May is a month of observances such as Memorial Day, Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage, and National Mental Health Month. It is a time to reflect and highlight the significance of honoring others, promoting mental health awareness, and reminding us of the boundless potential of human talent and capabilities.

In this edition, we would like to share how the public sector can manage its talent in a rapidly changing society. Globally, we face major demographic shifts that offer both daunting challenges and transformational opportunities for the future. Public sector leaders have to navigate and adapt to many challenges at hand: to shape a robust talent agenda for the future, to advance the sector to be an even better place for all talent, to improve overall organizational productivity, and to cultivate an even kinder work culture. With all of this in mind, we have curated some recent research and articles on talent priorities and ways to assist you in addressing these challenges.

Lastly, we hope you have been enjoying the vibrant colors of spring. Please contact us with topics you’d like us to cover, other feedback or questions.

Thank you for your service,
Tim Ward and Jess Kahn from McKinsey’s US State & Local Government Practice

• Vast demographic changes are transforming the world and profoundly affecting how the public sector manages talent. How can public sector leaders shape a robust talent for the future?
• Women are better represented in the U.S. public and social sectors than in corporations. How can we make government an even better place for women to work, especially as they remain underrepresented in top jobs?
• Data-driven talent acquisition can improve government recruitment, leading to a stronger workforce. One federal grant-making entity saw a 12% increase in justifying budget requests for additional positions and was authorized to hire more employees over 2 years after implementing a data-driven. How can we Transforming public sector hiring with data-enabled talent ‘win rooms’?
  

• Organizational health is still the best predictor of long-term, sustainable performance. It refers to how effectively leaders “run the place” —that is, how they make decisions, allocate resources, operate day to day, and lead their teams with the goal of delivering high performance
• Our “Power to the Middle” research highlights that middle managers hold the key to the future of work, including unlocking gen AI. Role of middle managers needs to be reimagined and it will require action by both managers and senior leaders
• Hybrid work, talent shortages, polarizing politics, etc. can make fostering an organizational culture tougher than ever. Recent research reveals the difference empathy can make and it is cool to be kind
• To support our nurses, we must acknowledge their contributions and provide them with proper training and development opportunities. Our Insights article "How to Bridge the Experience Gap by Supporting Nurses of all Tenures" discusses several strategies and initiatives state governments could implement to attract and retain nursing professionals and address nursing shortages. It also highlights the challenges and research findings related to nursing and healthcare technology.
  

Option 1: Job skills of the future
One of the most pressing questions about generative AI (gen AI) is how it will reshape the workforce—with the fear of job displacement potentially at the forefront of many worker’s minds. ‘Future-proof skills’ can help workers avoid being displaced by future waves of automation

Is this newsletter helpful? Please let us know by clicking the button below and help us forward this to your colleagues so they can subscribe to receive this newsletter