Transit systems in the United States are facing the challenges of delivering service in the twenty-first century. Issues of recruitment and retention of employees coupled with the impacts of labour-market conditions and labour-management relations are of critical significance to the viability of public transit. In an era of transit agency restructuring, downsizing, and re-engineering, tailoring jobs to meet the demands of the industry has become a necessity. Demographic, sociological, cultural, and technological changes in both the industry and the national workforce will also have a critical impact on transit’s employment environment. Given transit’s changing workforce needs, research is needed to describe the current status of jobs and the skill sets required to accomplish transit’s mission. It is necessary to identify ways to enhance or establish partnerships between management and labour for attracting, training, and retaining a qualified workforce. McGlothin Davis, Inc., in association with Corporate Strategies, Inc., prepared this report for TCRP Project F-09. To achieve the project’s objective of assessing the transit industry’s workforce needs, the researchers performed a comprehensive literature search and conducted a telephone benchmarking survey of 50 transit agencies. To identify strategies to attract, develop, and retain a qualified workforce, the researchers conducted 13 case studies, collecting qualitative and quantitative data through site visits, interviews, focus groups, observations, and document analysis. The 13 case studies revealed commonalties and differences in how transit agencies respond to challenges in maintaining a qualified workforce, especially in difficult-torecruit and -retain positions. Case-study findings indicate that in order for transit agencies to achieve a positive return on their recruitment, each agency must pay attention to retention. Further, the case studies revealed that the trend in transit organisations is to view human resources as a critical business function rather than as an administrative necessity and that there is an increased level of partnering between organised labour and management. (A)
Samenvatting