Local governments are likely to find the next generation of their workforces at community colleges

There are several steps cities and counties can take to replenish their staffs as team players retire, says Dr. Sydney Heimbrock, chief industry advisor for government at Qualtrics, an American experience management company and software producer. Its software gives organizations, including governments, the tools to ask the right questions, listen to what people need, and respond with the right actions. More than 350 state and local government organizations use the firm’s offerings. With the company’s XM platform, administrators can design better customer experiences that build public trust and foster community engagement.

Look to two-year colleges to find the next generation of local government professionals, Heimbrock urges. She says this is especially true if agencies want to recruit more professionals from Black, Indigenous, people of color, women and other under-represented groups. “First of all, find them. Go to community colleges, vocational technology colleges, etc. The U.S. Department of Education’s college enrollment data continuously shows that the majority of these institutions have higher enrollment among under-represented groups than traditional four-year colleges and universities.”

Next, city-county recruiters should do some research. “You need to understand what these population segments find compelling in a job and show how your jobs offer the experiences and rewards they are looking for,” Heimbrock says.

Finally, agencies need to do what they say or promise. “Demonstrate that your organization is committed to diversity and inclusion by bringing diverse leaders and managers to the table, giving them opportunities to engage with applicants so candidates can see that the organization will give them an opportunity to grow and progress,” Heimbrock tells Co-op Solutions.

The Qualtrics executive says collaboration is key and that finger-pointing has to stop. “Managers, you can’t get your mission done without the right people on board. HR, you can’t do your jobs if you don’t understand the people you are designing for. We’re in this together, so we have to work together. Managers need to get their heads out of yesterday and look to build strong sustainable talent pipelines. It’s everyone’s responsibility to fix this.”

The GS or “general schedule” is the federal government’s position classification and pay system that pegs pay to the level of responsibility defined for each position through the classification process. Heimbrock believes government recruiters need to be realistic when matching pay to position. “Don’t keep insisting that the level of responsibility of the work requires that a staff-person be paid at a GS-13 or 14 level. The GS-13 or GS-14 is considered a mid-management level job and requires years of experience. Setting a staffer’s pay at GS-13 or GS-14 immediately takes those jobs out of the running for students and recent grads. Look at career ladder positions that start at GS-7or GS-9 and run up to GS-12 or GS-13.” She notes that most state and local governments have similar pay-scale systems that link pay to position rather than an individual applicant’s salary history.

Heimbrock explains that the root cause of managers’ reluctance to hire early career employees is that they know there will be inadequate training resources to get them quickly up to speed so they can perform. “If we considered training and development as part of the hiring and onboarding processes, allocated funding and designed appropriate training programs to supplement the hiring action, then managers could become more willing to hire early career talent.”

With the above training approach, the Qualtrics executive believes government administrators wouldn’t have to resort to hiring the overly qualified candidates with GS-13 or GS-14 levels of experience—quantities of experience that students and recent grads do not have or qualify for.

Heimbrock offers the following advice for hiring managers who find themselves in this recruiting position: “Work with your chief learning officers to build the wraparound developmental experiences that will help your early career employees get up to speed faster so they do work at full performance when you need it.”

Heimbrock says younger workers place great importance on an organization’s values. “For recent graduates, having a good track record of social responsibility (22 percent), a strong reputation for services (22 percent) and a diverse leadership team (17 percent) are among the most-selected qualities [in an organization] that they look for in a job.” These figures are based on a recent study by Qualtrics.

Recruiters, adds Heimbrock, should emphasize the following to appeal to younger talent who have not considered government jobs in the past: flexibility in the workplace; quality of life; availability of remote, hybrid work assignments; and the mission-oriented nature of the work.

Qualtrics Research issued a recent report, “Investing in DEI Increases Hiring Satisfaction in Government.” Two highlights from the report:

Heimbrock urges HR leaders to stop blaming the hiring rules and regulations that they are required to follow. “Yes, these are constraints, but they’re not static,” she says. “They can be reinterpreted, redesigned, to meet emerging requirements in today’s labor market—and tomorrow’s. You have relationships at the White House or on the Hill—use them to push for the changes you need, which will benefit everyone.”

Michael Keating is senior editor for American City & County. Contact him at [email protected].