Report 2024-07
Why this audit is important
A quarter of current workers are already retirement eligible and many have already retired in recent years. Reports of staffing shortages, increased workloads, and employee burnout are frequent.
The state struggles to maintain a workforce sufficient for public needs — over a decade of audits across agencies echo workforce planning deficiencies.
The COVID-19 pandemic had lasting impacts on hybrid work, labor market competitiveness, and employee well-being. Technology changes may alter the duties and skills that state roles require, accelerating risks associated with a lack of strategic workforce planning.
What we found
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Unlike several other states, Oregon does not have a statewide strategic workforce planning process. The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) provides agencies guidance and structure for workforce planning but this role varies depending on how and when agencies chose to engage. A documented statewide strategy should be developed that details the role and responsibilities of DAS and other agencies.
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Workday, the state enterprise resource planning system, does not include meaningful employee competency data. Without this data, understanding the gaps between availability of workforce supply, and the specific competencies needed in the workforce, will continue to be a challenge. Skills and competency data should be collected as the state moves forward with a strategic approach.
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Oregon’s statutory framework for personnel administration does not clearly articulate agency vs. statewide roles and responsibilities and complicates integration of workforce management with financial management. The Legislature can help clarify this ambiguity by addressing these statutes.
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Work to optimize workforce planning and service delivery has begun through actions such as the Governor’s expectations to agencies and work to meet those expectations. This work includes improving workforce planning practices and additional resources being legislatively approved to help increase staff responsible for statewide human resources management.
What we recommend
We made six recommendations to DAS. DAS agreed with all our recommendations. The response can be found at the end of the report.
