Attracting, Retaining, and Developing the 2030 Transportation Workforce: Design, Construction, and Maintenance (2022)

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272 Putting Strategies into Action Once state DOT needs have been identied and strategies to address those needs are selected, eort must be dedicated to bringing the strategies to life and ensuring that they are eectively implemented. is chapter provides a review of incorporating the strategies described in this Guide into DOT workforce development activities, with a focus on change management and sustaining the new strategies that are implemented. Guide in Review e action plans in this Guide will help DOTs tackle impending workforce challenges and create a strong workforce for 2030. Conversations with stakeholders and transportation industry leaders revealed several themes regarding current and future DOT workforce challenges. e action plans in this Guide were developed considering these challenges for design, construction, and maintenance employees. Additionally, the strategies within these action plans are grounded in evidence-based workforce practices, and many of them have already been implemented at some DOTs and produced benets. All strategies and their corresponding action plans have been vetted by transportation industry leaders to ensure they apply to and are feasible for use with design, construction, and maintenance jobs. Taking Action: Incorporating the Guide’s Strategies Selecting strategies from this Guide is only the beginning in preparing design, construction, and maintenance sta for the demands of 2030. Successfully incorporating changes and investing in workforce develop- ment requires understanding the need for change, stakeholder buy-in, and thorough planning. Applying a change management framework in the implementation of new strategies ensures steps are taken to create a positive change. e steps for change management are illustrated in Exhibit 6-1. Following these steps allows DOTs to be proactive as they lead change. Rather than forcing substantial changes and dealing with resistance, this framework encourages DOTs to collabo- rate with sta and lead change in a positive manner such that any new strategies are eectively implemented and accepted by sta. e remainder of this chapter focuses on each of the ve steps of the change management framework and how DOTs can eectively implement changes such as incorporating new strategies into their workforce eorts. C H A P T E R   6 Change management involves a systematic approach and engages stakeholders early so that change is achieved with maximum benefits and minimum negative effects.

Putting Strategies into Action 273   The Change Management Framework Determine the Need for Change Before any change can begin, DOTs need to rst determine why the change should occur. Pinpointing what needs to change and the goals of the change will ensure the right strategies are selected. Understanding why the change needs to occur will also prepare DOTs as they make the case for change. When determining why change needs to occur, DOTs should rst identify what challenges they are facing. Exhibit 1-2 in Chapter 1 provides a list and description of challenges frequently faced by DOTs. Consult this list, reect on whether any of the challenges are relevant, and write down any other challenges that may not appear on that list. It is worth- while to review the list of challenges with other sta and stakeholders to gather multiple perspectives. Once industry challenges have been identied, refer to the list of action plans in Exhibit 6-2 (reproduced from Chapter 1 for easy refer- ence here). Read to identify the action plans that would address the identied challenges. Select those that would produce the most benets and be feasible to implement. As the change process progresses, it is normal to select dierent action plans and mix and match them as needed. Aer identifying challenges and potential action plans to pursue, DOTs should write down the goals of implementing this change. It can be helpful to dra SMART goals while reecting on how the selected action plans address the challenges. SMART goals are Specic, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. While draing goals, write goals that are detailed, have a way to be measured, are realistic, address the identied challenges, and have a time limit on them. Examples of SMART goals include: • Train all maintenance employees on how to integrate new technology into their jobs (e.g., drones) in the next year. • In the next 3 months, reach out to at least two nearby schools (e.g., middle schools, commu- nity colleges) to initiate a partnership and improve recruitment eorts. • In the next 5 years, increase hiring of underrepresented individuals by 10%. ese goals can be revised and updated as the change management process progresses. Even though the goals may change, it will be benecial to review them to ensure the appropriate strategies are implemented and to evaluate whether the change was successful. Exhibit 6-1. The ve steps in the change management framework. Guide Tip Read the “Detailed Strategy Description” at the beginning of the action plan to get a snapshot of what the action plan will address.

