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NATIONAL
NCHRPREPORT 636
COOPERATIVE
HIGHWAY
RESEARCH
PROGRAM
Tools to Aid State DOTs
in Responding to
Workforce Challenges
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TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2009 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*
OFFICERS
CHAIR: Adib K. Kanafani, Cahill Professor of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
VICE CHAIR: Michael R. Morris, Director of Transportation, North Central Texas Council of Governments, Arlington
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Transportation Research Board
MEMBERS
J. Barry Barker, Executive Director, Transit Authority of River City, Louisville, KY
Allen D. Biehler, Secretary, Pennsylvania DOT, Harrisburg
Larry L. Brown, Sr., Executive Director, Mississippi DOT, Jackson
Deborah H. Butler, Executive Vice President, Planning, and CIO, Norfolk Southern Corporation, Norfolk, VA
William A.V. Clark, Professor, Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles
David S. Ekern, Commissioner, Virginia DOT, Richmond
Nicholas J. Garber, Henry L. Kinnier Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Jeffrey W. Hamiel, Executive Director, Metropolitan Airports Commission, Minneapolis, MN
Edward A. (Ned) Helme, President, Center for Clean Air Policy, Washington, DC
Will Kempton, Director, California DOT, Sacramento
Susan Martinovich, Director, Nevada DOT, Carson City
Debra L. Miller, Secretary, Kansas DOT, Topeka
Neil J. Pedersen, Administrator, Maryland State Highway Administration, Baltimore
Pete K. Rahn, Director, Missouri DOT, Jefferson City
Sandra Rosenbloom, Professor of Planning, University of Arizona, Tucson
Tracy L. Rosser, Vice President, Corporate Traffic, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, AR
Rosa Clausell Rountree, Consultant, Tyrone, GA
Steve T. Scalzo, Chief Operating Officer, Marine Resources Group, Seattle, WA
Henry G. (Gerry) Schwartz, Jr., Chairman (retired), Jacobs/Sverdrup Civil, Inc., St. Louis, MO
C. Michael Walton, Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas, Austin
Linda S. Watson, CEO, LYNXCentral Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Orlando
Steve Williams, Chairman and CEO, Maverick Transportation, Inc., Little Rock, AR
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Thad Allen (Adm., U.S. Coast Guard), Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, Washington, DC
Rebecca M. Brewster, President and COO, American Transportation Research Institute, Smyrna, GA
George Bugliarello, President Emeritus and University Professor, Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Brooklyn; Foreign Secretary,
National Academy of Engineering, Washington, DC
James E. Caponiti, Acting Deputy Administrator, Maritime Administration, U.S.DOT
Cynthia Douglass, Acting Deputy Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S.DOT
LeRoy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC
Edward R. Hamberger, President and CEO, Association of American Railroads, Washington, DC
John C. Horsley, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, DC
Rose A. McMurry, Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S.DOT
Ronald Medford, Acting Deputy Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S.DOT
William W. Millar, President, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC
Lynne A. Osmus, Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S.DOT
Jeffrey F. Paniati, Acting Deputy Administrator and Executive Director, Federal Highway Administration, U.S.DOT
Steven K. Smith, Acting Deputy Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, U.S.DOT
Jo Strang, Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, U.S.DOT
Robert L. Van Antwerp (Lt. Gen., U.S. Army), Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC
Matthew Welbes, Executive Director and Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, U.S.DOT
*Membership as of February 2009.
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NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
NCHRP REPORT 636
Tools to Aid State DOTs
in Responding to
Workforce Challenges
SPY POND PARTNERS, LLC
Arlington, MA
WITH
Barbara Martin
Helena, MT
ERS ASSOCIATES
Somerville, MA
RANDOLPH MORGAN CONSULTING, LLC
Alexandria, VA
Subject Areas
Planning and Administration
Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD
WASHINGTON, D.C.
2009
www.TRB.org
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NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY NCHRP REPORT 636
RESEARCH PROGRAM
Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective Project 20-72
approach to the solution of many problems facing highway ISSN 0077-5614
administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local ISBN: 978-0-309-11784-5
interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually Library of Congress Control Number 2009928682
or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the © 2009 Transportation Research Board
accelerating growth of highway transportation develops increasingly
complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These
problems are best studied through a coordinated program of COPYRIGHT PERMISSION
cooperative research.
Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining
In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials published or copyrighted material used herein.
initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research program Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this
employing modern scientific techniques. This program is supported on publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the
understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA,
a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of the
FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product,
Association and it receives the full cooperation and support of the method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for
Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of
any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission
Transportation.
from CRP.
The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies was
requested by the Association to administer the research program
because of the Board's recognized objectivity and understanding of
NOTICE
modern research practices. The Board is uniquely suited for this
purpose as it maintains an extensive committee structure from which The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Cooperative Highway
Research Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of
authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; it the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval reflects the
possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, Governing Board's judgment that the program concerned is of national importance and
state and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; its appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research
Council.
relationship to the National Research Council is an insurance of
The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and to review this
objectivity; it maintains a full-time research correlation staff of
report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due consideration for the
specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions expressed
research directly to those who are in a position to use them. or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research, and, while they have
been accepted as appropriate by the technical committee, they are not necessarily those of
The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified
the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, the American
by chief administrators of the highway and transportation departments Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or the Federal Highway
and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific areas of research Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
needs to be included in the program are proposed to the National Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical committee according
Research Council and the Board by the American Association of State to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research Board Executive
Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research Council.
Highway and Transportation Officials. Research projects to fulfill these
needs are defined by the Board, and qualified research agencies are The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research
Council, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway
selected from those that have submitted proposals. Administration and and Transportation Officials, and the individual states participating in the National
surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade
Research Council and the Transportation Research Board. or manufacturers' names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the
object of this report.
The needs for highway research are many, and the National
Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant
contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of
mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is
intended to complement rather than to substitute for or duplicate other
highway research programs.
Published reports of the
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
are available from:
Transportation Research Board
Business Office
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
and can be ordered through the Internet at:
http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore
Printed in the United States of America
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COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 636
Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Andrew C. Lemer, Senior Program Officer
Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications
Maria Sabin Crawford, Assistant Editor
NCHRP PROJECT 20-72 PANEL
Field of Special Projects
Mary Harker, Idaho Transportation Department, Boise, ID (Chair)
Nancy Berry, Virginia DOT, Richmond, VA
John C. Goodknight, Marion County (FL) Transportation Department, Ocala, FL
Ivy W. Harris, Alabama DOT, Montgomery, AL
Thomas F. Humphrey, Dover, NH
Alan W. Lake, Utah Department of Human Resource Management, Draper, UT
Mollie D. LeBlanc, Missouri DOT, Jefferson City, MO
Michael P. Pillsbury, New Hampshire DOT, Concord, NH
Vicki Miller, FHWA Liaison
Tate Jackson, AASHTO Liaison
Martine A. Micozzi, TRB Liaison
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FOREWORD
By Andrew C. Lemer
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board
This report is a guide to the selection of practical tools that officials of state departments
of transportation (DOTs) can use in recruitment, development, and retention of a produc-
tive and effective workforce. DOTs need to hire, train, and keep a competent, qualified, and
high-performing workforce to do the job the public expects them to do. This report
describes currently available tools for responsible managers to use and provides guidance
for how to choose an effective tool for the task at hand. The information will be useful to
human resources personnel and DOT managers responsible for ensuring that their agen-
cies have the workforce they need.
DOTs face ongoing, evolving challenges to maintaining their ability to fulfill their respon-
sibilities to the public. Budgetary pressures, policy mandates, changes in the workforce, and
introductions of new technology are among the factors that require DOT leadership to
reassess and sometimes reshape their organizations' mission and structure. Managers must
then ensure their human resources (HR) assets can respond effectively to the changes. DOTs
seeking to build and maintain competent, skilled workforces need time, skills, money, and
other resources that often are in short supply.
