New Public Sector Recruitment Challenges
September 14, 2022
After the pandemic, The Great Resignation, and The Talent Revolution, the federal government is facing new uphill battles with talent acquisition – just like the rest of the US. Learn about the latest public sector recruitment challenges, and then, more importantly, what can be done in response.
The Challenge of Attracting – and Retaining – Top Talent
Cultivating Shared Values
An important factor in recruitment and retention is learning about and valuing what’s important to employees. The current administration recently released the results of a pulse survey, which covered topics like health and safety and equity and inclusion. Values like receiving support and creating an environment that fosters success are important to employees.
More surveys are planned, but the intent is to assess the temperature of the government’s workforce, so issues can be addressed and hopefully, employee engagement improved. Considering that during the Great Resignation, over 4 million Americans quit their jobs, a focus on job satisfaction is critical to acquisition and retention.
DEIA Priorities
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) has come into sharper focus thanks to recent Executive Orders – and an overall paradigm shift in the workplace. Millennials and GenZ care about DEIA and want to work for agencies and organizations that care about them too.
In addition, research shows organizations benefit from prioritizing DEIA. Companies that focus on diversity and inclusion report better performance than less-diverse workforces, an increase in innovation revenue, and overall, they exceed their financial goals. Analyzing current initiatives and developing strategies to increase DEIA efforts are important steps that every federal agency should undertake.
Money & Technology
Federal budgets are a familiar challenge for agency leaders. And with this comes the challenge of providing suitable, modern technology for workers that allows them to do their jobs efficiently and effectively.
The demand for government services, however, isn’t going anywhere. Agencies must adapt to the technology needs of the public and their workforce, or continue facing engagement and retention issues.
Answering the Challenges of Federal Recruitment
Hiring Incentives
Many organizations in the private sector offer signing bonuses to new employees and rewards to current employees for referrals. Increasing competitive offers and incentivizing employees to recruit for you are two things that should be in any HR manager’s toolbox, especially since many are on social media these days, posting open positions and advertising company benefits. Encouraging employees to share within their networks is a smart and inexpensive strategy for talent recruitment.
Look at Entry-Level Talent
Many public sector agencies are looking to colleges and universities for a readily-available talent pool. Younger generations are often service-oriented, so offering them the chance to make a positive difference is an incentive that may appeal to recent graduates.
Also, key to attracting and retaining this group of workers is employing a great onboarding experience and clearly communicating expectations and long-term opportunities.
Upskilling and Multi-skilling Your Workforce
Another suggested strategy for public sector recruitment challenges is training your current workforce to handle multiple tasks. This is not a case for overworking your employees. It’s a solution for streamlining processes and creating efficiencies that can come in handy in the case of future shortages, pandemics, and other emergencies.
Here again, implementing modern digital solutions that make learning and applying new skills easy and convenient is important to the success of these types of initiatives.
Utilize the Power of GovStrive
Often, strategizing, implementing, and managing talent and recruitment solutions is too time-consuming and resource-consuming for federal agencies. That’s when a managed services partner like GovStrive makes sense.
A partner like GovStrive can step in when needed and manage the full hiring lifecycle, including:
- Hiring Operations PMO
- Strategic Recruitment and Hiring
- Personnel Security Processing (HSPD-12)
- Onboarding / virtual onboarding
- Transaction Processing and Records Management/ Administration (eOPF)
- Benefits and Retirements
With years of serving the public sector, we are uniquely skilled in providing successful modern solutions for the federal workforce. Take advantage of our insight, innovations, resources, and expertise. Learn more about the power of GovStrive today.