Executive vision: a forum for Georgia government leaders, Vol. 5, no. 1 (Summer/Fall 2003)

EXECUTIVE Vision
x A Forum for Georgia Government Leaders x Volume 5, Number 1 x Summer/Fall 2003 x Published Quarterly by the Georgia Merit System x Marjorie H. Young, Commissioner

INSIDE:
SUCCESSION PLANNING EVENT CALENDAR VIEWPOINT
Work Away Provides Productive Alternative To Benefit Agencies and State Employees
NEWSBRIEFS PEOPLESOFT
UPGRADES

Ensuring Leadership Continuity with Succession Planning

THE CASE FOR SUCCESSION PLANNING

There is an increasing challenge for state agencies to retain the talent to run state government efficiently and successfully, particularly in areas with critical job skills. State agencies are losing knowledge on two different fronts, a retiring workforce as well as a premature exodus of new hires during their first five years of employment. Despite a slow returning economy, massive private sector layoffs, and a tight job market, the turnover rate in state government remained consistently high at 15 percent for FY 2002 and FY 2003. Steps must be taken to ensure continuity of critical positions. Soon, state agencies will be confronted with a large retiring "baby boomer" workforce, making the competency gaps even greater. Therefore, it is imperative that agencies begin to build-up a pool of talent who can carry on and

enhance the direction of state government through succession planning.
What is Succession Planning?
Succession Planning is identifying and preparing the right people for the right jobs. It is a structured program of development for positions vital to the success of an organization. It can be utilized as a beneficial tool in state government to fill key positions with key internal talent. As a deliberate and methodical system, succession planning can be used to align future management needs with people capable of meeting those requirements. It should be a continual process, a recurring component of strategic workforce planning and development. Consistently, agencies must assess their needs and their available resources to fulfill those requirements.

Succession planning, although compatible and sometimes overlapping, goes beyond simple replacement planning.
Ensuring Leadership Continuity With Succession Planning?
Succession planning will vary from agency-toagency. A customized approach, specific to the agency, is used to assess, identify and develop highpotential candidates to move up and take over when current personnel leave or retire. While succession planning establishes a pool of individuals to ensure a continuing supply of candidates for crucial jobs - jobs too critical to be vacant for long or too important to be filled by any other than the most qualified persons - it should not be confused with preselection of specific employees. Successful suc-

cession planning in state government will focus on essential competencies needed in leadership and other key roles of the organization; it should examine all positions, which are critical to the core functions of the agency, or are extremely difficult to replace. The essence of good succession planning involves:
Identifying key jobs and key feeder jobs crucial to the organization
Developing profiles of work requirements for competencies needed to successfully perform the jobs
Determining how to identify and assess potential candidates within the organization
Assessing candidates against competency requirements of identified jobs
Creating a succession pool of the candidates that
continued on page 2

CALENDAR
The 2nd Annual Diversity Solutions Conference Sheraton Atlanta October 27, 2003 Atlanta, Georgia 1-800-899-6363 or 703-359-5969

Growing Tomorrow's Leaders In Today's Workforce: 3rd Annual Workforce Planning Conference December 4, 2003 Georgia State Student Center Atlanta, Georgia www.gms.state.ga.us

The Intergovernmental Technology Conference Hershey Lodge and Convention Center December 9-10, 2003 Hershey, Pennsylvania www.governing.com/govconf.htm

Executive Vision, Page 2

VIEWPOINT

WORK AWAY PROVIDES PRODUCTIVE ALTERNATIVE

TO BENEFIT AGENCIES AND STATE EMPLOYEES

By Governor Sonny Perdue
As you know, support for telework was part of my campaign for Governor. And my support is even stronger today because of what we've learned from the private sector's experiences-and from the State's own pilot program last year. We've learned that employers and employees alike benefit from flexible work arrangements. We learned that if

the right employees can work from home, they are more productive. We've learned that providing options like telework, flextime and a compressed workweek improves employee morale. Employees gain more time with their families and spend less time commuting. That means less traffic, less gridlock, and less air pollution.
Imagine removing 20,000 or more cars from our roads every weekday. We could do that if just 25 percent of the State's workforce were to telework. Although it will be a while before the State can reach 25 percent, we can begin taking critical first steps for making telework a viable option for

state agencies and departments. We must get serious about creating and encouraging alternatives to traditional work environments and hours. I believe it is important for state government to lead by example in this area to encourage more private employers to embrace flexible work arrangements.
By now you should have received a letter from me asking that you begin to identify positions in your agencies suitable for telework. Just recently, during a press conference at the Capitol, I announced Phase 1 of our Work Away initiative. We'll start with the low-hanging fruit in this phase, focusing on the "occasional" teleworker -

