SUCCESSION PLANNING AT THE STATE DOT LEVEL

In this paper the development of a program of succession planning for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is addressed. Transportation industry findings, confirmed by VDOT demographics, indicate a greater-than-average turnover among senior transportation professionals during the 1990s. This problem is accentuated by experience gaps, economic disincentives within the agency, and decreasing numbers of university graduates with training in transportation. The paper contains reviews of prior transportation professional needs studies, with an examination of the demographic makeup of VDOT's existing work force, including those who resigned or retired. A profile of resignees, developed from historical data, is used to develop a model to help predict future attrition patterns. VDOT's mission and goals in the future and how it will respond to staffing needs were addressed by a series of focus group meetings held with division and district administrators. Study results suggest that the replacement work force will be recruited from a pool of applicants significantly different from that which VDOT has traditionally used. VDOT will require new recruitment programs to attract professionals with a new set of skills if it is to be successful in replacing its work force in the decades ahead. Recommendations that can assist VDOT and other state DOTs in addressing changes in the makeup of its future work force are grouped under four basic objectives: (a) increase the quantity and quality of new transportation professionals, (b) improve the retention rate, (c) improve career opportunities, and (d) determine the extent of near-term employee shortages.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1995/1498/1498-008.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=SUCCESSION+PLANNING+AT+THE+STATE+DOT+LEVEL&author=L.+Hoel&author=M.+Perfater&publication_year=1995
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309061628
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1498, Transportation Finance, Training, Strategic Management, and Economic Analysis. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Hoel, Lester A
  • Perfater, Michael A
• Publication Date: 1995

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 51-56
• Monograph Title: Transportation finance, training, strategic management, and economic analysis
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1498
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Demographics; Employees; Equipment replacement; Forecasting; Job opportunities; Labor force; Motor skills; Needs assessment; Personnel retention; Planning; Professional personnel; Recommendations; Recruiting; Shortages; State departments of transportation; Transportation careers; Turnover
• Uncontrolled Terms: Attrition
• Geographic Terms: Virginia
• Old TRIS Terms: Employee shortages; Replacements
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Research; Society; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00714963
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309061628
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Dec 21 1995 12:00AM