21-01 — Lessons of Agency Resilience During Periods of Disruption

Original Scope: The onset and progress of the global COVID-19 pandemic have presented unprecedented challenges to state transportation agencies. Often changing public health precautions and guidelines, high absenteeism due to illness, fear and anxiety within agency and contractor workforces and the public generally, supply shortages, and economic instability and sudden changes in travel demand, and reduced revenues were among the more visible disruptions to “normal” operations. More subtle challenges arose from coping with telework, public demands for increased safety measures, and construction seasons with lighter than usual vehicle traffic. Throughout the experience agencies have learned valuable lessons and many have found innovative ways to maintain their operations and productivity. 

Anecdotal evidence from agencies in Washington State, Virginia, Vermont, Texas, Minnesota, Idaho, Georgia, and others indicates that the experiences gained in dealing with the pandemic disruptions may be useful to other agencies and in the preparing for and responding to future disruptions stemming from public health concerns or other sources. Technology played a key role in some instances, while others illustrate the value of flexible staffing policies, workforce adaptability, and effective leadership. The objective of this scan is to document agency experiences and the lessons learned that can ensure and facilitate agency resilience to maintain efficiency and effectiveness during disruption and post-event recovery, as well as agency preparedness for future disruptions.

The scan team will seek to identify the most innovative and beneficial elements of practice adopted by state transportation agencies to maintain their productivity and system performance, particularly as those activities have enhanced agency resilience and are likely to strengthen agencies’ adaptability if confronted by future disruptions. The scan will investigate such key factors as remote work policies and arrangements, use and configuration of physical workplace, continuity of services and prioritization of work, use and incorporation of technology; productivity and performance management, employee engagement, remote training and learning, communications, and leadership and culture.

Implementation and Impact

Following the scan workshop in April 2022, the scan team worked at the state, regional, and national levels to advance scan findings. Highlights of these activities include:

At the state and regional levels, scan findings were shared with Iowa DOT executive staff, Minnesota DOT Managers meeting, the Washington State DOT Resilience Goal Team and Washington State DOT Multimodal Development Division staff.

At the national / international levels, the scan team presented the scan outcomes to AASHTO Committee on Transportation Workforce Management, AASHTO Agency Administration Managing Committee, AASHTO HR Committee, and shared results with various DOT leaders during the 2023 AASHTO Annual Meeting. The scan SME conducted two webinars on the Workforce Management Playbook at AASHTO Subcommittee on Transportation Workforce Management meetings.

In March 2024, TRB hosted a webinar based on the outcomes of this scan entitled, Lessons of Agency Resilience During Periods of Disruption. The content of this webinar documented how agencies explored shifts in how they conduct business and adapt culture in response to evolving workforce priorities. As DOTs face challenges now and in the future, examples from this scan could contribute to strategic planning efforts and assist in future-proofing organizations. To view the slides or obtain a copy of the webinar recording, visit the webinar page on the National Academies website.

The scan team was integral to the creation of the new AASHTO Subcommittee on Transportation Workforce Management, a subcommittee of Agency Administration Managing Committee (AAMC). In July 2023, the scan SME conducted a four-hour workshop to 50 attendees on Workforce Management, which incorporated findings from both DS 19-02: Leading Practices in Strategic Workforce Management by Transportation Agencies and DS 21-01: Lessons of Agency Resilience During Periods of Disruption.

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