Workforce Development Model: A Comprehensive Strategy for Workforce Development for Environmental Public Health Professionals in South Carolina.

2005 - 2006

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Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute Fellow(s):

Stuart Crosby, RHES, MBA Region 7 Environmental Health Director; South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Lonnie Hamilton Jr. Public Service Building 4045 Bridge View Dr., Suite B154 North Charleston, SC Phone: (843) 202-2720 E-mail: Crosbysg@dhec.sc.gov

Project Team
Mike Chappell Region 5 Health Director, SC DHEC Sue Ferguson Division of General Sanitation, SC DHEC Mike Longshore Division of General Sanitation, SC DHEC Jim Raymond Region 3, Assistant Environmental Health Director, SC DHEC Wally Sheridan Director, Division of Direct Support, SC DHEC LA Williams Director, Division of General Sanitation, SC DHEC

Mentor:
CAPT Mike E. Herring, REHS, MPH Senior Environmental Health Scientist; CDC, National Center for Environmental Health

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: One of the greatest challenges facing Environmental Public Health agencies today is assuring that a qualified, competent workforce is available to carry out its activities. The purpose of this project is to develop a strategy for building a Workforce Development Model for environmental public health professionals in South Carolina. The finalized model will provide the necessary guidance for competency and skill building opportunities at each classification level along with direction for career advancement. This project used a collaborative process to form a multidisciplinary team. Using a "systems" approach, the team analyzed the conditions that have precipitated the current system, the cost/benefits of changing versus not changing, and created a shared vision of the final goal. Once the team defined the parameters of the project, sub-groups were established and tasks were assigned, including the review of numerous internal documents, policies, and procedures along with research on how other organizations have approached this issue. Key research areas were identified including recruitment and retention, training, promotional practices, and present and future staff needs. Knowing that we had to build a "strong container for change", the overall purpose was to assess the system and information collection, analysis, and dissemination processes regarding workforce development. Our results should measure and improve staff workforce development opportunities, uncover staff attitudes about learning issues, provide data for long-range planning, evaluate effectiveness, and discover opportunities for improvement. The team developed an extensive list of objectives and all have been completed with the exception of compiling all the information collected into a single document. The completed Workforce Development Model will help insure a well-trained, more highly skilled workforce that is flexible, more adaptable, and generally better equipped to handle the complex work environment faced by today's environmental public health professionals. Staff will now also have more control over their career paths and chance for advancement. The strategy proposed in this project is the essential first step, which will guide us through subsequent steps in building a complete Workforce Development Model for environmental public health professionals in South Carolina. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: Limited growth has occurred over the past decade for Environmental Health programs. Services are impacted by increased demand and limited staff capacity to fulfill its requirements in the following areas:

Foodservice facility inspections have increased from about 11,000 to over 16,000. Septic system permit application has ranged from a low of 16,000 to over 29,000 annually.

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General sanitation activities, especially rabies, lead and child daycare facility inspections, has increased dramatically.

Several years of budget cuts have made a monetary rewards system virtually non-existent. State salaries are not competitive which diminishes the ability to recruit and retain quality employees. The routine implementation of regulations is often challenged in the courts. Staff often has limited skills in adapting to the advancement in technology. The net result of these occurrences has affected the ability to respond to growing service demands, an over-stressed workforce and low employee morale. Assuring a flexible, adaptive, and highly skilled workforce has never been more important than it is today. A competent workforce is the most essential element in our collective efforts to provide quality public health services. The Environmental Health profession has reached a critical point. The profession must address its ability to meet the service demands. A comprehensive Workforce Development Model is an essential step in meeting service demands. A statewide staffing model, which identifies career paths has not been developed for Environmental Public Health professionals. For many years, Environmental Public Health Managers have expressed the need for a workforce development model to address our long term staffing need. This career path provides the employee the option to plan their future and outlines training, experiences and competencies needed for career advancement. Many contributing factors impact this situation including a lack of vision or the right motivation. Whatever the reason, it is important to address this task at this time. Intellectual capital and its transportability is the employment model for the foreseeable future. This means a more mobile workforce. Employees entering the workforce today can anticipate several careers in their lifetime. In addition, employees are demanding more control of their careers. Organizations not meeting employee goals for career control can expect to lose talent to organizations that meet this need. Employees must know what skills and competencies it takes to do their job and what they need to advance up the career ladder. Managers need the best skilled employees that they can have to meet ever-increasing challenges. State organizations not meeting stakeholder needs can expect to be re-organized, re-structured, right-sized, down sized, privatized or whatever state legislatures feel is appropriate to meet stakeholder needs and concerns. Whatever the challenges of the future, we are certain that the organization that has a flexible, adaptive, and highly skilled workforce will be better positioned to meet them. Because of these, and many other variables affecting the employee/ employer/ stakeholder relationship, the past approach to workforce development can no longer be allowed to continue. One tool to accomplish this goal is the utilization of this WDM.

