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Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment (2021)

Chapter: Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs

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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26178.
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61   Preparing to meet future talent needs ensures that airports can identify their future work- force and set them up for success while simultaneously transferring knowledge and best prac- tices from retiring or exiting employees to them. Building an internal staff capacity is crucial so that airports can ensure that their current and future workforce have the skills and knowl- edge required for the future needs of the industry. As the current labor market rapidly changes, airports need to be open to these changes and create organizations that will attract new talent. Several airports now have high-profile female leaders, which has started to distinguish airports from airlines and other aviation com- panies that are still more male-dominated. This gender shift may require the industry to rethink its development and retention strategies, because women have traditionally requested more family-responsive policies than their male counterparts (Zemke, Raines, and Filipczak 2000) (Zemke, R., C. Raines, and B. Filipczak. Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your Workplace. AMACOM, 2000). Another challenge for the airport industry is the loss of valuable knowledge and experience as a result of employee retirements. Many airports have not committed enough resources to succession planning due to the schedule demands persistent in the airport environment and are concerned about the loss of knowledge as a result. The retiring population will leave a significant gap in the aviation workforce, and the talent to fill this gap has not yet been cultivated. This chapter includes five plays airports may use to prepare to meet future talent needs in their organizations. Each play contains information on potential indicators of a need; imple- mentation steps; tools and resources; and alternative approaches. Table 3 describes the five plays in this chapter along with brief highlights and corresponding page numbers. Chapter 4 Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs

62 Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment Play Overview Page Play 13: Create partnership opportunities for airport leaders to engage with academic programs Fostering relationships and partnership opportunities with academic programs can create a pipeline for new talent in the airport, resolve the learning gaps that new employees may have when first entering the airport industry after completing their education, and provide current airport employees an avenue to continue their education. 63 Play 14: Conduct stay interviews to learn from employees and improve employee retention Stay interviews should be conducted during an employee’s tenure at the airport to help managers better understand what makes employees remain at the organization and what factors might cause them to leave. 67 internship Play 15: Design internal internship opportunities to prepare future talent Internal internships are opportunities in which employees work in a different position and/or functional area for a fixed period (e.g.,1 to 3 months, full year) to develop their KSAs. Employees who participate in internships can gain exposure to other career paths and pursue their career goals and aspirations. 71 Play 16: Create a personal career narrative to share work experiences with employees A personal career narrative is a short description of why individuals selected their career or field, how they have progressed in their career, and their short- and long-term goals. 75 Play 17: Conduct futuring workshops to understand future workforce needs A futuring workshop involves a thought exercise in which managers, key stakeholders, and employees describe the current trends and demands for the specific airport or the airport industry that will impact workforce needs in the future. 79 Table 3. Plays for preparing to meet future talent needs.

Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs 63   Play 13: Create Partnership Opportunities for Airport Leaders to Engage with Academic Programs Overview of Play Possible Indicators of a Need for this Play Indicator #1 There are gaps in employees’ required knowledge or skills when entering the airport industry Fostering relationships and partnership opportunities with academic programs can help create a pipeline for new talent in the airport, resolve the learning gaps that new employees may have when first entering the airport industry after completing their education, and provide current airport employees an avenue to continue their education. Airport managers may have already established partnerships with academic programs through connections they made during their own education but can also create additional relationships through networking at conferences or attending career fairs. These relationships are mutually beneficial; airports can identify new talent, while these academic institutions can leverage the connections to provide benefits to their students. Airport employees can develop important skills through these partnerships. For example, employees may be able to strengthen their public speaking skills through serving as a guest speaker in a class or at an academic meeting, or they may be able to begin developing people management skills by supporting students who complete an airport-related capstone project. When partnering with academic programs, employees can reflect on what they learned, apply their knowledge to their own experience at the airport, and share key findings with their colleagues. Leveraging partnerships can also be used in conjunction with recruitment efforts to bring in new talent to the airport by providing students information about the airport, sharing open positions, and even creating internship programs in which these students can participate. With a strong established relationship, airports and academic institutions can work together to ensure students are gaining the knowledge and skills needed to be successful working in the airport after graduation. Indicator #2 There are not established relationships between the airport and local colleges, universities, or technical schools Indicator #3 Local academic institutions have programs related to the work of airport employees Indicator #4 It is a challenge to recruit new talent to the airport

