Director's Message
I am pleased to present the 2010 State Workforce Report as a tool to help inform discussions about Washington State government employees. This report provides a snapshot of the executive branch workforce as of June 30, 2010, as well as recent trends.
I believe that a key role of the Department of Personnel (DOP), the state’s central human resource agency, is to provide leaders with current data to make informed decisions about workforce issues. Having access to this data is especially critical now, when the state is facing an unprecedented financial crisis and difficult decisions must be made.
This report contains information such as: number and distribution of state employees, types of state employment, workforce age and diversity data, management profile, salary trends, hiring and turnover trends, layoff activity, performance management progress, employee satisfaction data, and more.
It goes hand-in-hand with the annual enterprise-wide Human Resource Management Report, which is a roll-up dashboard comparing agencies’ progress to key workforce management performance measures. Together, these two reports provide a wealth of information for setting priorities, making improvements, and monitoring accountability.
The DOP website (www.dop.wa.gov) includes a Strategic HR section dedicated to providing easy access to these reports and the most current workforce data available. In addition, this site contains HR best practices, strategies, and benchmark information from private industry, other states, and across state agencies. It also includes the latest research reports from the National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE), the Pew Center, and other premier research organizations.
As a result of the current economy, this past fiscal year has seen significant changes in Washington State’s workforce. Our use of data and best practices to improve workforce management practices is critical to supporting agencies in maintaining or rebuilding an engaged workforce.
Washington State’s 2009 State Workforce Report – the first of its kind in nearly two decades – won the 2010 National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE) Communications Award in the print category. We hope the 2010 State Workforce Report continues this standard of excellence.
Respectfully submitted,
Eva Santos
Director
Department of Personnel