Problem Statement:

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No career path or workforce development plan currently exists for Environmental Public Health staff working in South Carolina. In addition, there is no uniformity in the training of Environmentalists across the state. These employees may be assigned to the same program and have the same job title, but they did not receive the same training. Because of this, employees responsible for doing the same tasks will have varying competencies and skill levels.

Behavior Over Time Graph:

Demand for Services Level of Performance

Variables

Morale Available Resources

Time

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Causal Loop Diagram and applicable archetype:

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Workforce Development: Shifting the Burden/ Current Mental Models

We must get this done now!

How long can we continue to work like this?

Level of focus/ attention on immediate needs. Immediate need met/ stress decreases

B
Symptom correcting process.

Addition Loop.

R
Inability to meet service demand Morale.

Dependence of fire fighting. Satisfaction with the status quo.

B R
Motivation to make change. Vicious cycle. Resources need to meet future staffing needs. Workforce development. Level of clarity of future staffing (workforce) needs. Problem correcting process. Now that that s over, we can get back to work.

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10 Essential Environmental Health Services: We feel that Assure Competent Workforce is the most critical Essential Service and is the first step in providing the other nine essential services. That is why we chose as our project the development of a strategy for building a Workforce Development Model for environmental public health professionals in South Carolina. The completed Workforce Development Model will help insure a well-trained, more highly skilled workforce that is flexible, more adaptable, and generally better equipped to handle the complex work environment faced by today's environmental public health professionals. Once our objective is met, we will be better prepared to provide the other essential services.

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National Goals Supported 2. Healthy People 2010 Objectives As stated in Healthy People 2010, environmental factors play a central role in human development, health and disease. It further states: Because the effect of the environment on human health is so great, protecting the environment has been a mainstay of public health practice since 1878. This vital role that environmental health professions play in public health has never been more important and never have the challenges been greater. Even with this truth so evident, public health resources in our state have continued to decline. In order for us to do the best that we can with the resources that we have, we must ensure that our staff has the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to meet the challenges put before them. Workforce development in environmental health is critical to achieving the goals of Healthy People 2010. 3. Environmental Health Competency Project: Recommendation for Core Competencies for Local Environmental Health Practitioners. The Environmental Health Competencies Project was an important resource for our project. As our project continues, we want to more clearly define the level of each competency that should be attained for each level of advancement. In addition, we want to identify training resources and a method to evaluate the degree to which an employee has achieved a particular competency.

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Project Logic Model: Workforce Development Model: A Comprehensive Strategy for Workforce Development for Environmental Public Health Professional in South Carolina.

Inputs
Partners: Regional EH Directors Regional Health Directors State Personnel Directors EPHLI EH Staff Academic Partners Other Resources: Money Time Equipment and Supplies Intellectual Capital

Activities
Project Design and Development: Select/ Engage Project Team Identify Stakeholders Conduct Needs Assessment Survey Project Team: Hold periodic meetings Communicate regularly. Develop Objectives Develop Strategies Develop WDM framework Select Task Groups Task Groups: Prepare/Submit task proposals. Complete Tasks Present Tasks. Receive Feedback

Outputs

Short & Long Term Outcomes. Impacts

# of meetings held # of assessments conducted. # of surveys/ submitted/ returned. Objectives developed. Strategies developed. # of participants involved # and focus of tasks.

