AASHTO Asset Management Task Force



NCHRP 20-7

Proposed Research Needs Statement

October 12, 2016

Title: Workforce Development-Best Practices in Recruitment, Retention, Cross Training and Succession Planning

BACKGROUND

The AASHTO Subcommittee on Transportation Systems Management & Operations (STSMO) and the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) identified workforce development as one of the focus areas that would provide value to the Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) community.

Institutional context for TSMO in transportation agencies - TSMO is currently not fully integrated into agency policy nor a formal program structure because it is still somewhat outside the legacy civil engineering project development culture. TSMO is integrated into agencies typically as an afterthought set of activities dependent on mid-level staff champions, who are often two to three levels down from executive management and have shifted to an operations focused approach from other disciplines within the agencies. There are few organized staff development programs (training, internships, etc.) and existing Professional Capacity Building (PCB) resources are accessed by individual professionals based largely on their own initiative. Finding and retaining staff with the needed multi-disciplinary qualifications is difficult given the lack of pre-employment education – and competition with the private sector. As a result, much of the more technical activities in agencies are outsourced to the private sector, which itself has limited experienced staff resources.

Professional Capacity Building Needs vs. Available Resources - There are a limited number of TSMO related graduate courses, but these are not necessarily closely related to TSMO practice. Concurrently, there are a wide range of post-employment training materials focused primarily on specific TSMO applications and state of the practice knowledge. While the post-employment training materials are beneficial, there still exists significant gaps in areas related to TSMO program planning, development, management and leadership because the training materials do not address the cross-cutting skills and abilities needed within TMSO.

Recruitment, Retention and Career Development - Given the range of education and training resources available today, the challenge to TSMO workforce development may not lie principally in education and training gaps as the identity of the TSMO workforce is still developing. The TSMO-specific recruiting, training, retention and career development practices or sometimes lack thereof would contribute to the use and development of the existing training material in combination with on-the-job training and mentoring. One important aspect of the problem is the limited recruitment experience for agency HR and TSMO managers. TSMO managers lack the internal leverage to achieve the needed changes in legacy, civil engineering oriented recruiting, retention and career development practices. Key recruiting challenges are difficult because of the absence of position descriptions, a burdensome recruitment process, inappropriate legacy qualification requirements and limited talent pool contacts. Despite the small number of staff positions and relative novelty of TSMO as an agency focus, there appears to have been less attention to the retention challenges of which succession planning is one of the key considerations that is contributing to TSMO being seen as an after-thought process. TSMO retention often times do not have a defined performance and review process that supports advancement within and across the transportation agencies.

Career Development - While the larger transportation agencies provide specific career development opportunities for civil engineers and managers as part of an organized program, TSMO generally lacks an equivalent program focus within transportation agencies and lacks a clear advancement track. Key missing elements include pay and rewards related to defined performance and encouragement for national exposure to advance the state of the industry. As with other disciplines, competing opportunities often attract senior TSMO staff from state DOTs to some better compensated opportunities mostly in the private sector.

To begin to address these issues the NOCoE hosted a two-day summit on TSMO workforce development on June 22-23, 2016. The goal of the summit was to identify viable actions that NOCoE can either influence and encouragement the development of additional resources for TSMO workforce development. The participants included a diverse group of practitioners, agency managers, human resource specialists (HR), professional education and training specialists, and representatives of state, regional and local transportation agencies and professional service providers.

Eight priority actions that were identified are:

1. Convene a forum of DOTs, private sector and educators to discuss pre-employment education needs/solutions

2. Create a repository of existing TSMO-related course materials across all educational institutions –universities and community colleges

3. Conduct an updated systematic exploration of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) needs vs. training materials gaps for TSMO entity-related functions and positions

4. Develop a repository of existing position descriptions (PD) for similar positions/functions, and create model position descriptions

5. Develop model TSMO training program for new hires, promotions, and transfers -- including a review of current best practice for organization policies, practices, and content

6. Develop a strategy to elevate TSMO visibility as a core transportation function

7. Document current best recruitment practice in public and private entities, including targeting of non-traditional disciplines and recruitment sources, and the use of recruitment “sweeteners”

