Challenges and opportunities facing local government hiring
Perspectives and reflections from New Hampshire Town Managers on changing labor dynamics and the years ahead
It’s hard not to notice the "help wanted" signs plastered across business storefronts throughout our entire region and much of the country right now. Many private and nonprofit sector employers are struggling with how a changing labor market is impacting their ability to hire and fully staff their business.
At the same time, many local governments are nearing the edge of a cliff of employee retirements that has many concerned about how critical local services will or won’t be provided over the next decade. Services at risk from long-term staffing shortages range from public safety to mental health to water and sewer infrastructure, to environmental and waste management, to housing and transportation, tax and financial management, library and social services, education, and the list goes on. If these types of services lapse or falter, beyond the acute effects from that, the economic impact to our communities and region from a dropoff in critical services could be severe.
So last week, ten municipal managers, who were connected through the Municipal Management Association of New Hampshire’s email list, joined a Zoom meeting I hosted along with the Town Managers of Enfield and New London, to talk about addressing these shared challenges. Specifically, we wanted to explore not just how to offer better bonuses or recruitment packages so that we can “poach” employees from other nearby local governments, but rather how to get more total people entering the shrinking labor market of the public sector. Importantly: What are some of the root causes of why we are seeing such a large drop in not just public sector employment interest, but in local volunteerism, and even general public engagement?
What factors are influencing employee retention? How are changing demographics shaping that?
The changing demographics of the public sector’s potential labor market seem to be forcing governments to make long-overdue changes in public sector employment, making the industry more accessible to a broader range of people, especially younger generations. It’s always been confusing: Why, when there are so many young people who care deeply about broad issues facing our communities and country, so few seem interested in local government?
Over the last decade or so, I've spoken to many thousands of young people about these sorts of topics, and although many didn’t see local government as particularly compelling previously, once they get a chance to learn more and talk about what really happens there, people actually get pretty excited. So part of the question here is: How can we better connect the dots here to help drive a more robust pipeline of potential employees to local government as we see a significant portion of our workforce retire over the next decade?
Along those lines, I can’t help but ask questions like these, which perhaps can be part of this broader effort to connect people into opportunities that allow them to plug in where they are most passionate:
Do you think historically racist redlining policies have created problems in our communities? Municipal zoning officers, planners, and land use board members literally change these laws and tangibly make more inclusive communities, right now, every day!
Or maybe you think taxes are too high, or don’t know exactly what the justification is for allocating funding for public services based on the value of local property? (Good question). Well, you can become a tax assessor and get directly engaged in how tax policy works!
Do you think climate issues warrant more attention? Are you concerned about natural resources such as water, fish, and game becoming less accessible? There are tons of local government positions that impact these areas (For example, in Hanover, almost 100% of the municipal government’s power comes from our own solar field, and we have helped conserve thousands of acres of public land).
Do you find that “support for small businesses” is more of a government talking point, rather than a real policy? We can make (and sometimes delete) policies in local government, such as through zoning, housing, and elsewhere that can actually help people start or run their own business!
There are so many opportunities like these in local government.
In 2021, Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2010) made up less than 12% of the workforce. By 2025, in just four years, they will make up nearly 30% of the workforce. But how many will be working in local government? Some surveys show Gen-z'ers changing jobs ten times between the ages of 18-35, making the prior model that favored very long-term employment with a public entity more challenging to match up to younger peoples' values and goals. (Bureau of Labor Statistics). The demographics are already changing, and we in government should recognize this, adapt, and innovate now so we don’t get left behind in a world that is going through some pretty major changes that we seem to only be on the cusp of.
The managers on our call last week discussed and agreed on some of the shared challenges our communities face on these topics, ranging from:
Limited and expensive housing options in much of the state, alongside often limited early childcare access
Difficulty retaining staff or asking people to move into supervisor positions without significant additional compensation that strain already high property taxes
Some people leaving positions for higher compensation, shorter commutes, or better work environments elsewhere, including in the private sector
An overall decline in interest from the public about local government (See: Croydon, NH).
Some who are just interested in trying or doing something new, or who want to pursue passion or outside projects or interests
Some employees who feel as though public sector work environments are not “worth it.”
How local civic dynamics impact employee retention
What does that last bullet point mean? Well, it’s an interesting and consequential point. It means that some public employees complain about constant negative interactions, bullying, harassment and negative, personally or politically motivated behavior from members of the public directed at them. The worsening of our civic spaces that is happening quite obviously in many states and the national level has indeed been trickling down to local levels. This is having a cascading series of consequences, and one of them is “chilling” interest among people to get involved, as elected officials, volunteers, and yes, even as employees.
This issue has been on the forefront of my mind and work since I was elected mayor of my hometown in New Jersey in 2011, and saw some of these dynamics play out with how exclusive and sometimes mean-spirited even a small, nonpartisan, community-minded civic space could be. Since our work to open that up and engage a broader representation of people (which netted incredible results in town), I’ve worked with thousands of young people, dozens of campaigns, and many towns, schools, and nonprofits about public engagement and civic discourse. There are solutions, but none are easy, and all require an authentic commitment to working in a partnership and admitting how deeply important this issue really is.
And let’s think about it: Why would someone want to work in a job where they might be stalked or harassed online or in-person for just doing their job? Yes, there are many of us who see the value and opportunity in working to help better our communities, and yes there are many kind and empathetic people out there who we regularly engage with, but there does seem to be a remarkable and disappointing rise in mean-spirited interactions, where people take out cumulative frustrations wherever is convenient or easy. Often local governments can be that outlet. It’s a lot easier to yell at a council person or parks and rec employee than your US Senator or member of Congress. But what people often don't realize is that treating public officials or staff this way, even if there is a problem that needs to be addressed, doesn't solve whatever they are mad about, but rather it has this chilling effect and only makes all of these problems worse over time by limiting the interest of people getting involved.