Research:
Articles Publications Internet

Results: Increase d capacity of EH staff to provide improved services at all levels A competent EH workforce.

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National Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute

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PROJECT OBJECTIVES/DESCRIPTION/DELIVERABLES: Program Goal The goal of our project is to develop a more competent Environmental Public Health workforce in South Carolina. Organizational Problem No career path or workforce development plan currently exists for Environmental Public Health staff working in South Carolina. There is no uniformity in the training of Environmentalists across the state. These employees may be assigned to the same program and have the same job title, but they did not receive the same training. Because of this, employees responsible for doing the same tasks will have varying competencies and skill levels. Outcome Objective The outcome of this model is to provide a system to assure 1) professional development, 2) a competent workforce, and 3) a defined career path by December 31, 2006. Determinant Implementation of the model will be our determinant. Impact Objective Our impact objective will be an increased capacity of Environmental Health Staff to provided improved services at all levels. Contributing Factors As with any complex issue, there are many potential contributing factors. We think they include the following: No clear and guiding vision exists that describes what an Environmental professional in South Carolina should be. Resources. Resources may have been insufficient to allocate to this task. Changing environments. Because of the changing technological, political and socioeconomic environments any model would have to be fluid in nature. This makes a model more difficult to design. Buy In. All of those responsible for implementing and maintaining the model must be committed to its use.

Process Objectives The following objectives were outlined for our project:

Documented support from the Director of the Bureau of Environmental Health (DBEH) to proceed with this project and for the creation of a problem solving team.

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Measurement Tool: Verbal commitment from the DBEH to pursue this project.

Bring together a diverse team of stakeholders willing to commit the time, energy and effort necessary to develop this Workforce Development Strategy. Measurement Tool: A problem solving team with appropriate stakeholder representation will be convened.

Organizational meeting of the problem solving team. Measurement Tool: Meeting held with a commitment made for future meetings.

Define the project scope, assign tasks and plan for future meetings. Measurement Tool: Documentation (notes from meetings) of the discussion of these topics.

Create a clear and guiding vision for a comprehensive strategy for a Workforce Development Model for Environmental Health and build a consensus among project team for its development. Measurement Tool: The strategy for the Workforce Development Model will be developed.

Complete strategy for workforce development. Measurement Tool: Present the strategy for development of the model to the DBEH.

METHODOLOGY This project used a collaborative process to form a multidisciplinary team to develop a Workforce Development Model. Using a systems approach the team analyzed the conditions that have precipitated the current system, cost/benefits of changing or not changing and created a shared vision of where we wanted to go. After reaching consensus on the parameters of the project, subgroups were established, tasks assigned and a regular communication schedule was agreed upon. Tasks included the review of numerous internal documents, policies and procedures along with research on how other organizations have approached this issue. The subgroups identified key areas to research which included recruitment and retention, training, promotional practices and present and future staff needs.

