Here’s some good news. The shortage of public sector employees, while still a significant issue for states, may be alleviating. In fact, for the first time in several years, the recruitment and retention crisis did not dominate discussions at the January 26-28 mid-year meeting of the National Association of State Personnel Executives.

“We heard that vacancies are down significantly, and applications are up,” NASPE executive director Leslie Scott told us, following the meeting’s end. “Most members were in agreement that they are now able to breathe a little bit.”

She noted that the challenge of filling a set of hard-to-hire positions remains, but those difficulties center on the same areas that were problematic before the pandemic: Information technology; corrections, finance, audit, and social services.

Scott pointed to HR work that has contributed to the turnaround: More attention to recruitment; a reduction in the time-to-hire, and more state responsiveness and communication with applicants. Increased salaries have also helped. A focus now is on conveying the positive of state government service to applicants and working on culture changes where they’re needed. Continued market studies are also helping to ensure that governments are competitive in their local markets.

Also mentioned: Several changes in leave programs, including the idea of front-loading leave – for example, in Indiana and Tennessee -- so that new employees don’t have to wait too long to be eligible for any time off.  In addition, there are more efforts to expand parental leave programs.

Another hot topic that surfaced at the meeting is an interest among members in achieving a comfort level and becoming more engaged with artificial intelligence. “Our members want to know more and to understand how our software providers and service providers are using it,” Scott said.

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