Federal prisons and correctional facilities are experiencing detrimental staffing shortages. Just a few months ago, the Federal Corrections Complex in Florida reported a 14% vacancy rate among its correctional department employees. There are many possible causes of this staffing shortage, including retiring workers, difficulties attracting and retaining the workforce, and a lack of proper compliance training or emphasis on career development. This severe staffing issue poses many threats to correctional organizations, such as:
Retiring Workers:
As employees get older and approach retirement, current employees must stay up to date with compliance training. Not only is compliance one piece of the puzzle, but it’s also vital that federal organizations address skill-level gaps and development. Hence, they are prepared to step in as some more mature, knowledgeable employees leave.
Workforce Retention:
Being short-staffed can create additional stress on current workers as more experienced workers leave, creating a larger knowledge gap. As a result, this could lead to increased burnout among employees, an inadequate approach to workplace incidents, and employees taking on tasks they are unequipped to handle. Upskilling and reskilling your workforce could lead to a stronger foundational set of skills that your organization can continue to work from.
With proper training programs in place, federal agencies could conduct onboarding more efficiently. In doing so, your workers are getting to work quicker and learning essential processes on the job. Additionally, with an LMS that has Career Development capabilities, government agencies can gain insight to strategically plan training to address knowledge gaps or refresh employees on critical skills.
