Policy & Practice April 2015

“In order to stem the tide of turnover – TAMILA LAY, DIVISION DIRECTOR FOR EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING IN PENNSYLVANIA _ and to do so within a system capable of adopting modern human resource strategies and constant technology advances, by managing generational workforce transitions, and by deliv- ering services through a program integration lens. Leaders of human services must position their organizations to accom- plish these while, at the same time, facing the fact that a large segment of their workforce is now, or will soon be, eligible for retirement. Leaders will need to keep cognizant of skill gaps among all staff, provide an engaging workplace for younger workers, and develop retention strategies aimed at holding on to top talent. “In order to stem the tide of turn-over and per- petual training of the next generation’s workforce, we must work to make a career in human services as attractive as any other field,” said Tamila Lay, division director of Employment and Training in Pennsylvania. Assessing the Workforce Landscape As an initial effort to assess the thinking of human service leaders on what skills and environment are needed in the future, the Workforce subcommittee sent a survey to more than 100 leaders of state and county human service agencies in addition to the program leaders of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and perpetual training of the next generation’s workforce, we must work to make a career in human services as attractive as any other field.”

APHSA’s National Workgroup on Integration (NWI) Workforce Subcommittee will provide guidance on this task in 2015 and their efforts began with a survey of human service leaders on their perceptions of the workforce of the future. In order to realize the vision for a transformed health and human services system— one that is modern, integrated, accountable for results, data driven, exemplifies strong community partner- ships, and is focused on outcomes—the human-serving workforce must be prepared to serve consumers using a practice model based on evidence

Anita Light is the director of the National Workgroup on Integration.

The Survey Results A total of 107 people responded to the survey representing a variety of human service agencies, including SNAP (35%), TANF (27%), Child Welfare (13%), and Child Care (12%). Respondents were asked to rank the top five skills most critical for a suc- cessful human service workforce of the future. They selected: 1. critical thinking skills 2. customer service orientation 3. communication skills 4. policy knowledge 5. resource/services knowledge The top three listed fall into the category of soft skills as being the most important for the future, while specific program and policy area knowledge was viewed as also being important. The shifting demand toward soft skills was also demonstrated as traditional

Brian Howells is the associate manager at Public Consulting Group and co-chair of theWorkforce Subcommittee for NWI.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Child Care, Child Welfare, and Child Care agencies requesting them to: > Identify the skills and characteristics they viewed as most critical for their workforce to succeed in the next three to five years, > Evaluate their agency’s readiness to address a variety of critical work- force areas such as recruitment, education and professional prepara- tion, performance management, professional development and training, working conditions, and supervision; and > Assess their staff’s ability to adapt to developing technologies and indicate additional supports to assist with this adoption.

Charmaine Brittain is the director of organizational development at the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver.

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