Executive vision, Vol. 7, no. 1 (Summer 2006)

E x e c uVtisiivone Volume 7, Number 1 Summer 2006

How will baby-

boomer retirements

affect state

government?

Page 4

Enterprise approach to Georgia's Human Resource Initiatives
The State is taking many innovative approaches to ensure Governor Sonny Perdue's vision of Georgia being the "best managed state in the nation" is realized through effective and efficient use of human resource management.
Story on page 5

HR Events
Strategic HR Conference 2006 October 4-6 The Westin Kierland Resort and Spa Phoenix, Arizona www.shrm.org/conferences/strategy

9th Annual HR Technology Conference October 4-6 Navy Pier, Chicago www.hrtechnologyconference.com

Looming
Retirement
Two-thirds of workers, ages 50 to 70, say they intend to work well into their retirement.

Page 12

A Multigenerational Workplace

The population, aged 45 - 64, will

increase by 29% in the next few years

while the population of workers 65

and older will increase by 14%.

Businesses must effectively lead and

motivate all ages of employees to

ensure their success and meet

organizational objectives.

Page 3

Executive ViewPoint
By Joe Doyle, Governor's Office of Customer Service

For agency leadership, changing the focus of an

organization to customer service requires an under-

standing of what your customers/stakeholders want

and expect of your agency...

Page 2

1

Inside
Viewpoint ................................................................2 Recruitment ............................................................3 Workforce Trends ..................................................4 Human Resources Strategic Initiatives................5-8 Legal Updates ......................................................10 Integrating Work and Technology ......................10 GLI Executive Leadership Program Graduation ............................................................11

Executive ViewPoint

Joe Doyle Governor's Office of Customer Service
"Georgia will have the best customer service of any state in the nation!"
Governor Perdue has set the goal for his administration of making Georgia "the best managed state." A key step in achieving that goal is to fundamentally change the way government serves the people of Georgia.
Customer service excellence is not just a short term improvement. It is to be the Governor's legacy to the state an actual transformation of the culture and the processes of state government.
This change to a customer-focused, goal-oriented culture is leadership's responsibility. It cannot be delegated. It must be, in Steven Covey's words, "the wildly important goal" of every department and unit. The State's CFO and COO, Tommy Hills and Jim Lientz, for example, have included `customer service' as an agenda item

for each meeting of agency heads reporting directly to them.
For agency leadership, changing the focus of an organization to customer service requires an understanding of what your customers/stakeholders want and expect of your agency. That may be a discovery process, based on interaction with those customers. Talking to and listening to your customers is an effective strategic planning and management tool. To find out what their customers think, DOAS has put a customer survey instrument on its website to receive compliments and complaints.
A valuable perspective on what customers want is gained from listening to your own employees-- especially frontline workers who deal directly with customers. This does not mean asking their supervisors; it means leaving your office or your headquarters to directly interact with staff. The commissioners of the Department of Corrections and the Forestry Commission, James Donald and Kenneth Stewart, have held meetings in their stakeholder communities and visited staff in most regional offices.
As the agency head, you need to build trust between the frontline employees and top management. Your job is to make it possible for employees to be successful. Don't place blame; look for solutions.
Your employees can also be a resource in discovering ways to improve processes. Look for ways to make access to government services easier and make processes faster so customers can get business done quickly. At Driver Services, Greg Dozier has set the standard of "30 Minutes or Less" to be served at the counter. Develop clear and measurable ways to track the agency's progress toward "Faster, Friendlier

and Easier" customer service. In the process of these listening
sessions, leaders build channels of communication with their employees. As public servants, they have made commitments to the goals of government and chosen a particular career path. They are the most important resource of an agency, and their empowerment is a major factor in achieving an agency's goals.
How can the new Governor's Office of Customer Service assist state agencies? In partnership with the Merit
System, OCS is developing tools agencies can use: customerfeedback, pre-employment screening, and employee recognition programs. Customer Service training programs will help develop excellent frontline employees, and a Customer Service component will be added to supervisors and manager training. A Call Center Solutions Team is working to recommend call center performance standards in technology, processes and metrics for state Call Centers. A General Information Center (GIC), a `front door' to state services, will open in July, 2007. I am enthusiastic about the progress to be made in the next months. Fortythree executive agencies have already begun drafting individual agency customer service improvement plans to be implemented July 1, 2006. But we need the active involvement of the leadership of all of state government to assist in "winning the hearts and minds" of the 100,000 state employees who can realize the vision: "Georgia will have the best customer service of any state in the nation!"

