Guidebook for Recruiting, Developing, and Retaining Transit Managers for Fixed-Route Bus and Paratransit Systems (2010)

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131 RECRUITMENT Strategic Recommendation 2.1: Advertise job openings via transit-specific channels. 1. Determine the importance of transit specific experience in filling managerial job openings. 2. Determine the practicality of and need for national versus regional or local advertising for managerial candidates. 3. Based on the above two determinations, advertise in transit specific media, such as CTAA and APTA magazines, through the state transit association and state DOT or any appropriate transit websites. 4. Consider alternate means of advertising managerial job openings, such as mailing recruitment letters to peer transit systems. Strategic Recommendation 2.2: Use online recruitment techniques. 1. Determine if the transit system will find managers without transit-specific experience but with strong, generic leadership skills as acceptable candidates for existing or near future job openings. 2. If it is determined that the transit system desires to recruit candidates with no transit experience but with strong leadership skills, consider utilizing generic job search, job aggregator and social networking websites to advertise managerial vacancies. 3. In addition to using generic websites to reach potential candidates, consider using other media involving local or regional government, nonprofit, and private sector organizations as well. A P P E N D I X B Checklist for Transit Manager Recruitment, Training and Retention Excellence

132 Guidebook for Recruiting, Developing, and Retaining Transit Managers for Fixed-Route Bus and Paratransit Systems Strategic Recommendation 2.3: Match recruitment source to the type of candidate desired. 1. Consider utilizing a wide variety of different recruiting techniques to build a deep and diverse applicant pool. 2. Initiate diverse recruiting in order to fill managerial vacancies using both traditional and nontraditional recruitment techniques. 3. Target recruitment efforts to the kind of manager the transit system wishes to attract, be that based on woman or minority status, educational background, transit experience, or generic leadership skills. 4. Consider incorporating into recruitment materials any aspect of transit system employment that promotes the possibility of a stable and long-term career, such as the system’s relationship with city or county government. Strategic Recommendation 2.4: Conduct a compensation study. 1. Conduct a formal or informal salary and benefits survey to compare how the compensation your system offers to managerial candidates compares to other organizations. 2. Survey peer transit systems, either nationally and/or regionally, along with other local non-transit public and private organizations. 3. Evaluate how your transit system’s compensation practices compare to surveyed organizations. 4. If possible and necessary, adjust your transit system’s compensation rates to ensure managerial recruitment competitiveness. Strategic Recommendation 2.5: Highlight employee benefits in job advertisements and recruitment literature. 1. Review your transit system’s benefit package to identify those benefits that would be most attractive in recruiting managerial candidates. 2. Highlight, in all modes of advertising of managerial job openings, those benefits that have been determined to be attractive recruitment tools.

Checklist for Transit Manager Recruitment, Training and Retention Excellence 133 Strategic Recommendation 2.6: Recruit internally for management positions. 1. Always consider advertising any managerial vacancy internally, either before or parallel to outside recruitment efforts. 2. If internal transit staff applies for a managerial position, evaluate their knowledge, skills, ability, and relevant experience to determine whether they are appropriate for the position and respond accordingly. 3. Consider implementing an organizationwide competency model that allows for comparison of competencies required for each transit staff position and provides upward mobility information to employees and recruitment and selection information for system executives when considering internal applicants. Strategic Recommendation 2.7: Recruit nontraditional applicants. 1. Identify categories of potential, nontraditional candidates that lend themselves to success in transit system managerial roles, such as military personnel, seniors and retirees, and part-time students. 2. Target advertising with these categories of nontraditional applicants in mind and use appropriate media to reach these potential applicants. 3. Participate in job and career fairs to reach targeted nontraditional applicants. 4. Consider developing an internship or apprenticeship program that facilitates bringing nontraditional applicants into the transit environment and prepares them for managerial positions. Strategic Recommendation 2.8: Use a panel or multiple interviewers. 1. Identify individuals, either internal transit staff or key external stakeholders, to assist in interviewing managerial candidates. 2. Utilize either a multi-interviewer panel format or a sequence of individual interviewers for managerial candidate selection. 3. Ensure all interviewers are aware of the types of questions that are considered illegal or not job related, such as race, nationality, religion, and marital/family status.

134 Guidebook for Recruiting, Developing, and Retaining Transit Managers for Fixed-Route Bus and Paratransit Systems Strategic Recommendation 2.9: Utilize structured, behavioral-based job relevant interview protocols when selecting candidates. 1. Review job descriptions that apply to managerial vacancies to ensure they are up- to-date and accurately reflect major job task requirements and successful job behaviors. 2. Based on the job description and a job analysis, create a structured interview questionnaire designed to measure how a managerial candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) match those necessary for job success. 3. Include questions that will illuminate managerial candidate’s past behaviors in response to transit-system specific scenarios in the structured interview questionnaire. 4. Create an acceptable scoring system to measure managerial candidate response to the structured interview questions. 5. Orient all interviewers on the use of this structured questionnaire including scoring and note taking of interviewee responses. 6. After all candidates have been interviewed, utilize the interviewer scoring and notes to determine which candidate should be offered the position and keep all paperwork of interviews on file. Strategic Recommendation 2.10: Incorporate realistic job previews (RJPs) into all recruitment sources, job postings, and advertisements. 1. Identify both the positive and negative aspects of managerial job positions that your system is planning to fill. 2. Highlight these positive and negative aspects of managerial jobs in all recruitment materials and efforts. 3. Emphasize positive aspects of the job to be filled without downplaying negative aspects and use innovative techniques to present this information, such as written job ads, website postings, videos, brochures, workplace tours, and job fair presentations.

