategies?
If so, please don't wait five years to call! It will be too late.
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