Transit GM Q&A: How are you attracting talent?

Tina Quigley, GM
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Las Vegas 

"At the RTC, we know that the next generation of workers value work-life balance, flexible working hours, and digital solutions. We strive to provide these opportunities by offering telecommuting options, a compressed work week, a competitive benefits package, and personal growth and development initiatives. Our goal is to provide a compelling work environment that inspires employees everyday."                                                                                   Phil Washington, CEO
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Los Angeles

"We are creating a well-trained workforce to help us deliver the hundreds of thousands of jobs required to build, maintain, and operate 40 major transportation and highway projects in Measure M, the ballot measure for transportation that passed last November. With that in mind, we have launched a career pathways program that will recruit and train talent for well-paying jobs throughout our agency. Part of career pathways is a unique program called Workforce Initiative Now-LA (WIN-LA), which provides support for participants in areas such as life skills development, skill set enhancement, and educational attainment. These programs illustrate our commitment to attracting the best workforce of any transportation agency in the country."

Darrell Johnson, CEO
Orange County Transportation Authority
Orange, Calif.

"As a multimodal agency, focusing on transit, freeway planning and construction, streets, and active transportation, we know how important it is to attract and develop a diverse workforce of talented employees. OCTA offers paid internships and an Intern Development Academy, which allows college students to see the breadth of work we do and build skills to successfully enter the workforce. We also have a structured mentor program that teams developing employees with seasoned professionals so they can work one-on-one to identify and achieve career goals. Our Management Academy and Leadership Development Academy identify young leaders and works with them to advance their careers. Strong succession planning also ensures that younger employees are developing skills necessary to move up in the organization and gives us confidence that we have a deep roster of capable leaders in all divisions."

Rob Gannon, GM
King County Metro
Seattle

"Seattle is home to the world’s most successful and best known companies. King County Metro competes every day to attract top talent to our workforce, and we aim just as high to be the world’s most customer-focused public agency. Great pay and benefits is just the start, but workers also seek flex schedules and a respect for work/life balance. Once hired, we mentor, rotate assignments, and foster talent in order to build careers here. We recruit in underserved and historically disadvantaged communities to better reflect and serve our community, and are stronger thanks to our growing diversity."

Doran Barnes, Executive Director
Foothill Transit
West Covina, Calif.

"At Foothill Transit we know that our employees, new or seasoned, are hungry for opportunity. And we try to feed that hunger by not boxing people into static roles. Tuition reimbursement is one part of our strategy for preparing for those opportunities. Fostering leadership growth through participation in organizational learning programs at WTS, APTA, COMTO, TRB, and the Eno Foundation is another. This varied learning experience helps prepare our team for future career advancement when those opportunities present themselves. Incoming talent wants to be set up for success, and we actively work with them to reach their goals, not just for the good of Foothill Transit, but for the industry as a whole."

Nuria Fernandez, GM/CEO
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
San Jose, Calif.

"VTA has a multi-faceted approach to ensuring we have talented, dedicated professionals filling our ranks for the long term. Working with community partners, we offer paid internships that provide meaningful hands-on work experience focusing on VTA project-driven initiatives in a variety of disciplines. For full-time positions, targeted recruitment includes social media outreach, job fairs, and interactive vocational presentations at schools. VTA is also engaged in a regional workforce strategy that promotes the next generation of transportation leaders and employees in support of Bay Area communities."