Chartered Territory:
Looking at HR in Deep Focus

Merriam Webster’s online dictionary defines “deep focus” as “a photographic effect characterized by great depth of field.” A few members of the CPS management team, who together have a total of more than 80 years of experience in the human resources field, recently met to discuss the issues facing public-sector professionals. Jerry Greenwell, Chief Executive Office; Linda Kegerreis, Chief Workforce Officer; Gib Johnson, Managing Director-Consulting Services East/Federal; and Judy Capaul, Local Government Client Services Manager covered a spectrum of HR subjects.

Snapshots of the conversation follow.

On the state of HR, in general:

Gib Johnson: “Human resource managers need to become more adept at quantifying their benefit to an organization, in terms of time and money (metrics.) For example, previously, a recruitment may have cost $350 per person and the process may have taken 8-12 months to fill, and now it costs $175 per person and takes an average of 45 days to fill. In addition, at least at the federal level, there will be a larger push on quality control, contract management and cost containment within any given contract. Governments want more for their buck and better control of contractors.”

Linda Kegerreis and Judy Capaul: Both believe that the cost of healthcare benefits is such a large issue that it goes beyond most employers’ control. But, while Capaul jokingly believes that, because Boomers have been “demanding and self-centered,” something will have to change, Kegerreis believes a crisis is coming. She posed a rather foreboding question: “Soon the U.S. will be unable to globally compete due to healthcare costs. How can we, as a single employer, vie with governments that provide healthcare to everyone?”

On talent acquisition:

Linda Kegerreis: “Right now, it’s an employees’ market. That might change in about five to 10 years, but HR practitioners need to adjust their recruitments accordingly. We’re getting the applicants, but not the quality. Agencies need to be more flexible about matching skills.”

Judy Capaul: “I’ve heard that HR people are ready to try creative approaches. However, it’s a more difficult sell to some managers who are not ready to take a chance on a more inexperienced candidate who, however, shows some potential.”

Jerry Greenwell: “Public-sector employers will have to shift from a specific skill-set-based hiring system to more competencies-focused. Organizational leaders need to start thinking, ‘what skills does this person have that I can apply to what I need’ and then train accordingly.”

On training:

Gib Johnson: “There is an immediate need for workforce planning, as well as a growing need for training at all levels – from specific functions such as procurement training to leadership development. Right now agencies are keeping training in their budget projections bucking the past trend to cut training funds first whenever the budget is tight.”

Judy Capaul: “Agencies must start training supervisors to think more strategically about the workforce. For example, in the current workforce market, they should be looking for trainable competencies rather than number of years of experience performing any given task.”

Linda Kegerreis: “There is a huge need to re-create management intern programs to develop the leaders of the future. Employees who show leadership potential should be moved among different departments within the agency – accounting to public works to HR and so on – in order to gain a deeper understanding of the organization.”

On retention:

Jerry Greenwell: “The retention paradigm must change. Employees are going to leave the agency.”

Linda Kegerreis: “If you can keep an employee for five years, you’re doing a good job. Younger workers are not as complacent about employment as older workers – if they don’t like something or see another attractive opportunity, they move on. Plus, unless an agency is flexible with its benefits, it’s not as attractive a workplace. For instance, work/life balance is becoming a larger concern.”

Judy Capaul: “On the other hand, there are a greater number of Millennials, as a group, entering the workforce. Competition might change things somewhat. Also, if agencies can begin to implement some of their strategies like a management intern program or cross training or telecommuting to work, employees might be more likely to stay.”

Linda Kegerreis and Jerry Greenwell: “One of the short-term steps we all can take is to create a path for past employees to be able to move back into the organization. At CPS, we try to keep the door open for employees who separate voluntarily to return to work at a later date, especially since they will bring new experiences and knowledge back into the organization.”

Linda Kegerreis: “Of course, getting people to consider public-sector employment is another issue. Public-sector agencies need to continually focus on what they have to offer that will be attractive to applicants and different than private-sector competitors, then figure out creative ways to sell that!”

We’d like to hear your ideas on the current state of HR in the public sector. Please contact us at navigator@cps.ca.gov.

< BACK

www.cps.ca.gov - 1.800.822.4277