Addressing workforce issues that include impending baby boomer retirements, private-sector competition, and balancing diversity with demographics is the top management concern for U.S. state and local government agencies, according to a recent study conducted by ICMA media partner Route Fifty and the Government Business Council. Dealing with still-tight budgets and insufficient funds to modernize IT systems ranked as the number two and three challenges respectively.

Ninety percent of respondents considered human capital issues to be a challenge for their organizations, and just 41 percent believed that their organizations were prepared for the coming waves of baby boomer retirements, according to the Route Fifty-GBC study. Only 40 percent of all those responding indicated that their organizations were competitive with the private sector in their ability to recruit and hire talent, and that percentage dropped to 18 among state government employees. Additionally, more than one in three respondents reported diversity and representation gaps within their organization in relation to the demographics of constituents.

When asked to elaborate on the impact of limited resources, “57 percent of respondent say their organizations encounter more red tape than in the past regarding funding and grants,” according to a press release issued by Route Fifty. Only 43 percent believed their organizations have the budget to sufficiently invest in IT upgrades, while just over half (53 percent) thought their organizations have accurate and complete performance data with which to make budget decisions.

The study also revealed a number of critical issues facing state and local governments in areas such as collaboration, data-driving decision making, and acquisition and procurement, including:

• Seventy-nine percent of respondents consider collaboration to be challenging for their organizations, including 13 percent who say it is the number one challenge.
• Only 44 percent of respondents believe employees at their organizations have the training needed to make accurate database decisions.
• Sixty-six percent of respondents indicate acquisition and procurement to be a challenge for their organizations.

The results of the October 2015 study, which surveyed government leaders throughout the United States, were officially released during a January 20, 2016, viewcast that was moderated by Route Fifty Executive Editor Michael Grass. The viewcast also featured Joshua Franzel, Ph.D, director of policy research for ICMA and vice president of research for the Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE). SLGE recently issued a related white paper, Workforce of Tomorrow, which supports the human capital findings of the Route Fifty-GBC study. Mark Lee, manager of research and strategic insights with the Government Business Council, rounded out the panel.

Additional Resources:

• 2016 Top Management Challenge for State & Local Government, the complete Route Fifty-GBC report.
• Full study data and survey questionnaire
• Video of January 20, 2016, viewcast announcing the Route Fifty-GBC survey results.
• Workforce of Tomorrow, a white paper that examines how local governments can compete for talent.