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RECRUITMENT
A Multi-generational Workforce

A multi-generational workforce is both sensible and wise. Each group has a great deal to offer.

Attracting a diverse
workforce
Recruitment and retention efforts of many organizations have changed to attract and retain workers of up to four generations. To be successful, organizations must embrace the culture of four generations of employees, working together, with different sets of values, attitudes and expectations.
Both generation Xers and Yers seek a workplace that offers a plethora of choices in work scheduling, employee benefits and career development opportunities. These employees seek work-life balance accommodations something the traditionalists and boomer generations never asked for.
To institute the worklifebalance, employers began offering alternative work schedules, flexible hours and telework opportunities. The innovative work environment is another similarity the later two generations seek out when considering an employer. Cuttingedge resources and technology tools to ensure greater efficiency and productivity are of utmost importance from the Xers' and Yers' prospective. New management and motivational techniques are a necessity in satisfying these two cohorts. Benefit options have included offerings to support and assist the family. Since a growing number in these two generations
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In many organizations, there is an increasing possibility that a multi-generational workforce will exist. At no other time have organizations been faced with four generations of employees working together. This undeniable revelation to employers and HR managers alike has created a necessity to broaden organizational strategies to include the perspectives of all employees both young and old. The main challenge, however, is the lack of understanding that exist concerning the needs and values of each generation. Most likely, today's workforce consist of the following cohorts: Traditionalists - Born between
1922 and 1943, many of this cohort have retired although a growing number of this group are in the workforce part time. This group's work ethic is characteristic of loyalty in an employer, on-the-job hard labor and respect for authority. There are approximately 75 million traditionalists. Baby Boomers - Born between 1946 and 1960, this group excels through competition and are success oriented. They represent more than 75 million workers, and many occupy higher-level management positions. There are approximately 76 million baby boomers. Gen-Xers - Born between 1961 and 1980, this group is the world's upcoming entrepreneurs. Xers
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believe in "career security," rather than job security. They build their skills sets with each job so they can be ready to move on when necessary. There are approximately 44 million Xers. Millennials, Generation Y or Nexters - Born between 1981 and 1999, this group is considered expert multi-taskers who are always looking to balance work with home and volunteer activities. There are approximately 80 million nexters with numbers steadily growing.
The population, aged 45 - 64, will increase by 29 percent in the next few years while the population of workers 65 and older will increase by 14 percent. Businesses must effectively lead and motivate all ages of employees to ensure their success and to meet organizational objectives. Because the traditionalists and boomers will commonly hold many of the leadership and upper management positions within an organizations, they must be educated and encouraged to recognize the differences of their often times younger subordinates. The Xers and millennials often think outside of the
continued on next page

continued from page 3
diverse workforce
will have both elderly parents and young children to care for in the home, traditional coverage will not suffice if an organization is striving to be an employer of choice. Further, a workplace offering one-on-one communication and timely feedback for performance is very attractive for Xer and Yer job seekers.
Although traditionalists and boomers have not required many workplace conveniences in the past, they value the feeling of loyalty and inclusion from their employer. Therefore, offerings available to them as a result of a diverse work environment foster a sense of employee appreciation from the employer. Employers commonly rank job satisfaction of these members directly to increased productivity and reduced turnover.
All employees care about career growth and development. To attract and retain employees of all generations, employers must appeal to employees' need to learn. Developing experienced and skilled workers through career growth, paid training and skill development are essential to employers wanting to be successful. Development of Xers and Yers is vital to any organization hoping to compete in the future and after the retirement of traditionalists and boomers. According to labor statistics, boomers' share of the labor force will grow from 14 to 19 percent in the next eight years. To minimize a knowledge gap, all generations must work together to share information and job skills. Today's workplace includes many new diversity challenges. Overall, employers must be willing to motivate and teach a multi-generational workforce to listen, learn and work together as an effective team.

