EXECUTIVE ORDER 90-02
Workforce 2000 Initiative
WHEREAS, Washington state government provides a wide variety of services to the people of the state, requiring state employees to have many diverse skills and capabilities; and
WHEREAS, the number and complexity of responsibilities entrusted to state government continues to grow, increasing the importance of attracting, training and retraining a workforce with the necessary skills and commitment to public service to meet these responsibilities; and
WHEREAS, the findings of the Efficiency Commission's Workforce 2000 study demonstrate that state government will be faced with increasing challenges to recruit, develop, promote and retain a high quality workforce in the 1990s:
- One third of the state's current workforce will retire by the year 2000, including a large proportion of senior management and technical staff;
- The availability of trained, entry-level employees will decline, intensifying the competition between state government and the private sector for quality employees;
- The proportion of elder, minority, disabled and female workers will increase, making the need to recognize and work constructively with diversity even more imperative; and
- The nature of work will change, requiring a more highly trained workforce that will use more advanced technology in its work.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Booth Gardner, Governor of the State of Washington, by virtue of the power vested in me, do hereby order the following actions to ensure that state government is prepared to meet these challenges:
Section 1. An advisory group shall work with the Department of Personnel (DOP) to clarify the respective roles and responsibilities of DOP and the executive agencies in the operation of our state's personnel system, including the identification of those activities that could be delivered more effectively at the agency level than at DOP, the priority of services delivered, and the potential for delegated authority by the State Personnel Board to the Director of Personnel of items that are uncontested or are not substantive in nature.
Section 2. All agencies shall develop and implement human resource management plans on a continuing basis and shall use high quality human resource management practices. DOP shall provide guidance and coordination and the Office of Financial Management (OFM) shall clarify these requirements in budget instructions for the 1991-93 biennium.
Section 3. Ail agencies shall strive to create organizational cultures dedicated to service excellence by using the Brainstorm Program, the Teamwork Incentive Program and the Governor's Distinguished Management Leadership Award, and by expanding and intensifying training for all staff and management development programs. Agencies should develop working environments that promote commitment to quality, innovation, recognition, participative management, employee involvement, and efficiency and accountability.
Section 4. In coordination with all state agencies, I have asked DOP to initiate the following programs and changes:
- Human resource management in state government must be responsive to the diversity of the state's workforce and to the needs of protected group members. In cooperation with DOP, OFM shall review current programs and functions in the areas of equal employment opportunity and equal access to services in state government to determine how the effectiveness and influence of these programs can be maximized in mainstream human resource functions. DOP shall provide leadership and assistance to state agencies in identifying and addressing barriers that exist within the state personnel system that impact affirmative action and protected group members and the attainment of affirmative action goals. Meeting affirmative action goals is a priority of all executive cabinet agencies.
- Expand the use of "dual career paths" to provide career development opportunities for employees in technical or professional job classes.
- Enhance the image of state government as an employer and increase its competitiveness in attracting and retaining the talent needed to deliver high quality public services through pro-grams to retain good employees, increased college recruitment, and targeted affirmative action recruitment.
- Make human resource management in state government more effective and efficient by developing a statewide management selection, training, and development program that establishes performance standards for all managers, refines the screening/examination process and criteria for management positions, and assists agencies in developing programs for the selection and assessment of managers.
- Increase the effective use of training resources to assure that state employees continue to have the skills necessary to accomplish their work. Agencies and DOP must recognize the need for continuous training to help employees adapt to changes in program emphasis, increased service delivery expectations, technological change, and budget constraints. DOP and the agencies shall collaborate to improve the quality and relevance of training in state services, and shall work together to determine the needs for training in generic skills widely used in state government, which would be provided by DOP, and agency specific skills, which would be provided by each agency. DOP shall establish an effective training needs assessment process, including assisting agencies in determining training needs and evaluating the effectiveness of training programs.
This Executive Order, along with my human resource supplemental budget request and proposed legislation, will significantly improve Washington state government's ability to attract, manage, and retain the high quality workforce our state will need to meet its responsibilities in the 1990s and beyond.
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IN WITNESS
WHEREOF, I
have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the State of Washington to be affixed at Olympia this 5th day of January A.D., Nineteen hundred and
ninety.Booth Gardner Governor of Washington |
BY THE
GOVERNOR:
Assistant Secretary of State |
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