“Bringing people together to understand each other’s perspectives and to develop shared solutions to challenges in our communities is absolutely critical if we want our region to thrive,” said Sarah Jackson, Executive Director of Vital Communities. “Entering into dialogue builds our capacity to engage with diverse viewpoints and with difficult topics, and that in turn invites increased participation, enhances decision making, and contributes to more equitable and inclusive outcomes.”
We’re lucky to even have organizations like Vital Communities in our region, many communities have no outside stakeholders (such as even any local media), and the lack of stakeholders that can help facilitate dialog and solutions can make addressing this even harder. In the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont, we should take full advantage of the resources we are lucky to have, and confront some of these challenges head on, learning and sharing what we can while we help our communities navigate these big issues.
I’ll end this section with this: One manager on our call told a story of an employee who left their job for a trucking job based out of Boston. That's how bad it can be - people believe that driving a truck through Boston traffic is preferable to being on the receiving end of members of the public.
This is a major problem that our communities must prioritize dealing with, not just so we can better discuss and make decisions on important local issues, but literally so we don’t drive good, decent people away from public sector. Because if that happens – who will be left?
What can we do in the shorter term? Are there lessons from the private sector? (Hint: yes)
More tactically back to hiring, we also talked about:
Strategies for writing more compelling job descriptions and better “selling” working in the community.
Pros/cons of different places where jobs can be posted.
Creating or expanding pipeline programs with local schools, internships, or "Career Day" engagement.
Creating a marketing campaign to connect broad passions to specific local government positions.
Thinking more outside of the box about the types of benefits that government provides.
On that last point, many agree that the historically competitive advantage of employment in the public sector, for example stability, longevity and retirement benefits, often don’t reflect where younger generation's priorities are. This severely limits the total number of people who might consider working in local government, especially when many private companies are offering more values-aligned benefits, such as flexible schedules, remote/hybrid work, student loan incentives, and housing assistance.
For example, as many private companies consider in-person and remote options, as well as 4-day work weeks, are those things that can be expanded within local government? Many local government departments already work on a shift schedule, such as many police, fire, and some public works agencies, so this is actually not that unusual of a framework.
In fact, Lebanon, New Hampshire, does a variation of what I’ve had in prior two communities where I’ve worked – a non-standard work week for general municipal services. In Lebanon, instead of being open Monday – Friday from 8am – 430pm, their City Hall is open Monday – Thursday 7am – 5pm.
Shaun Mulholland, City Manager says that “This allows early morning hours for residents to come in and conduct business prior to work and provides slightly more time at the end of the day.” It’s a great example of a policy change that can potentially benefit both the community and staff. Reflecting on whether this has been a benefit within the City’s 186 FTE workforce, 80% of whom work a non-standard schedule, Shaun was a resounding “Yes,” that it indeed has been an effective retention tool, that the majority of staff prefer it. It gives staff longer weekends, and helps people come back to work more recharged the next week. And it’s often better for the public. In fact, I’ll share that when I moved up here and had to go through the surprisingly expensive process of registering vehicles in the Live Free or Die state, I was surprised and thrilled to take advantage of the early morning hours at their City Hall, as a resident of Lebanon, to get all my paperwork done. Getting the chance to do things like that outside of normal work hours can be a big benefit for members of the public who don’t have work schedule flexibility. Could this kind of model become more common in government?
A new study from the UK (Report) that surveyed 70 different companies who implemented a four-day work week pilot program found that 88% of senior leaders believed the change was good, with 86% reporting they plan to keep the new four-day schedule after the pilot finishes, with 46% saying productivity stayed the same and 49% saying it improved.
This might be a good example of an area where government can learn from trends in the private sector.
Next steps
To start, we agreed to share several best practice documents and other resources with each other, as well as outline a plan for engaging with some broader stakeholders. A number of us also decided to come together on a monthly basis to talk more and dive deeper into specific topics. Next month's topic will be sharing and discussing some of the specific benefit/incentives that different communities are using to recruit and retain employees to work in government.
We have a lot of work to do, but many of us in local government are committed to finding shared solutions, and working together, rather than competing with each other, as we move forward into the uncertain years ahead.
What else can local governments do to make employment more compelling to a wider audience of people? If you have ideas or thoughts please reach out to me at alex.torpey@hanovernh.org. We’d love to hear from folks what they’re thinking, and especially, if they have any ideas or resources that we can engage with.
Towns that participated in this discussion were:
Hanover, NH
Enfield, NH
New London, NH
Lebanon, NH
New Boston, NH
Northumberland, NH
North Hampton, NH
Nashua, NH
Atkinson, NH
Grantham, NH
Alex Torpey is the Town Manager of Hanover, New Hampshire. Formerly a mayor, town administrator, graduate professor, and consultant, Alex is deeply interested in forward-thinking municipal management and building collaborative and resilient local civic environments that assist communities in tackling broad, long-term challenges.
A nonprofit organization that cultivates the civic, environmental and economic vitality of the Upper Valley, Vital Communities specializes in convening for positive change in areas such as economic development, food and farming, housing and transportation, childcare, energy and climate, and leadership. Learn more at: https://vitalcommunities.org/
The Town of Hanover is a historic, dynamic, sustainable small college town nestled in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire, steps from the Connecticut River and Vermont, and only 2.5 hours from Boston. Hanover is home to a vibrant downtown, Dartmouth College, many outdoor activities including the Appalachian Trail, lively local farming and arts, and a Town culture that supports resilient and collaborative local civics. Learn more: https://www.hanovernh.org/