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Strategic Human Capital Project

Kristy SmithsonMorehouse School of Medicine PHSF

Centers for Disease Control and PreventionOWCD/SWDD Intern

July 29, 2008

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My Mentor Tracy Hilliard

Human Capital Advisor Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Workforce and Career Development (OWCD) Strategic Workforce Development Division (SWDD)

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Public Health Issue

“Today our Nation faces a widening gap between challenges to improve the health of Americans and the capacity of the public health workforce to meet those challenges.”

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

“We value our own workforce and the individual and group excellence and expertise that are at the heart of CDC’s work. We are committed to empowering our employees, to expanding our mentoring and training opportunities, and using our internship and fellowship programs to enhance and promote career opportunities.” –Dr. Julie Gerberding, June 1, 2006.

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Objective

• Background of OWCD/SWDD• Vision and Mission of SWDD• Analyze different concerns, issues, and strategies in

workforce planning across CDC• Introduce web-based training program• Description of what I learned

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Background 2004 HHS consolidation of HR Offices resulted in abolishment of

HRMO’s Recruitment Branch

2005 study by Carter Consulting identified an Agency-wide need for a targeted recruitment function to be located in OWCD

Strategic Workforce Development Division (SWDD) was established in 2007 to support CDC’s having a prepared, diverse, and sustainable workforce.

AHRC Meeting June 26, 2008

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Office of Workforce and Career Development

Strategic Workforce Development Division

(OWCD/SWDD)VisionTo be widely recognized as a government

leader in Strategic Human Capital Management

MissionTo support CDC’s having a prepared, diverse,

and sustainable workforce.

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Analysis from CDC Centers/Divisions

• CCHIS• NIOSH• CoCHP• COTPER• CCHIP

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Coordinating Center for Health and Information

Services (CCHIS)CCHIS Demand Analysis

• Larger full-time employee (FTE) workforce – CCHIS leadership desires a larger workforce to respond to current and future increased work volume. Many positions filled by contractors need to be transitioned to FTEs, especially the mission-critical occupations.

• Evolved skill sets – CCHIS will require staff that possesses increasingly strong technology skills, such as a mix of health marketing/information technology and public health/informatics skills.

• Well-trained leadership staff – As an increasing number of employees become eligible for retirement, staff should be trained and ready to step into the vacant leadership roles.

• More career paths for entry-level staff – There is a strong desire to offer entry-level staff more opportunities for advancement in addition to the need to recruit more lower- to mid-level staff for longer-term retention.

• More diverse workforce – Leadership recognizes the need to recruit and retain a more diverse workforce, especially at senior leadership levels.

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National Institute for Occupational Health and

SafetyNIOSHWorkforce Challenges

• Blended workforce - NIOSH has approximately 1223 employees and over 300 contractors. Roughly 25% of its workforce comprises contractors and with flat funding and that trend is expected to grow. Government downsizing without reducing its mandates or functions have resulted in a greater dependence on contractors to address staffing issues.

• Retirement eligibility/Vulnerability - Retirement eligibility in 1 year – 54; 3 years – 73; and, 5 years – 99 for a total of 226 employees or 19% of NIOSH. (Retirement eligibles “Now” to be added.) Additionally, employees ages 50 to 70+ total 584 or 47% of the population of NIOSH. A huge shift of employees leaving in the next five+ years is highly probable.

• Workforce diversity - An existing opportunity to improve the ‘diversity’ of the organization along key dimensions including persons with disabilities, veterans, gender, ethnicity, work experience, and life experience should be developed. In order to serve stakeholders, recruiting should target candidates with the best mix of credentials which is essential to maintaining status as a premier organization. Data indicate employees with disabilities – 62 or 5%; Females – 510 or 42%; Males 710 or 58%; Veterans – 210 or 17%; American Indian – 4 or .3%; Asian/Pacific – 84 or 7%; African-American or Black – 56 or 5%; Hispanic – 16 or 1%; and White – 1060 or 87%.

• Workforce supply - There is a lack of professions trained in occupational safety and health fields. There are fewer occupational epidemiologists and other OSH professionals graduating as repeatedly observed in the OSH community.

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Coordinating Center for Health Promotion CoCHP

Workforce Challenges CoCHP faces several potential workforce challenges over the next three to five years:• Funding and FTE position limitations - On the whole, funding is expected to be fairly flat and

FTE ceilings are not expected to grow to keep pace with the demand for more staff. Consequently, CoCHP’s ability to add FTE positions is expected to be limited.

• Workforce demographic diversity - While CoCHP’s workforce is slightly more diverse than the overall CDC workforce, there is some concern that CoCHP’s workforce does not fully reflect the diversity of the populations it serves.

• Workforce professional diversity - The most frequent job series within CoCHP are the 601, 685, 343, and 602. These job series (Health Scientist, Public Health Advisor/Analyst, Management/Program Analyst, and Medical Officer, respectively) are concentrated in key discipline areas. As shifts occur in strategic priorities, the professional mix of staff may not be sufficient to address future needs. Additionally, diversity among the professional areas within CoCHP is critical to attaining many program outcomes.

