Public sector workers feel good about the services they provide, but they're maxed out.

Concern about state and local budgets led to a steep drop in public sector employment between February and May 2020, shared Joshua Franzel, managing director of MissionSquare Research Institute, during the June 2021 webinar Building a Diverse, Talent-Centric State & Local Workforce. MissionSquare Research Institute—formerly the Center for State and Local Government Excellence—along with the Mejorando Group, LinkedIn, and Microsoft hosted the session. That reduction in part reflects the K–12 workers, such as cafeteria workers, and others who were furloughed because of remote learning. However, since then, the public sector has experienced rebounding employment and has not seen the quit rates with which many other industries and companies have been grappling.

Still, 52 percent of public sector workers say they are stressed and 47 percent are burned out, according to the Center for State and Local Government Excellence's January 2021 Update on Public Sector Employee Views on Finances and Employment Outlook Due to COVID-19: May vs. October 2020 report. Although two-thirds of employees say they feel they are adding value by serving their community and almost half sense the public appreciates their work, they also don't believe their compensation is on par with the health risks they face.

Important organizational issues for public sector employees, Franzel noted, include morale, compensation, recruitment and retention, employee development, and equity. To address those issues, Patrick Ibarra, a webinar panel member and co-founder and partner of the Mejorando Group, challenged public sector employers: "Are you and your workforce changing as fast as the world around us?" Further, he asked webinar participants about their employer value proposition for both potential talent and current staff, posing the questions "Why would a talented person want to join your agency?" and "What do current employees need to learn?"

People want a workplace where they can be productive, engage, and have an enjoyable work experience. Those factors are not only the responsibility of HR but everyone within the agency, advised Ibarra. To develop your agency's employer brand proposition, consider the candidate experience through these brand touchstones: social media, the agency website, the hiring process, the job announcement, and onboarding, Ibarra continued. And for employees, what does the first day of work look like, what are the L&D and career development opportunities, and what is the workplace culture as a whole?

Furthering the conversation on improving the employee experience, Jay Carlile, general manager of the state and local government practice in LinkedIn's talent solutions division, states that having a strong employer brand can positively affect an agency's ability to attract diverse talent and the right candidates. He warned that referrals systemically hurt diversity efforts.