Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry—A Systems Approach (2013) / Chapter Skim
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From page 59... ...
Module Use Metrics to E the Impact of Wo Practices 2. valuate rkforce Building a Susta Workforce in the Transportation In A Systems App inable Public dustry -- roach
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2-1 Module 2 Contents Module 2: Use Metrics to Evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices Overview of Metrics Scorecards How to Use the Metrics Scorecards Adjusting or Creating Metrics Scorecard Anchors 2.1 Global Metrics 2-5 2.1.1 Defining the Metrics 2-5 2.2 Recruitment Overview and Scorecards 2-8 2.2.1 Background 2-8 2.2.2 Defining the Scorecard 2-9 2.2.3 Interpretation of Results 2-13 2.3 Retention Overview and Scorecards 2-15 2.3.1 Background 2-15 2.3.2 Defining the Scorecard 2-16 2.3.3 Interpretation of Results 2-22 2.4 Training and Development Overview and Scorecards 2-24 2.4.1 Background 2-24 2.4.2 Defining the Scorecard 2-25 2.4.3 Interpretation of Results 2-30 2.5 Professional Capacity-Building Overview and Scorecard 2-33 2.5.1 Background 2-33 2.5.2 Defining the Scorecard 2-34 2.5.3 Interpretation of Results 2-39 2.6 Applying the Scorecards 2-40 This module includes information that can be used to evaluate workforce practices that fall under the four organizational processes discussed in Module 1: recruitment, retention, training and development, and professional capacity building. To evaluate workforce practices within each of these organizational processes, separate metrics scorecards have been developed.
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2-2 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach Table 2-1 provides an overview of all of the metrics included in this module, including the type of organizational process for which each should be used to evaluate, the type of position the metric is appropriate for, and page numbers for both a description of the metric and the location of the metric on a scorecard. The scorecards developed for each organizational process include information on metrics that can be used to evaluate workforce practices.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-3 allow for assessment or projections of the impact of the practice. For each metric, four anchors are provided to help determine ratings.
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2-4 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach and across metrics, the public transportation organization can evaluate or estimate the impact of particular initiatives. All 10 of the metrics (global and specific)
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-5 When trying to evaluate recruitment programs using this metric and its associated anchors, a public transportation organization may find that all of its bus driver positions are filled in less than 2 months. In this case, it would be necessary to adjust the anchors to better differentiate between various recruitment programs that target bus drivers.
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2-6 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach • Why this metric is of value to public transportation: Stakeholders provide critical support for implemented practices and champion these efforts to others. Without stakeholder buy-in, stakeholders will not have a clear understanding of a specific practice; thus they will be unlikely to promote the practice or help make it successful.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-7 these budgetary constraints, monies may need to be allocated from elsewhere in the budget, which may negatively affect other organizational programs. • How this metric can be measured/implemented: To use this metric, a budget for implementing or maintaining the specified practice needs to be developed.
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2-8 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach • How this metric can be measured/implemented: Sustainability can be evaluated by determining whether the practice being evaluated would work in different situations or at different periods of time. The ability of a practice to be effectively used in multiple situations without revisions or updates indicates sustainability.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-9 of transit organizations. Evaluating recruitment practices with regard to one's own organizational characteristics will increase the likelihood that the practices will be effective in recruiting the best employees for the available public transportation jobs.
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2-10 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach might need to be filled immediately so that the public transportation organization can continue to provide the real-time service that defines its business, whereas for a newly developed position, it may be more cost-effective to take extra time to define job requirements and recruit and screen applicants. Due to the disparity between frontline positions and management/ advisory/administrative/technical positions, the rating anchors presented for this metric vary for these two types of positions.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-11 • Why this metric is of value to public transportation: The offer-to-acceptance ratio can help organizations understand the value of offers given to candidates, which is important for hiring high-quality candidates (Australian Public Service Commission, 2009)
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2-12 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach reason for separation from the transit system during training. This metric is then computed as a percentage: the number of employees who turn over during training divided by the total number of employees participating in the initial training program.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-13 • How this metric can be measured/implemented: Recruiting cost ratio is a summation of all recruiting costs [e.g., advertising, placement fees, employee referrals, travel and lodging, relocation, reference checking, or any other recruitment/hiring costs (Employer's Association Development Group, 2010)
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2-14 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach it would be necessary to experiment with and evaluate the effectiveness of different and more proactive recruitment strategies, including outreach to university students about to graduate from programs related to critical professional skill areas, advertising in transit trade association magazines, and incorporating the use of social media into recruitment efforts. Simultaneous with the exploration of these new recruitment strategies, the HR director adapted its candidate screening process for managerial and technical positions by expanding the employment application to include questions that were more directly relevant to potential success in those positions and to incorporate a structured interview process.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-15 2.3 Retention Overview and Scorecards This section provides an overview of retention as it relates to public transportation agencies. In addition, retention performance metrics are introduced, and the retention scorecards are described.
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2-16 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach things from those employees who are retiring from the workforce, necessitating a wider range of practices to retain top talent. For example, retention of women may be improved by offering family-supportive polices (e.g., flexible hours, child care, maternity leave)
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-17 regard to retaining employees and to the effect of turnover on the organization. The first four metrics are relevant to all positions.