64 Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment Play 13: Create Partnership Opportunities for Airport Leaders to Engage with Academic Programs (cont.) Partnership Opportunities Success Story Im pl em en ta tio n St ep s Step 1: Identify the institutions to form a partnership with that would create mutual opportunities for both the airport and the academic program. You may do this by looking at local academic programs, identifying programs with related content or personnel, or attending networking events with the institutions to meet contacts. Step 2: Determine which connections would allow for a successful partnership and the types of partnership and opportunities that would be beneficial to your employees and the institutions. Step 3: Determine the budget and resources available for partnership opportunities at the airport. Also, identify opportunities for collaboration that would not require budget. Step 4: Meet with the point of contact from the academic institution to create win-win opportunities so that both the airport and the institution are benefiting equally during the partnership. This is important when leveraging long-term relationships to use for the airport. Step 5: Give before you receive. Offer support to the point of contact at the academic institution where necessary. Step 6: Check-in with the point of contact on an ongoing basis to determine how the relationship is working, additional partner activities, and if any adjustments need to be made. Implementation Tools and Resources • An airport employee could serve as the manager or point of contact on a capstone project if a student or students were conducting their capstone project in the airport. This would give the student access to the airport to learn more about it and give airport employees an opportunity to serve in leadership role. • Airport employees could serve as guest speakers at local colleges and universities to discuss their career and overall experience with students. • Some airport leaders have worked in the industry for many years and already have strong existing connections to experts and organizational partnerships. Leveraging these relationships as well as alma mater networks would be effective resources for airport employees at all levels. The Wichita Airport Authority in Kansas partners with the Wichita State University’s Center for Management Development (CMD) to gain access to high quality training, seminars, and certificate programs on topics including management, leadership, and project management. Airport leaders encourage employees at all levels to take advantage of these opportunities, which has resulted in each division participating in at least one seminar per year. This partnership has allowed the airport to grow, motivate, and retain its high-quality staff over time.

Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs 65   37 https://www.sciencebusiness.net/sites/default/files/archive/Assets/94fe6d15-5432-4cf9-a656-633248e63541.pdf 38 https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/7-ways-to-build-a-strong-network/ 39 https://hbr.org/2018/01/why-companies-and-universities-should-forge-long-term-collaborations Play 13: Create Partnership Opportunities for Airport Leaders to Engage with Academic Programs (cont.) Additional Resources Key Success Factors • Establishing a mutually beneficial relationship between the airport and the partnership organization will make continued collaboration easier and more effective. • Having a high number of employees participate in the partnerships will make them more beneficial to both the airport and the academic institution. As more people participate, more opportunities may arise. Obstacles and Considerations • Communication across different organizations in the partnerships, especially when there are multiple partners, can be difficult to maintain. To combat this, have a designated point of contact and ensure consistent, clear communication across partners. • Getting buy-in from senior leaders may be take a while to obtain, so meet with senior leadership early in the process. If you are looking for more information about cross-functional knowledge-sharing sessions, visit these sources: • Making industry-university partnerships work by Science | Business Innovation Board37 • Ideas to help to build a strong network by Dan Schawbel38 • Why companies and universities should forge long-term collaborations by Harvard Business Review39  Play Adjustments to Achieve a Similar Outcome in Different Ways If you are not ready to develop for partnerships with academic programs, host a career day. If you already have partnership relationships in place, developing internship opportunities might be good for you. Host a career day: This event will allow students from local academic programs to learn more about the airport, and the airport can get students interested in future airport careers. Create partnership opportunities for airport leaders to engage with academic programs. Develop internship opportunities: Internships offer opportunities for students who are potential future airport employees to work for a fixed period of time (e.g., 1 to 3 months) with the purpose of developing their knowledge, skills, and abilities and learning about the jobs the airport has to offer.