• Leadership capability - With 22 percent of CoCHP’s staff eligible for retirement and X% of supervisory employees eligible, CoCHP’s leadership pipeline could be threatened.

• Administrative capability and capacity - Managers have inherited additional work as administrative functions have shifted from FTEs to contract positions. Additionally, multiple and sometimes competing administrative/business systems have affected managers’ ability to effectively provide administrative oversight.

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Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and

Emergency Response COTPERWorkforce Demand Analysis• Skill gaps: COTPER needs a significant increase in the number of employees who have the

ability to lead, meta-lead, and build partnerships. Communication, diplomacy, leadership, consensus-building, negotiation, and analytical skills are critical for success in the highly collaborative environment of preparedness and emergency response.

• Critical positions and contractor support: COTPER has too few FTEs to perform mission-critical work, leading to stress, burnout, retention and morale problems, and a high number of contractors performing mission-critical functions.

• Uncertain funding: COTPER’s funding, along with its mission and priorities are subject to change at any time due to political factors. The end of the current administration, with its strong emphasis on preparedness-related activities, is seen as a potentially significant impact on the future of COTPER after the 2008 elections.

• Recruitment and Retention: Vacancies take too long to fill which means other employees are required to perform some or all the duties of the vacant position, resulting in lost productivity in each affected position and loss of continuity of workflow and institutional knowledge. A significant issue affecting retention is the high level of stress and burnout that some staff experience, particularly in the more politically sensitive areas or in areas that have large numbers of unfilled vacancies.

• Succession planning: Divisions do not have enough FTE allocations and therefore do not have sufficient staff onboard to build bench strength for leadership positions. Furthermore, many staff are too junior or are not yet prepared for these roles.

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Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention CCEHIP

CCEHIP Workforce ChallengesCCEHIP faces several potential workforce challenges over the next three to five years, as listed

below.

• Funding and FTE position limitations

• Workforce demographic diversity

• Workforce professional diversity

• Leadership capability

• Administrative capability and capacity

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Web-based training program

• Purpose– Increase manager awareness of WFP at CDC

• Designed to give a basic understanding of the concept of workforce planning and the phases and tools for workforce planning

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Criteria • One course (four modules) to be delivered via web-based training

• Interactive lessons that provide scenarios and examples from the current classroom training materials

• Feedback opportunities within the lesson to reinforce learning

• End of course assessment to ensure comprehension of material

• Ability to access training at any time convenient to the learner

• Allow the learner to take the training at their own pace

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Method

• Design a web-based training program comprised of 4 modules– Module 1 – Introduction

– Module 2 – Getting Ready for Workforce Planning

– Module 3 – Phases of Workforce Planning

– Module 4 – Wrap up/Summary

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Module 1: What is Workforce

Planning• Objectives:• By the end of this module, you will be able to:

– Define workforce planning– List the key elements of workforce planning– Explain why workforce planning is important for CDC– Identify your role in workforce planning– Identify role of WCDO in workforce planning

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Workforce Planning Defined

• Systematic assessment of future workforce needs

• Determination of strategies and actions to meet those needs

• Right People..Right Jobs..Right Time

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Factors Leading CDC to Workforce Planning

• Aging Population• Globalization of Workforce• Emergency Response (e.g. Hurricane Katrina, West Nile

Virus, etc.)• Workforce Shortages• Expanding Mission• Diversity

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Key Elements of Workforce Planning

• Focus on key initiatives, organizational goals and projects. (Work)

• Understand skills and staffing needs to meet mission related goals (People)

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Consider the Work

• Mission critical work?

• Special projects?

• Emergency preparedness?

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Consider the People

• Trained staff with necessary skills?

• Number of staff available?

• Job competencies required to perform work?

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Why We Need Workforce Planning at CDC

• Eliminate surprises– Be prepared for staff losses– Be proactive rather than reactive– Smooth out business cycles– Minimize hiring delays, get the right skills, develop

internal talent

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Why We Need Workforce Planning at CDC (cont)

• Take advantage of recruiting opportunities

– Take advantage of positive opportunities to find exceptional talent

– Take advantage of recruiting a diverse workforce

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Role of Manager/Supervisor in

Workforce Planning

• Work closely with Center/Office Workforce Career and Development Officer (WCDO)

• Identify need for blended workforce (FTEs, contractors, Fellows, Interns, etc)

• Assist in identifying mission critical occupations and administrative codes in your work unit

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• Assist in identifying special projects/assignments of short duration that can be completed by contractors

• Assure contractors are not involved in providing services that influence the authority, accountability and responsibilities of government officials.

