Abstract:
This applied project was designed to assist the Street and Drainage Division of Houston’s Public Works Department. Concerns included a lack of promotable existing employees, the loss of institutional knowledge, and frustration among employees. Existing development activities were not effective. To assist, the division contracted with Strategic Government Resources. The goal was a solution combining targeted professional development, succession planning, and organizational goals.
Available literature focused on professional development, succession planning, competency modeling, and related concepts for the public sector. This review provided the basis for utilizing competency modeling in a structured format. Populating the model would be done through a modified integrative literature review. This would identify relevant competencies and attributes that would be categorized.
Forty competencies and attributes were identified across four basic categories: Leadership, Technical, Professional, and Credentials. These items were consistent with the City’s evaluation program (HEAR) and other industry standards. Proficiency levels were established and a gap analysis was performed. Competencies and attributes were linked to job descriptions for utilization of specific development tools.
The findings were presented to members of Human Resources and leadership. The division has embraced the primary goal of linking professional development with organizational needs using elements of succession planning. Future opportunities include a Learning Management System (LMS) to automate the approach, using the approach in employee evaluations, and a “Train the Trainer” program. The consensus was that the approach offered a better utilization of resources by aligning organizational and employee goals for professional development with relevant developmental tools.