8. Document current best practices in mentoring, succession planning, cross training, special assignments and individual career planning for public and private entities

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

The proceedings from the Summit have been published by the NOCoE and implementation work is now beginning. The scope of this project is generally intended to address priority action items 7 & 8 from the above list:

1. Document current best recruitment practice in public and private entities, including targeting of non-traditional disciplines and recruitment sources, and the use of recruitment “sweeteners”

2. Document current best practices in mentoring, succession planning, cross training, special assignments and individual career planning for public and private entities

The objectives of this research were generated through discussions by the TSMO Workforce Development Summit which included participation from a diverse group of practitioners, agency managers, human resource specialists (HR), professional education and training specialists, and representatives of state, regional and local transportation agencies and professional service providers. However, the needs are relevant and applicable to a broader range of technical positions typically recruited by transportation agencies. As such the scope this research is intended to include this broad range of technical positions.

Other priority action items coming from the Summit are being addressed separately in cooperation with the NOCoE, AASHTO, ITE, ITS America and FHWA.

WORK TASKS

The project scope will entail at least the following tasks:

Task 1. Recruitment

A. Estimate order of magnitude of recruitment challenge in short and long run – for technical positions typically recruited by transportation agencies

B. Review and document – from literature (AASHTO and TRB, ITE, ITS America, NACE, APWA, AGC, etc.)-- public and private transportation agency and private sector recruitment experience/practice regarding non-Civil Engineering technical specialists (all transportation disciplines)

• Scale of recruitment activities

• Sources of candidates (University, Community College, other agencies & firms)

• Impact of  position-description requirements/constraints

• Communication, contact, referral  and interview strategies

• Use of incentives – including bonuses, schedule/location flexibility, advancement opportunities

C. Review and document – from literature -- public and private entity recruitment experience/practice regarding other types of relevant (non-transportation, IT, etc.) technical specialists as per item B above

D. Conduct limited phone survey of transportation HR staff –in both public and private transportation entities-- regarding experience/practice re the above issues

E. Identify strategies with strong chances of success in the future, realizing that Millennials have different values than previous generations

 

Task 2 -- Career Development

A. Conduct limited phone survey and written follow-up regarding current transportation agency practice/experience regarding career development in new or specialized areas including training, mentoring, succession planning, cross training and rotation, special assignments, and individual career planning

B. Identify strategies with strong chances of success in the future, realizing that Millennials have different values than previous generations

 

Task 3 -- Retention

A. Review and document – from literature (AASHTO and TRB, ITE, ITS America, NACE, APWA, AGC, etc.)-- public and private transportation agency and private sector retention experience/practice regarding high performing technical specialists (all transportation disciplines), including competitive compensation, location and incentives spot bonuses, gift certificates, pay-for-performance, recognition)

B. Identify strategies with strong chances of success in the future, realizing that Millennials have different values than previous generations

 

Task 4 – Prepare best/practice guidance document for transportation agencies focused on TSMO-related recruitment, career development and retention

1. Develop draft

2. Conduct review webinar with selected transportation agency representatives

3. Develop final draft

URGENCY

The public sector in general is facing a problem with workforce development. The retirement of Baby Boomers has been anticipated, but we are only beginning to understand the shift in values of Millennials. It is important to seize the opportunities to appeal to the values that Millennials embrace, such as wanting to make a difference and working for the common good. However, several factors make the challenges facing the TSMO discipline unique: 1) It is less established than other transportation disciplines, 2) recent and developing technologies (such as connected and autonomous vehicles) require specialized expertise that many do not possess, and 3) TSMO is an increasingly high-demand discipline without an adequate supply of qualified workers. Changes in recruitment, career development, and retention must be made soon if transportation agencies are to be prepared for tomorrow’s challenges.

FUNDING REQUESTED AND TIME REQUIRED

It is estimated that this research will take 6 months to complete and will require $50,000.

Submitted by:

Shailen Bhatt, Executive Director, Colorado DOT & Chair, AASHTO STSMO and Chair NOCOE Board of Directors

CONTACT PERSON

Gummada Murthy, Staff Liaison, AASHTO

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