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Role of Manager/Supervisor in

Workforce Planning (cont)

• Assist with summarizing data for your unit, identifying gaps and developing strategies to close gaps

• Assist in implementation of the workforce plan

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Role of Workforce and Career Development

Officers (WCDO)

• Coordinate workforce planning process• Assist in analysis of your work unit• Assist in developing workforce strategies and action

plans• Serve as an invaluable resource in workforce planning

process

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Module 2: Workforce Planning

Process• Objectives:

– By the end of this module, you will be able to• Explain the 4 stages of workforce planning• Define gap analysis• Identify strategies for resolving gap analysis results

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FOUR PHASE PROCESS

PHASE 1.Setting Strategic Direction

PHASE 2.Analyze the Workforce future needs, gaps and surpluses

PHASE 3.Develop and Implement WPplans for addressing gaps and surpluses

PHASE 4.MONITOR, EVALUATE & REVISEmonitor progress of efforts

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PHASE 1: Setting Strategic Direction

• Strategic direction may come from:– HHS

– CDC

– CC/CO objectives and initiatives

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PHASE 2: Analyze the Workforce

Supply Analysis - Profile of the current and future workforce

• Analyze current workforce:• Population• Location • Occupation• Leadership • Grade levels • Age • Diversity, etc.

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PHASE 2: Analyze the workforce (cont)

• Identify jobs• Mission Critical Occupations (MCO)• Hard to recruit/retain positions

• Identify trends• Turnover• Retirements• Hiring• Promoting• Retaining• Demographics, etc.

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PHASE 2: Analyze the Workforce (cont)

Demand Analysis - Identify the most-likely future workforce needed to carry out the organization’s mission over the workforce planning period:

• Project the type of workforce needed• skills/competencies• number of employees• Blended workforce (FTEs, contractors, interns,

fellows, etc.)

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PHASE 2: Analyze the Workforce (cont)

• Demand analysis• Identify trends

• Turnover• Retirements• Hiring• Contractor use and responsibilities• Promoting• Retaining, etc.

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PHASE 2: Analyze the Workforce (cont)

Gap Analysis – Identify shortages and surpluses between current and forecasted workforce

• Compare the results of supply and demand projections (Gap)

• Identify critical needs areas– Prioritize the significant gaps that have the

most impact on achieving organizational goals

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Skill Gap Strategies Skill Surplus Strategies Retention Productivity Strategies

•Succession Planning•Targeted Recruitment•Training•Career Development•Compensation•Blended staffing (FTE, contractors, fellows, intern, etc.)

•Retraining•Reassignment•Voluntary Separation

•Employee Surveys•Compensation•Challenging assignments, details, rotations•Rewards and Recognition•Organization Development initiatives•Alternative work arrangements•Feedback from Exit Interviews

PHASE 2: Analyze the Workforce (cont)

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PHASE 3: Implement the Workforce Plan

Develop and implement action plans that contain:• Specific tasks and actions that are necessary to carry

out the strategies• Separate action plan for each strategy• Implement action plans which bring your workforce plans

to life

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PHASE 4: Monitor, Evaluate, and Revise

Determine the Effectiveness of Your Efforts:• Establish a regular review of workforce planning initiatives.• Examine the progress made toward:

– Closing skills gaps– Proper use of contractors– Reducing workforce surpluses– Achieving hiring and retention objectives– Meeting diversity objectives– Accomplishing agency mission and program goals

• Assess, Adjust and Address issues (revise plan as necessary)

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Module 3Summary

Objectives:By the end of this module, you will be able to:

* List the four phases of the workforce planning process * Explain the role of Workforce Career and Development Officers in workforce planning* Explain your role in workforce planning* Identify resources available to assist in workforce

planning

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4 Key Sets of Activities(Summary)

• Setting Strategic Direction (Phase 1)– Identify the most critical workforce challenges, key functions, and

changes facing the organization

• Analyze Workforce Model (Phase 2)– Identify characteristics and gaps of current and future workforce

(forecast)– Include impact of a blended staff

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4 Key Sets of Data (Summary- cont)

• Develop and Implement Strategies to close workforce gaps (Phase 3)

– Future actions needed to overcome barriers/challenges– Current actions addressing barriers/challenges– Impact on mission accomplishment if barriers/challenges go

unaddressed (Risk)– Resources required to carry out actions– Communication strategy required

• Results/Progress (Phase 4)– Establish reporting activities – regular and recurring– Monitor, evaluate and revise as necessary

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Role of Workforce and Career Development

Officer• Providing employee data for your work unit• Assist in developing workforce plan• Assist in developing strategies to close gaps• Assist in implementation of workforce plan• Assist in evaluating, monitoring and revising workforce

plan

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Role of Manager/Supervisor in

Workforce Planning• Assist in summarizing employee data, identifying gaps

and developing strategies to close gaps

• Assist in implementation of the workforce plan

• Work closely with WCDO on workforce planning process

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Resources

• Strategic Human Capital Plan• Workforce Planning Guide• Succession Planning Toolkit• Workforce and Career Development Officers• Strategic Workforce Development Division

(http://intranet.cdc.gov/owcd/SWDD/workforce.shtml)

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What I learned…• Assisted in revising and giving recommendations to the training

• CDC leadership, teamwork, communication (attended several meetings)

• What workforce planning is and its importance in public health

• Always keep a calendar handy

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Thank you to the wonderful people I worked with…

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Chief Seattle

“When the Earth is sick, the animals will begin to disappear, when that happens, the Warriors of the Rainbow will come to

save them.”

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Questions?