To close the talent gap, and attract the best talent, states need bold moves to reshape recruiting and transform employee experience.

1. Research Findings and Recommendations
REIMAGINE
TODAY’S STATE
GOVERNMENT
WORKFORCE
JOB ONE:
MARCH 2019

2. 2
Competing for
talent has long
been challenging
for state
governments.
Today’s leaders
recognize the
obstacles—but
are not doing
enough to
overcome them.
Research by
NASCA, Accenture
and NEOGOV
underscores why
it’s time for
bold action.

3. 3
Source: NEOGOVCopyright © 2019 NEOGOV. All Rights Reserved.
The Talent Gap is Growing for States
Job Postings
Applicants
State Workforce: % Change in Job Postings vs. Job Applicants 2013-2017

4. 4
Copyright © 2019 NEOGOV. All Rights Reserved.
The Talent Gap is Growing for States
As applicants per job have dropped
by 30% from 2013 to 2017, there
has never been a more urgent time
for State leaders to be hyper-focused
on attracting job seekers.
State Workforce: % Change in Applicants per Job
Source: NEOGOV
71
50
2013 2017
-30%

5. 5
Copyright © 2019 NEOGOV. All Rights Reserved.
The Talent Gap is Growing for States
The drop in job seekers is across the board.
State Workforce: % Change in Applicants per Job

6. States Recognize They Have a Problem
6
Please rank the three greatest workforce management challenges your organization faces.
(Ranked within the top 3)
Source: Accenture survey, fielded October 2018Copyright © 2019 Accenture. All Rights Reserved.
State Chief Administrators

7. YESTERDAY’S
PROMISE
o Secure lifetime
employment
o Generous health
benefits
o Robust pension
While 75% of current state and local
government workers participate in
defined benefit plans, 57% of these
plans are frozen, making them
inaccessible to new government
workers.
From 1998 to 2011, the monthly employee
contribution for state and local
government employee increased from
$31.94 to $90.90 for single coverage.
Individual deductibles also increased
by $300.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
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Copyright © 2019 Accenture. All Rights Reserved.
The Traditional Value Proposition is Eroding

8. Source: Accenture survey, fielded October 2018
8
Copyright © 2019 Accenture. All Rights Reserved.
Other Factors Compound the Challenges
o Lifetime
employment less
appealing
o Lack of public
support for
government
o Inability to compete
on compensation
o Union
considerations
Which of the following constitute the greatest barriers to attracting high quality talent at the state?
(Ranked within the top 3)
State Chief Administrators

9. 9
02
It’s Time for Bold Action:
The Case for Change
TRANSFORM
EMPLOYEE
EXPERIENCE
• Streamline the Search
• Improve Experience
Through Automation
• Modernize Job Evaluations
• Get Serious About
Succession
RESHAPE
RECRUITING
• Modernize Job
Descriptions
• Develop Your People
• Build Your Brand
01

10. RESHAPE
RECRUITING
10
01

11. Overcome Recruiting Challenges
RESHAPE RECRUITING
To a very
large extent
To a
large extent
Somewhat
To a
small extent
Not at all
Source: Accenture survey, fielded October 2018
Focusing on the top of the funnel, states can improve the flow
of potential talent into the government workforce.
11
Copyright © 2019 Accenture. All Rights Reserved.
Please indicate to
what extent you
have implemented
the following to
overcome the
challenges of
recruiting high-
quality talent over
the past three
years?
State Chief Administrators

12. Modernize Job Descriptions
The private sector is already overhauling the way work is defined.
States must move quickly to catch up.
Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with
the following statement: We have started to redesign across
all functions in our organization in anticipation of the impacts
of automation.
Source: Accenture surveys, fielded 2017-2018
12
Copyright © 2019 Accenture. All Rights Reserved.
Disagree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree
Neither Agree
or Disagree
Agree
RESHAPE RECRUITING