WORKFORCE TRENDS
How will boomer retirements
affect state government?
Worker shortage expectations are based in part on a mass exodus of retiring baby boomers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 168 million jobs will be available in 2010, with an available workforce of only 158 million people. Because the cohort of workers behind baby boomers is much smaller than the parent cohort, the number of workers leaving the workforce will exceed those entering. The shortfall is estimated at around 10 million workers. Further, the jobs that will have the highest growth are technical or professional, and the proportion of younger cohort with the required education and training to fill those jobs is smaller than those in the baby-boom cohort. Companies and staffing firms in some job markets are already reporting a tightened labor market, and in some cities, job vacancies are sitting unfilled due to lack of qualified talent.
See Baby-Boomer page 9

A Multi-generational Workforce
continued from page 3

box, creatively finding ways to excel and improve processes. This way of thinking can prove difficult to managers since it does not fall in line to their established way of doing things. From the other perspective, remember when new technology was first introduced in the workplace. It appeared as though many employees, mainly traditionalists and boomers, resisted change tooth and nail when in fact, they just preferred the security and practicality of the older, paper processes.
Employers should value employees from all cohorts. It would be imprudent for companies to build organizational structure specifically around one group of the labor force alone. A multi-generational workforce is both sensible and wise. Each group has a great deal to offer relative to their contribution to employers. The Xers and millennials are beneficial to the workforce not only for their knowledge and innovation, but also to fill the huge gap left by the retiring traditionalists and boomers. Yet companies will experience a significant knowledge and skills gap

if all the traditionalists and boomers retire or voluntarily leave an organization. Companies need to find an acceptable workplace balance for all workers to feel accepted and valued.
Failure to respond to a multigenerational workforce will not only lead to high turnover, poor work quality, and high conflict in the workplace, but recruitment of talented employees will suffer as well. Gone are the days where a work environment is established as a onesize-fits-all. To remain a viable, competitive employer in recruiting and retention efforts, companies will have to consider a multi-generational workforce to attract fresh talent while preventing current employees from being lured away.
For today's business success, companies must meet the needs of a diverse workforce. Understanding the traditionalists, boomers, Xers and millennials, companies can adopt an innovative management style, motivate the various cohorts to work together, and minimize conflict among the different generations.

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Enterprise-wide approach to Georgia's Human Resource Initiatives

Feedback from agencies, stakeholders, and customers identified nine major HR issues PeopleSoft, absence management, leadership development, performance management, recruiting, statewide HR policy, succession planning, Team Georgia Connection, and workforce planning. In the first two steps of a three phase process, interagency teams were gathered to examine and design each of the nine initiatives. These teams helped create a coordinated strategy to achieve goals and move each initiative from its present state to a desired future state. Here are some of the results from the planning phase and current status of the design phase:
PeopleSoft Due practically to a lack of clear business direction, the current use of PeopleSoft is inconsistent across state government. The goal for the PeopleSoft initiative is to enable better utilization of the Human Capital Management System (HCMS) applications. Currently, PeopleSoft is used primarily as a transactional processing system to run payroll. The goal is to expand the system

capabilities of PeopleSoft's employee self-service features. This will enable state entities to capture data to assist in the management, development and training of state personnel. In the design stage: The HCMS was made available on
the Internet on April 4 The team released an Request for
Proposal (RFP) to hire consultants to implement the PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal A second RFP was released to hire consultants to implement the PeopleSoft Benefits Administration module The team is currently defining requirements to implement a standard recruiting system
Absence Management Absence management is designed to address workforce productivity. A primary goal for absence management includes the development of a consistent method for tracking and managing absenteeism among state employees to minimize cost associated with absenteeism. The existing Return-to-Work program will serve as a component in getting employees back to work faster after illness or injury. Currently, the design team is focusing their attention on different applications and processes that would have the potential of providing more support to supervisors, managers and employees with absence management issues. Options include: Integrating the management of
occupational and non-occupational
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injuries/illnesses into one system Strengthening the Return-to-Work
Program Developing consistent, state-wide
policies such as FMLA/HIPAA and other similar legally mandated regulations Creating a state-wide Employee Assistance Program (EAP) as a support tool for employees and managers
Leadership Development Initially, this initiative focused on the Georgia Leadership Institute (GLI), a multi-tiered program geared toward current state of Georgia employees. The goal of GLI is to develop current and future generations of Georgia state government leaders at all career phases. Recently, the scope of the GLI design team broadened to include all training and organizational development for the state. The current focus is on three primary areas: E-learning Marketing Curriculum sharing As a result, the team is charged with developing options and methods for enhancing the performance of the State's workforce more efficiently, at a lower cost, and a faster pace. This includes assessing career development needs and identifying means of delivery through e-learning. The second component includes determining ways to effectively market career development programs. And lastly, leveraging competency-
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Human Resource Initiatives

