In recent years, municipalities across North Carolina have encountered challenges in hiring and retaining their workforce effectively. From recruitment hurdles to retention issues, local governments are grappling with a complex landscape that demands innovative solutions. As municipalities continue to face these challenges, it is important to understand the causes and investigate policy and workplace culture changes that are slowly shaping the landscape. Many of these employment challenges local governments are facing are not exclusive to local government employees. For instance, as new generations age into adulthood, they bring a new set of values and what work means to them that all employers must adapt to. Also, the competition for skilled workers has intensified. Municipal governments are struggling to compete with private sector employers who can offer competitive salaries with attractive benefit packages. Qualified candidates are quickly recruited by businesses. If this hurdle is surpassed and local governments are able to attract qualified candidates, then another set of problems sink in—retaining employees. Local governments are struggling to retain mid-career professionals who may desire career advancement opportunities or a better work-life balance elsewhere. Additionally, the continuing retirement of baby boomers is creating a knowledge gap that municipalities, must address to preserve institutional knowledge which allows new employees to succeed and thrive. WHAT CAN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS DO TO COMBAT THESE ISSUES? One of the most common local government professions struggling with these issues is policing. “Since 2020, we have seen a large decrease in the number of individuals that are looking to come into law enforcement as a profession,” said Bill Hollingsed, Executive Director of the NC Association of Chiefs of Police (NCACP). “There are a lot of things that have come into play over the last several years that it’s been harder to find good, quality, qualified applicants to come into the profession.” One of the largest shifts in the ways local governments are hiring police candidates is “sponsoring” cadets in the Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) program. In the past, individuals who wanted to enter the policing profession would pay their own way through North Carolina’s mandatory BLET program. Then, with that necessary certification under their belts, cadets could apply to various policing positions as a qualified applicant. Today, municipalities are much more involved in the BLET process. Many cadets are scouted by police departments ahead of the program. Municipalities hire cadets and pay them a salary as they embark How Municipalities Are Innovating for Employee Recruitment and Retention Navigating Workforce Challenges— continues on page 30 ISABELLA MORMANDO Communications Associate 29 NCLM.ORG
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