13. Modernize Job Descriptions
When modernizing job descriptions, make sure to include the top motivators for
applicants looking for that specific job.
RESHAPE RECRUITING
Copyright © 2019 NEOGOV. All Rights Reserved. Source: NEOGOV Job Seeker Report
Appeal of Working in Public Sector by Job Title
Respondents selected all that apply. Sample
size varies by job category. n=2,871
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14. Job Description Examples: Nurses
RESHAPE RECRUITING
Written from the perspective of the
employer with limited value proposition
for the job seeker other than a job.
Agency Focused Job Description Job Seeker Focused Job Description
Nurse Practitioner I
Department of Mental Health, State Agency
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
The department of Mental Health is a drug-free workplace. All candidates
will be required to pass a mandatory pre-employment drug test
JOB PURPOSE
Under clinical supervision of Medical Director, provides direct patient care
and evaluations (PMA’s, etc.) within the scope of Nurse Practitioner
authority, coordinate care, supervise treatment team and provide direct
supervision where applicable.
Nurse Practitioner I
Department of Mental Health, State Agency
JOB DESCRIPTION
Want to do meaningful work that has a real impact on the community?
Please come join the very tenured Nurses at the Department of Mental Health.
Our mission is to service those who aren’t being served which not only
benefits the community greatly but also delivers great benefit packages to
you! It’s a win-win for everyone. Our Nurses average tenure is over 10 years
which allows for consistent service to those in need. Under the supervision of
talented professionals, you will provide direct patient care and evaluations,
coordinate critical care and provide supervision of treatment and team members,
We would be honored to have you join our team.
Written from the perspective of the job
seeker, incorporating the highest priority
motivators for that position
14

15. RESHAPE RECRUITING
Across sectors, jobs will continue to change rapidly—requiring continual upskilling. When it
comes to training, state governments have an edge. Consider training a strategic weapon and
invest accordingly.
Develop Your People
What are the most
important initiatives your
organization is currently
undertaking to prepare
your workforce to work
more efficiently with
intelligent technologies
and machines?
State Chief
Administrators
Private
Sector CXOs
Source: Accenture surveys, fielded 2017-2018
15
Copyright © 2019 Accenture. All Rights Reserved.

16. TENNESSEE:
Developing the State Workforce
The Alternate Workplace Solutions (AWS) program, which provides
employee flexibility and control over their work locations, is proving
to be a powerful tool for recruiting younger workers and for
retaining experienced employees, and it is a valuable asset in
our competition for talent with the private sector.
BOB OGLESBY
Commissioner of General Services
State of Tennessee
16
“

17. RESHAPE RECRUITING
Build Your Brand
17
Public Sector
Job Applicants
Private Sector
Job Applicants
Source: NEOGOV
Base: Applied for Jobs Public
Sector n=2,871, Private
Sector n=1,246
Copyright © 2019 NEOGOV. All Rights Reserved.
How can states make the work more appealing to today’s talent?
What do you find
attractive about
working in the public
sector (local, state,
federal government)?
(Select all that
apply)

18. RESHAPE RECRUITING
Focus on what differentiates state employment:
Support
flexible work
arrangements
1 in 3 government applicants
see work-life balance as a
key aspect of public sector
employment. Build on that
advantage by increasing
flexible work arrangements,
including telework.
Highlight
interesting
and varied work
Craft an employee value
proposition that combines
the stability and security
of a single employer with
opportunities for diverse
roles and skills.
18
Copyright © 2019 NEOGOV. All Rights Reserved.
Build Your Brand
51% of government applicants
cited the opportunity to do
meaningful work as one of the
most appealing aspects of
public sector employment.
Emphasize
meaningful
contributions

19. RESHAPE RECRUITING
Chief Administrators Report Offering
Flexible Work Arrangements:
19
Build Your Brand
Source: Accenture survey, fielded October 2018Copyright © 2019 Accenture. All Rights Reserved.
What type of flexible work
options do you offer?
State Chief Administrators

20. State government has an advantage over private
industry when it comes to offering a wide range of
career opportunities—especially opportunities that provide
meaningful work. Our goal is to connect that meaning with
our job candidates.
BYRON DECOTEAU
State Civil Service Director
State of Louisiana
20
LOUSIANA:
Highlighting Social Impact
“