66 Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment Play 13: Create Partnership Opportunities for Airport Leaders to Engage with Academic Programs (cont.) Effective Implementation: Metrics to Measure Success and Related Case Example To evaluate the impact of implementing this play, some metrics to consider include the following: • More frequent projects or collaborations with academic programs • Increased applicant pool from academic programs • Increased social network between airport and academic program members As an example of a successful implementation of this type of partnership, JPMorgan Chase focused on creating a relational, rather than transactional, relationship with a local university. This model has created benefits for both participating organizations. The program has helped to improve the recruitment pipeline, which is filled with program participants. A key to success for this type of partnership is making sure that it benefits both participants and that there is a focus on long-term collaboration. For more information, see “Improving Research and Education by Bringing the World of Practice on to Campus” case study, on page 14 of the 10 Case Studies of High-Value, High-Return University-Industry Collaborations available here: https://uidp.org/wp-content/uploads/documents/Case-Studies-pre-20141.pdf.

Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs 67   Play 14: Conduct Stay Interviews to Learn from Employees and Improve Employee Retention Overview of Play Possible Indicators of a Need for this Play Stay interviews should be conducted during an employee’s tenure at the airport to help managers better understand what makes employees remain at the organization and what factors might cause them to leave. Stay interviews are informal conversations in which managers ask standard, structured questions to gauge an employee’s thoughts and feelings. This tool can allow airport managers to learn directly from their employees and use their feedback to improve the overall employee experience, while simultaneously building trust. As a result of stay interviews, airports can build an effective retention strategy by identifying what motivates tenured, productive employees to remain within the organization. Typically, turnover rates are high during the first year of employment and hit their peak when an employee reaches 2 to 3 years at the organization. Without a method to examine how employees feel about their work experience and the airport, managers will be unable to address potential employee concerns and may struggle to retain a strong workforce. After stay interviews, managers should use what they learned from their employees to help motivate, encourage, and retain all employees within their area and across the airport, as applicable. It is critical for managers to act on the feedback they collect during the stay interviews, otherwise employees will lose trust with their manager and the airport and will be less likely to share honest feedback in the future. Indicator #1 Managers do not have a clear understanding of employee attitudes Indicator #2 There is an increase in turnover within the team Indicator #3 Managers want to make improvements to the workplace, but are unsure where employees need the most support

68 Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment Play 14: Conduct Stay Interviews to Learn from Employees and Improve Employee Retention (cont.) Stay Interviews Success Story Im pl em en ta tio n St ep s Step 1: Establish the goals for the stay interviews. This could include generating goals about what a manager needs to learn or elaborating on existing manager goals for the team. Step 2: Identify the individual(s) who will be responsible for organizing the stay interviews. A manager could schedule and facilitate the interviews. Alternatively, an administrator or HR representative could be asked to facilitate the interviews if there are any concerns that employees may not be honest with the manager. Step 3: Determine the characteristics of the stay interviews such as how many there will be, how often they will occur, when they will take place, and criteria for who will be invited to participate in the interviews (e.g., staff with a specific amount of tenure, random sample). Step 4: Develop an interview protocol with open-ended questions to use to ask employees about their attitudes and feelings about work. The protocol should be developed to solicit input related to topics that a manager can change or influence so that results can actually be implemented. Step 5: Identify the employees who will be invited to participate in the stay interviews, inform participants about the purpose of the sessions, and invite them to participate. Step 6: Conduct the stay interviews in an informal setting, ensuring that you capture accurate employee responses and their ideas for potential improvements. Thank participants for their input. Step 7: Summarize the key points discussed during the interviews to identify improvement areas. Step 8: Monitor employees’ attitudes, feelings, and performance, and continue to work with them to foster a positive and rewarding work environment. Implementation Tools and Resources • Use of a meeting schedule platform can help with organizing stay interviews. Some free options include WhenIsGood, SignUpGenius, and Doodle Poll. • Provide a comfortable atmosphere to conduct the interview. • The interview protocol can be made available to the employees prior to the conversation so they are prepared with appropriate responses. As part of an expanded orientation program, the Wilmington International Airport has new employees meet with a different member of upper management each month. During these meetings, the new hires are asked questions like “How are you enjoying your work?”, “What concerns do you have about your job?”, and similar questions to understand the employees’ experiences during their first 6 months in the airport. These interviews are designed to identify problems before they lead to staff turnover and ensure that new staff get to know airport leadership and are comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns. Such efforts have helped the airport reduce turnover, and new employees feel that the airport leaders are more approachable.

Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs 69   40 https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-forms/pages/stayinterviewquestions.aspx 41 https://hrsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Stay-Interview-Kick-Start-Guide-HRsoft.pdf 42 https://www.forbes.com/sites/billconerly/2018/07/21/retain-more-employees-with-stay-interviews/#9feb82ef18c7 Play 14: Conduct Stay Interviews to Learn from Employees and Improve Employee Retention (cont.) Additional Resources Key Success Factors • To ensure that stay interviews are effective, planning is key. Make sure that there is a clear set of questions to ask and the interviewer understands how to respond to employee input and potential concerns. • Discussing actionable strategies about how to stay engaged and grow within the airport may be a beneficial way to learn from employees and ensure that potential actions provide the type of support they desire. Obstacles and Considerations • Employees may not feel comfortable sharing their feelings and intentions about their job, because this is personal information. To overcome this, ensure employees know the conversation is confidential and their input will not have negative repercussions. • If there are tensions between managers and employees, or there is not a culture of sharing, stay interviews may best be conducted by a neutral third party (e.g., HR). If you are looking for more information about stay interviews, visit these sources: • Example stay interview questions from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)40 • The Stay Interview Kick Start Guide by HR Soft41 • Explaining how stay interviews help to improve employee retention by Forbes42  Play Adjustments to Achieve a Similar Outcome in Different Ways If you are not ready to conduct stay interviews, try informally holding stay conversations during check -in meetings. If you already conduct stay interviews, implementing a stay plan might be good for you. Hold informal stay conversations: Managers can still ask stay interview-type questions of their employees during preestablished check-in meetings. Even when asked informally, this is valuable information to gather. Conduct stay interviews to learn from employees and improve employee retention. Implement a stay plan: A stay plan consists of a short list of actionable items identified through stay interviews that managers and employees can work on together to maintain or improve the employee experience, using the stay interview results to develop actionable plans to engage employees.

70 Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment Play 14: Conduct Stay Interviews to Learn from Employees and Improve Employee Retention (cont.) Effective Implementation: Metrics to Measure Success To evaluate the impact of implementing this play, some metrics to consider include the following: • Improvement in employee retention • Increased employee engagement scores • Employee ratings of feeling heard or understood by leadership • Frequency of stay interviews with staff across areas

Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs 71   Play 15: Design Internal Internship Opportunities to Prepare Future Talent Overview of Play Possible Indicators of a Need for this Play Internal internships are opportunities to expose current employees to different jobs within the organization with the purpose of developing their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). The interns are usually junior- or mid-level employees looking to gain invaluable on-the-job experience in positions above their current level. Internal internships can help with succession planning efforts by creating a talent pipeline that invests in younger or newer talent and develops the knowledge and skills they will need to be qualified and successful in critical areas or positions that have a high probability of being affected by turnover and retirements. To achieve maximum benefit, airports managers should assign interns meaningful work, such as tasks they would perform if they were in the position full time. This will ensure that interns are given a realistic job preview and allow managers to collect a work sample from the interns. Airports benefit from internal internship opportunities both in the short- and long-term, because they allow for training of employees while accommodating workload needs through strategic use of the employees’ availability. These internships allow for additional resources to contribute to a short-term surge in workload, and once an employee participates in an internship opportunity, they are prepared to contribute to ongoing work or to fill a position in that area in the long term. During the internship, employees participate in assignments that develop professional expertise and provide firsthand knowledge of how other functional areas of the airport contribute to the successful implementation of the mission, vision, and goals. Employees benefit from this opportunity by developing their skills, pursuing their career goals and aspirations, and obtaining exposure to other career paths. This can also help increase employee retention and morale by providing employees opportunities to engage in professional development, gain new experiences, and become familiar with other aspects of the airport. Indicator #1 Lack of succession planning and a talent pipeline within the airport Indicator #2 Newly hired employees lack needed knowledge or skills Indicator #3 High probability of upcoming turnover or retirements in critical positions Indicator #4 Employees need or want more opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills

