Building a strategic workforce plan for the correctional organization.
The intent of the American Correctional Association's Building a Correctional Workforce for the 21st Century project is to advance the interests of correctional organizations in securing the workforce needed to achieve institutional goals. Related project activities and this publication are designed to help you build your capacity to better understand and respond to emerging workforce issues. Included in this, is the importance of thinking and planning more strategically.[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
This article and related chart is intended to help you do just that. It can be copied as is or you can download it from ACA's Web site, www.aca.org, or request a PDF version from Debbie Boyer, ACA Human Resources Committee chairwoman, by e-mailing her at debbie.boyer@doc.state.ok.us. It is suggested that you work through the document yourself and include members of your staff in an exercise to identify areas where you can improve your strategic workforce planning.
Strategic Workforce Imperatives
The resource development planning chart on pages 111-115 is organized around 10 strategic workforce development plan imperatives. These imperatives include major themes that have emerged from the articles presented in this edition of Corrections Today, which provide background and practical ideas as well as references for further study. The thought process and method of approach suggested will drive strategic action steps to close differences between a correctional agency's current condition and a desired state during the next five years. It is a strategic gap analysis of sorts, designed to lead into the formulation of an agency's more tactical and operational workforce plan.
It is suggested that you modify this tool to meet your more specific strategic workforce planning needs, and use it, minimally, on an annual basis. Although this guide encourages you to think five years out, external conditions can change that will require course correction on your workforce development planning. You are encouraged to share these modifications with Boyer, for purposes of enhancing this tool for use by other colleagues and organizations. The 10 strategic workforce development plan imperatives are:
Organizational Readiness. Several preconditions are considered important before effective workforce planning and results can be achieved. These include recognizing the importance of workforce planning within the organization and making a commitment to become a preferred employer. It is also critical to characterize the ideal employee that not only is needed now, but in the future.
Organizational Workforce Needs. You are only able to achieve that which you can measure. It is imperative that you characterize the quantity and quality of the labor force you will need. This requires some consideration of anticipated turnover, retirements and changes in organizational approaches that may require modifications in personnel use.
Labor Market Conditions. The changing demography across the United States and in an agency's specific area will require careful and localized analysis. The traditional white male labor pool upon which corrections has relied will not be as available as it once was. This will require reaching out to and developing alternative human resources. In addition, forecasted job growth in the U.S. economy suggests workforce shortages will occur in most occupational areas. This portends growing recruitment competition among employers and within the labor pool.
Recruitment. Recruitment success in the future will have a strong connection to general public awareness of the importance of corrections as well as availability of corrections-related jobs and careers. Retention will also be affected by the career advancement opportunities available within the profession and the organization as well as wages, benefits and other incentives of employment. In light of competitive recruitment conditions, a variety of media and Web-based approaches will be vital along with maintaining strong relationships with organizations that prepare and guide workforce candidates.
Retention. Turnover has and will remain a challenging issue. It requires the development of specific strategies related to certain employee groups. Specifically, the organization needs to make sure it understands and is able to respond to the long-term employment interests of the high performers, as these individuals will also be attractive to other employers as well. A shortage in candidates within the traditional labor pool also will require the development of strategies to extend the tenure of those soon to retire in some manner.
Training and Advancement. The percentage of cor-rections professionals and executive and management positions eligible for retirement will remain high. The development of individuals for management positions will need to be accelerated. Retention and organizational performance also will be positively affected by strengthening skill development that advances staff within the organization and cross-training that supports wider use of personnel. New types and special interest training also may be available through partnerships with organizations in business, government and the nonprofit sector.
Sharing a Workforce Pool. Collaborative efforts to stabilize labor resources are growing in light of increased churning (hiring and laying off) related to shifting employer needs for workers. During lay-off conditions, good workers can be placed temporarily with other organizations. Non-core functions can be outsourced and areas of critical competencies can be shared.
Work System Re-engineering. Strategies to more efficiently and effectively use personnel resources will continue to be studied and applied in light of tight revenue and labor pool conditions. Automation, process improvement and alternative work arrangements will provide opportunities.
Strategic Relationships. An agenda of regular interaction for mentorship, best-practice identification and workforce recruitment is an essential element in a competitive workforce development environment. ACA, through this project, is intending to be a conduit of such support. Additional relationships with educational institutions and other sources of worker candidates like local workforce boards and government boards are important to prioritize and maintain.