based career development capabilities through technology.
Workforce Development will have multiple areas of concentration, including: The Georgia Leadership Institute School of Excellence for Business
Acumen project management, customer service, professional certifications, workforce diversity and performance management School of Personal Effectiveness to develop areas relative to communication services, change management, and time management School of Public Service to cover special programs, outside consulting, and special curriculum development
Performance Management Assessments of performance management in the state of Georgia shows it is a system not valued by managers or employees. The system is focused on tasks rather than competencies and results, and does not reward excellence. This design team is currently: Conducting executive interviews,
focus groups and surveys Identifying competencies applicable
to all employees statewide
Recruiting Existing state recruiting strategies vary from one state entity to another. Although there is a technology-based application process, the screening and selection process is largely manual. Further, more efficiency and effectiveness is needed for the recruitment process to minimize the occurrence of large applicant pools with limited qualified applicants. To address many of the issues relative to recruitment, the team has received

stakeholder feedback and met with relative vendors. Now, members are working to: Identify business requirements and
system functionality features Determine Return on Investment
(ROI)
Statewide HR Policy Georgia currently has complicated, redundant policies and rules with inconsistent application and confusion about what is applicable to whom. There is inconsistency between agencies/state entities and limited resources about guidelines and best practices. Some of the recommendations to improve HR policy include: Drafting "clean up" legislation
(This does not involve writing new cumbersome rules for unclassified employees) Establishing a panel to review and endorse "best practices" Providing training for HR Policy writers and those who are responsible for implementing policy Drafting legislation to support the future state Identifying common business needs Identifying which areas need common/consistent practices Identifying "State interests" Leveraging technology to support access and sharing of information
Succession Planning The current process of succession planning focuses on current workforce gaps and business needs. It should also forecast future requirements consistent with best practices. Currently, the state processes are addressed at the agency level instead of enterprise wide. As a result, succession planning is not consistently
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implemented, even within agencies' divisions and work units. Currently, the design team seeks to: Establish buy-in from agency
leaders to embrace succession planning as a strategic/core process (i.e. accountability, utilization, simplicity, etc.) Align succession planning with the goals and objectives of the state Utilize succession planning throughout all levels of an organization Enable technology to support succession planning from recruitment to exit (e.g. recruiting and workforce development)
Team Georgia Connection
(TGC)
The State's new Intranet site is still in its infancy and marketing initiatives have just begun. Many employees are unaware of the Intranet's utilities, resources, and benefits. In addition, there is a large population (current estimates are greater than 20%) of state employees who do not have access to computers or the Internet and cannot benefit from what Team Georgia Connection (TGC) offers. Sub-teams were formulated to incorporate data from focus groups and surveys conducted by TGC in 2005. Currently, the work plan includes: Collecting, developing, and
organizing value-added content Developing a strategic marketing
plan Identifying and quantifying
document access issues and providing recommendations for solutions Reviewing and addressing usability
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Human Resource Initiatives

Workforce Planning The Workforce Planning Program
ensures that the workforce meets the organizational and strategic needs of the state of Georgia. Although it started as a best practice model, the current workforce planning program is not reaching its full potential. The legally mandated process is regarded by state entities as a required report instead of a useful management tool. In addition to lacking funding, coordinating agencies lack understanding of the required time and resource commitment necessary to carry out workforce planning. Currently, it is a labor-intensive process focusing on the present and immediate future, instead of long term planning. Some of the recommendations to improve workforce planning include: Acquire appropriate funding at all
levels (agency and statewide) Integrate workforce planning with
strategic planning and HCMS Create more user friendly
application/software as well as an useful forecasting tool Find ways to utilize the process in day-to-day operations Create a menu of best practices (i.e., recruitment, retention, and development strategies) The design team has developed a model process and vetted it via surveys to HR directors. The comprehensive transformation of current HR processes will not occur easily. However, to successfully implement new HR processes, Georgia and its wide range of stakeholders, must work together cooperatively and flexibly to attain far-reaching, long-term goals. Currently, the statewide HR strategic initiatives are in the second stage, the design phase. In this phase,

