Attracting, Retaining, and Developing the Transportation Workforce: Transportation Planners (2021)

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64 Material from Chapters 5 and 6 have been combined into a QRG that is a step-by-step process allowing agency officials (primarily human resource and planning managers) to identify pro- spective planning KSAs in light of current and future driving forces that will influence agency planning needs. These KSAs, combined into desired talent profiles, lead to the identification of overall agency staffing requirements and can be used to develop position descriptions and related talent acquisition strategies. Talent profiles also support development of staff training needs. In addition, the QRG recommends steps for assessing the talent management process itself. The QRG is summarized in this chapter, and is found in a stand-alone document as well as in Appendix C. 7.1 Use of the QRG for Defining Desired Planning Unit/Position KSAs There are three interrelated uses for the QRG as they relate to assessing a planning unit’s capabilities. 1. Planning managers can use the QRG to assess the desired capabilities and competencies of the planning staff as a whole in terms of KSAs. This is done by applying Steps 1 and 2 of the Tool discussed in Chapter 5. By undertaking this assessment by planning position type, a manager can identify the gaps in current position capabilities in the planning compared to the KSAs implied by evolving planning activity challenges facing the agency. 2. Planning managers can utilize the results of this unit-wide assessment to compare the talent profiles of current employees with those of the unit assessment, and determine gaps in indi- vidual position capabilities, leading to position-specific strategies for addressing these gaps. 3. The Tool can be used in the hiring process by comparing prospective employee talent profiles with those defined by the planning manager (the Employer and Employee Tools use identical KSAs to allow for such a comparison). This comparison should be considered a screening process; there will still be a need to interview prospective employees. 7.1.1 Conducting a Unit-Wide Capability Assessment The first use for the QRG, a unit-wide assessment of current staff capabilities, allows a man- ager to determine gaps in needed or desired KSAs especially in light of emerging societal and planning trends. The planning manager can compare the unit-level assessment to the individual KSAs employees have indicated in their talent profiles. Gaps can then be identified and strategies determined for addressing these gaps and considered as part of the effort to enhance planning unit capabilities. C H A P T E R 7 Introduction to the Talent Management QRG

Introduction to the Talent Management QRG 65   Example A planning manager wants to assess her planning unit’s capabilities and competencies given emerging planning needs based on the Tool’s external and internal influences and the related KSAs that might be relevant to her unit. She selected the General Planner position in the Tool and filled out the KSAs that she felt were necessary (using Table 14) to improve the planning unit’s effectiveness. Note that when the Tool is used to assess the entire staff’s capabilities, that is, across all position types in the unit, there is little difference between which planning position is selected for this initial unit-wide assessment. This is the case because all KSAs are available for every position type in the Tool. Based on the talent profiles of existing staff (developed by the staff members themselves using the Employee Talent Management Tool), the planning man- ager can then compare the unit-level competencies with the sum of those currently held by the staff. This comparison is shown in Figure 10. The KSAs indicated in the left side of this figure are those the planning manager desires in the planning unit. The KSAs on the right are those the current planning staff cumulatively have identified in their talent profiles as part of their capa- bilities. As shown in this example, the KSAs missing from the planning unit capabilities include: automated/connected vehicle technologies, collaboration with external partners and groups, cultural competency, equity, policy/program practices, risk management, and sustainability. The planning manager can then decide which strategy she will pursue to add such capabilities in her planning unit. Three options could include training current staff, recruiting new staff, or retaining a consultant to act as an extension of her staff in these areas. The QRG also provides an assessment capability for looking at more fundamental issues with an agency’s talent management process, that is, issues that go beyond identifying desired KSAs. As described in Chapter 6, there are often systemic constraints or institution-specific standard operating procedures that could present challenges to an agency’s talent management process. For example, an agency might desire to hire a more culturally diverse staff, one that represents the community it serves, but has not been able to do so for a variety of reasons including the focus of its recruitment process. 7.1.2 Comparing Desired Position KSAs with Those of Current Employees The second use of the QRG is to assess the KSAs for individual positions by comparing the desired KSAs for that position as determined by the planning manager with those identified by the employee in their talent profile. Note that the primary purpose of doing this is to identify training and professional development needs. Over the long term of an employee’s tenure in the planning unit, the assessment based on an employee’s talent profile can serve as a professional development plan that leads to higher levels of responsibility. Note that the first use of the QRG did not connect KSAs with individual positions; it simply provided a unit-wide assessment of what was desired compared to the cumulative capabilities of the staff. Example The planning manager is assessing one of the positions in her planning unit. It is a planning supervisory position and she is viewing this position as a critical part of her strategy for placing the planning unit in a position of leadership in dealing with the dramatic changes she sees hap- pening in the agency’s societal environment. Figure 11 shows the process for conducting this assessment. The desired KSAs that are missing include: automated/connected vehicle technolo- gies, cultural competency, data collection/analysis techniques, equity, land-use/economic devel- opment, risk management, and sustainability.