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2-18 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach considered high turnover varies based on the type of job and the nature of the labor market. Frontline positions typically have higher voluntary turnover since selection processes for these roles may be less rigorous than for management/advisory/administrative/technical roles, and frontline positions may offer less opportunity for growth.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-19 Metric 3: Diversity turnover (race/sex) • What this metric is: Diversity turnover is used to describe the subset of the overall voluntary turnover described in retention metric 1 but related to any protected group (e.g., race, gender)
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2-20 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach multiple scales commonly used to measure employee engagement. It is typically studied through asking employees to respond to surveys that assess the extent to which they are energized by and engrossed in their work.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-21 Metric 5: Impact of turnover on employee knowledge • What this metric is: − Frontline positions: This metric indicates the potentially negative impact on system operations, safety, and customer service related to knowledge loss when frontline employees leave the organization. For frontline positions, most of the knowledge lost when an employee leaves is maintained by other employees, documentation, and training materials, but performance could suffer if a number of employees leave in a short span since it will take time to recruit and train new employees.
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2-22 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach 2.3.3 Interpretation of Results The targeted retention practice being assessed with this scorecard should be one that results in positive scores on each of these metrics. For example, an agency might implement flexible schedules that allow eligible employees to work outside of the typical 9 a.m.
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Title of Practice: [Enter here] Metrics Retention-Specific Rating Scales (Based on Experience or Projections)
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2-24 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach 2.4 Training and Development Overview and Scorecards This section provides an overview of training and development as they relate to public transportation organizations. In addition, training and development performance metrics are introduced, and the respective scorecards are described.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-25 outcome and need of the employee. As previously mentioned, this is not always the case in public transportation organizations, with the cost of training employees often becoming the deciding factor in whether to provide access to training.
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2-26 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach wheelchairs with getting onto the bus. In a training program such as this, there is a specific skill that is being taught and can be observed.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-27 the job (Kirkpatrick, 1996)
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2-28 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach • How this metric can be measured/implemented: Data to evaluate the percent of employees rating training as job-relevant can be collected using an employee self-report survey assessing training relevance. This survey should be given to employees after they complete the training program.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-29 trainees satisfied with training can include satisfaction with multiple facets of training, including the training program itself, the trainer/facilitator, the training topic, the training schedule, and perceived impact of the training on one's own performance. • Why this metric is of value to public transportation: The percent of trainees satisfied with training can affect the extent to which the trainee transfers skills or competencies taught in training to his or her job.
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2-30 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach 8. Overall, the training facilitator was a good teacher.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-31 example, an organization might implement a computerized job simulation to help light rail drivers improve their driving skills. Aspects of this practice could include ways to improve the punctuality of light rail and training on the exact timing involved to stop the train at a light rail station.
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Title of Practice: [Enter here] Metrics Training and Development-Specific Rating Scales (Based on Experience or Projections)
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-33 2.5 Professional Capacity-Building Overview and Scorecard This section provides an overview of professional capacity building as it relates to public transportation organizations. The purpose of using the term "professional" is simply to suggest capacity within the workplace as opposed to personal capacity.
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2-34 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach a public transportation organization. This practice ensures that the higher levels of a public transportation organization contain employees with both frontline and management/advisory/ administrative/technical perspectives.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-35 employees consistently complete tasks late, it reflects poorly on the entire organization and often leads to untimely task completion by lower-level employees. − Frontline positions: When frontline employees such as drivers consistently deliver timely service to customers (e.g., train and passengers)
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2-36 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach employee development opportunities presented to them over a given time period. These types of opportunities are more informal than for management/advisory/administrative/ technical employees and could include such things as the opportunity to mentor a more junior bus driver, or a driver's involvement in maintenance on a vehicle he or she drives regularly.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-37 are filled with internal candidates rather than with external candidates, public transportation organizations save money on recruitment and show that they have effective programs to build their current employees' professional capabilities. − Management/advisory/administrative/technical positions: Percentage of jobs filled internally indicates the percentage of open management/advisory/administrative/technical job positions in an organization that are filled with internal candidates, via promotion or other means of internal job replacement, rather than by external hires.
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2-38 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach a public transportation organization's employees. The logic behind employee involvement in an organization's decision making is that when a decision must be made that affects most or all employees, all levels of employees should have input to help decide what changes may need to be made in their daily work lives.
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-39 job description is desirable to provide present and future employees in an organization with insight into the job and the most current factors that determine success in a particular job. In addition, public transportation organizations with out-of-date job descriptions often will not be able to effectively assess candidates when needed to replace incumbents in a particular job.
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2-40 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach and junior and senior manager job descriptions. The results of the Professional Capacity-Building Scorecard indicated that the lack of professional capacity-building opportunities and nonstructured approach to succession planning within the transit agency were significant concerns for the board and senior management.
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Title of Practice: [Enter here] Metrics Professional Capacity-Building–Specific Rating Scales (Based on Experience or Projections)
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2-42 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach Professional Capacity Building Practices Scorecard – Management/Advisory/Administrative/Technical Positions Title of Practice: (Enter here) Metrics Professional Capacity Building-Specific Rating Scales (Based on experience or projections)
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Module 2: use Metrics to evaluate the Impact of Workforce Practices 2-43 Recruitment Practices Scorecard – Supervisory/Technical Positions Title of Practice: (Enter here) Metrics Recruitment-Specific Rating Scales (Based on experience or projections)
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2-44 Building a Sustainable Workforce in the Public Transportation Industry -- A Systems Approach Training and Development Practices Scorecard – Frontline Positions Title of Practice: (Enter here) Metrics Training and Development-Specific Rating Scales (Based on experience or projections)
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