teams address identified gaps for each initiative and recommend strategies to ensure strategic outcomes. Specific activities, tasks and actions are planned. This phase will be completed this summer and new teams will be convened to complete the third and final phase of implementation.
OTHER INITIATIVES
Additional initiatives for FY 2007 include:
Customer Service Pre-employment Assessments
On January 25, 2006, the Governor issued an Executive Order that established the Governor's Office of Customer Service and launched the customer service initiative to establish a culture of raised expectations among all state governmental entities to improve customer service. The Georgia Merit System (GMS) is partnering with the Office of Customer Service and recently issued a Request for Qualified Contractors (RFQC) for vendors who provide customer service assessments. It is desired that the results of implementing a pre-assessment of cognitive and non-cognitive customer service competencies will: Improve the ability of hiring
managers to identify candidates with appropriate skills, Provide a system to better match candidates with job opportunities, Improve job satisfaction and retention Promote customer satisfaction as a result of improved professionalism and efficiency Promote staff development by identifying best practices in job performance There are approximately 10,000
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front-line staff positions in the state of Georgia. Front-line staff positions have predominant face-to-face or extensive telephone contact with state government customers. The needs of front line customer service staff will vary within each state agency.
Customer service expectations for front line staff are dependent upon job titles and responsibilities. Because each agency's needs are varied, a single vendor may not be able to service the needs of every agency. The goal of GMS is to qualify various vendors who are able to provide a range of services and to make the list of qualified vendors available to interested state agencies to enable them to enter into agreements for a specific project scope based on an agency's desired results. Agency level participation will be voluntary and the services purchased will be used at their discretion.
It is anticipated that the process of pre-employment assessments will be phased in, beginning in the fall of calendar year 2006. In the future, as best practices are established and results are demonstrated, the practice of using validated assessments may become a statewide protocol.
Total Compensation and Benefits Study
One of Governor Sonny Perdue's strategic goals is to make Georgia "the best-managed State in America". To realize this goal Georgia state government must attract and retain a world-class workforce in a manner that ensures the most effective use of state resources. The State seeks to maximize the benefit of a total rewards strategy that attracts and retains the talent necessary to meet its business objectives by offering a
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Human Resource Initiatives

competitive and cost efficient compensation and benefits programs consistent with the changing needs of the workforce.
The Georgia Merit System (GMS) has issued a Request for Qualified Contractors (RFQC) to qualify consulting firms in order to partner with proven compensation and benefits specialists and determine ways of re-positioning and re-aligning the State's compensation and benefits programs (i.e. base pay structure, incentive pay, compensation delivery system, Flexible Benefits Plan, State Health Benefits, defined benefits retirement plans, defined contribution retirement plans, absence management, flexible scheduling, etc.) to provide the best return on the investment of public funds. The selected consultants will provide technical expertise to GMS and other state agencies in developing alternate strategies for continuing a competitive total rewards program that centers on compensation and benefits. The study will help determine the competitiveness of the state's current and proposed compensation and rewards program, identify best practices, and provide recommended alternate strategies related to cafeteria benefit plans, managing benefits for employee and retirement populations, absence management, paid time off, work/life concerns, base pay, incentive pay and other associated issues.
State Health Benefit Plan Design Team
The State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP) is a self-insured health benefit product, insuring eligible employees and retirees of state agencies, authorities, boards of education and other educational entities, and administered by a third-party administrator. With the cost of health claims rising significantly each year, there is a need to determine new and