72 Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment Play 15: Design Internal Internship Opportunities to Prepare Future Talent (cont.) Internship Opportunities Success Story Step 1: Determine the format of the internship program (e.g., duration, structure), the goals for the internship program, the positions/projects for which interns will be used, the number of interns, and the individual(s) who will manage the intern(s) and oversee the internship program. Step 2: Identify the KSAs that interns will need upon entry and that the program will develop. Step 3: Create job descriptions for the positions based on the expected job duties and needed KSAs. Step 4: Create opportunities for employees to learn more about the program overall and the available internship positions to help them fully understand and take advantage of the available professional development. The program description, list of features/details, and any relevant forms should be shared with interested employees and posted on an intranet site. Step 5: Through the performance management process, managers learn about employees’ professional development interests and goals and guide them through the internship application process if they feel it may enhance their career. Step 6: The manager who will be overseeing the intern reviews applications and conducts interviews as necessary, and selects an intern based on the extent to which they have the KSAs needed upon entry, performance on work samples collected, perceived fit with the team, and work history. Step 7: Provide interns with hands-on on-the-job training, with respect to the KSAs that the program is designed to increase or improve. Step 8: Assess the success of the program by measuring interns’ acquisition of the intended KSAs over the course of the internship and use exit surveys to determine interns’ and airport managers’ satisfaction with the program overall and suggestions for improvement. Implementation Tools and Resources Im pl em en ta tio n St ep s • It may be helpful to provide interns with a toolkit that includes their job description and KSAs that the program will help them develop, a description of the team’s culture, an organizational chart, and a list of key resources. • Provide intern supervisors with program information and tips for engaging and developing interns. • Organize a list of individuals (i.e., buddies) for interns to reach out to for questions, advice, or to learn about the position or functional area to expand interns’ professional network. The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) Aviation Division/Operations implemented the Operations Succession Preparation (OSP) to redefine employee development and provide the experience necessary to ensure ongoing internal career opportunities at multiple levels within the department. The OSP created opportunities across the airport and for employees in other departments to get first-hand experience in the day-to-day operations of the airport. The overall objective of the program was to prepare for the many opportunities that would arise in coming years while simultaneously increasing employee engagement, job satisfaction, and diversity/inclusion. Within 4 years of its launching, the OSP created more than 30 new opportunities for team members across the department, including numerous women, people of color, represented employees from union ranks, and interns. Beginning in 2011, the OSP transitioned from an Aviation Division/Operations initiative to an Internal Internship program across the entire organization; it continues today with approximately 20 annual participants.

Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs 73   43 https://www.portseattle.org/blog/frontline-fridays-port-emergency-preparedness-team-helps-protect-travelers-employees 44 https://cla.umn.edu/career-services-office/employers/internship-toolkit-employers 45 https://community.shrm.org/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=b1a4d23c-63fd-42cf-8400-59187adbc4a0 Play 15: Design Internal Internship Opportunities to Prepare Future Talent (cont.) Additional Resources Key Success Factors • It is important to assign interns meaningful work (versus menial tasks) to ensure that they receive beneficial training. • Since internship opportunities often only last a few months, provide interns with continuous feedback about their performance so they may improve while working for you. • Ensure that interns have various resources for success (e.g., a buddy, intern toolkit). Obstacles and Considerations • Recognize interns for their work successes and contributions. Interns need to be recognized for good work to ensure they feel valued. • Employees may feel that they do not have the time or ability to step away from their current position to pursue an internal internship. Managers must be supportive of their employees’ professional development goals. If you are looking for more information about designing internships, visit these sources: • Example internal internship success story at Port of Seattle43 • Example intern manager toolkit by the University of Minnesota44 • Guide for developing internship opportunities by the Society for Human Resource Management45 Play Adjustments to Achieve a Similar Outcome in Different Ways If you are not ready to design internal internship opportunities, try allowing students from local universities, colleges, or vocational schools to volunteer at the airport. If you already have established internal internship opportunities, try organizing external internship opportunities. Allow local students to volunteer: Allowing students to volunteer (e.g., 1 day per week) will allow them to gain experience but will require fewer resources. Design internal internship opportunities to prepare future talent. Design external internship opportunities with input from academia to identify future talent: Similar to internal internships, an individual works in a position for a fixed period of time to gain KSAs and on-the-job experience. External internships involve airports utilizing relationships with individuals in academia and alumni to recruit students for these positions, and provide them with a realistic job preview before entering the workforce.

