Workforce Issues
Objective 10: Address Critical Workforce Issues
Relevant Standards
- Maintain a culture and standards that retain high-performing employees
- Provide for a safe, collaborative, and non-hostile workplace
- Offer competitive compensation and benefits
- Proactively support professional development
- Plan and execute succession planning, minimizing vacant position times
Background
Flagstaff Water Services employees are required to have a variety of technical skills, take on multiple responsibilities, and often operate in dangerous environments. Despite these challenges, staff members have consistently demonstrated a commitment to doing what it takes to get the job done right. Some staff are required to hold ADEQ certifications or must adhere to regulations tied to their specific profession and position.
Timing Concerns
Employee turnover and loss of skills is an industry-wide problem that only seems to be increasing. Without proactive measures, this means increasing reliability risks and the potential for failures that are much more costly than investing in skills and adequate staffing.
Challenge/Opportunity
The Divisions faces a variety of challenges with respect to its workforce, including the following:
- 40% employer turnover in the last 5 years due to retirement or resignations
- It’s not uncommon to lose skilled employees to other utilities (e.g. the Phoenix area)
- It is increasingly difficult and time consuming to recruit qualified new employees, often taking 6-12 months to find a qualified person.
- New employee recruitment and training is more expensive than retention
- Loss of skills due to attrition or retirement decreases reliability and increases safety risks.
- There is no formal system for capturing institutional knowledge or for succession planning
- Current staffing in operational Divisions is at bare minimum, which leads to employee burnout, inability to perform desired training, and higher safety and reliability risks.
- Younger employees are looking for different working conditions, including flexible schedules and personal technologies that help them do their jobs more efficiently.
Water Services Strategic Plan 2025 | ||||
Objective 10: Address Critical Workforce Issues | Reporting Period: January - June 2021 | Reporting Period: July-December 2021 |
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Specific Responses | Champion & TEAM | Accomplishments | Accomplishments | Next Steps |
Make skills development and employee retention an integral part of the culture, especially where reliability is essential, multiple skills are required, or the work environment is dangerous | Water Services Director | Working on a step-plan to encourage certification and training levels | Working with HR to further develop the step plan to capture compression, cost of living and pay incentives for cross training efforts by staff | Further develop the step plan, to capture incentives, cost of living adjustments. |
Set staffing levels to ensure proper time and attention to skills development |
| Staffing levels minimized due to COVID. Trainings using online courses. | Renewed emphasis on building skills and training in a variety of job duties, beyond their normal operations. Staffing levels minimized during Covid | Increased funding for cross- training certification |
Maintain strong data on pay levels and competition and provide competitive pay |
| Comparative pay research provided for pay plan revisions. | Recent comparative sudies provided direction, with focus on employee retention |
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Make specific and compelling proposals for staffing levels in each work area |
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Presenting increased staff needs in SCADA and watewater to bring those areas to needed compentencies |
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Build resiliency through cross-training of staff and flexible work programs that address emergencies and unexpected events |
| Select staff on COVID schedule, with minimal interactive contact to maintain operations with certified personnel. | Facility and field staff are receiving certifications in companion treatment areas,to attain proficiency and cross training of job duties, as emergency preparation measures |
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Develop an apprentice program for highly technical job functions |
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Water Services Strategic Plan 2025 | ||||
Objective 10: Address Critical Workforce Issues | Reporting Period: January - June 2021 | Reporting Period: July-December 2021 |
| |
Specific Responses | Champion & TEAM | Accomplishments | Accomplishments | Next Steps |
Make skills development and employee retention an integral part of the culture, especially where reliability is essential, multiple skills are required, or the work environment is dangerous | Water Services Director | Working on a step-plan to encourage certification and training levels | Working with HR to further develop the step plan to capture compression, cost of living and pay incentives for cross training efforts by staff | Further develop the step plan, to capture incentives, cost of living adjustments. |
Set staffing levels to ensure proper time and attention to skills development |
| Staffing levels minimized due to COVID. Trainings using online courses. | Renewed emphasis on building skills and training in a variety of job duties, beyond their normal operations. Staffing levels minimized during Covid | Increased funding for cross- training certification |
Maintain strong data on pay levels and competition and provide competitive pay |
| Comparative pay research provided for pay plan revisions. | Recent comparative sudies provided direction, with focus on employee retention |
|
Make specific and compelling proposals for staffing levels in each work area |
|
|
Presenting increased staff needs in SCADA and watewater to bring those areas to needed compentencies |
|
Build resiliency through cross-training of staff and flexible work programs that address emergencies and unexpected events |
| Select staff on COVID schedule, with minimal interactive contact to maintain operations with certified personnel. | Facility and field staff are receiving certifications in companion treatment areas,to attain proficiency and cross training of job duties, as emergency preparation measures |
|
Develop an apprentice program for highly technical job functions |
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| Water Services Strategic Plan 2025 | 2020 Accomplishments | |||
| Objective 10: Address Critical Workforce Issues | Reporting Period: January-June 2020 | Reporting Period: July-December 2020 | ||
| Specific Responses | Champion & TEAM | Accomplishments | Accomplishments | Next Steps |
| Make skills development and employee retention an integral part of the culture, especially where reliability is essential, multiple skills are required, or the work environment is dangerous | Water Services Director | Discussing and evaluating Workforce issues with DCM | ||
| Set staffing levels to ensure proper time and attention to skills development | In Progress | |||
| Maintain strong data on pay levels and competition and provide competitive pay | ||||
| Make specific and compelling proposals for staffing levels in each work area | ||||
| Build resiliency through cross-training of staff and flexible work programs that address emergencies and unexpected events | Recession plan by City Managers office has this issue on hold | |||
| Develop an apprentice program for highly technical job functions | ||||