For example, DOTs face demands that require new and greater technical and manage-
ment skills and capabilities. At the same time, recruiting and retaining personnel have
grown more difficult, as DOTs must compete for the same workforce used by local govern-
ment and private organizations. If an agency's staff is unable to meet all responsibilities, out-
side service providers may supplement agency staff capabilities. DOT leaders and managers
must decide how HR assets are to be acquired and deployed, and they often seek tools and
examples from other agencies that will help them make and implement their decisions.
This report is the product of National Cooperative Highway Research Program
(NCHRP) Project 20-72, intended to assist agencies in assuring that their personnel have
the capabilities needed to meet the agencies' critical mission requirements 5 to 10 years into
the future. The specific objective of this project was to provide a guide to finding, selecting,
and applying practical management tools for characterizing and assessing HR assets. These
tools address, for example, personnel core competencies, preservation of institutional his-
tory and other mission-critical knowledge, staff recruitment and retention, staff develop-
ment, and management succession.
The report presents specific information on tools that are currently available, how to
apply them, and guidance for judging whether available resources are likely to be useful for
specific situations. Much of the information and links to specific resources are presented
in a prototype web-based "Workforce Toolkit" developed as part of the research and pop-
ulated with over 200 sample resources. The Toolkit is designed with five views linked to
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tagged databases of resources. The toolkit includes tables containing state-specific DOT
information from recently completed NCHRP projects. Additional views are designed to
connect to online communities and education materials. The site also has an electronic
user guide.
The demonstration prototype, available on a web site currently maintained by the
research team, could become the basis for a permanent web application maintained by
AASHTO or others. Adding new tools as they become available and discarding those that
become obsolete would ensure the Toolkit's currency and maintain its value. Individual
states may find the prototype useful for the information it now contains and as a basis for
development their own toolkits.
A team led by Spy Pond Partners, LLC, Arlington, Massachusetts, conducted this research
and developed the prototype. The project entailed a review of available literature, current
practices, and other sources of information to identify tools and methods usable by DOT
managers to deal with key workforce challenges. The research assessed the adequacy and
value of existing tools for dealing with workforce challenges facing DOTs now and 5 to 10
years into the future, identified the tools most likely to be of value to DOT managers, doc-
umented gaps for which new tools may be needed, and suggested activities to fill these gaps.
The research team then designed a framework to help DOT managers identify tools appro-
priate for use within their unique environments and used that framework to structure the
guide and create the demonstration web site detailed in this report.
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CONTENTS
1 Summary
PA RT A A New Tool for Meeting Workforce Challenges
5 Chapter 1 Introduction
5 1.1 Research Objectives
6 1.2 Study Context
8 1.3 Overview of Research Approach
10 Chapter 2 Workforce Toolkit
10 2.1 Overview
10 2.2 Accessing Information
19 2.3 Design Components
24 Chapter 3 Workforce Toolkit Use
24 3.1 User Site
26 3.2 Administration Site
27 3.3 Workforce Toolkit Scenarios
35 Chapter 4 Recommended Future Initiatives
35 4.1 Overview
35 4.2 Dynamic Resources
36 4.3 Community Interest and Involvement
36 4.4 Hosting the Site
36 4.5 Other Considerations
PA RT B Development of the Workforce Toolkit
39 Chapter 5 Needs Framework
39 5.1 Introduction
39 5.2 Needs Categories
39 5.3 Current Workforce Needs Scenarios
44 5.4 Workforce Trends
44 5.5 Future Trends
51 Chapter 6 Review of Existing Resources
51 6.1 Introduction
51 6.2 Existing Resources Evaluation and Organization
53 6.3 Summary of Applicable Resources
53 6.4 General Sources/Organizations That Provide Multiple Resources
and Tools
56 6.5 Gaps in Resources Available to Meet Workforce Needs
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59 Chapter 7 Testing Process
59 7.1 Alpha Test
59 7.2 Beta Test
61 Chapter 8 Conclusions and Recommendations
61 8.1 Conclusions
62 8.2 Recommendations
63 Abbreviations, Acronyms, Initialisms
A-1 Appendix A User's Guide to the Workforce Toolkit
B-1 Appendix B User's Guide To the Workforce Toolkit
Administration Site