innovative ways to contain these costs. The State Health Benefit Plan Design team will review and determine areas where the rising costs may be contained and determine a more cost effective plan design to better meet the needs of covered employees, retirees, their spouses and dependents, and the State. This team will include representatives from state agencies, boards of education, Board of Regents and retirees receiving health benefits from the SHBP.
The primary drivers of healthcare higher costs are personal behavior, lifestyle choices, and lack of information. To support cost-effective personal health management, the team will look at comprehensive health strategies that encourage covered individuals to address their medical status and change unhealthy behaviors or continue healthy ones. This will include looking at combining a revised plan design with care management and wellness benefits, incentives, information and tools to assist the individual in making better decisions. The goal is to create a healthcare system that will not only reduce costs, but also improve the quality of care.
Compensation and Classification System
Based on discussions with agency managers and the HR community, career banding, as originally conceived, does not address the urgent and overwhelming concern of managers and employees the wide and increasing disparity between salaries in state government and in the competitive labor market. Discussions with agency heads reiterated time and again that the inability of the State to pay competitive salaries is eroding the ability of their agencies to carry out the essential functions of government.
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Thus, any meaningful initiative to upgrade the state's compensation and classification system must focus at once on establishing market competitiveness.
The compensation and classification system will feature pay grade ranges for jobs that accurately reflect the competitive labor market; a variable step-based progression plan to ensure all employees reach competitive rates in their jobs in a reasonable period of time; and developmental requirements that all employees must meet as a condition for further advancement through pay progression steps. This initiative will also meet the career banding goals of simplifying the classification system by reducing the number of state jobs from the current 3,500 to 500, and linking pay to employee career development.
Testing and Selection Validation
The state of Georgia is evaluating its current test development and administration processes against legal and professional guidelines and stateof-the-art test delivery systems. This study is being conducted not only to confirm adherence of these processes to applicable law and best practices, but also to create a more efficient, technology-based process that will enable the State to select the highly qualified workforce required to meet its business needs. This study includes an extensive survey of customer needs, an assessment of the value of each test in the program for the customer agencies, a determination of the need for a revalidation of the current test or the development of a new test, and an evaluation of the method of delivery to the applicant.

Baby-Boomer continued from page 4

So how will the shortage play out? One mitigating factor is that "baby-boomers" are more likely to defer retirement and continue working on a reduced schedule. More than half of the baby boomer population indicated that they plan to work long after they reach retirement eligibility. New changes in health and retirement benefits will also have a significant impact on baby boomer retirements.
Most federal, state and local governments have also been bombarded with catastrophe scenarios of an impending crisis due to worker shortages and retiring baby boomers. How will this change play out in the public sector. Organizations that will be hardest hit by baby boomer retirements are those that ramped up employment when large numbers of baby boomers entered the labor market in the 60's and 70's, and have maintained stable employment since that time. They will see a huge chunk of their workforces exit in a 5 to 10 year time span and will be back in the situation they were in the 60's and 70's, without the huge baby boomer demographic to draw upon.
In state government, the situation is a little more complicated due to the lack of stable employment in many areas. Many agencies have had high turnover for a protracted period of time. This is not good news because it means the state has continued to operate in the crisis mode in many areas that other organizations are just beginning to experience.
The number of employees over age 40 account for 54.4 percent of the State's workforce (baby boomers are commonly defined at age 40 to 59 or 60 years-of-age). The number of employees with more than 10 years

service in state government is approximately 34 percent, and those with 20 plus years drop below 15 percent. First, State workforce data indicates the State has a strong hiring base in the baby boomer demographic, but does not retain the retirees long enough to develop or maintain the skill set and the institutional knowledge. Secondly, as the labor market grows tighter, competition for skilled workers in this cohort will continue to grow.
The difficulties state agencies will encounter are intensified competition in hiring from the private sector, especially in professional and technical occupations, and increased

difficulty in hiring older workers. Currently the State hires a significant number of workers over age 40. Many of these workers are on their second career or have military pensions or other supplementary income. This group will continue to get smaller as boomers retire. There will be more competition in hiring as private sector employers look more to hiring late career workers to compensate for the shortfall of younger workers with scarce skill sets. In addition to preparing for the retirement of baby boomers, recruitment and retention efforts must change to position the state as a viable workplace competitor.

Top three workforce-preparedness initiatives
According to a survey of more than 650 HR executives, the top three workforce-preparedness initiatives under way at companies of all sizes and geographies are designed to:
Link learning and performance - 71 percent Streamline workforce planning process - 54 percent Leverage pay-for-performance - 52 percent
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LEGAL UPDATES
Legal News
In 1996, the General Assembly amended O.C.G.A. 45-20-1. et seq. General Merit System. Effective July 1996, all new state hires would be "at-will" and "unclassified". The opportunity to enter government service as a "classified" employee would no longer exist, along with the civil service protections, which accompany classified status.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and two state employees considered the amendment to violate the Georgia State Constitution and challenged the legality of the General Assembly's action in court.
On March 27, 2006, the State Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Service Employees International Union v. Perdue. In a 4-3 decision the c98t held that the General Assembly had not violated the Georgia Constitution by eliminating tenure and appeal right protections for post July 1, 1996 state hires.
SEIU, in turn, appealed to the State Supreme Court for reconsideration of its decision. The court denied the reconsideration appeal, thereby, upholding its March 27 decision.
Currently, Georgia has 84,204 employees, of which 19,844 are classified and 64,360 are unclassified.

