Workforce is one of the major themes that IT leaders at all levels of government tend to say they’re concerned about, and it came up frequently during the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) conference last week. From recruitment to retention of top tech talent, especially given the common lure of higher salaries in the private sector, it’s no small challenge.
But Vajda wasn’t necessarily talking about salaries when he said he’d invest in people. He wants to be sure his employees in Wyoming have the tools they need and “make sure that they’re prepared to accomplish the things in their career that they want to accomplish.”
Vajda said that in the beginning of a person’s government career, they’re not so invested that they can’t be enticed by other opportunities; in the last few years, they’re so invested that they’re gliding toward retirement. It’s the mid-career employees, those looking to climb the executive ladder or take on a major project, where leaders should focus their energy.
While leadership often knows they need to invest in staff development in this way, they don’t always have a consistent way of doing that, Vajda explained.
“And for me I think that’s tragic,” he said, “because people are the most important part, and if you don’t focus on embracing those great ideas, finding a way to enable them to happen, and giving folks the room to run out and do great things, you’re wasting your most critical asset.”