Checklist for Transit Manager Recruitment, Training and Retention Excellence 135 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Strategic Recommendation 3.1: Leverage existing training and development opportunities available through national and state transit and transportation organizations. 1. Identify national and state transit association training offerings that the transit system feels are appropriate for enhancing the development of its managers. 2. Based on available time, money, and resources, consider sending transit managers to attend CTAA or APTA training workshops and certification programs. 3. Utilize, as is reasonable and practical, FTA, NTI, and TSI training offerings in the development of managerial skills. 4. Evaluate and utilize, as appropriate, in-state managerial training opportunities provided through the state DOT and the state transit association. Strategic Recommendation 3.2: Explore available funding for training. 1. Identify the mechanism within your state that manages the RTAP and determine whether your transit system is eligible to receive funding from this program. 2. Identify, procure, and utilize national RTAP training modules that are appropriate tools to assist in developing the knowledge, skills, and abilities of transit managers and supervisors. 3. If eligible, request RTAP reimbursement for attendance at national and state transit association meetings and individual specialized training workshops. Strategic Recommendation 3.3: Identify online training resources. 1. When possible, consider increasing managerial training opportunities through the in-house development of web-based training. 2. Explore the possibility of purchasing online training programs from vendors. 3. Identify and utilize transit-specific online training offered through transit associations and government related institutions.

136 Guidebook for Recruiting, Developing, and Retaining Transit Managers for Fixed-Route Bus and Paratransit Systems Strategic Recommendation 3.4: Make training easy to access by aligning opportunities with managers’ schedules and interests. 1. Survey all transit system managers and supervisors to determine their availability to attend training based on workload concerns and for dates and times when attending training would be most convenient. 2. Establish schedules for attendance at both in-house and external training for managers/supervisors based on availability survey data. 3. Inform managers and supervisors as to expectations about training attendance, including whether it is voluntary, suggested, mandatory, or linked to performance appraisal and awards programs. 4. Utilize existing regularly scheduled management of safety meetings as an opportunity to present formal or informal managerial/supervisory training. 5. Explore both transit specific and generic opportunities for online training of managers and supervisors. Strategic Recommendation 3.5: Institute mandatory training for managers. 1. Conduct a management/supervisory training needs analysis that includes an organizational analysis of overall training needs, a task analysis identifying skills, knowledge and abilities needed to perform specific tasks, and a personal analysis that involves determining individual employee training requirements. 2. Based on the training needs analysis, develop a systemwide general training plan that addresses training requirements for managers and supervisors at-hire and on an ongoing basis. 3. Create Individual Development Plans for all managers and supervisors who are aligned with the strategic direction of the transit system. 4. Mandate manager and supervisor attendance at appropriate external and in-house training offerings that are consistent with each person’s individual development plan. Strategic Recommendation 3.6: Address training needs for managers in conjunction with formal performance appraisals. 1. Based on an analysis of job descriptions and transit system goals and objectives, identify specific success factors against which manager performance will be measured.

Checklist for Transit Manager Recruitment, Training and Retention Excellence 137 2. Based on manager performance success factors, develop a formal appraisal tool and methodology that is valid and linked to critical competencies. 3. Implement, on an ongoing basis, a periodic and at least annual performance appraisal process for all managers and supervisors. 4. Tie performance appraisal results to coaching, counseling, and training of managers and supervisors. 5. If the performance appraisal is to be used for administrative decisions, such as discipline or pay increases, ensure that use has been clearly and distinctly defined as separate from individual performance development planning. Strategic Recommendation 3.7: Offer tuition reimbursement. 1. Based on available budgetary resources, consider implementing a tuition reimbursement program as a tool in facilitating management and supervisory development. 2. Identify courses and training offered on site at local colleges or universities, online, or through other venues that are appropriate for managerial development and eligible for tuition reimbursement. 3. Develop specific guidelines and protocols for how tuition is to be reimbursed and clearly communicate these guidelines to all eligible employees. Strategic Recommendation 3.8: Emphasize ongoing professional development for managers at all levels. 1. Determine requirements for and ensure delivery of training for new managers and supervisors that provides them with the generic and transit specific knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to successfully carry out their job functions. 2. Involve managers in creating transit system mission, vision and values, strategic plans, and organizational goals and objectives. 3. Provide ongoing professional development opportunities that facilitate personal and organizational management success. 4. Ensure that management and supervisory training priorities adjust to industry change and the evolution of industry training needs.

138 Guidebook for Recruiting, Developing, and Retaining Transit Managers for Fixed-Route Bus and Paratransit Systems 5. Think outside the box in the presentation of manager and supervisor skill enhancement opportunities and utilize creative and innovative approaches for the development of the management team. Strategic Recommendation 3.9: Implement succession planning. 1. As is reasonable and practical, identify a succession planning protocol that prepares qualified employees to assume management positions as they become vacant. 2. Align succession planning strategies with organizational goals and develop the skills of upwardly mobile candidates to enhance transit system goal achievement. 3. Build succession planning efforts with the objective of providing seamless management transitions when one staff member replaces another. 4. Communicate essential elements of the succession planning process to all impacted employees in order to create buy in. 5. Create a competency based succession plan that enhances the behavior competency and upward mobility possibilities of high potential employees. 6. Utilize a mentoring program where successful upper level managers assist lower level managers, supervisors, or other employees in developing the knowledge, abilities, and skills that will prepare them for promotion and assuming higher level responsibilities.

Checklist for Transit Manager Recruitment, Training and Retention Excellence 139 RETENTION Strategic Recommendation 4.1: Offer competitive benefits. 1. Conduct a benefits survey to identify what benefits local and industry competitors provide their employees. 2. Survey employees as to what benefits they most value. 3. Tailor transit system benefit package to enhance the ability to meet competitor offerings and identified employee desires. 4. Utilize benefit packages as a recruitment and retention tool. Strategic Recommendation 4.2: Offer flexible work schedules. 1. Determine how flexible schedules for transit system managers and supervisors can realistically be offered. 2. Determine which flexible work schedules best fit both transit system needs and individual manager needs. 3. Implement, as is possible, flexible scheduling, which may include flex time, variable day schedules, variable week schedules, and/or compressed work schedules. 4. Periodically review how flexible schedules impact transit system effectiveness and employee satisfaction, performance, and productivity. Strategic Recommendation 4.3: Implement a rewards program for high performers. 1. Establish a rewards program that is realistic and accomplishable. 2. Ensure the rewards program is implemented with a high level of integrity. 3. Distribute rewards on time and in a public manner.

140 Guidebook for Recruiting, Developing, and Retaining Transit Managers for Fixed-Route Bus and Paratransit Systems Strategic Recommendation 4.4: Spend time up front hiring high quality managers. 1. If at all possible, don’t settle for an individual with less than desired qualifications when filling manager and supervisor positions. 2. Ensure that hiring assessments are job relevant, reliable, and valid. 3. Use behavioral competencies to predict managerial performance. 4. Use realistic job previews to provide applicants with an accurate description of the positive and negative aspects of the job. Strategic Recommendation 4.5: Establish person-organization fit throughout the transit system. 1. Evaluate whether high managerial turnover is a result of a mismatch between the transit system’s culture and the personality of the managers leaving. 2. Consider organization and job fit in the recruitment process. 3. Evaluate the culture of the transit system, including generational differences when identifying strategies to increase managerial retention. Strategic Recommendation 4.6: Provide training and development opportunities to encourage manager retention. 1. Provide training and development opportunities that interest managers. 2. Use a variety of training and development techniques to keep training fresh, engaging, and meeting the needs of different learning styles. 3. Emphasize professional development for managers and supervisors for all levels of the organization. 4. Align training with the work requirements of the job and the mission and goals of the transit system.

Checklist for Transit Manager Recruitment, Training and Retention Excellence 141 Strategic Recommendation 4.7: Engage managers in developing and supporting the transit system’s mission. 1. Encourage new manager and supervisor commitment to the organization through an extensive transit system orientation program. 2. Involve transit system managers in creating the mission, vision, and values statements along with a short- and long-term strategic plan. 3. Meet with managerial and supervisory staff at regular intervals to discuss ways to make transit system mission, vision, and values a part of everyday work life and interaction with customers. Strategic Recommendation 4.8: Build a culture of ownership. 1. Encourage transit system-wide employee involvement in organization decision making through ad-hoc committees, performance improvement teams, and organization goal setting. 2. Engage managers and employees in transit system human resource management decision making, including hiring, training, and compensation. 3. Recognize employee participation involvement in organizational decision making activities through a formal acknowledgment process. Strategic Recommendation 4.9: Create a positive organizational culture. 1. Analyze current transit system organizational culture to determine if it is producing the desired results. 2. Determine elements of the transit system culture that may need to be changed. 3. Establish a methodology and implementation plan for transit system cultural change as may be appropriate. 4. Train managers and employees on all cultural change efforts and new role expectations resulting from those efforts. 5. Evaluate the transit system’s new culture as it evolves to establish whether change has occurred and identify elements of change still needing to be addressed.