INTEGRATING WORK AND TECHNOLOGY

Expanded Access to HCM

The State Accounting Office has increased the accessibility of the PeopleSoft Human Capital Management (HCM) Production System. As of April 3, employees can access the PeopleSoft HCM application from any computer with Internet access using Internet Explorer, version 5.5 or above. Employee Self Service access is available Monday at 7a.m. through Saturday until 11:59 p.m. Beforehand, the site was accessible only from a state work computer from 7a.m. to 6p.m.Monday through Friday and from 8a.m. to 1p.m. on Saturday. There is no availability on Sunday due to normal system maintenance.
Additionally, PeopleSoft HCM production users, currently logging into the application through Citrix, can skip the Citrix login and access the PeopleSoft HCM application directly by going to https://route88.state.ga.us. PeopleSoft HCM production users, currently logging into the application through the Firepass SSL VPN connection, can also skip the Firepass SSL VPN

login and access the PeopleSoft application directly by going to https://route88.state.ga.us.
Users can enter by way of the Team Georgia Connection or directly by going to https://route88.state.ga.us.
Employees must use their employee ID and social security number as their user ID and password the first time they access the Self Service site. The password will immediately expire requiring the employee to enter a new password. HCM User IDs will only be allowed to update agency data during HCM system normal business hours of 7a.m. to 6p.m. Monday thru Friday, and 8a.m. to 1p.m. on Saturdays.
HCM system users will have two user IDs, one for Employee Self Service and one for updating agency data. Updating availability remains from 7a.m. to 6p.m. Monday thru Friday, and from 8a.m. to 1p.m.on Saturdays. For additional information, contact:
HCM Production Support HCM@sao.ga.gov 404-657-3956 or 888-896-7771

Employee Recognition
Are you aware that employee recognition programs are one of the most inexpensive, yet significant ways organizations address their ongoing needs for employee retention, employee rewards, and increasing employee morale? Study after study shows how recognition programs have been utilized as a successful tool to motivate behavior and increase productivity.
Although the state of Georgia offers a cost-effective employee recognition program, administered by the Georgia Merit System, not even half of state entities participate. Annually, participation in Public Employee Recognition Week (PERW) increases, yet a large number of agencies still remain unrepresentative on the PERW statewide planning committee. Unfortunately, a successful statewide recognition program must occur at the agency level for the statewide program to be more effective. Other government entities have proven quite effective in increasing commitment and maintaining quality employees through recognition programs. In addition to retention, PERW positions state government to attract a skilled labor force. For Georgia, recognition is one of the intrinsic components of the State's Total Rewards Program. Using the Total Rewards strategy, which combines salary, benefits, paid time off, career development, flexible work schedules and employee recognition, strengthens state government as a formidable competitor.
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Georgia Leadership Institute inaugural class graduates

Georgia state government's effectiveness in continuously improving efficiency of operations and service to citizens is directly related to the quality of leadership in departments and agencies. Effective leadership is an integral part of state government fulfilling Governor Sonny Perdue's vision of Georgia being the best-managed state in the nation.
As state government prepares for an exodus of 21 percent of its seasoned administrators within the next five years, the Commission for a New Georgia began looking at the state's strategy and procedures for identifying and training leaders of the future, as well as developing a process for succession planning.
Based on the Commission's recommendations, Governor Perdue launched the Georgia Leadership Institute in August 2005 to build the state's "bench strength" of future leaders, as well as expand the breadth of current leaders' competencies and skills. The Institute works at all levels of state government - executive, middle manager, supervisor and presupervisory - to identify high-potential talent, build a system of leadership training and opportunities, and institute succession planning and career development.
On April 18, 2006, a graduation ceremony for the inaugural class of the Executive Leadership Program (ELP) was held at the Terry College Executive Education Center in Atlanta. The event culminated a ninemonth program, which focused on

personal leadership, creating high performing organizations, ethics and public values. Program work included a 360-degree leadership assessment, a DiSC personal leadership profile, examination of conflict styles, creation of a personal leadership development plan, completion of intense case study work on agency performance, and making difficult choices in the public sector.
Graduates of the inaugural ELP class consist of Gena Abraham, Georgia State Finance and Investment Commission (GSFIC); Mustafa Aziz, Georgia Merit System (GMS); Paul Burks, Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA); Lora Butler, Department of Revenue (DOR); Kathleen Carey, GMS; Chris Clark, Department of Economic Development (GDEcD); Kevin Clark, GSFIC; James Donald, Department of Corrections (DCOR); Diane Frazier, GMS; Mike Galifianakis, GSFIC; Bart Graham, DOR; Kenneth Jones, Department of Human Resources (DHR); John Jurkiewicz, GSFIC; Glenda Knowles, GSFIC; Ed Many, DOR; Greg Mason, GEFA; Beverly McElroy, GEFA; John Moffatt, GDEcD; Michael Nail, DCOR; Frank O'Connell, DOR; Chip Patrick,

