Report 2015-608 Recommendations

When an audit is completed and a report is issued, auditees must provide the State Auditor with information regarding their progress in implementing recommendations from our reports at three intervals from the release of the report: 60 days, six months, and one year. Additionally, Senate Bill 1452 (Chapter 452, Statutes of 2006), requires auditees who have not implemented recommendations after one year, to report to us and to the Legislature why they have not implemented them or to state when they intend to implement them. Below, is a listing of each recommendation the State Auditor made in the report referenced and a link to the most recent response from the auditee addressing their progress in implementing the recommendation and the State Auditor's assessment of auditee's response based on our review of the supporting documentation.

Recommendations in Report 2015-608: High Risk: State Departments Need to Improve Their Workforce and Succession Planning Efforts to Mitigate the Risks of Increasing Retirements (Release Date: May 2015)

:
Recommendations to Emergency Services, Office of
Number Recommendation Status
9

Cal OES should develop a process by December 2015 to measure and evaluate its workforce and succession planning activities at least annually, and update its plans as necessary, to ensure that its activities are effective. This process should include evaluating the trends in retirements for leadership and technical positions.

Fully Implemented
16

Cal OES should develop a process by June 30, 2015, to ensure that the executive membership of its Idea Ambassador Corps remains stable to help ensure that Cal OES can perform consistent monitoring of the results of the workforce and succession planning activities across the department.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations to Human Resources, California Department of
Number Recommendation Status
2

To improve the guidance that CalHR provides departments on how to mitigate the challenges of an aging workforce that will result in the retirement of many highly experienced employees, CalHR should develop a process by December 2015 to periodically evaluate and update its workforce and succession planning materials.

Fully Implemented
3

To ensure that CalHR's reviews of departments' workforce and succession plans are consistent and reflect all best practices it recommends on its website, CalHR should revise its evaluation tool by June 2015 to include all of these best practices and other best practices it subsequently identifies.

Fully Implemented
4

To better enable CalHR to provide assistance to departments that is tailored to their needs, CalHR should survey state departments at least biannually to determine how the departments perceive the effectiveness of the resources and tools CalHR makes available to them.

Fully Implemented
5

To help ensure that state departments are prepared to address the loss of highly experienced employees, CalHR should obtain annually workforce and succession plans from all departments by June 30, starting in 2016, as well as any updates to and implementation status of the plans.

Fully Implemented
6

To ensure that CalHR can complete its workforce and succession planning workload on a timely basis and address other priorities that may arise, CalHR should develop an annual plan for the workforce planning unit by July 2015, and annually thereafter, that identifies the activities it plans to accomplish in the following fiscal year and the necessary resources. The plan should include, but not be limited to, activities such as evaluating the effectiveness of its guidance to departments, offering training sessions, conducting reviews of department workforce and succession plans, and addressing strategic initiatives.

Fully Implemented
7

To more adequately promote succession planning, CalHR should develop additional resources for departments to follow in developing succession plans by December 2015 and post the information on its website.

Fully Implemented
8

To improve state departments' knowledge of CalHR's resources and tools, CalHR should expand the content of its outreach emails to promote all its resources and tools.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations to Legislature
Number Recommendation Status
1

The Legislature should consider amending state law to expressly authorize the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) to oversee efforts across state departments for workforce and succession planning, such as by monitoring the development and implementation of plans, and to compel departments to provide it with information concerning such planning. Further, the Legislature should consider requiring that CalHR update it on an annual basis, beginning in fiscal year 2016-17, on the status of the workforce and succession planning at state departments.

No Action Taken
Recommendations to Social Services, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
11

Social Services should develop a process by December 2015 to measure and evaluate its workforce and succession planning activities at least annually, and update its plans as necessary, to ensure that its activities are effective. This process should include evaluating the trends in retirements for leadership and technical positions.

Fully Implemented
13

Social Services should identify a key resource, such as a unit, by June 30, 2015, to track the results of workforce and succession planning activities across the department to ensure that the workforce and succession planning activities it implements are monitored on a departmentwide level.

Fully Implemented
15

Social Services should update its existing workforce and succession plan by December 2015 to ensure that the department is adequately prepared for the retirement of a significant number of its highly experienced employees. The plan should include current best practices that meet its organizational needs.

Fully Implemented
Recommendations to Transportation, Department of
Number Recommendation Status
10

Caltrans should develop a process by December 2015 to measure and evaluate its workforce and succession planning activities at least annually, and update its plans as necessary, to ensure that its activities are effective. This process should include evaluating the trends in retirements for leadership and technical positions.

Fully Implemented
12

Caltrans should identify a key resource, such as a unit, by June 30, 2015, to track the results of workforce and succession planning activities across the department to ensure that the workforce and succession planning activities it implements are monitored on a departmentwide level.

Fully Implemented
14

Caltrans should develop a comprehensive workforce and succession master plan by December 2015 to ensure that it is adequately prepared for the retirement of a significant number of its highly experienced employees. The plan should include current best practices that meet its organizational needs.

Fully Implemented


Print all recommendations and responses.