The author is Assistant Director, Academic/Practice Linkages at the Public Health Foundation

A skilled and competent workforce is critical to an effective organization, but how do you ensure your staff’s skills are well matched to the positions they fill as well as the needs of your organization? Workforce development planning is one important step to building a strong workforce, as emphasized by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) in Domain 8 of its Standards and Measures.

Workforce development plans can include descriptions of the current workforce, assessments of staff competencies, plans for addressing competency gaps identified by the assessments, challenges to addressing these gaps, and strategies to overcome those challenges, among other elements. Engaging in workforce development planning may seem daunting, but don’t let that stop you from getting started. Here are five tips for beginning your planning today!

1. Determine your goals. What do you want to accomplish for your organization with workforce development efforts? What are your organization’s current workforce development goals, and what challenges do you face in meeting them? How do those goals align with your strategic objectives? Answering such questions will help provide a framework for developing your plan.
2. Assess skills and competencies. Now that you have identified your workforce development goals, it’s important to determine where you are starting from in terms of workforce skills and competencies and what skills and competencies you need to build to reach your goals. What skills and competencies currently exist within your workforce? What skills and competencies are needed? Conducting a competency assessment or working through a competency prioritization process can help to structure these discussions for your organization.
3. Fill skill and competency gaps. It’s not enough to identify gaps in skills and competencies; it’s also necessary to commit to filling these gaps – and to begin doing so. What resources and tools exist to help workers develop the skills and competencies identified as priorities for your organization? How can you use them most effectively? Online learning resources such as the TRAIN learning network and CDC Learning Connection offer places to start in locating training opportunities designed for the public health workforce.
4. Reach out to others. Workforce development is not something you need to tackle alone. Many potential partners or supporters may exist in your community, other health departments, or academic institutions. Who else has developed a workforce development plan and how did they go about it? Who has experience with the elements of the plan you want to put in place? Don’t be afraid to seek help, whether through exploring workforce development plans crafted by other health departments or proposing an academic health department (AHD) partnership with an academic institution to help with assessments, training, evaluation, or other activities.
5. Don’t get hung up on perfection. What’s more important than any specific detail of your final plan? The process of getting there. There is no one perfect way to create a workforce development plan. Templates can provide guidance, but it’s the process that really matters. Focus on your staff, your organization, and your community, and build the plan that will work for you.

Workforce development planning has an important place in any public health organization, whether or not you’re working toward PHAB accreditation. The Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice offers many free resources and tools related to the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals, AHD Learning Community, and other workforce development initiatives. The Public Health Foundation offers customized technical assistance to support workforce development planning. Explore these resources and get started today!