74 Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment Play 15: Design Internal Internship Opportunities to Prepare Future Talent (cont.) Effective Implementation: Metrics to Measure Success To evaluate the impact of implementing this play, some metrics to consider include the following: • Increased employee networks across the airport • Improved employee retention and internal hires • Improved employee knowledge and skills

Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs 75   Play 16: Create a Personal Career Narrative to Share Work Experiences with Employees Overview of Play Possible Indicators of a Need for this Play A personal career narrative is a short description of why individuals selected their career or field, how they have progressed in their career, and their short- and long-term goals. Many people create a career narrative when interviewing for jobs, but these narratives can also be used to share how an employee has progressed within their organization, overcome challenges, and/or the resources they used to perform their job and advance their career. When airport managers create and share their personal career narratives, it al lows their employees to learn about their career progression and provides an example of how the employees can also achieve success. When employees are encouraged to develop personal career narratives, it allows colleagues to easily learn about one another, and provides entry-level employees with the ability to see how others have created a successful career and moved up within the airport. Furthermore, these narratives may be shared with potential employees to illustrate how the airport supports employee growth, which can attract individuals to the airport. Managers and their employees can share their personal career narratives with their team verbally, such as during a meeting, or in a written format (physical or electronic) that allows others to read them and save them as references. If desired, these personal career narratives may be stored in a repository so employees can reference them as needed. In sum, creating and sharing personal career narratives are a cost-effective way for employees to connect with each other, share work experiences, and encourage career aspirations. Indicator #1 There is not a systematic approach to gather employees personal work experiences Indicator #2 Employees struggle to see paths for upward mobility within the team or airport Indicator #3 Employees desire opportunities to learn about others’ work and career experiences Indicator #4 Employees do not have ways to connect with the manager or others on their team

76 Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment Play 16: Create a Personal Career Narrative to Share Work Experiences with Employees (cont.) Personal Career Narrative Success Story Im pl em en ta tio n St ep s Step 1: Determine the purpose of creating personal career narratives (e.g., to highlight the resources provided by your airport, to share how individuals may overcome obstacles on the way to success). Step 2: Create your career narrative by following these steps: • Begin creating your personal career narrative by writing down basic facts about you and your work history (e.g., educational background, years since entering workforce, years of service to the airport, progression through positions). • Jot down more abstract details about yourself (e.g., professional and personal interests, initial career goals, current career goals). • Identify one or two personal career highlights (e.g., a critical promotion, an award won, a challenging time you successfully worked through) and write down some thoughts about these moments, including what lead up to them and how you felt after. • Craft your personal career narrative by piecing together information collected to tell a story about yourself that showcases your growth over time, how you came to be in the position you are in now, and how you accomplished goals and/or overcame challenges to get here. These narratives are often two to four paragraphs long. • If desired, have trusted colleagues review your personal career narrative and provide feedback. Step 3: Share your personal career narrative with your employees and encourage them to think about how it may apply to them, their personal or professional obstacles, or their career trajectory. Ask employees to think about creating their own career narratives, following the guidance in Step 2. Step 4: Use your narrative to attract new talent by emphasizing how upward progression is achievable and the resources your airport provides you with to support your growth. Step 5: Store all personal career narratives in a repository and update as needed (e.g., annually). Implementation Tools and Resources • Storing your personal career narrative in an easily accessible location will allow employees to reference the narrative as needed. These may be stored in a physical or virtual location (e.g., on a shared drive). • Developing a template for creating a personal career narrative may help others, including future managers, supervisors, or staff, create valuable personal career narratives. Employees in a small hub airport on the West Coast have reported that there is not a direct path to a career in airport manager positions. Further, they have reported that employees often find it difficult to progress into airport operations, or they get stuck in airport operations once they are there. These frustrations occur because there are few leadership positions available and there is often little guidance on how to attain these desirable positions or progress within the airport. In airports that experience these types of frustrations, having airport managers share their work experiences and career progression stories would help shed light on the pathways to success within the airport.

Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs 77   46 https://hbr.org/2005/01/whats-your-story 47 https://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2012/08/13/how-to-use-storytelling-as-a-leadership-tool/#7c693ef55e8e 48 https://blessingwhite.com/the-importance-of-narrative/ Play 16: Create a Personal Career Narrative to Share Work Experiences with Employees (cont.) Additional Resources Key Success Factors • To ensure employees benefit from hearing one another’s personal career narratives, encourage them to think through how the stories shared can be applied to their personal story or their career trajectories. • Personal career narratives are more easily understood when they are written, explain the individual’s career trajectory in chronological order, and include only the most pertinent details. Obstacles and Considerations • Writing a personal career narrative may be difficult for some, especially those who have many experiences to share, but choosing one or two important stories or periods of time to highlight will help narrow the focus of the narrative and make it easier to write. • To ensure that employees are aware of and read each other’s career narratives, try encouraging them to present during team meetings. If you are looking for more information about creating a personal career narrative, visit these sources: • Tips for writing a personal career narrative by Harvard Business Review46 • How to use storytelling as a leadership tool by Forbes47 • Why a personal career narrative is important to share and tips for writing one by GP Strategies48  Play Adjustments to Achieve a Similar Outcome in Different Ways If you are not ready to create a personal career narrative to share work experiences with employees, try informally sharing your experiences with your employees. If you have already shared your personal career narrative with employees, try working with other teams or departments to share personal career narratives. Informally share work experiences: Try sharing your career experiences with employees in meetings and informal conversations. Create a personal career narrative to share work experiences with employees. Partner with other departments to create and share personal career narratives: If your team has already created and shared your personal career narratives, try inviting managers and employees from other teams to do the same. Your employees will benefit from hearing additional experiences and doing so will encourage networking between teams.

78 Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment Play 16: Create a Personal Career Narrative to Share Work Experiences with Employees (cont.) Effective Implementation: Metrics to Measure Success To evaluate the impact of implementing this play, some metrics to consider include the following: • Expansion of relationships with leaders • More positive perceptions of leaders by employees • Improved employee retention

Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs 79   Play 17: Conduct Futuring Workshops to Understand Future Workforce Needs Overview of Play Possible Indicators of a Need for this Play A futuring workshop involves a thought exercise in which managers, key stakeholders, and employees workforce needs in the future. For example, participants might discuss an airport-specific event, such as the possibility of privatization, and how that would impact the airport structure and associated needs. Or, participants might discuss an industry-wide trend, such as new cleaning and health screening procedures practices to overcome potential challenges and think about the extent to which these practices would be effective in accomplishing the airport’s goals. Information shared in the futuring workshops should be used to develop practical strategies and tools to improve how airports recruit, select, train, and sustain a capable workforce through the next 5 to 10 years, in light of expected labor market shifts, competitive forces, and broad industry changes. Ultimately, futuring workshops should allow airport leaders to better understand their evolving workforce, leverage innovative strategies, and identify policy improvements to establish a robust talent pipeline. Managers can also conduct futuring on a smaller scale, bringing together their staff and discussing how airport or industry trends impact the group’s work and what may need to be done to ensure a capable workforce is prepared to meet any future needs and challenges. Indicator #1 There are major industry changes expected that could impact the number or type of employees needed Indicator #2 Managers have not determined how they will adapt to industry changes in the next 5+ years Indicator #3 Managers are unable to fulfill the current needs of their employees Indicator #4 Employees foresee their needs substantially changing describe the current trends and demands for the specific airport or the airport industry that will impact required because of pandemic-related concerns, and how these changes will impact the types of employees needed in the airport. Futuring workshop participants are also encouraged to share innovative

