Senior Government Leaders and Industry Experts Discuss Successful Workforce Performance Strategies at Plateau Systems Event

Succession Planning, Competency Management, Integrated Performance Management and Learning Cited as Top Enablers to Address Critical Workforce Issues

Arlington, Va. • December 7, 2005 - Plateau Systems, a leading provider of software for developing, managing and optimizing organizational skills and talent, hosted a government workforce seminar yesterday to address one of the greatest challenges in government: looming workforce retirements and attracting new talent to public service. Titled, "Preparing for the Future – Accelerating Government Workforce Performance," the event provided more than 80 executive management human resources (HR) professionals with best practices for U.S. Federal agency employee development and performance management.

The program offered insight into succession planning, competency and skills management, employee performance management and development within the federal government. The opening speaker, Claire Schooley, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, discussed her recent research on the succession planning challenge in government. Paul Sparta, CEO of Plateau Systems, followed Claire with a presentation that outlined how learning and performance management would be key drivers of workforce productivity improvements in the public sector.

Dr. Ivan W. Armfield, D.M., Department of Transportation/OST/Office of Strategic Initiatives provided real world examples of how the federal government is tackling this issue by sharing competency assessment best practices at the Department of Transportation (DOT). The final speaker was Michael D. Dovilla, executive director of the Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) Council of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). He discussed some of the directions that Federal Human Resource Management is taking to address the most critical strategic human capital management issues.

Insights From Speakers:

Results from recent Forrester surveys found succession planning is credited with reducing turnover by 65% and that 88% of workers age 50 and older are willing to be retrained for new jobs.
By 2010, 50% of all U.S. Federal employees and 70% of all U.S. Federal senior managers will be eligible to retire.
The U.S. Federal Government is one of the leading industries adopting workforce performance management practices because it faces a greater set of challenges, like hiring restrictions, than most civilian organizations.
Key solutions to address the aging workforce challenge include attracting younger workers, effectively managing successions and positively leveraging employee competencies.
The need for active executive-level participation during the development of a formal performance management and competency assessment program is essential to effectively creating and implementing a workforce performance system.
When designing a learning management system, organizations should also use the same information for creating a performance management system – avoiding stovepipes that generate cost and time inefficiencies.
The HR leaders in government today are driving the change in human capital practices that will transform government workforce practices. Balancing both merit and mission, these new federal HR practices are designed to increase workforce capability and adaptability to face the new challenges of the 21st century.

"The challenges facing the public sector workforce have never been greater than they are today," said Paul Sparta, chairman and CEO of Plateau Systems. "Improving workforce performance and information technology are inextricably linked. Plateau looks forward to working with U.S. Federal agencies as they take the lead in deploying systems and developing best practices that accelerate government workforce performance and productivity."

Plateau Systems provides adaptable, Web-based software for developing, managing and optimizing organizational skills and talent to increase workforce productivity and business operations performance. Industry analysts that include Gartner, Forrester Research and Bersin & Associates recognize Plateau's depth of functionality, its superior technology and unparalleled customer satisfaction.

About Plateau: Plateau is a leading provider of adaptable Web-based software for developing, managing and optimizing organizational skills and talent to increase workforce productivity and business operations performance. Plateau's software is being used by some of the world's largest, most successful enterprises, including the American Red Cross, General Electric, Internal Revenue Service, and Wendy's International. Industry analysts, including Forrester Research and Bersin & Associates, have rated Plateau a leader in functionality, technology, and customer satisfaction. The company is headquartered in Arlington, Va. For more information, please visit www.plateau.com.

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