Critical Issues in Public Health Nutrition Leadership: Succession Management

1
Critical Issues in Public Health Nutrition
Leadership Succession Management Developing
Your Leadership Pipeline

• Alexa George, PhD, MPH, RD, LD
• ASTPHND Annual Meeting
• June 10, 2008

2
Outline

• The Public Health Nutrition (PHN) workforce
• Retirement in the PHN workforce
• Succession planning Who is the pipeline?

3
The big picture

• 2006-07 PHN Workforce Survey
• 2007 ASTPHND Annual Meeting Preliminary results
• 2008 ASTPHND Annual Meeting Final report
  posted
• http//www.fns.usda.gov/wic/resources/
  workforcesurveyreport.htm

4
The big picture

• Research dataset
• 9,442 persons in 9,558 filled positions
• 88.8 in WIC program
• 70.4 employed/contracted by official health
  agency

5
Job Classifications
Population/ System Focus Admin Planning
Client Focus Direct Care
-PH Director (Nutrition) -Assistant PH
Director (Nutrition) -PH Supervisor
(Nutrition) -PH Nutrition Consultant
PH Nutritionist
Clinical Nutritionist -Nutritionist
-Nutrition Technician -Nutrition
Assistant -Breastfeeding Peer Counselor
Dodds Kaufman
6
The big picture

• Average 12.1 years experience in nutrition 9.3
  years in public health nutrition
• 52.8 were 44 years or younger
• 28.6 were 45-54 years old
• 18.6 were 55 years or older
• 23.9 intended to retire within the next ten
  years (average of 6.6 years)
• 86.5 of those who intend to retire were in WIC

7
Who is going to retire?

• Among those 45 years and older
• 47.2 intend to retire within 10 years
• 52.2 who had/were working toward a graduate PH
  degree intend to retire
• 55.0 of those in management positions intended
  to retire
• 46.5 of those in WIC intend to retire within 10
  years

8
Who is going to retire?

• Retirement intention was predicted by
• Age (those who were gt55 years old)
• More PHN nutrition experience
• Working in an official health agency
• Receiving retirement vacation benefits
• US DHHS Region
• Less work time spent providing direct client
  services
• Working part time

9
Who is the pipeline?

• Retirement of those in leadership positions
  Management series
• Logical pipeline those in professional series
  (53.4 of workforce)
• To replace those in management, may require
  training and education
• 56.9 of those in professional series reported
  needing additional training in leadership team
  building
• Only 1.7 had attended a public health and
  leadership course since January 2000
• 9.0 had a graduate PH degree

10
Who is the pipeline?

• Recruitment retention cited as a problem,
  especially in WIC (GAO, 2001)
• 2007 break-out session preliminary results
  suggested that PHN should pay attention to
• Succession planning (recruit retain)
• Leadership development of new existing workers
• Mentoring guidance from existing leaders
• Now going to work on developing a culture of
  succession to address how you can strengthen this
  pipeline