80 Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment Play 17: Conduct Futuring Workshops to Understand Future Workforce Needs (cont.) Futuring Workshops Success Story Im pl em en ta tio n St ep s Step 1: Organize interviews or focus groups with key stakeholders to understand industry trends and the evolving needs of employees, and develop potential future scenarios based on these discussions (e.g., difficulty recruiting skilled workers, difficulty retaining minority employees, ski ll gaps among current employees). Step 2: Determine the workshop characteristics, such as the time, date, location, and format. For example, the workshop may be a structured discussion led by a facilitator, or participants may provide a written response with minimal discussion. If notetakers or discussion facilitators will be needed, identity them now. Step 3: Organize the list of questions to be asked during the workshop. For example, one method of arranging questions is as follows: • Part 1: Introductory information (e.g., name, opportunity for questions about futuring) • Part 2: Describe current workforce (e.g., attrition rates, diversity data) • Part 3: Present the scenarios to participants, and have them detail what will happen if nothing is done to address each scenario, and what actions they would take to address the issues. Step 4: Host the futuring workshop. Step 5: Provide stakeholders with a summary of responses that can be used to develop strategies and tools to sustain a capable workforce and adapt to industry changes. Implementation Tools and Resources • Create a resource guide to help develop and implement workshops so that they can be facilitated effectively. • Representations from various functional areas in the workshops and in the development of scenarios can help ensure scenarios capture the needs and concerns of all employees. • Keep a master list of all scenarios used and previous workshop participants that is continuously updated to reduce the workload for subsequent workshop organizers and eliminate redundancy in responses. The Boise Airport recently hosted a workshop to discuss the results of an organizational assessment, which revealed that there will be substantial growth in the number of passengers, traffic, and enplanements in the next 5 years. During this workshop, attendees discussed whether their divisions or teams had an adequate number of employees to accommodate these changes, and the extent to which skills gaps exist among their current staff to ensure that they will be prepared to continue to meet community and customer service expectations. They also discussed how their salaries, benefits, structure, and staffing compared with other airports nationally. The workshop concluded with a discussion on next steps for filling skill gaps, recruiting new talent, and retaining current staff.

Preparing to Meet Future Talent Needs 81   49 https:/fas.org/irp/agency/dhs/fema/crisis.pdf 50 https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/working-at-uc/your-career/talent-management/talent-planning/strategic-talent-planning.pdf 51 http://nyc.pubcollab.org/futuring-workforce-development/ Play 17: Conduct Futuring Workshops to Understand Future Workforce Needs (cont.) Additional Resources Key Success Factors • Developing realistic scenarios, which can be achieved by engaging stakeholders and employees in discussions about evolving industry needs and trends, and refining the scenarios based on additional feedback are key. • Identifying practical strategies to ensure airports sustain a capable workforce can be achieved by encouraging or incentivizing employees at various levels to participate in workshops. Obstacles and Considerations • Employees may not be able to devote a significant amount of time to participate in a workshop, but participation may be encouraged by ensuring that employees are given time in their schedules to participate. • It may prove difficult to achieve active participation among all employees. However, if the benefits of the workshop are communicated, buy-in may be increased. Play Adjustments to Achieve a Similar Outcome in Different Ways If you are not ready to conduct futuring workshops, try having informal discussions with your employees about their current and future needs. If you already conduct futuring workshops, developing a strategic plan might be good for you. Hold informal discussions: Talk to employees about their current and future needs and how the organization can help fulfill those needs. Conduct futuring workshops to understand future workforce needs. Develop a Strategic Workforce Plan: This is a document used to communicate the organization's goals and the actions needed to achieve those goals. Develop a strategic workforce plan by turning the responses from the workshops into strategies and goals that can help overcome the challenges detailed in the scenarios. If you are looking for more information about futuring workshops, visit these sources: • Overview of FEMA’s Strategic Foresight Initiative49 • Futuring as part of workforce planning from the University of California (see page 11)50 • Example futuring workshop from Public and Collaborative NYC51 

82 Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment Play 17: Conduct Futuring Workshops to Understand Future Workforce Needs (cont.) Effective Implementation: Metrics to Measure Success To evaluate the impact of implementing this play, some metrics to consider include the following: • Plans in place for future needs • Improved employee commitment to airport, goals, and values

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The airport environment is facing a shortage of individuals who can lead, guide, manage, and carry out airport-centric initiatives to support the aviation industry.

The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Research Report 232: Playbook for Cultivating Talent in the Airport Environment provides inspiring, proven, and readily implementable techniques for airport leaders and managers to use to enhance talent cultivation and knowledge transfer within airport organizations.

Supplemental to the report is a presentation.

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