Audit: Oregon’s Dept. of Administrative Services should take a more strategic role in managing state’s workforce

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Amid changing work environments and an aging workforce, Oregon state government can do more to actively and strategically manage its workforce to best meet the needs of Oregonians, according to an audit released Thursday.

Oregon’s state government workforce includes more than 45,000 people in a wide variety of roles delivering important public services, such as public safety, education, and health care. A workforce of this size and breadth will inherently come with challenges, many of which can be addressed through comprehensive workforce planning and management.

Those challenges include ongoing and looming retirements, chronic staffing shortages, increased workloads, and employee burnout. One in four state workers are already eligible to retire, increasing the urgency with which agencies need to be prepared to fill those roles. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a hybrid-remote work environment, economic change in a competitive labor market, and lingering impacts on employee and workplace well-being.

Auditors assessed the role of the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) in guiding state agencies to conduct workforce planning and in administering Workday, the state enterprise resource planning system. While auditors found positive signs that indicate DAS has been generally doing well, auditors also found some areas where the agency can improve its efforts.

“This audit was really looking at redundancies and gaps in governance, and we’ve given DAS some important tools so they can assert a more balanced and deliberately planned role,” said Audits Director Kip Memmott. “Tone at the top is really important in determining how an agency will function, and I’m very encouraged by how DAS has responded to this audit.”

Specifically, auditors found:

• Unlike several other states, Oregon does not have a statewide strategic workforce planning process. While DAS provides guidance and structure to agencies, this role varies depending on how and when agencies choose to engage.
• The Workday system does not include meaningful employee competency data, making it more difficult to understand the gaps between availability of workforce supply, and the specific competencies needed.
• Oregon’s statutory framework for personnel administration does not clearly articulate agency vs. statewide roles and responsibilities and complicates integration of workforce management with financial management. The Legislature can help clarify this ambiguity by addressing these statutes.
• Efforts to optimize workforce planning and service delivery have begun. This includes improving workforce planning practices and additional resources being legislatively approved to help increase staff responsible for statewide human resources management.

Read the full report on the Secretary of State website.

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About the Oregon Audits Division

The division exists to fulfill the Secretary of State’s constitutional and statutory audit authority. We do this by auditing to protect the public interest and improve Oregon government. Our vision is to be the source of independent, reliable, useful, and timely information on state government operations and programs for the Governor, Legislature, and people of Oregon; and to provide transparency and accountability for the use of public resources.

About the Oregon Secretary of State

The Oregon Secretary of State is one of three constitutional offices created at statehood. Oregon’s Secretary of State is Oregon’s chief elections officer, chief auditor, chief archivist, and oversees business and nonprofit filings. The Secretary of State also serves as one of three members of the State Land Board and as the chair of the Oregon Sustainability Board. Under Article V, Section 8a of the Oregon Constitution, if there is a vacancy in the office of Governor, the Secretary of State becomes governor. As an independently elected constitutional officer, the Secretary of State answers directly and solely to the people of Oregon.

Salem, OR — The following is a statement from Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade about the Oregon Audits Division’s performance audit of the Department of Administrative Services:

“Oregon should model best practices in workforce management because that will improve our public services. I know other elected officials and agency leaders will be interested in the findings in this audit, as they can be broadly applied across state government. I want to thank DAS leadership and staff for their cooperation with the audit team and for agreeing to implement all of the report’s recommendations.”