by Abeer Sikder and Blair Hess 

States have seen major social and economic transformations over the last two years due to COVID-19. The pandemic created new workforce trends and exacerbated others, shifting engagement patterns among employers and employees and providing workers with the opportunity to reflect on personal and professional priorities. 

As a result, the virus led to what has been called “the Great Resignation,” with over 47 million Americans leaving their jobs in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Despite the economic infrastructure returning to a semblance of normal as the U.S. enters a new and less restrictive stage of the pandemic, employees continue to leave their jobs at substantial rates. Many are taking the opportunity to find better positions, change careers or restructure work schedules. 

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), economists predict 2022 will continue to have high turnover, especially for those employers who can’t afford to pay for retention efforts. 

“As we finish the third quarter of 2022, I don’t expect this to improve with the Ukraine/Russian War,” said Regan Gross, human resources knowledge advisor for SHRM. “If they didn’t during the pandemic, more employees will be re-evaluating their lives and a big part of that — their jobs.”

The pandemic and the resulting Great Resignation have transformed employment lifecycles and highlight the urgency for states and employers to adapt to more flexible and accommodating work models. 

“Smart employers are engaging in a two-way decision-making process with employees,” Gross said. “They are listening to what employees want, making those changes when feasible. They are learning to be empathetic, accountable and improve employer/employee relationships and perceptions. 

“These things tend to take time and aren’t instant, like providing a raise or promotion.”

Unemployment is still low — below 4% — and job candidates have the upper hand, Gross said. Employers are having to think creatively to attract these candidates, whether it is recruiting from other states, paying for student loans or offering more flexible work schedules and work-from-home or hybrid arrangements. 

To retain good employees — and to ensure jobs stay in the state — employers should consider all options within their budgets, Gross says, including in-house e-learning platforms, job rotations, upskilling and reskilling. 

These tactics can become part of what experts call the employee lifecycle. Patterns can vary across sectors and states, but common characteristics of the employee lifecycle include recruitment, training, re-training and upskilling and retention. In each phase, there are multiple ways state policymakers can support employers, workers and job seekers.

Recruiting and Job Seeking

Embracing alternative work settings — particularly those involving virtual participation — can help employers access larger, geographically dispersed talent pools. Policymakers can support recruitment and hiring for the state’s private sector through direct and virtual services that publicize job opportunities, including those that can occur remotely, and guide in-state residents through the job application process and connect them to relevant employment positions across the state.

States can implement virtual work incentives to improve recruitment of out-of-state workers and opportunities for those seeking new geographic settings. 

“State employers are no longer competing with the local job market,” Gross said. “They can find competition for talent with so many companies having expanded their reach to remote work nationally. States that can offer remote work should take a good look at how to make it a reality in order to be competitive. Even if it’s remote, but within their state, that’s a good start.”

Last year, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced a launch of Ascend West Virginia, a program that incentivizes recruitment by offering $12,000 to remote workers who move to West Virginia. States can provide funds for these programs through public-private collaborations; the funds for this initiative were provided through a $25-million-dollar gift from the Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative.

States can also consider restructuring their service delivery and workforce systems, as the Missouri Division of Workforce Development did recently. 

“We’ve identified many steps that can be streamlined and scaled across the state by working individually with each of our workforce regions,” said Missouri Deputy Director of Workforce Development Yvonne Wright. 

Missouri has expanded virtual services in response to the pandemic to strengthen private sector recruiting and hiring, including a free mobile app that connects job seekers to job center services and facilitates on-line applications available from phones and tablets. The app, called MoJobs Connect, identifies positions that match an applicant’s resume by highlighting key skillsets. 

“The Great Resignation does not mean that people are completely leaving the workforce,” Wright said. “They are rethinking their priorities, including how and where they want to work.” In Indiana, the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet initiated the Rapid Recovery for a Better Future plan to provide comprehensive support for job seekers, including one-on-one virtual career coaching to help individuals assess their relevant job skills and better understand workforce needs and specific positions. 

States also can assist employers and employees by subsidizing worker training opportunities for businesses that cannot afford to create them on their own. In Massachusetts, the Workforce Training Fund provides grants to employers to help their workers with skill development.

Other efforts involve funding directed at developing the skills of untrained and low-wage workers. States can create innovative “non-traditional” apprenticeships to recruit individuals to small businesses that need workers but lack the resources to effectively train them. For example, the Viticulture Enology Science and Technology Alliance (VESTA) in Missouri is a National Science Foundation-funded partnership between state colleges and universities and vineyards and wineries across America. The program offers online courses and certification programs to grow the industry workforce.

Training and Re-training 

During the pandemic, states have developed new models for training and re-training workers to assist them in becoming adept with technological innovations necessary for continued productivity in a remote environment. These new models sustain workers in their current positions and prepare individuals entering the workforce for the first time and those changing career paths.

To strengthen the skills of residents, states can establish public-private partnerships that promote online learning and skill development. Through their collaboration with Coursera, the Missouri Division of Workforce Development offers a virtual training platform that welcomes any adult looking to initiate a career pathway or journey into a new field.

“We work and counsel with individuals to help them figure out what courses will get them where they want to be and offer stackable credentials,” Wright said. 

