A.  Scope

W.S. 28-8-107(b) authorizes the Legislative Service Office to conduct program evaluations, performance audits, and analyses of policy alternatives.  Generally, the purpose of such research is to provide a base of knowledge from which policymakers can make informed decisions.

 In November 1999, in response to a recommendation from the Revenue and Expenditure Oversight Committee, the Management Audit Committee directed staff to undertake a review of the relative costs of training versus the costs of retention for high turnover occupations that require specialized training.  The request was made for occupation-specific analysis because the state does not currently have a process for compiling such information.

The 1999 Revenue and Expenditure Committee originally identified specific occupations of interest.  We reviewed the committee’s work and selected four occupations for further review, based on their relative size, training requirements, and perceived turnover rates.  This evaluation provides case studies of the four occupations selected, rather than a comprehensive review of turnover issues throughout state government.

We evaluated turnover issues for Department of Transportation (WYDOT) highway patrol officers, Department of Corrections (DOC) correctional officers, Department of Family Services (DFS) caseworkers, and information technology staff located throughout state agencies.  We engaged four agencies for this evaluation:  the Departments of Administration and Information; Family Services; Transportation; and Corrections.  We engaged the Department of Administration and Information (A&I) due to its statewide personnel responsibilities.

Since information technology staff are distributed throughout state government, we worked with the Information Technology Coordinating Committee (ITCC) on an informal basis to develop information about these staff.  The ITCC is a voluntary consortium of information technology managers throughout state government.   

Our focus was to identify the costs of turnover and the reasons for turnover within the four occupations.  Our research for  each occupation centered around the following questions:

·         What is the agency’s process to evaluate turnover?

·         What statistics can be quantified about turnover?

·         What are the quantitative and qualitative costs of turnover?

·         What are the primary reasons for turnover?

·         What approaches may reduce turnover?   

Additionally, we analyzed the state’s collective actions to evaluate turnover throughout state government.  Our intent was to identify possible improvements in workforce planning that would have applicability beyond the four occupations we reviewed. 

We did not conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of each of the programs administered by these agencies.  Since perceptions form the basis on which individuals make decisions to stay or leave an occupation, we describe those viewpoints in this report, but we did not evaluate the issues raised by staff. 

B.  Methodology

This evaluation was conducted according to statutory requirements and professional standards and methods for governmental audits.  The research was conducted from December 1999 through March 2000.

In order to compile basic information about turnover in the four occupations, we reviewed relevant statutes, annual reports, budget documents, strategic plans, rules, policies, training manuals, and other internal documents.  We reviewed a considerable body of professional literature about turnover related to the occupations.

We worked with the Wyoming State Auditor’s Office (SAO) to obtain basic turnover statistics from the state’s payroll system for each of the occupations for 1995 through 1999.  To estimate the cost of turnover in 1999, we submitted a data request to DOC, WYDOT, DFS, and all cabinet-level agencies with information technology staff.  Since state agencies do not routinely track the actual costs of turnover, we asked the agencies to estimate those costs.  (See Appendix A and B for a description of this methodology and estimated costs.)

We contracted with the Department of Employment’s Research and Planning Division (R&P) to compare the wages of staff before they terminated employment with their corresponding wages after leaving.  Additionally, we collected comparative wage information from a variety of sources to evaluate wages within the occupations.  (See Appendix E for methodology and results.)

We relied on interviews and surveys with caseworkers, supervisors and managers conducted for our November 1999 study of DFS Child Protective Services (CPS) to furnish insights about caseworker turnover. To obtain input from staff in the other three occupations, we conducted focus groups with information technology staff, DOC correctional officers, and WYDOT highway patrol officers.  We also interviewed human resource, fiscal, and program managers within each of the four occupations. 

To gain a broad understanding of their perspectives on the reasons staff leave, we mailed surveys to former staff that had voluntarily terminated employment in the four occupations during the period 1995 to 1999. (See Appendix G for the survey methodology.)  For those occupations that routinely collect this information, we also reviewed exit interviews with staff that had terminated employment.

C.  Acknowledgments

The Legislative Service Office expresses appreciation to those who assisted in this research, especially personnel at the Department of Family Services, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Administration and Information.  We would also like to thank members of the ITCC and ITD officials for their assistance with information technology issues.  Additionally, we appreciate the work conducted by the Department of Employment and the State Auditor’s Office to provide comprehensive information about turnover in the four occupations we reviewed.