GSFIC; Marty Rotter, DHR; Derrick Schofield, DCOR; Tim Shields, DOR; Gina Simpson, DHR; Arnold Smith, DCOR; Elizabeth Sparrow-Robertson, GEFA; Tom Steinmetz, GEFA; Jill Stuckey, GEFA; and Deborah Williams, GMS.
Since its inception, the Institute has been expanded to deploy the executive, middle manager, and Principle-Centered Leadership programs' services at a faster pace and to a larger audience. In an effort to speed up the delivery of the ELP for FY 2006 and 2007, an intense oneweek residential curriculum, accommodating up to 40 participants, has been developed. The first residential program will be held on May 7, 2006. For FY 2007, five more one-week residential classes will be delivered, increasing the number of participants in the ELP to 240 each year. A train-the-trainer component will be added for the Supervisory and Pre-Supervisory Development Programs, giving state agencies the capability of delivering these programs within their individual organizations. Intensifying the program has resulted in a faster return on investment.

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
ASK THE EXPERTS
Q: I know there are restrictions on the political activity of classified employees. Are there any restrictions on the political activities of unclassified employees?
A:O.C.G.A. 45-10-70 addresses the issue as follows: "No rules or regulations of any state agency, department, or authority shall prohibit non-elective officers or employees of this state from offering for or holding any elective or appointive office of a political subdivision of this state or any elective or appointive office of a political party or political organization of this state, provided that the office is not full time and does not conflict with the performance of the official duties of the person as a state employee." There are some restrictions for employees in agencies that receive federal funding. Additional guidance is found in Governor Perdue's Executive Order #01.13.03.01. This is not an absolute, as some exceptions have been noted. Specifically, there is a constitutional disqualification of government employees to be members of the General Assembly (Article III, Section II, Paragraph IV (b)). In addition, the Code contains provisions aimed at restricting the political activities of employees in certain agencies. While agencies cannot prevent employees from seeking elected office or participating in certain political activities, employees' participation should be done within guidelines established by the agency. It is recommended that agencies develop policies addressing political activities. Questions regarding political activity can be addressed to Georgia Merit System Employee/ Management Relations staff members Sam Clonts (404) 6562660 or Gail Stowers (404) 6516302 or e-mailed to ruleinfo@gms.state.ga.us.

Looming Retirement

Ajoint study by AARP and Towers Perrin is one of the first to provide an insightful glimpse of the financial impact organizations will face due to the anticipated retirements of eligible workers. Turnover cost was estimated at close to 50 percent or more of the retiree's annual salary. The cost is estimated even higher in jobs requiring specialized skills, advanced training, and extensive experience, which are often possessed by older workers. The study also estimated the total labor cost of keeping older workers as only marginally higher in many cases. About 76 million baby boomers are approaching retirement age in America. Such a mass exodus of

workers will result in a significant loss of talent and institutional knowledge for many organizations.
Losses are anticipated in key areas, including leadership, sales and technical disciplines. Moreover, the study concludes organizations will need to adapt policies that include more flexible work schedules,
telecommuting options, training and education, phased retirement and other options needed to replace retirees with a workforce fresh out of college. The good news for many organizations is that more than twothirds of workers, ages 50 to 70, say they intend to work well into their retirement.

Five differences between a manager and a leader

The manager administers

The leader innovates

The manager maintains

The leader develops

The manager relies on systems The leader relies on people

The manager counts on controls The leader counts on trust

The manager does things right

The leader does the right thing -- Fortune Magazine

Georgia Merit System
2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. SE Suite 502, West Tower Atlanta, GA 30334
Executive Vision Communications and Marketing Division Deborah Williams, Director Carletta Henderson-Youngs, Editor
Submit articles to chenderson@gms.state.ga.us

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