2005-2006 Fellow Report

National Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute

106

RESULTS: Building a strong container for change particularly for such an enormous undertaking is indeed a significant leadership challenge. Overall Purpose: To assess the system and information collection, analysis and dissemination processes regarding Workforce Development. Results should: Measure and improve staff workforce development opportunities Discover staff attitudes about learning issues affecting the work environment, quality, and productivity Provide data for long-range planning Evaluate effectiveness Discover opportunities for improvement It was clear from the beginning that this project would require an extensive commitment to have a complete project at this time. However, substantial progress has been made. To date we have accomplished the following: 1. Conducted a meeting with Mr. Roger Scott, Director of the Bureau of Environmental Health. 2. Discussed with and obtained verbal support from other senior agency stakeholders. 3. Conducted three-project team meetings. 4. Conducted three regional sub-team meetings. 5. Researched and discussed existing state and agency personnel policies. 6. Researched and discussed existing state, regional and local Environmental Health recruiting, selection, training, development and promotional practices. 7. Researched and discussed present and future staffing needs. This included both the quantity and the make-up of future staff. 8. Discussed and outlined the benefits of a WDM versus not having one. 9. Discussed and outlined potential career paths (technical, managerial, combination). 10. Researched and discussed skills and competencies associated with Environmental Health positions. 11. Reviewed and are continuing to update an entry-level basic training guide for Environmental Health staff. 12. Discussed and outlined next steps for continuing this project. 13. Briefed stakeholders at statewide meetings on two different occasions. With respect to the identified objectives, all have been completed with the exception of the final objective. The final step in completing the strategy for workforce development is compiling all the information collected into a single document, which will be accomplished during the end of 2006. CONCLUSIONS: One of the greatest challenges facing Environmental Public Health agencies today is assuring a qualified competent workforce is available to carry out its activities. Having a qualified workforce doesnt just happen, it takes planning. Planning for a qualified workforce begins long before you post that vacancy and doesnt end with the new employee orientation. The journey

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that we face in addressing workforce development is no doubt a long one, but each journey begins with that first step. The strategy that we plan to provide will guide us through subsequent steps in building a complete Workforce Development Model. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES: Vicki Blair Being a member of the inaugural class of the Environmental Public Health Institute has been a wonderful experience. The chance to work on new and existing skills with such an amazing group of facilitators, mentors, and faculty members was truly an honor. The project was definitely a challenge and, while I have worked on projects in other leadership trainings, none have been as directly related to environmental health as this one. The networking has opened my eyes to the fact that many of the problems experienced in South Carolina are certainly not specific to our state. Being able to use systems thinking to analyze the problem addressed in our project facilitated the collaboration of creating a shared vision. This allowed for the opportunity to join forces with others across the state to address our concerns with a common mission, objective, and strategy. I cant say enough about the fellowes that have shared this journey with me. I have established personal connections with many of them and look forward to sharing experiences and challenges with them throughout my career. They are a formidable group and their respective states should be proud and honored to have them representing environmental health. Their peers have much they can learn from them and I hope they will take advantage of that opportunity. I wish them all the best and know that being of member of this class has been as memorable for them as it has for me. My sincerest thanks for the chance to participate. Stuart Crosby Participating in the Environmental Public Health Leadership Institue has been a great opportunity for me to expand my existing skills as well as develop new ones. While I have had many leadership opportunities over the years, I have never worked on a project which would potentially have such a significant impact on the future of Environmental Health in South Carolina. Participation in the institute and this project provided me with this oportunity. It allowed me to co-lead a diverse team and to help create a shared vision of what we wanted Environmental Health in South Carolina to look lke in the future. The skills that I learned through the institute about Systems Thinking allowed me to apply these newly learned techniques to problem analysis. The institute also provided me the opportunity to share ideas and gain new information from exceptional Environmental Health professionals from across the country. This opportunity in itself made participation worthwhile. The curriculum overall was excellent and addressed a broad range of topics that are important for todays Environmentalist.

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National Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute

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ABOUT THE EPHLI FELLOW(s)

Vicki Blair Vicki Blair has been an Environmentalist with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control for fifteen years. She graduated from the University of North CarolinaCharlotte with a B.S. in Biology and currently is an environmental health manager in the coastal area of South Carolina. She is regional supervisor of the rabies and vector control programs but also works in all general sanitation areas. She is secretary/treasurer of the South Carolina Environmental Health Association, a section officer of the South Carolina Public Health Association, and state delegate for the Interstate Environmental Health Association. She resides with her husband in Surfside Beach, S.C. Stuart Crosby Stuart Crosby is an Environmentalist with the South Carolina Department of Health and Control where he has worked for more than twenty years. After graduating from the Citadel in 1981, Stuart did a three-year tour in the Army as an Engineer officer. Following his military tour Stuart was hired as a county environmentalist for the Colleton County Health Department where he progressed to County Environmental Health Supervisor. For the past seven years Stuart has served has Regional Environmental Health Supervisor for SC DHEC Region 7, based in Charleston, South Carolina.

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