2020 LOOKING FORWARDits all about talent management

John RavlicChief ExecutiveLGMA National

Key Messages• Local government (LG) is big business • LG is in the business of meeting community needs – community

development and infrastructure provision• Governments are dealing with complex and competing priorities

and increasingly LG is missing out• With the backlog of infrastructure and the service needs of a

growing population there are significant expectations on LG• Skills shortages, labour shortages and just plain people shortages

will cause talent management headaches for LG• Ageing of the workforce will require LG to overhaul HR and

knowledge management policies and practices • Incremental improvement of a percentage point here and there

will not be enough to sustain LG into the future - Productivity• Business as usual will not save LG – a new mind set is required

to resolve issues affecting sustainability, talent and ageing

• 565 Councils

• 200,000 Employees (10% of APS)

• 20-30-40 Business Units

• $30 B Cash Receipts pa

• $24 B Cash Payments pa (6% of public spend)

• $308 B Assets

• Roads, Lands and Buildings

• Infrastructure Backlog - $20 B

• Population growth 1.5% (2010) • 325,500 = migration 53% + natural 47%

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CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES

• Sustainability has eluded LG – More than half of our councils don't have strategic capacity– The infrastructure backlog is approaching $20B– Growing population = increased demand for services, facilities

and infrastructure • Talent management

– 50% of the workforce suffers from functional literacy– 40% of LG workforce has no post secondary school qualifications – 1/3 of LG workforce is over 50 years of age

• Ageing in place– Demand for services and amenity will rest with LG

• Insufficient funds & staff to deal with the challenges in a traditional way

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Collaborator of first resort

Traditionally known as the government of last resort LG needs to reposition itself as

the

Collaborator of first resort

As the agent of place LG is the voice of community

TALENT MANAGEMENT

• Capacity of employees – red tape– Employees should be adding value with their decision making rather

than merely processing• Employees can do their job better – engage them • ... leave their boss ... Unleash the potential

– Provide effective work environment – empowerment and innovation, investment in technology to provide tools and equipment

• Train and retrain • impact of literacy on skill deepening• People managers

– Turnover, mature talent, new pools of talent, flexible work arrangements

Advancing excellence in local government management