Policy & Practice April 2015

onboarding can build commitment to operating effectively in an increas- ingly integrated system. > Maximize the impact of multiple generations in the workforce to utilize the full range of talents, skills, and expertise present in both younger and older workers, and everyone in between. > Develop strong hiring pipelines capable of delivering top talent by partnering and sharing information with institutions responsible for workforce preparation. > Recognize that soft skills training is as critical as training on hard skills and develop targeted curricula to expand opportunities for learning in both areas. > Support the integration of and training for using technology within the workplace. The Work Ahead Creating and sustaining a modern workforce in such a demanding field of work is daunting at best. The NWI Workforce Subcommittee plans to create awareness of the various skills and competencies needed in the health and human service workforce; provide information on change management strategies for leaders that enable them to advance their workforce; and issue guidance on how to effectively address cultural issues within the health and human service workforce. Employment and Training Division Director Lay also suggested that considerations for modernization must include salary equality, continued intellectual devel- opment, and development of current data systems that allow for real-time interfaces to which the next generation of workers is accustomed. Additionally, the subcommittee will capture infor- mation on where innovations and demonstrations are taking place and share these with the human-serving community. For more information, please contact Anita Light, director of the National Workgroup on Integration, at alight@ aphsa.org.

hard skills—oral communication, writing, quantitative analysis, and team-building—were not endorsed as critical in the survey response. Participants were also asked to rank their agencies’ readiness to address critical organizational workforce components that would enable leaders to create and maintain a thriving workforce, including assessment of recruitment and selection strategies, workforce education and prepara- tion, training and development, performance management, supervi- sion, and culture. These components were based, in part, on work con- ducted by the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute. Their Workforce Development Framework 1 suggests that there are key components of a workforce development strategy that must be addressed and implemented if an organization is to build the capacity of their workforce in response to the changing needs of those being served. On a scale of 1–5 (5 being the most prepared), respondents rated each individual component in the middle of the scale, indicating that most people think their agencies are neither very prepared nor not at all prepared to address the issue within a workforce development strategy, thus responses fell in the center of the scale. By perception of preparation, the components were ranked, in order:

3.37 approached the incorporation of technology. _ technology. Respondents noted a general lack of training and genera- tional gaps in how workers approached the incorporation of technology. Multiple participants said older workers are less “tech savvy” and more resistant to technological advance- ments while younger workers bring those tech skills to the work environ- ment. Legacy systems also challenge workers due to their complexity and lack of intuitiveness and adaptability. Outdated skills and technology make it more challenging for agencies and their workers to stay up to date. Implications The findings suggest a great oppor- tunity for human service leaders and managers to: > Develop onboarding tools and pro- cesses that meet a dual purpose of training new employees to do the job, but also to orient the entire workforce to understand greater trends in human services. Effective Respondents noted a general lack of training and generational gaps in how workers

Rating - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3.35 3.24 3.24 3.15 2.97

Components

Professional Development & Training

Performance Management

Recruitment

Supervision

Educational & Professional Preparation

Working Conditions

Results indicate the opportunity for growth in all these areas so that agencies do, in fact, feel prepared related to these essential workforce components. We also wanted to understand more about the workforce’s current challenges with using and navigating

Reference Note 1. http://ncwwi.org/index.

php/resource-library-search/ workforce-development-framework

April 2015   Policy&Practice 23