Workforce Management Innovations in Transportation Agencies: Overcoming Obstacles to Public Sector Innovation

Adopting a case study approach, this review of the public sector innovation literature examines workforce management innovations developed and implemented by state-level, transportation agencies across the U.S. to improve their operations. These innovations targeted the following workforce challenges which agencies besides those dedicated to transportation service provision at national, regional, and local levels of government are currently confronting: recruitment; retention; staff development; organizational change; and succession planning. These case studies provide specific examples of how these operational innovations came about. This is particularly important considering the obstacles, controversies, and liabilities associated with innovation identified in the public sector innovation literature. For example, the controversy over the relationship between slack resources and innovation is more than an academic debate given the fiscal shortfalls in gasoline and automobile tax revenues which are causing slack resources to dry up in transportation agencies across the U.S. The review concludes that while obstacles to innovation continue to exist, the case studies highlight many encouraging examples of workforce management innovations that are successful and being adopted by other state-level service agencies outside of transportation. This is particularly encouraging for agencies providing transportation services that are facing stiffer competition for the highly-qualified workers that they will need to replace those who are transitioning out of their workforces.