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OCR for page 8
8 Strategies to Attract and Retain a Capable Transportation Workforce
2.3 Transportation Workforce Challenges
In each chapter of the guidebook, major workforce challenges facing transportation agencies within the
topic area under consideration are presented. For the purposes of this guidebook, "challenges" describe
the problems and issues organizations are facing around recruitment and retention of staff. An overview
of the 49 workforce challenges discussed across all chapters is presented in this section, see Exhibit 2-3.
Exhibit 2-3 organizes the challenges into themes. It also indicates where relationships exist between each
challenge and the recruitment/retention topics described in this guidebook. Since all of the challenges are
related to multiple topics, the exhibit specifies the relationships and the chapter where more information
about the challenge can be found using the following symbols:
= Indicates primary relationship to recruitment/retention topic. This is the topic where the
challenge has the greatest impact. Thus, decision makers should be sure to address this
concern in the development of new workforce practices. This symbol also indicates the
chapter where additional information about the challenge can be found.
x = Indicates a relationship exists between the challenge and the recruitment/retention topic.
In other words, the challenge impacts the corresponding recruitment/retention topic in some
fashion and should be considered when developing a related program.
OCR for page 9
Exhibit 2-3
Workforce Challenges Matrix
Recruitment Topics Retention Topics
Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6 Ch. 7 Ch. 8 Ch. 9 Ch. 10 Ch. 11 Ch. 12 Ch. 13 Ch. 14 Ch. 15 Ch. 16 Ch. 17
Developing Internal Staff
Anticipating & Managing
Increasing the Number of
Restructuring Benefits &
Promoting Existing Staff
Leadership Development
Developing Knowledge
Job Classification and
Organization/Industry
Management Systems
Screening Applicants
Succession Planning
Reducing Voluntary
Performance Issues
Work-Life Balance
Developing Future
Culture/Climate
Applicant Skills
Compensation
Branding the
Applicants
Improving
Challenges
Turnover
Design
Skills
Lack of Planning: Failure to implement recruiting initiatives before a position needs to be filled.
Lack of Recruiting
x x x x x
Process
Failure to
Adequately Brand x x x x x
the Industry
Difficult Work Context: Applicants are sometimes not attracted to outdoor, manual labor jobs.
Aversion to Manual
x x x x x x
Outdoor Labor
Geographic
x x x x
Challenges
Lack of Flexibility
x x x x x x x x x x x x
and Autonomy
Bureaucratic Hiring
x x x x
Policies
OCR for page 10
Exhibit 2-3 (Continued)
Workforce Challenges Matrix
Recruitment Topics Retention Topics
Challenges
Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6 Ch. 7 Ch. 8 Ch. 9 Ch. 10 Ch. 11 Ch. 12 Ch. 13 Ch. 14 Ch. 15 Ch. 16 Ch. 17
Evolving Workforce Trends: Evolving applicant pools make it difficult to identify top talent.
Employee Age,
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Generational Gap
National Disasters
Creating
x x x x x x x x x x
Competitive Labor
Market
Lack of Skilled
x x x x
Applicants
Lack of Diversity x x x x x x x x x x
Speed of
x x x x x x x
Technology
Aging Workers and
x x x x x x x x x
Technology
Effect of Economic
x x x x
Downturn
Influx of Younger Workers: Difficulty redesigning jobs and policies that attract Generation Y
Different Career
x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Decision Making
High Expectations of
x x x x x x x x x x x x x
an Employer
Lack of Learning
x x x x x x x x
Opportunities
Strong Competition: Better compensation elsewhere draws top applicants.
Aggressive
Recruiting x x x x x x
OCR for page 11
Exhibit 2-3 (Continued)
Workforce Challenges Matrix
Recruitment Topics Retention Topics
Challenges
Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6 Ch. 7 Ch. 8 Ch. 9 Ch. 10 Ch. 11 Ch. 12 Ch. 13 Ch. 14 Ch. 15 Ch. 16 Ch. 17
Aggressive Wage
x x x x x x x
Competition
Competing on
x x x x x x
Benefits
Failure to Invest in
x x x
Talent Pipeline
Leadership Issues: Supervisors do not know how to sell the organization.
Interviewing Skills x x x x x
Poor Employee
x x x x
Performance
Misperception of Industry: Applicants do not see certain jobs as having career advancement potential.
Anti-Public Sector
x x x x x
Sentiment
Misperceptions of
x x x x x x x x x x x x x
the Job
Lack of Workforce
x x x x x x x x x x x x
Planning
Misperceptions of
the Advancement x x x x x x x x x x
Potential
Misperceptions of
the Gender/Cultural x x x x x x x x x x x
Barriers
Applicant Issues: Challenge to know who is legitimately qualified versus who is misrepresenting their qualifications.
Difficulty Finding
Applicants with In- x x x x x x x x x x
Demand Skills
OCR for page 12
Exhibit 2-3 (Continued)
Workforce Challenges Matrix
Recruitment Topics Retention Topics
Challenges
Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6 Ch. 7 Ch. 8 Ch. 9 Ch. 10 Ch. 11 Ch. 12 Ch. 13 Ch. 14 Ch. 15 Ch. 16 Ch. 17
Transportation
x
Issues
Impact of Children x x x x
Applicant Trust after
x x x x x x x x x
Layoffs
Difficulty Ensuring Continuity of Organizational Resources: Failure to plan for customary turnover within an organization.
Lack of Knowledge
x x x x x
Transfer
Lack of Career
Path/Succession x x x x x x x x
Planning
Demanding Work Environment: Retaining employees in manual, outdoor labor jobs.
Short-term Turnover x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Public Sector
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Challenges
Retaining a Diverse
x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Workforce
Evolving Workforce Structures: Institutional knowledge leaving with retiring employees.
Fleeting Institutional
x x x x x x
Knowledge
Changes in Policy
x x x x x x x x x x x
and Technology
Generational Issues: Teamwork between generations is strained by different worldviews.
Lack of
Organizational x x x x x x x x x x x
Commitment
Differences in Job
x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Expectations
OCR for page 13
Exhibit 2-3 (Continued)
Workforce Challenges Matrix
Recruitment Topics Retention Topics
Challenges
Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6 Ch. 7 Ch. 8 Ch. 9 Ch. 10 Ch. 11 Ch. 12 Ch. 13 Ch. 14 Ch. 15 Ch. 16 Ch. 17
Tough Competition from Related Industries: Better compensations draws top employees.
Better Compensation
x x x x x x x x x
and Responsibility
Better Location x x x x x x x
Leadership Issues: Supervisors do not know how to provide customized feedback.
Difficulty Choosing
x x x x x x x x
Leaders
Lack of Training for
x x x x x x x
Leaders/Supervisors
Deficiency in Top
Management x x x x x x x x x x
Support
Training Issues: Difficulty designing the right type and amount of training that engages, challenges and retains employees.
The Cost of Training x x x x x x x x x
Difficulty Providing
Sufficient Quality x x x x x x x x x
Training
Failure to Apply
x x x x x x x x
Training
Failure to Update
x x x x x x x x
Training