274 Attracting, Retaining, and Developing the 2030 Transportation Workforce: Design, Construction, and Maintenance Assess Workforce Policies to Ensure Support for Diversity and Inclusion ● ● ● Create and/or Revise Job Descriptions to Accurately Market Jobs ● ● Sustaining a Strong Workforce: Retaining Employees Develop Performance Management Strategies with Industry Partners to Communicate Expectations ● Construct Effective Teams to Maximize Staff Productivity ● ● Enable Employees to Share Ideas to Foster Workplace Innovation ● ● ● ● Integrate Critical Skills into Career Paths to Demonstrate Career Advancement Opportunities ● ● ● Establish Standard Operating Procedures for Data Management to Ensure Efficient and Secure Access ● ● Create Flexible Work Arrangements to Accommodate Employee Needs ● ● Implement Diversity and Inclusion Training to Ensure a Healthy Work Environment ● Developing a Talented Workforce: Training Employees Create Communities of Practice with Local Institutions to Encourage Knowledge Sharing ● ● Develop Robust Training Programs to Bridge Workforce Skill Gaps ● ● ● Upskill Existing Employees to Prepare Them for New Roles ● ● ● ● Action Plans Industry Challenges A do pt io n of ne w te ch no lo gi es Ec on om ic ch al le ng es R is e of m ul ti- m od al tr an sp or ta tio n R es ili en cy p la nn in g B lu e- co lla rs tig m a Sl ow h iri ng pr ac tic es Po pu la rit y an d ex pe ct at io n of fle xi bl e w or kp la ce po lic ie s D iff ic ul ty re cr ui tin g an d re ta in in g m id - le ve l o r y ou ng s ta ff St ea dy d ow ns iz in g of D O T st af f G en er at io na l di ffe re nc es Building a Qualified Workforce: Attracting Employees Partner with Educational Institutions to Market Jobs ● ● ● ● ● Develop a Brand to Attract New Applicants ● ● ● Use a Focused Social Media Presence to Engage Applicants ● ● ● ● Adopt Equitable Recruitment Practices to Hire Underrepresented Individuals ● ● ● Partner with Mobility Service Providers to Increase Coordination ● ● Exhibit 6-2. Matrix of industry challenges and related action plans.

Putting Strategies into Action 275   Action Plans Industry Challenges A do pt io n of ne w te ch no lo gi es Ec on om ic ch al le ng es R is e of m ul ti- m od al tr an sp or ta tio n R es ili en cy p la nn in g B lu e- co lla rs tig m a Sl ow h iri ng pr ac tic es Po pu la rit y an d ex pe ct at io n of fle xi bl e w or kp la ce po lic ie s D iff ic ul ty re cr ui tin g an d re ta in in g m id - le ve l o r y ou ng s ta ff St ea dy d ow ns iz in g of D O T st af f G en er at io na l di ffe re nc es Implement Internal Knowledge- Sharing Forums to Improve Knowledge Transfer ● ● ● Conduct Cross-Functional Action Learning Projects to Facilitate Internal Collaboration ● ● ● Create an Information Repository to Foster Resiliency Planning Communication Across DOTs ● ● Provide Leadership Development Opportunities to Build a Leader Pipeline ● ● Establish a Reciprocal Mentoring Program to Encourage Internal Knowledge Transfer ● ● ● Exhibit 6-2. (Continued). Before making any case for the change, it is essential to consider the DOT’s readiness for change. Every DOT has unique characteristics that can make implementing change easy or dicult. To evaluate how ready an organization is to change, it is valuable to reect on several topics as described in the following text. What is the organization’s culture and value system around change? • Does the organization’s culture explicitly or implicitly advocate for change? Having a work- place culture that openly supports change may lead to a smooth process when introducing changes. If the culture does not encourage change, recognize that this may present challenges when trying to convince others to adopt the changes. • Do people embody an organizationwide culture, or are department-specic cultures pre- dominant? If most employees embody an organizationwide culture, recognize the importance this culture likely has on all employees. However, if department-specic cultures are present throughout the workforce, identify what these cultures look like in relation to change and prepare ways to navigate these potentially dierent cultures. What is the organization’s capacity for change? • How much change is already taking place at the organization? If substantial changes are already occurring, consider that introducing more changes may not be appropriate at this time. How supportive is the leadership of change? • Are stakeholders and leadership supportive of the proposed changes? Having senior-level advocates that actively support the change is crucial for a smooth implementation and for encouraging sta to adopt the changes. How have past changes taken place at the organization? • What is the organization’s history with change? It is important to evaluate the organization’s history with change to identify whether past negative experiences could result in roadblocks or whether past positive experiences may make the organization even more receptive to change.

