Workforce Planning

Agency Initiatives

• Mentoring at the Department of Civil Service - The Department of Civil Service has implemented a mentoring program which pairs a junior with a memeber o management who is not in the employee's supervisory chain. The mentor assists the employee in the development of job specific and/or leadership skills. The program has been in use for several years and has enhanced current performance and promotional pools.
• Succession Planning at the Department of Social Services, Office of Community Services - The Department of Social Services, Office of Community Services (OCS), implemented an Internship-Rotational Program. Anticipating the imminent retirement of a Regional Director of Field Staff Services, OCS announced the job internally. A process including review of applications and a structured interview panel was used to screen 22 applicants and choose four to be rotated on four-month details into the position. The position was double-encumbered so the serving Director could act as mentor to the individuals rotating through the position; the individuals were given total authority to make decisions on projects and areas assigned. A second phase rotated two additional individuals through the position. In addition to creating a strong candidate pool, this program enhanced communication and understanding among all participants which improved general operations.
• Leadership Development at the Department of Social Services, Office of Community Services- The Department of Social Services, Office of Community Services (OCS), established a two component Leadership Development program. The first component consisted of a one-year program of management meetings, lectures, project assignments, reading assignments and State Office workshops given to the individuals who participated in the Internship-Rotational Program as well as nine other applicants who were not selected for rotation. In the second component, 103 persons selected from among first-line child welfare supervisors, District Managers, Regional Administrators and State Office Administrators, were sent to a series of workshops facilitated by the J. W. Fanning Institute for Leadership, University of Georgia. The leadership workshops included practical exercises to build competencies in areas of communication, team building, leading change, leading people and being results driven.
• Workforce Planning Team at the Department of Transportation and Development- The Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) formed a Workforce Planning Team as part of its change management and process improvement efforts. The team consisted of DOTD managers and administrators from headquarters and Districts covering all Engineering Sections, Construction and Highway Maintenance, Real Estate, and Weights & Standards Enforcement, as well as human resources and executive management. As a final product, the group formulated five detailed recommendations regarding workforce and succession planning for DOTD. In December 2006, five task teams were formed, each of which is working on implementation plans for one of the recommendations.
• Knowledge Management and Succession Planning at the Department of Treasury- The Department of Treasury, in February 2007, submitted to the Department of Civil Service a workforce plan developed using information obtained in the Civil Service workshop “Basics of Workforce Planning”. The Treasury plan concentrated on their vital Fiscal Control section. They identified key staff eligible to retire and determined the availability of internal prospects for promotion. They have developed and maintained a procedural manual containing detailed steps for each position to ensure that other staff members who have only basic knowledge of section duties can substitute for others using the manual. They have also implemented cross-training within Fiscal Control and have requested FY 07/08 funding to double-encumber the Chief Financial Officer and the Unit Supervisor position.
• Knowledge Management at the Department of Revenue- The Department of Revenue has implemented a Total Knowledge Management (TKM) electronic database to assist in the preservation of knowledge and “corporate memory”. Currently the TKM system is being used to provide some computer based training in certain areas including policy and procedures. They have also started on other workforce planning activities. They have developed Retirement Eligibility Charts and analyzed the data in order to statistically identify areas of greatest weakness by occupational group, job series, division, etc. They are also publicizing their workforce planning initiative to their employees (via intranet and newsletter) in order to educate them about the program and their role in its success.
• Employee Skill Development at the Department of Revenue- The Department of Revenue has established a partnership with the Baton Rouge Community College to teach accounting classes on-site at Revenue. Revenue arranged student loans with La Capitol Federal Credit Union with deferred payment until Revenue reimburses the employee.
• Job Profiling at the Department of Environmental Quality-The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has identified key positions likely to be vacated. DEQ is focusing on using job profiling and work personality tools to align strengths of the individual to business processes and to develop job-fit strategies, behavioral and situational interviews and knowledge transfer strategies. The foundation of the Workforce Development initiative at DEQ is the job profile which helps identify:
  • Past experience and background
  • Institutional knowledge
  • Competencies
  • Talents and strengths
  • Areas of interest
  • Factors that influence retention
  • Desirable reward and recognition methods
  Job profiles are also used to identify issues of concern to employees and to develop strategies to move employees towards optimum job match. Some of the initiatives that have resulted are:
  • Alumni recruiting interviews
  • Incorporation of scoring rubrics for each PPR expectation
  • Training programs for new employees specific to divisions/areas
  • Accelerated knowledge transfer to prepare for succession issues
  • Performance benchmarks for behavioral and situational interviews for new hires
  • Special projects tailored to employee strengths that benefit the division and increase degree of job match
• Employee Referral Awards - Agencies with high turnover rates in job titles that are considered “shortage jobs” or “difficult to recruit” have implemented Incentive Award Programs for employee referrals. An employee at the agency who has a satisfactory work performance and refers a new employee who likewise has satisfactory work performance and remains with the agency a designated period of time, will receive a lump sum payment specified by the agency. Specific policy requirements vary from agency to agency. Below are a few examples of current policies used by agencies under Civil Service Rule 6.16 (d):
  • Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans (MCLNO) effective October 4, 2006:
    • Targets Critical Shortage Jobs and Difficult to Recruit Jobs
    • Critical Shortage jobs: Lump sum payment of $150 when a referred employee has worked at least 3    months, $350 when referred employee has worked 6 months
    • Difficult to Recruit jobs: Lump sum payment of $100 when a referred employee has worked for 3    months, $300 when referred employee has worked 6 months
  • Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) effective February 7, 2007:
    • Targets agency specific and difficult to recruit jobs
    • Pays lump sum payment of $250 when referred employee has worked 6 months
    • Pays lump sum payment of $250 when referred employee attains permanent status