Figure 10. Comparison of planning unit knowledge areas and those of current staff.

Figure 11. Assessment of individual position KSAs.

68 Attracting, Retaining, and Developing the Transportation Workforce: Transportation Planners The primary strategy for this position (assuming the manager does not want to hire a new person) is to develop a training/professional development plan for the person holding this posi- tion. Seven gaps in the desired KSAs for this position shown in Figure 11 suggest the training courses or professional development opportunities for this position. Note that as a planning manager conducts an assessment for the positions in the unit, it is likely that identified gaps will reflect more than just missing technical knowledge. As found in the inter- views and surveys for this research, many planning managers identified communications skills, cultural competency, and teamwork as important needs that are often lacking. If such is found for a planning unit as a whole, a unit-wide training offering on this topic is warranted. 7.1.3 Hiring a New Employee The third use of the QRG is for hiring a new employee. In this case, the comparison is made between the desired talent profile for the position as defined by the planning manager and all of the candidate talent profiles that have passed an initial screen by the HR department as meeting the minimum credentials and experience requirements. Using the agency Tool, threshold scores for each candidate could be established by the planning manager that reflect the acceptability of a candidate’s talent profile for further consideration. For example, the manager might determine a minimum threshold of 75 percent matching with the desired KSAs as a cutoff for further candi- date consideration. This means that only those candidates who have listed at least 75 percent of the desired KSAs would be considered further. One advantage of this approach is that it minimizes any bias that might be introduced by candidate resume styles and formats. Note that newly graduated planners or engineers are not likely to have many of the skills and abilities desired for a position. In this case, an initial assessment might focus on desired knowl- edge areas and rely on training and experience in the job to develop the desired skills. Figure 12 shows the use of the QRG in the hiring process. 7.2 Assessing Institutional Factors in Developing and Administering a Talent Management Process The talent management process as envisioned in this research requires agency capabilities for successfully recruiting, professionally developing, and retaining agency planning staff. For example, agency capabilities, most likely found in the HR department, would include at a minimum: • Assessing current planning needs with respect to emerging trends and their planning implications; • Communicating the advantages of using talent profiles as part of the professional development of existing staff; • Establishing agreed upon processes between the HR unit and planning unit on how the talent management process will be used; • Administering talent management tools; • Using feedback on the use of the QRG process to improve the talent management process in the agency, such as enhancing the recruitment process; and • Providing the training and professional development opportunities resulting from the gaps analysis. The QRG assesses the current performance of the talent management process in the agency as it relates to the planning unit across a range of considerations. Based on this assessment, it then identifies strategies to overcome barriers or constraints. Figure 13 shows how this process is structured. The assessment is organized on the four phases of the talent management process

Introduction to the Talent Management QRG 69   Figure 12. Use of QRG for hiring. Figure 13. Assessment process for planning talent management process.

70 Attracting, Retaining, and Developing the Transportation Workforce: Transportation Planners presented in Chapter 6: overall talent management strategy, recruitment, professional develop- ment, and retention. Each of these phases is further defined with specific actions or factors as noted in Table 18. By scoring each factor and then looking at potential strategies for improving that factor, transportation officials can identify the types of constraints and opportunities that affect the effectiveness of their agency’s talent management process. In the assessment process itself, the factors are turned into questions that transportation planning managers ask themselves concerning the talent management process. This then leads to the identification of potential strate- gies for overcoming constraints and taking advantage of opportunities. Appendix C and the stand-alone QRG provide more detail on how this process works.