276 Attracting, Retaining, and Developing the 2030 Transportation Workforce: Design, Construction, and Maintenance Make a Case for Change Once the need for change has been identied and strategies to address these needs have been selected, steps should be taken to engage key stakeholders to ensure they will adopt this change. It is important to have early conversations with organizational leadership and sta aected by the change. Doing so will help sta be more receptive to the change, lead to potentially useful feedback, and foster a positive change implementation. e rst step to making an argument for change is understand- ing the risks and benets of the change. By clearly identifying what improvements are needed for the workforce and how the change will drive those improvements, lead stakeholders will recognize why the change is necessary. Consult applicable action plans, particularly the “Strategy in Practice” sections, to see how they can improve DOTs generally and design, construction, and maintenance sta specically. It is also crucial to understand the potential downsides of the change. Reect on potential risks, such as implementation barriers or new issues that could emerge as a result of the change. In this evaluation, weigh the benets and the risks against each other and develop arguments for why the change should be pursued, even with the risks. While developing these arguments, it may also be benecial to think of contingency plans if these risks were to occur. To under- stand the potential risks and ways they can be addressed, refer to the “Potential Obstacles and Considerations” section within relevant action plans. Aer considering the risks and benets, engage the stakeholders, organizational leadership, and sta who would be aected by the change. Having open conversations about the proposed change will foster an environment that is supportive and accepting of the change, ultimately making the implementation process smoother and the change more successful. When having conversations with these individuals, be receptive to hesitations they may have, have a dialogue about the benets and risks, and be open to incorporating suggestions they may have. Aer engaging with these individuals and solidifying the goals and plan for change, return to interested individuals who could be champions for the change. Having several members of sta, particularly from middle to upper leadership, who embrace the change and are ready to lead by example will help during implementation. Prepare and Plan for Change Aer making the case for workforce change, DOTs must prepare and plan for implementing and maintaining changes. Indeed, each DOT should develop a personalized plan for integrating desired strategies into their workforce and measuring their success. To do so, DOTs must determine which strategies they wish to implement, the metrics they will use to measure the success of each strategy, and the time line for implementing and measuring the eectiveness of each strategy. DOTs must also determine their overall budget for implementing workforce changes, identify the employee(s) who will lead the implementation of each strategy, and develop the communication plan regarding the workforce changes. When creating a communication plan, DOTs should identify the following: • Individuals aected by the changes (e.g., employees, stakeholders, industry partners). • Communication content based on audience (e.g., employees, the public). • Method for delivering communications based on audience (e.g., social media, internal email). • Communication schedule for each audience. • Communication leads (i.e., individuals who will manage the communication plan). Guide Tip Each action plan has a “Strategy in Practice” and “Potential Obstacles and Considerations” section that can provide support when making the case for change.

Putting Strategies into Action 277   Creating a plan for workforce change can help DOTs identify and lessen potential barriers to strategy implementation (e.g., lack of leader support, lack of resources) and conserve their resources. Identifying these barriers during the planning phase provides DOTs with time to determine alternate strategy options and mitigate risks before implementing a strategy, allowing the strategy to be maximally eective once implemented. Further, when several strategies are implemented at once, delivering one message outlining the various workforce changes (versus several disjointed messages) will likely save resources and provide a more cohesive vision for the organization. Take Action and Implement the Change Aer planning and preparing for change, DOTs are ready to implement desired workforce changes. To implement desired changes, DOTs may use this Guide’s action plans and tools for implementing workforce strategies to overcome common DOT challenges. DOTs may choose to implement any number of strategies described within this Guide to address their challenges and may choose to implement several strategies at once. Before fully engaging in the implementation of a desired workforce strategy, DOTs may pilot the strategy with a subset of the organization (e.g., a small workgroup). Doing so will allow implementation leads to uncover and mitigate any unforeseen challenges before implementing the strategy on a broader scale. If unexpected challenges occur when implementing any of the workforce strategies, implementation leads should revisit the action plan and make improve- ments as needed. Further, demonstration of strategy success will help encourage organization- wide support and enthusiasm for the change. For example, if a subset of maintenance employees report that they enjoy participating in knowledge-sharing forums discussing the use of new technologies to perform their jobs, other maintenance workers may be eager for this strategy to be implemented throughout the entire occupational group. It is important for DOT leaders, especially senior and executive leaders, to understand and acknowledge their role in this phase of change implementation. DOT leaders must actively promote and disseminate information regarding any occupational groupwide or organization- wide strategy to support its implementation. Otherwise, employees may not see the value in or importance of the strategy. Leadership support may be communicated in part through the communication plan developed in the previous phase. Maintain Changes To create a lasting, positive impact on their workforce, DOTs should prioritize sustaining the changes they have implemented. Doing so ensures that the strategies implemented create a pipeline of unique, skilled talent that can handle industry changes throughout the next decade versus providing a temporary x to widespread, complex chal- lenges. To maintain the workforce changes, DOTs should measure the eectiveness of each strategy using the metrics described within each action plan and make improvements over time, as necessary. Further, DOT and strategy implementation leaders must continually communicate the positive outcomes associated with the implementa- tion of each strategy. Continually communicating the benets related to the implementation of each strategy and making improvements to strategies that fall short on the metrics of their return on investment will likely foster employee support and help maintain employee enthusiasm. Guide Tip The “Metrics to Measure Return on Investment or Strategy Effectiveness” sections within each action plan provide many ways to assess a strategy’s effectiveness.

278 Attracting, Retaining, and Developing the 2030 Transportation Workforce: Design, Construction, and Maintenance Conclusion In closing, the action plans within this Guide provide strategies to help DOTs attract, retain, and develop their design, construction, and maintenance sta. Using these action plans along with eective change management techniques will help DOTs successfully implement strate- gies and better position their 2030 workforce. As DOTs face an ever-changing environment, the highways industry must remain proactive and prepare for the challenges of today and tomorrow.