Federal Success Stories in Workforce Planning

by Mary Lou Lindholm
Lindholm & Associates

Regardless of what specific workforce planning model is used, or what each department or agency calls its particular process, serious and effective workforce analyses have been taking place throughout the federal government. Agencies are predicting future staffing and skills needs, assessing current staff competencies, and figuring out how to close the gaps between the current and future levels. The accomplishments across government are varied and reflective of creative, innovative approaches to workforce planning and restructuring.

Let us first look at what the Department of Labor (DOL) has been doing in this area. DOL determined that, before it could formalize the workforce analyses and planning stages, a clear picture of what competencies are needed for all of its mission-critical occupations must be drawn. During the past year or so, DOL completed a competency modeling project for 25 of its key occupations - i.e., full competency models were developed and are now being implemented for purposes of hiring, training, assessment and other human resources functions. DOL also purchased and implemented a software application that evaluates employees against the identified competencies, resulting in individual development plans for all. The individual assessments will allow DOL to roll up the results into organizational evaluations of competency gaps and new recruitment and training initiatives. Another successful workforce planning effort is DOL’s MBA fellows program, which plays a key role in the Department’s succession planning by hiring MBA graduates into rotational assignments throughout the Department. Through these efforts, DOL has pulled all of the pieces together into one overall strategic human capital planning process that will serve them well in the coming years.

Another success story is at the State Department. A few years ago, State implemented an aggressive diplomatic readiness initiative that was the name given to its workforce planning effort. It forecast staffing needs in its foreign service and civil service for the next 10 years. Based on that forecast, State focused its recruitment program to the hiring of junior officers in the foreign service with particular emphasis on hiring persons with hard-to-find language skills. While State has not been able to meet all of its hiring goals in some language areas, its workforce planning process has enabled the Department to meet some pressing needs and to refocus its efforts where gaps still exist.

The US Army has designed and implemented Web-enabled workforce planning tools for strategic human capital management. The tools allow agency managers and others to assess their current workforce in terms of retention, turnover, organizational realignments and other workforce trend data, while at the same time allowing them to look at projected occupational needs, geographic dispersions, “what if” scenarios of future outsourcing, and similar factors impacting Army’s future recruitment and training needs. The Army’s tools are integrated into an overall systematic review process with the focus on studying occupations and occupational groupings, geographic differences, recruitment needs and other workforce criteria.

The Defense Contract Audit Agency’s (DCAA’s) workforce planning is part of a more complex, extensive process of budget, financial, workload, human resources and other areas of planning. DCAA integrates its budget and multi-year operational audit workload planning processes into plans for employment, training, recruitment and audit performance. These plans, which have specific milestones and deliverables, are directly linked to the agency’s strategic plan goals, objectives and milestones. DCAA uses a life-cycle approach to managing its workforce planning system with a focus on entry-level recruitment and training, mid-level development, and senior-level succession planning. Workforce analyses of existing and projected data feed into decisions on where the agency puts or redeploys its emphasis within the workforce planning system. DCAA continually revises and updates its strategic goals and objectives, with accompanying milestones, based on the results of its workforce planning system.

Success stories have not just been centered on the larger agencies. Small federal agencies have also been conducting and implementing workforce planning initiatives. One such small agency, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), has developed and implemented a workforce planning model. By looking out at the competencies and skills needed in five to ten years, PBGC has been able to proactively address its need for contract managers and information technology experts - a need that continually grows each year. PBGC has actively involved its managers in efforts to recruit and train staff to meet these workforce staffing needs.

One final success story that should be mentioned is the creative use of QuickHire’s staffing application by the US Geological Survey (USGS). USGS customized the questionnaire normally used for asking applicants about their education and experience into a workforce assessment tool. For its scientific positions, USGS adapted the questionnaire to assess each scientist’s competencies and professional level, then used the results to develop an agency workforce plan. The agency plan serves as a guide for recruitment efforts as well as restructuring determinations.

There are many other federal agencies with new or expanded workforce planning efforts - Environmental Protection Agency, Internal Revenue Service, General Services Administration, Department of Energy and Social Security Administration, just to name a few. What all of the success stories have in common are the linkages to their strategic goals and objectives, their long-term forecasting of competency needs, their human capital planning processes that lend themselves to adaptation when program redirections occur, and their managers’ commitment and involvement in the process. To all of the agencies working so hard to plan for and meet their workforce needs, keep up the great work!

For an overview of strategic workforce planning, read Mary Lou Lindholm's May In Brief article, Strategic Human Capital Planning: The Missing Link.