Fall 2014 issue of Horizons

PUBLIC SECTOR

An Aging Public Sector Workforce by Chester Moyer, CPA

T he U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the ADP Research Institute all agree: at an average age of 47, those working in the industry of “public administration” are the oldest of all industries measured. Accordingly, those in public administration are presumed to be closer to retirement than those in other industries. Losing a wave of employees who are often the most competent in their performance areas and who set the tone for the operating culture is not an attractive proposition. What is a government to do? “Important, Not Urgent” In Steven Covey’s best seller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , Covey reminds us of the importance of doing things that are important, but not urgent.

Addressing the potential issues that accompany a wave of employee retirements that might not occur for 5 years or more falls in Covey’s category of important, but not urgent. The great thing about governments is that they consistently work on important, but not urgent matters. Two examples include assessing long-term capital project needs and designing building ordinances to facilitate the development of a vision of what the city might look like in 30 years. At the same time, developing a long-term plan to address substantial impending retirements is not a normal occurrence, and as a result, is not already built into the strategic planning a government typically performs. Like other important but not urgent activities, time to develop the strategy to address a government’s employee age

page 48 | horizons Fall 2014

Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker