The North Carolina Office of State Personnel is using software from business intelligence leader SAS to support workforce planning of the state’s agencies and universities. NC OSP’s North Carolina Workforce Outlook and Retirement Knowledge System (NC WORKS) is a data warehouse and analytics application that enables state government to proactively manage and forecast talent needs.

As the fourth-fastest growing state in the country, North Carolina must likewise grow its ability to meet an increasing population’s needs. Compounding the challenge is an impending state worker shortage. Of 90,000 current employees, over 58 percent are baby boomers: 10 percent are eligible to retire in 2010, drastically increasing to 38 percent in 2015. Workforce planning is critical, according to Thomas Wright, State Personnel Director.

“Agencies, universities and colleges have different missions. It’s challenging enough to ensure all their employees have the competencies to do the work they need now, much less what they need for the future,” said Wright. “With upcoming mass retirements, more than ever we must be sure to have the right person at the right time for the right job.”

Pulling data from a variety of sources and using advanced data analytics, NC WORKS can predict voluntary and involuntary departures, retirements and vacancies, calculating the probability of employee turnover down to the individual. And it can forecast the eligible supply of candidates to fill openings.

“For the first time, using SAS, we can combine multiple information sources into a single repository,” said Sharon Howard, Human Resource Consultant, NC OSP. “The predictive modeling and forecasting capabilities have tremendous implications for managing talent in state government.”

In a demonstration project, NC OSP is using SAS to tackle the state’s nursing shortage at four large mental health facilities. By combining Board of Nursing data with nursing school graduation and admission numbers, the state will know how many potential hires are available and where they live. It can then tailor recruitment and retention efforts based on that information. Similar efforts are planned for other professional areas.

“We’re able to pinpoint where to focus recruitment efforts and look at different development programs and incentives to retain staff where certain occupational areas are under stress,” said Wright.

NC OSP also provides solid data to support proposals to state legislators, which is a key to receiving funding, according to Wright.