21. We encourage agencies to understand and use telework when
appropriate to enhance their ability to recruit and retain the best
candidates. In Florida, our population and therefore our talent, as well
as the people we’re working to serve, is spread throughout the state in
cities, suburbs and rural areas. It’s incumbent upon agencies to be
prepared with telework arrangements when the agency mission and
position duties can accommodate it.
ERIN ROCK
Secretary
Florida Department of Management Services
21
FLORIDA:
Tapping the Power of Telework
“

22. MINNESOTA:
Unifying the State’s Brand
Having one clear and consistent
brand supports the state’s work to
recruit and retain the best talent.
It also helps shape the story of what
makes Minnesota the best state to do
business, visit and live.
22

23. TRANSFORM
EMPLOYEE
EXPERIENCE
23
02

24. TRANSFORM EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
Streamline the Search
Over the last 10 years, state
governments have seen a 28%
improvement in time to hire as
more of the recruitment
process becomes automated.
Source: NEOGOV
24
Copyright © 2019 NEOGOV. All Rights Reserved.
Days to hire down from 101 to 73

25. TRANSFORM EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
Streamline the Search
Use modern tools to transform search and application processes – and slash time to hire.
Source: NEOGOV
25
Copyright © 2019 NEOGOV. All Rights Reserved.

26. OHIO STATE HIGHWAY PATROL:
Putting New Talent in the Fast Lane
The Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) leadership organized a
Kaizen team of 14 from different parts of the processes—including
sergeants, lieutenants, troopers, recruitment specialists, health
and wellness coordinators, trainers and deputy directors. Over five
intensive days of meetings, the team remapped the entire
application process.
Today the process moves three times faster—decreasing
from an average of about 181 days to a projected 61 days.
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27. Improve Experience Through Automation
Compared to private-sector execs, state leaders anticipate massively less automation over
the next three years. Yet digital transformation—including using automation to
augment human resources—is key to attracting and retaining a strong workforce.
27
To what extent will your organization automate tasks
and processes across all its functions in the next three
years? Select one.
Source: Accenture surveys, fielded 2017-2018
Top 2 aggregated
responses (”To a very
large extent” and
“To a large extent”)
TRANSFORM EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
To a very
large extent
To a large extent
Somewhat
To a small extent
Not at all
State Chief Administrators
Copyright © 2019 Accenture. All Rights Reserved.

28. Improve Experience Through Automation
28
Copyright © 2019 NEOGOV. All Rights Reserved.
TRANSFORM EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
Source: NEOGOV
Artificial intelligence predicted
applicant pool size and found
that 40% of the time there
were not enough applicants to
be confident a qualified
applicant was in the pool.
Health of Applicant Pool

29. We freed up staff from performing routinized, time-consuming
administrative tasks so they could provide more value-added analysis
and support for our Office of Administrative Hearings. This effort was
‘win-win-win’ insofar as it gave our end users (that is, the general
public) customer service self-help tools, it let our administrative staff
focus on more value-added functions and develop their own
professional skills, and it provided greater analytic support for our
Administrative Law Judges.
DANIEL C. KIM
Director
California Department of General Services
29
CALIFORNIA:
Automating Process Improvements
“

30. TRANSFORM EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
Modernize Job Evaluations
Most states are required to
conduct performance evaluations.
Use as a tool to grow
employees.
30
Copyright © 2019 Accenture. All Rights Reserved.
State Chief Administrators
Source: Accenture survey, fielded October 2018
What is the main objective of
your performance evaluation
process? (Select One)
State Chief Administrators

31. TRANSFORM EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
Get Serious About Succession
The “silver tsunami” is here. It’s time to focus on transferring institutional knowledge and
preparing the next generation of state leadership.
31
The median age of the public sector workforce is older
than that of the private sector. A high number of Baby
Boomers are expected to retire in the coming years.
Have you implemented any succession planning?
Does the state have a plan in place to
transfer the institutional knowledge that
the Baby Boomers have?
Yes
No
Source: Accenture survey, fielded October 2018Copyright © 2019 Accenture. All Rights Reserved.
State Chief Administrators State Chief Administrators

