A Guide to Building and Retaining Workforce Capacity for the Railroad Industry (2015)

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E-1 HR Structured Interview Questions Instructions for interviewer: Listed below are topics and associated questions to be discussed with HR departments of identified agencies in the railroad industry. These questions are broken up into 3 broad categories: (1) recruitment strategies, (2) retention strategies, and (3) training strategies. Under each category, we list the key topics to investigate current standard policies and practices of HR agencies. Below each topic question, we provide queries to delve deeper into each topic. Please use these queries to engage the railroad HR professional in a meaningful conversation about the listed topics. QinetiQ-NA ensures all information will be de-identified and used for research purposes under the NCRRP Project 06-01, “Building and Retaining Workforce Capacity for the Railroad Industry.” Recruitment Questions Topic # 1: How are potential new hires coming to apply for a position in the railroad industry? Query: • Recruiting methods and strategies—which are most successful and are some more effective for attracting job candidates to specific crafts? • Differences between internal vs. external hires. • How do applicants hear about your openings? • To what extent if any do you solicit local vocational schools, colleges, or universities for recent graduates seeking employment? • Discuss the biggest barriers or obstacles to attracting qualified employees. Topic # 2: Describe the process of searching for and successfully hiring new workers, screening in or out of candidates during the interview process, as well as the onboarding of new hires. Query: • Probe process of interviewing the candidate—who are they interviewing, do they meet their manag- ers in this part of the process? • Do you have a standardized interview guide/process used in recruitment? • Describe the general process for recruiting, screening, and selecting new hires at your railroad. Who is involved in this process? • What are the major reasons that job applicants are not hired? A P P E N D I X E

E-2 A Guide to Building and Retaining Workforce Capacity for the Railroad Industry Topic # 3: Do there seem to be variances in recruiting different positions, as well as in different locations? Query: • Probe—regional differences, urban vs rural, difference in hiring different labor categories. Topic # 4: Please describe the demographics of new hires. Query: • Probe—different educational levels, gender, ethnicity. • Do you anticipate changes to these trends? Topic # 5: Please describe any recent changes the rail industry has made in order to improve upon recruiting new, capable workers to join the railroad industry. Query: • Probe changes to procedures or programs. • Inquire about standardized metrics of hiring. • How do you attract qualified new employees? • How have you changed the way you attract qualified employees over the last few years? • What key knowledge, skills, and abilities will tomorrow’s railroaders need to succeed? • What are your railroad’s top three recruitment challenges over the next 5 years? • Tell us about one or two recent, particularly successful approaches to attracting railroad employees at your railroad? What has made each approach so successful? Retention Questions Topic # 1: Are the railroads keeping track of employees leaving, and if so, how? Query: • Probe typical reasons employees leave. • Are there different reasons why employees from different crafts leave? • Probe programs used to track why employees leave (exit interview, etc.). • Differences noted in different times when employees leave (after being hired, after 1 year, after 5 years, etc.) – Are there different reasons why employees with different amounts of service leave (e.g., those with less than 5 years of service versus those with over 20 years of service)? – In your experience, is there a certain amount of time (years of service) after which employees generally become career railroaders? To what do you attribute this drop-off in voluntary separations? – Why do new hires leave during training? Why do new hires leave during their probationary period? Topic # 2: How are the railroads working to ensure valuable employees remain on the workforce? Query: • What are some initiatives and programs you have in place to measure employee engagement? • Do you have an incentive program to retain associates? Topic # 3: What benefits are offered to employees? Query: • What “perks” do associates receive? (example: EAP, Healthy Lifestyle program, monetary bonuses, etc.)

HR Structured Interview Questions E-3 Topic # 4: What is the potential for promotions and career advancement in the workforce? Query: • Probe how employees find out about openings. • What programs/policies are in place for employee training, development, and promotions? • Who is responsible for promotions? HR or the line? Topic # 5: What is the overall workplace culture? Have there been changes made in recent years to the railroad’s retention strategies? Query: • What changes in company employment practices have there been over the last few years to promote retention? • Tell us about one or two recent, particularly successful approaches to retaining railroad employees at your railroad. What makes each approach so successful? • What are your railroad’s top three retention challenges over the next 5 years? Training Questions Topic # 1: Please describe what programs or policies are in place for employee training and development. Query: • Mandatory versus optional training. • Training offered at initial hire and/or refresher courses. • Tuition assistance. Topic # 2: Are you currently working with any local vocational schools, colleges, or universities to deliver effective training programs to employees? Query: • Differences noticed between particular labor categories.

Abbreviations and acronyms used without definitions in TRB publications: A4A Airlines for America AAAE American Association of Airport Executives AASHO American Association of State Highway Officials AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials ACI–NA Airports Council International–North America ACRP Airport Cooperative Research Program ADA Americans with Disabilities Act APTA American Public Transportation Association ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials ATA American Trucking Associations CTAA Community Transportation Association of America CTBSSP Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program DHS Department of Homeland Security DOE Department of Energy EPA Environmental Protection Agency FAA Federal Aviation Administration FHWA Federal Highway Administration FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FRA Federal Railroad Administration FTA Federal Transit Administration HMCRP Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ISTEA Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 ITE Institute of Transportation Engineers MAP-21 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (2012) NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASAO National Association of State Aviation Officials NCFRP National Cooperative Freight Research Program NCHRP National Cooperative Highway Research Program NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NTSB National Transportation Safety Board PHMSA Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration RITA Research and Innovative Technology Administration SAE Society of Automotive Engineers SAFETEA-LU Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (2005) TCRP Transit Cooperative Research Program TDC Transit Development Corporation TEA-21 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (1998) TRB Transportation Research Board TSA Transportation Security Administration U.S.DOT United States Department of Transportation

TRA N SPO RTATIO N RESEA RCH BO A RD 500 Fifth Street, N W W ashington, D C 20001 A D D RESS SERV ICE REQ U ESTED ISBN 978-0-309-37484-2 9 7 8 0 3 0 9 3 7 4 8 4 2 9 0 0 0 0 A G uide to Building and Retaining W orkforce Capacity for the Railroad Industry N CRRP Report 2 TRB