Succession Planning continued from page 1

employees who can work from home one or several days of the week.
In about nine months, after we resolve certain legal and policy issues, the Phase II of Work Away will begin. With 21st Century technology, we don't have to bring people to a central workplace to do their jobs. Anything we do to make physical location less of a constraint for business increases our ability to encourage economic development in all parts of the state. We'll make telework and other options available to a greater number of state employees. Eventually, on a regular basis, we will make Work Away a common event among state employees.
continued on page 4

best match the competency profiles of key jobs
Defining and implementing the systems, structures and support required for successful succession management
Developing the talent of candidates in the succession pool
Evaluating succession planning results
Although many agencies, as a part of workforce planning, have identified generic manager and leadership competency models, there is also a need to focus on specific management and leadership positions.

New Resources Can Help Competency-based
staffing and development tools have been developed that can assist agencies in succession planning. Piloting of these tools is scheduled for completion in October and November, but they have already received international acclaim. The International Personnel Management Association (IPMA) and the California Personnel Service jointly awarded the Georgia Merit System an innovations grant for its automated competencybased staffing and develop-

ment tools. The tools, 1) a competency profiling guide, 2) an interview guide, 3) a multi-rater assessment guide, and; 4) a competency development guide, are designed to simplify the complexities of succession planning. The tools incorporate best practices through the utilization of automated instructions and structured steps. Introduction and training of the tools, designed on a Microsoft Excel platform to integrate with the widely used Strategic Workforce Tool (SWiFT), will begin in early 2004. Work has

begun on developing webbased versions of these tools, with plans for implementation in the summer of 2004. The Georgia Merit System will also support agencies in action planning for the implementation of succession plans with the staff of its Workforce Planning Strategy Group.
For more information concerning succession planning or the GMS competency-based assessment and development tools, contact Charles Brooks, GMS HR Strategies Manager, Workforce Planning, at 404-657-2143.

Executive Vision, Page 3

NEWSBRIEFS

FCRA REVISION MAY IMPACT EMPLOYER'S THIRD PARTY INVESTIGATIONS
The House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee held a hearing on June 17, 2003 regarding the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)'s impact on employer investigations. The committee is considering a proposal to revise FCRA to allow third party investigations without obtaining employee's con-

sent. Currently, Employers are required to notify and to disclose reports prior to taking disciplinary action due to the 1999 opinion letter by the Federal Trade Commission classifying third parties investigations under FCRA.
IS ETHICAL CONDUCT ON THE RISE?
A recent survey by the Ethics Resource Center (ERC), found American workers are seeing significant improvements of ethi-

cal conduct and practices within their organizations. The survey showed a significant decrease in observed misconduct over the past decade, from 31% in 1994 to 22% in 2003.
GEORGIA HAILED AS ONE OF THE BEST STATES IN NATION AT MANAGING ITS MONEY
A USA TODAY analysis found that Georgia is an A+ student in managing its money compared with other states. Financial analysts on

Wall Street give Georgia a AAA bond rating, the highest possible.
GEORGIA'S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DECLINES
The Georgia Department of Labor reported that the state's unemployment rate has declined to 4.7 percent, down from 5.3 percent in July. The decrease comes after initial unemployment claims were at their highest level in 21 years in the month of June.

