Beginning in 2007, there were several key developments that have been implemented to help Georgia remain the “Best Managed” State. As a result of these changes, Competency Based Workforce Planning was created to simplify the current planning process and develop a statewide process designed to strategically meet the needs of the agencies and workforce. The Competency Based Model consists of 18 competencies: 5 statewide core competencies which are required for all state employees, 2 leadership competencies for managers and other leaders, and 11 additional behavioral competencies. The competencies were designed to integrate all HR functions (i.e., performance management, workforce planning, succession planning, and recruitment). This initiative assisted state agencies on how to address gaps and trends that impact recruitment, development, and retention strategies as well as align agency mission, vision and values.

In an effort to continue to address the current trends and gaps facing state agencies, the Workforce Services Division began developing a web-based Workforce Planning Tool. The web-based tool will provide a more effective and efficient, user-friendly template for information submission. With the web-based tool, agencies will simply enter the information and the tool aggregates the data entered into a summary report. Some of the other features include tabulating all agencies data, data can be exported and imported into Excel for further analysis, accessing the tool from the State’s Strategic Planning Database (HORIZON) and the ability to archive information/plans submitted from the previous year. During this year, enterprise initiatives led by the Workforce Services Division were recognized in The Pew Center on States Government Report. The Pew Center annually analyzes state policies that are of public interest and the state received an overall performance rating of A-. The State of Georgia was commended on its ability to strategically incorporate workforce planning and technology.

The Workforce Services Division continues to promote awareness in ensuring enterprise-wide challenges affecting state government are addressed. In March 2009, a Workforce Planning Breakfast Forum was held to discuss agency concerns regarding the current state of the economy and its impact on the workforce, organizational changes, leadership development, talent acquisition and shared services, just to name a few. A follow-up Workforce Planning and Succession Planning Roundtable was held in May which allowed agencies to share their best practices, success stories and workforce challenges with other agencies. The Roundtable was hosted by a Panel of HR Professionals from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI), the Department of Human Services (DHS), the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), and the Department of Community Health (DCH). This event was open to the HR community as well as senior leaders. In addition to the forum, regional workforce planning and succession planning seminars (Atlanta, Macon, and Savannah) were held for HR professionals as well as senior leaders, managers, financial officers, and strategic planners. Through this collaboration, Georgia will continue to ensure workforce planning is an integral part of it business operations and culture.