My fellow blogger, Alan Balutis, expressed significant insight when commenting that organizations should continue to employ strategic human resource planning in spite of the impending retirement tsunami that has not yet really developed. Ongoing workforce planning is critical to determine an organization’s targeted needs to meet mission goals. And, as the exodus builds, year by year, agencies must be prepared.

I was privileged to head up the IT community’s Workforce Capability Assessment for several years and realized the value of the governmentwide information that it produced. The assessment, recently released, (late partly due to my retirement) provides a macro look at the bench strength of the IT workforce and hones in on competency and skill gaps that should be addressed in critical job areas. In addition, agency-specific data can be and is used to inform analysis at various levels in individual departments and agencies.

Other communities have adopted the IT assessment model, including the Acquisitions Community, discussed in a FAI newsletter. This example of workforce planning allows agencies and functional communities to be strategically positioned for the future.