To complement online skill developmental opportunities, states can build teams of virtual service specialists who assist residents in accessing specialized resources that support training and re-training opportunities. In Arizona, the Arizona@WORK program is a statewide workforce development network connecting job applicants and employees to educational and developmental opportunities. Program specialists are available across the state at no cost to assist applicants in navigating the application process for online adult education, disability access, apprenticeships and more. 

In states like Missouri, these virtual service teams also connect residents to expansive wraparound services that assist workers through major hurdles of their employment life cycles.

“They [virtual service specialists] provide support services along the way and will even connect you to another agency that provides child care, for example,” Wright said. “Whatever wraparound supportive services you might need, they stay with you through the entire process.”

Indiana has established partnerships to coordinate training and skill development for individuals. 

“Indiana’s Department of Workforce Development has several programs aimed at connecting Hoosiers with jobs aligning their skills and interests, as well as providing training for citizens,” said Sen. David Niezgodski, ranking minority member of the Indiana Senate’s Pensions and Labor Committee. 

This includes a program called 180 Skills, which Niezgodski says will allow up to 100,000 Hoosiers to gain key workforce skills free of charge through an online library of courses. These courses cover the range of general employability skills across job sectors, as well as specific industry training. 

State leaders can leverage career and technical education systems to prepare individuals entering the workforce. In Ohio, House Bill 303 was enacted in June 2021 to expand career and technical education opportunities for high school students by providing economic incentives for employers to collaborate. 

“So, if you’re in high school, you can actually get credit by going out and working in a facility…and the return on investment is huge, because the business will hire some of these people when they get out,” said Ohio state Rep. Jay Edwards, chair of the House Economic and Workforce Development Committee.

Apprenticeships are another avenue for implementing on-the-job training for individuals entering the workforce. In Texas, the Youth Apprenticeship Partnership was launched by Educate Texas and the Texas Business Leadership Council to develop work-based learning strategies to support youth and young adults statewide. Partnership collaborators identify high-demand, high-growth industries — such as health care, information technology and advanced manufacturing — throughout Texas. 

Upskilling 

Regular opportunities for upskilling are key to productive employee experiences and professional growth. According to Gallup, over 50% of workers seek opportunities to upskill or learn new skills and advance their careers. Upskilling workers also assists employers in retaining employees longer term; over 70% of workers who participate in upskilling opportunities say it has improved their satisfaction at work. 

In Ohio, the Ohio TechCred Program reimburses employers for offering employees short-term training courses through community colleges and universities across the state. 

“It doesn’t cost the employer a dime, even the time they [employees] are away from work; we’re giving employers $2,000 per credential when their prospective or current employees complete one of these technology-focused credential programs,” Edwards said. 

These programs are important for upskilling older workers, in addition to training younger workers. 

“The people that have been working for companies for a while deserve an opportunity without stalling [their development]…to upskill and become more up-to-date on continuing education that might not be required in that line of work.”

Incumbent worker training is another notable innovation in retaining and upskilling workers in some states. In California, these training programs help employers upgrade the skillsets of their workforce to remain competitive and promote retention and advancement within an organization. Incumbent worker training can help employers adjust to evolving employment life cycles by growing their workforce, while helping employees improve productivity, increase earnings and remain with their company. States can market to employers how these training programs can upskill employees and further invest in workers’ professional growth. 

Retaining

With a record number of people leaving their jobs over the last year, policymakers are anxious to help employers retain workers, reduce turnover costs and support employees seeking long-term job satisfaction. 

“Policymakers have an interest in the stability of their local economies and the job market can directly impact consumerism,” said Gross with Society for Human Resource Management. “If people aren’t staying in jobs very long because there is a lot of movement, they aren’t going to be providing the best service to patrons/citizens in various segments and they also aren’t necessarily going to be big consumers while in job transitions. Small businesses struggle to afford to pay employees, their business already costing more to run with inflation, and of course there are some who work the unemployment system, all drawing on the local economy.”

States are creating new ways to keep high-performing workers over the long term. 

The Maine Department of Labor is providing $12 million in grants for in-state businesses to significantly expand apprenticeships. Expanded apprenticeship programs can help the private sector retain employees through wage growth and upskilling. Certification and credentialing through registered apprenticeships also can help employers develop a pipeline to incent employees to stay and advance with their employer.

Extensive services that go beyond traditional employment support can increase worker retention. Indiana’s Rapid Recovery Plan also helps worker professional development by strengthening skills for long-term employment.

“If someone can take more time to invest in a job they actually like and are suited for, it’s much more likely they’re going to stay in the workforce and their position rather than dropping in and out,” Niezgodski said. 

To complement workforce goals, the plan expanded wraparound services and collaboration with other government agencies to help address workers’ personal needs and professional goals. Niezgodski says this initiative connects families and individuals to food resources, housing help and childcare options, all of which are conducive to finding long-term employment.

The pandemic has upended employee life cycles and the Great Resignation marks a shift in the way people think about employment. State policymakers are creating different approaches to incentivizing workers to develop skills and helping employers find sustainable workplace models. While many are leaving the workforce and employers are struggling to replace them, there is a hidden job market of workers who are seeking something that aligns with their desired employment and personal goals. 

“We’ve learned a great deal [from the pandemic],” Niezgodski said, “and we need to use this knowledge to do the best we can for our workforce.”

 

 

This article appeared in the CSG Capitol Ideas magazine (2022, Issue 2). View current and past issues at csg.org/publications/capitol-ideas.

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