Workforce Planning in Small Local Governments

Abstract

The current milieu of public personnel administration is bustling with reform ideas and practices. As the public sector moves from a "civil service" to a "human resources" paradigm, adapting innovative personnel practices is increasingly becoming critical for good governance. Workforce planning (WFP) is one such innovation that allows a jurisdiction to build its long-term capacity in the face of changing work requirements, work values, technology, demography, and an array of other factors. Although the evidence on the use of WFP at the federal level is encouraging, the same is not the case at the state and local levels. There is little to nothing known about the need or the applicability of WFP in small local governments. Therefore, in the context of small local government, the article assesses the conceptual promises of WFP against the realities and capacities of governments operating at the grassroots level.

Temporary Staff, Contractors, and Volunteers: The Hidden Workforce in Victorian Local Government

“…It is thus probable that the number of council employees and equivalent full time (EFT) positions differ not only because of differences in council size and service demands, but because of councils’ different decisions regarding direct employment and the availability and use of contractors. Theories of strategic HRM indicate and research on local government (eg, Choudhury 2007) emphasise that organisations must effectively manage both the internal and external workforce, and this is the focus of the current article.…”

“…The framework integrates the core/periphery distinction and the notion of the ability to distance employment relationships from a ‘dense, cohesive core to a sparse, unconnected periphery’ (Borgatti and Everett 1999:376), and is widely used in local government practitioner and academic literature. Theoretically, the further away or more distant a workforce becomes from the core, the less likely they are to be strategically integrated into HRM policies and procedures (Mayne, Tregaskis and Brewster 1996; Harris 2005; Choudhury 2007). We wish to see if this is the case in practice in Victorian councils.…”

“…Independent contractors are often defined as ‘self‐employed individuals who sell their services to client organisations on a fixed‐term or a project basis’ (Connelly and Gallagher 2004:961). Studies in both America and the United Kingdom reveal that, given its need to contract out services, local government has become an area in which they have high levels of employment (Harris 2005; Choudhury 2007).…”

Labor markets: preventing rivalry and myopia through HRM

“…In the public arena, workforce planning allows for building long-term capacity. A 2007 study shows its use increasing in federal government, but less within state and local governments (Choudhury, 2007). The workforce is changing, technology is becoming more important, the skills required by most jobs are increasing, and retirements are looming.…”

A Model of Public Sector E-Recruitment Adoption in a Time of Hyper Technological Change

“…As a result of these challenges, the field of public administration has paid an increasing amount of attention to the necessity of maintaining efficient and effective recruitment processes in light of both the pending retirements of those employees belonging to the Baby Boomer generation and the employment needs of a younger generation of more technologically savvy job seekers (Choudhury, 2007;Llorens & Battaglio, 2010;National Academy of Public Administration, 2001;Partnership for Public Service, 2007;U.S. Job seekers, regardless of targeted sector of employment, are faced with the task of identifying and tapping into employer recruitment efforts and, likewise, employers are tasked with trying to adapt to the needs and characteristics of an ever-changing workforce.…”