State auditors have thrown down the gauntlet, highlighting a pressing need for Oregon's Department of Administrative Services (DAS) to step up its game in managing a state workforce that's growing weary under the weight of retirements, staffing shortages, and employee burnout, per a report issued recently. The sprawling state workforce, comprising a hefty roster of over 45,000 public servants handling everything from policing to teaching and healing, faces a ticking retirement time bomb with a whopping one in four workers lined up to ditch the 9-to-5 grind.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still casting a long shadow across the office landscapes, hybrid work models, a tough labor market, and the mental toll on employees have only upped the ante, forcing the government’s hand to rethink its workforce strategy. Auditors rifled through the DAS’s playbook, handed out some praise for what’s working, but also flagged room for the agency to tighten up its game plan to better combat the swell of challenges whirling like a storm through the state's employment ranks.
The probing audit uncovered that while DAS has been generally adept at managing the state's human resources using Workday, the enterprise planning system, there's prime real estate for a tactical shift. According to a statement from Audits Director Kip Memmott, the drive for improvements is well underway, “This audit was really looking at redundancies and gaps in governance and we’ve given DAS some important tools so they can assert a more balanced and deliberately planned role,” holding firm to the belief that leadership will steer the charge following the audit’s revelations.
While bumps on the road to an efficient state-run machine are no shocker, the auditor’s findings have thrown the ball squarely in DAS’s court; the department is under the gun to evolve from a behind-the-scenes player to a commanding chief in the workforce management arena, a shift that, if pulled off, could mean a big win for employees and the Oregonians they serve every day.
