Local health departments in the United States are having problems in attracting and keeping skilled workers as they face increasing demands for services combined with decreasing financial resources, according to a new report from the Center for Excellence and University of Illinois at Chicago.
The report is based on data from a survey of health departments as well as information from the U.S. Labor Department and the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
Key findings from the report:
- Health department leadership is concerned about recruiting and retaining well-qualified employees and keeping currently funded positions;
- Human resource rules and procedures and lack of opportunities for advancement pose obstacles to retaining well-qualified employees;
- Recruitment strategies used by health departments are somewhat limited, particularly in smaller departments; and
- Formal succession planning is not widespread despite leadership and staff turnover. The majority of health departments rely on informal succession planning.
The report highlights case studies of some local health departments which have succession planning in place and succeeded in recruiting and retaining skilled employees.
Examples of successful approaches include:
- Recognizing employee contributions through both non-monetary and monetary rewards;
- Providing opportunities for leadership and professional development, flexibility, and autonomy as a way to motivate and retain employees;
- Employing formal and systematic succession planning to retain knowledge and expertise
- Promoting public service and public health as a desirable career choice;
- Investing in organizational and leadership development;
- Planning early for future workforce needs; and
- Investing in and developing talent from all parts of the organization and from schools of public health and nursing.
The report also includes research done by the Health Policy and Administration Division, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Center for State and Local Government Excellence. Support was provided by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The full report can be found here:
