Trends Impacting the Modern Workforce

How Counties Can Prepare for the Future of Work

By Nicole Overley, Senior Manager and Future of Work Leader, Deloitte Consulting

and Jazmin Kay, Human Capital Consultant, Deloitte Consulting

There is currently a ripe opportunity for New York’s county leaders to radically reimagine and prepare their local communities for the Future of Work (FoW). The public sector is at a critical juncture in responding to the continuously evolving nature of work. With large federal relief packages such as the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) approaching close dates, the public sector must shift their energy towards increasing efficiencies, utilizing best practices learned over the course of the past few years to build a more resilient workforce, especially in response to global trends including inflation, concerns around future pandemics, global supply chain issues and relations, sustainability and acting on climate, and more.

As the workforce re-emerges from the pandemic, the public sector has also been critical in shaping new investment, leading to new industry growth. Recent legislation in New York and nationally will increase the number of jobs in emerging industries like clean energy and green occupations, supported through New York’s environment and sustainability initiatives.

Counties have an opportunity to position themselves for these new economic development opportunities and lead workforce strategies to attract and train new talent to support growing industries, such as piloting new training and development programs focused on meeting the demand for green jobs creation.

True economic recovery will require local governments to partner with higher education institutions and community groups to support their communities in developing more opportunities to upskill their workforce.

Of the ten largest occupations statewide in New York, accounting for 6.5 million jobs, only one occupation requires a high school diploma/equivalency or less. Across the State, approximately 38.2% (5.22 million) New Yorkers 25 years or older have a high school diploma/equivalency or less and 796,000 never even entered the 9th grade. When asked at the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) Legislative Conference, county leaders and stakeholders shared what they identify as the top challenge facing their workforce, with attracting new diverse talent leading in a competitive economy as their top concern (52%), followed by civil service and residency requirements and retiring and aging workforce population (each at 15%), growing skilling/ re-skilling needs (9%), transition to remote work and evolving technologies (7%), with the remainder listing something else. Similarly, when asked if the ability to offer remote work was a factor in recruiting and retaining top talent, 71% of attendes at the conference responded that it was an active challenge for them.

Understanding these challenges, the Future of Work allows us to proactively provide County and State leaders with frameworks to introduce new workforce strategies.

Despite the uniqueness of county workforces in New York— civil service exams, residency requirements, regional economic development considerations—there are still concrete actions counties can undertake to prepare and modernize their workforces while also prioritizing employee well-being and talent experience.

County leaders should incorporate the following takeaways into their workforce strategy:

1. Prepare for the Future of Work: Set clear goals to achieve around the Future of Work in the short, medium, and long term around job creation, quality, readiness, and access. Counties should identify innovative approaches to support workers focused on enhancing resiliency, adaptability, and equity. Take the time to deeply understand and map out “future jobs” and “future skills” emerging within industries.

2. Support Upskilling and Professional Development:

For a lot of workers (particularly Gen Z and millennials) continuous learning and skill development play an outsized role in improving job satisfaction. Almost 50% of workers would consider switching jobs for better training and upskilling opportunities and more than 60% said it was an important reason to stay at their current job. Reimagine partnerships with local higher education institutions such as community colleges and nonprofits to create additional reskilling and upskilling pathways.

3. Design Work that Works for Them: Support residents’ access to flexible work options within and beyond geographical boundaries. Workers are now seeking jobs that work for them. This often means better compensation, better work-life balance, and an environment where they feel a sense of belonging. Workers are increasingly prioritizing their physical and mental well-being and seeking employers who do the same. In a recent Gallup

Poll on workplace wants, “an organization that cares about employees’ well-being” was in the top three wants across generations and the number one priority for millennials and Gen Z. 4. Leverage Technology: Counties can leverage new technologies to improve both the worker experience and the recruiting process. Tools such as intelligent process automation can help employees focus on meaningful work, as opposed to additive tasks. Technology can also be used to improve the recruiting process with 63% of hiring managers and talent acquisition specialists reporting that

AI has positively changed their recruiting process.

5. Build a Talent Network: Building a talent network and sharing marketing materials like employee testimonials, video content, and regular email communications will help county hiring teams tap into previously unreached candidate pools and increase engagement. Additionally, to compete with other sectors, counties should consider on-campus recruiting (70% of companies are recruiting on campus). Instead of being reactive when a job requisition is posted, recruiters should consider building a talent pipeline of recent graduates who are looking for their first career opportunity.

Counties should utilize this unprecedented moment to attract new, young, and diverse talent and support their communities in building a stronger, more resilient, and equitable local economy. New York’s counties can serve as a leader nationally by showing how the public sector can serve as a model in positioning their workforce for increased efficiency and competitiveness.