Personal assessment to determine where to make adjustments

PEOPLESOFT UPGRADES
Submitted by Michael Clark, Georgia Technology Authority

Get ready for big improvements to the state's PeopleSoft human resources and financial systems. The state's PeopleSoft systems are slated for upgrades in two separate projects beginning this October with the Human Resources Management System (HRMS). The Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) is partnering with the Georgia Merit System (GMS) in the HRMS upgrade to address current business needs and create a change management process that will facilitate business process changes for the State of Georgia as well as the Human Resource (HR) user community.
The current HRMS became operational in October 1999 using PeopleSoft Version 7.02, which the company no

longer supports. GTA will replace it with Version 8.x. The upgrade is scheduled to be completed in November 2004.
"With the upgraded version, we'll be able to avoid some of the costs we now incur," said Sherrie Southern, director of GTA Financial Systems, which runs the state's human resources and financial systems. "At the same time, we'll make the operating environment simpler for users and provide state employees with self-service options."
Version 8.x works over a secure Web site, which means
agencies won't need to invest in new computers because users only need a browser,
no executable files will be stored on users' computers, resulting in less need for technical support,

employees will maintain their own personal information, such as address changes, freeing human resources staff from clerical tasks,
employees with direct deposit will obtain paycheck data by logging on to a secure Web site, thereby eliminating printed paycheck vouchers for these employees and saving the state over $86,000 annually in printing costs.
Agencies won't incur any direct cost.The upgrade will be financed entirely through the Universal Service Fund. The fund was established to support distance learning and telemedicine, but the General Assembly passed legislation during this year's session allowing it to be used for statewide information technology projects over the next three years.
The existing HRMS

will remain operational until the upgraded version is in production, and no disruptions are anticipated. Representatives of several state offices and agencies serve on a steering committee to provide executive oversight of the HRMS upgrade. Participating entities include: Office of the Chief
Operating Officer Office of the Chief
Financial Officer, Office of Planning and
Budget, State Auditor's Office Georgia Merit System, Employees' Retirement
System, Department of Human
Resources, Department of Natural
Resources and Georgia State Patrol.
The next step is selecting a vendor to help plan and implement the
continued on page 4

Executive Vision, Page 4

WORK AWAY
RESOURCES
The State's Telework Coordinator, Dorothy Gordon, works closely with agencies' telework coordinators to establish their individual programs. Services include: * telework policy review &
consultation * Training program develop
ment and delivery for agency Telework Coordinators, Telework trainers, Agency Executives & HR staff * Standardized training materials available online for download from www.gms.state.ga.us * Data collection, telework reporting (quality and quantity of Teleworking activity). * Measurement of Work Away participation regardless of PeopleSoft access

WORK AWAY continued from page 2

As we take this bold step, Marjorie H. Young, Commissioner of the Georgia Merit System, her staff and the State's Telework Coordinator, Dorothy Gordon, have prepared training manuals,

seminars and other resources to support the Work Away initiative. I encourage every agency and state entity to participate in Work Away to the fullest extent. A happier and more productive work force in state government

will benefit the citizens of Georgia through better service and a better quality of life. This will allow Georgia to maintain both a growing economy and a better quality of life for all our citizens. Now let's - WORK AWAY!

UPGRADES continued from page 3

upgrade. In June, GTA issued a Request for Proposal for vendor assistance, and responses were due by July 10. The final selection is expected for the vendor in late fall. The selected vendor is scheduled to begin work this winter, sometime in October. The project team will spend up to four weeks planning every phase of the upgrade.
"With changes in technology, functionality loss

is one of the first concerns expressed by the customer," says Deborah Belcher, Chief Information Officer for GMS. "New technology can offer changes that meets or expands business needs that are currently accommodated by customizations."
Belcher says the change Management process will include the HR user community to ensure the focus includes

the business needs as well as offer new opportunities.
"Beyond the technology upgrade, GMS will continue to work with the HR user community to identify future business needs as HR requirements, roles, and technology changes."
Information and details about training are forthcoming. Send questions to Ms. Southern at ssouthern@gta.ga.gov.

2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. SE Suite 502, West Tower Atlanta, GA 30334
EXECUTIVE VISION
Published quarterly by the Georgia Merit System
Marjorie H. Young, Commissioner
Deborah Williams, Director Office of Communications and Marketing
Carletta Henderson-Youngs, Editor
Phone: 404-657-0375 Fax: 404-656-5979 E-mail: chenderson@gms.state.ga.us Web: www.gms.state.ga.us
Information in this newsletter can be supplied in alternate formats to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Georgia Merit System is an equal opportunity employer.