Human Resource Development Capacity. The role of the human resource function within the correctional organization will grow in importance, or desired organizations goals will not be achieved. The human resources manager or personnel officer must be a member of the executive and organizational strategic planning teams. Appropriate financial resources and related support will need to be available to address the increased complexity of workforce development.
A Collaborative Initiative
There it is--a more strategic way to think about and develop a strategic workforce plan for the correctional organization. It is supported by this special workforce edition of Corrections Today, ACA's Human Resources Committee, a newsletter and a special track at each ACA conference. Building capacity for more effective workforce development planning must be an ongoing process as complexity, diversity and pace of change will characterize the workforce development environment. Your efforts along with those of other ACA members, is best advanced through collaborative efforts, which will benefit from feedback. Please share any comments relative to this chart and anything else related to this project with Boyer.
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Workforce Development Current Desired State Imperative Condition (Over Next 5 Years) I. Organizational Readiness Strategic plan & planning process includes human resources & director as integral components Leadership committed to advancing "preferred employer" conditions Values & celebrates a diverse staff--employee surveys and recognition Preferred employee profile II. Organizational Workforce Needs Number of employees Category of employees Qualifications of employees III. Labor Market Conditions (local, regional, state, national) Labor pool availability Competition for labor Comparative wages & benefits IV. Recruitment (Internal & External) Public awareness & marketing information Organizational purpose & community role Career advancement opportunities & job descriptions Wages, benefits & other incentives of employment Recruitment materials-print, media, web-based Sources for distribution- schools, job centers, other professions V. Retention High performers At or near retirement Hard-to-find & critical competencies New hires Low performers VI. Training and Advancement Management & succession planning Job & career ladder skill-- enhancement Cross-training Tuition supported advancement options Collaborative training opportunities VII. Sharing a Workforce Pool Outsourcing labor-intensive & non-core functions Sharing workers with other organizations Temporary out-placement VIII. Work System Re- Engineering Alternative work arrangements Processes & procedures Mechanization & automation Difference Workforce Development Current condition Steps to Assistance Imperative Desired state to Take Needed I. Organizational Readiness Strategic plan & planning process includes human resources & director as integral components Leadership committed to advancing "preferred employer" conditions Values & celebrates a diverse staff--employee surveys and recognition Preferred employee profile II. Organizational Workforce Needs Number of employees Category of employees Qualifications of employees III. Labor Market Conditions (local, regional, state, national) Labor pool availability Competition for labor Comparative wages & benefits IV. Recruitment (Internal & External) Public awareness & marketing information Organizational purpose & community role Career advancement opportunities & job descriptions Wages, benefits & other incentives of employment Recruitment materials-print, media, web-based Sources for distribution- schools, job centers, other professions V. Retention High performers At or near retirement Hard-to-find & critical competencies New hires Low performers VI. Training and Advancement Management & succession planning Job & career ladder skill-- enhancement Cross-training Tuition supported advancement options Collaborative training opportunities VII. Sharing a Workforce Pool Outsourcing labor-intensive & non-core functions Sharing workers with other organizations Temporary out-placement VIII. Work System Re- Engineering Alternative work arrangements Processes & procedures Mechanization & automation This article and chart can be downloaded from ACA's Web site www.aca.org, under Publishing and Periodicals.
Ed Barlow is president of Creating the Future Inc. (www.creatingthefuture.com), an organization dedicated to trend spotting and strategic planning consultation for more than 25 years. He is a consultant to the American Correctional Association's Building a Correctional Workforce for the 21st Century project. For additional information, call (269) 982-1830. Joyce G. Fogg is public relations manager for the Virginia Employment Security Commission. She is chairwoman of the Advisory Committee for ACA's Building a Correctional Workforce for the 21st Century project. She may be contacted at (804) 786-7592; jfogg@vec.state.va.us.
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| Title Annotation: | CT Feature |
|---|---|
| Author: | Barlow, Edward D.; Fogg, Joyce G. |
| Publication: | Corrections Today |
| Geographic Code: | 1USA |
| Date: | Aug 1, 2004 |
| Words: | 1562 |
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