32. OREGON:
Taking a Disciplined Approach
to Succession Planning
Across state government, our most important asset is our people—and succession
planning is key to state government’s future workforce. This is why Oregon’s Department
of Administrative Services is pleased to have rolled out a succession planning strategy
and framework to assist state agencies with succession management.
DAS is uniquely positioned as the hub of state government, allowing us to provide
consistent succession planning guidance while also allowing agencies the
flexibility to manage within their unique environments.
KATY COBA
Chief Operating Officer
Oregon’s Department of Administrative Services
32
“

33. Today’s State
Government Workforce
REIMAGINE
BE BOLD
START NOW
JOB ONE:
STEP ONE:
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34. 34
About the Research
Accenture, NEOGOV and NASCA launched
multiple research projects to provide a
well-rounded view of the challenges facing
state governments:
• From August to October 2018, Accenture
and NASCA surveyed state chief
administrators and HR directors in 33
states on the future of their workforce.
The survey included questions that
aligned with Accenture’s global study as
reported in Reworking the Revolution,
enabling comparison between state
government executives and commercial
C-suite leaders.
• From September to October 2018,
NEOGOV survey 2,959 job seekers
across multiple age groups seeking jobs
across all major job classes in state
government.
• From 2013 to 2018, NEOGOV analyzed
the recruitment data from 27 state
agencies representing 259,911 job hires
with 14,910,284 applicants. For further
details and insights on this study see
NEOGOV’s Job Seeker Report.
We would like to thank the leaders who
shared examples of the workforce
initiatives underway in their respective
states. Their stories are intended to
serve as illustrations and in no way
represent a comprehensive view of the
work underway across state
governments. Finally, we would like to
acknowledge the National Association
of State Personnel Executives (NASPE)
for their assistance in the dissemination
of the survey to HR executives,
reviewing multiple drafts, and allowing
NASCA to workshop the findings at the
2019 Mid-Year Conference where over
20 states were represented.
WHAT WE DID:
o Surveyed 33 Chief
Administrative
Officers
o Surveyed ~3,000
Public & Private
Sector Job Seekers
o Analyzed 14M+ Job
Postings to Compare
the Number of
Applicants

35. Founded in 1976, the National
Association of State Chief
Administrators (NASCA), is a
nonprofit, 501(c)3 association
representing state chief
administrators—public officials in
charge of departments that provide
support services to other state
agencies. NASCA provides a forum
to exchange information and learn
new ideas from each other and
private partners. NASCA’s mission is
to help state chief administrators
and their teams strategically
transform state government
operations through the power of
shared knowledge and thought
leadership. For more information,
visit www.nasca.org.
About NASCA
Accenture is a leading global professional
services company, providing a broad range
of services and solutions in strategy,
consulting, digital, technology and
operations. Combining unmatched
experience and specialized skills across
more than 40 industries and all business
functions — underpinned by the world’s
largest delivery network — Accenture works
at the intersection of business and
technology to help clients improve their
performance and create sustainable value
for their stakeholders. With 469,000 people
serving clients in more than 120 countries,
Accenture drives innovation to improve the
way the world works and lives. Visit us at
www.accenture.com/GovBackOffice.
About Accenture
NEOGOV is the leading provider of an
integrated HR, payroll, and talent
management solution for the public
sector. NEOGOV customers report
increased employee productivity and
engagement, time and cost savings,
improved regulatory requirement
compliance, and reduced paper
processes, with a net result of better
services for citizens. Serving over 6,000
organizations, NEOGOV supports
organizations with intelligent HR for the
public sector. More information at
www.neogov.com.
About NEOGOV
Copyright © 2019 Accenture. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2019 NEOGOV. All Rights Reserved.Copyright © 2019 NASCA. All Rights Reserved.
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