The Waters Consulting Group Releases Report on Succession Planning in Local Governments

Firm specializing in public sector HR services publishes findings of study that explored Succession Planning in local governments The Waters Consulting Group, a firm that specializes in human resources, compensation, performance management, executive recruitment services and Succession Planning for local governments, today announced the release of "A Gathering Storm: Succession Planning in the Public Sector." The report is based on the findings of The Waters Consulting Group's study that measured the opinions of local government employees regarding Succession Planning.

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) June 22, 2007 -- The Waters Consulting Group (http://www.watersconsulting.com/), a firm that specializes in human resources, compensation, performance management, executive recruitment services and Succession Planning for local governments, today announced the release of "A Gathering Storm: Succession Planning in the Public Sector." The report (http://www.watersconsulting.com/cfr.asp?refer=MPR062107) is based on the findings of The Waters Consulting Group's study that measured the opinions of local government employees regarding Succession Planning.

Succession Planning is a topic of interest, concern and action within local government and the general public sector arena. There are, however, a number of shortcomings and disconnects in developing, implementing and managing a Succession Planning program. The key findings of the report (http://www.watersconsulting.com/cfr.asp?refer=MPR062107) include:

•    Disparate opinions between Generations X and Y and veteran local government professionals about the need for and quality of Succession Planning in their departments and organizations.

•    Older employees tend to think that their department and organization both do a good job of preparing and training people for advancement to greater responsibility more so than younger workers.

•    Almost half of all respondents (48 percent) do not believe that their organization does a very good job of Succession Planning.

•    Underlying, largely unvoiced opinions between Generations X and Y that nothing is being done to help them to continue to grow in their local government career path.

•    Older employees tend to think that both their department and their organization take Succession Planning seriously more so than younger workers.

•    A great desire among younger generations to be coached, mentored or otherwise helped in their career advancement.

Further, the dearth of best practices in this area has the potential to contribute to a crisis of prepared and trained talent in the next five to 10 years and perhaps even threaten the entire city manager system of local government -- the alternative being a resurgence of the strong mayor system.

"This is the first focused, directed study we know of in local government," said Rollie Waters, founder and president of The Waters Consulting Group. "There are some clearly urgent needs around the best practices in Succession Planning that are not being met nor realistically addressed in local government. Our survey indicates what we have seen for some period now. This has been a topic that receives a considerable amount of lip service and superficial acknowledgment but alarmingly low levels of professional action."

To download the report, go to http://www.watersconsulting.com/cfr.asp?refer=MPR062107.

About The Waters Consulting Group, Inc.

The Waters Consulting Group focuses on compensation, performance appraisals, executive search, training and development consulting, Succession Planning and HR outsourcing for local government. As more and more professionals in city management approach retirement, many cities face a shortage of qualified candidates and are ill prepared for the increasingly urgent task of Succession Planning. In response to this challenge, The Waters Consulting Group now offers a powerful tool, CareerNavigator™, a scientifically based competency model and personality assessment survey. It reaches well beyond the scope of interviews to provide insightful, statistically reliable information for municipal governments in the selection, development and promotion of city managers and other senior management positions.

Media Contact:

David Hisbrook

817.204.0389

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