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Public housing authorities (PHAs) across the U.S. are facing a major challenge: many of their employees are getting close to retirement. It’s estimated that over 50 percent of PHA and other public sector employees could retire within the next five years. This means PHAs need to have a plan in place to fill these upcoming vacancies with qualified people. However, it’s not easy — 79 percent of agencies cannot find qualified candidates for open positions, according to a survey by NeoGov, an HR solution provider for the public sector.
Succession planning is crucial for PHAs. It’s not just about finding someone to fill a job — it’s about keeping a skilled workforce that can serve their communities effectively. A good succession plan can also lead to better employee retention and engagement. In fact, organizations with strong plans have retention rates 50 percent higher than those without them.
To tackle these challenges, PHAs must ensure their staff possess the right skills and knowledge to step into leadership roles when needed. The Yardi Aspire Learning Management System (LMS) is a powerful tool that can help. Aspire delivers effective industry education, skill development and promotion preparation — helping PHAs build a strong pipeline of talent and ensuring smooth leadership transitions.
Why succession planning matters
Succession planning involves looking ahead and being prepared. According to the HUD Instructional Guide, succession planning helps PHAs in several key ways:
- Ensures long-term success: Confirms that PHAs maintain smooth service delivery, even during leadership changes.
- Reduces risks: Identifies important roles and prepares internal candidates when key positions become vacant.
- Promotes staff growth: Promotes staff development and prepares them for leadership roles, ensuring the right skills are in place.
How Aspire supports succession planning
Aspire offers several tools that are vital for effective succession planning, such as:
- Extensive catalog: Offers hundreds of short, interactive courses designed to fit within a busy workday from the LMS or on a mobile device with the Aspire App. The Aspire catalog covers a variety of training topics, including industry knowledge, fair housing and sexual harassment, safety, Yardi software, leadership, professional skills and more. PHAs can also create custom courses to ensure organization-specific learning needs are covered.
- Assess and develop internal talent: Evaluate your current workforce to identify high-potential employees who could fill key roles in the future with Aspire assessments. Then, map out the key skills needed for each role included in the strategic plan. Configure Aspire to automatically deliver or recommend development opportunities to equip these individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge. These include offering training, mentorship and leadership development assignments — all of which can be set up and tracked in Aspire.
IMAGE: Skills assigned report shows a Seattle Housing Authority employee’s progress toward assigned skill proficiency.
- Custom Learning Plans: Aspire’s embedded authoring tools allow succession plan teams to create custom learning plans that align with their succession goals. These plans clarify the promotion path, which often includes a variety of tasks, learning assignments, forms and surveys and assessments to make sure employees are fully prepared for future roles.
- External Certifications: Aspire helps PHAs stay compliant with HUD requirements, which is especially important during leadership transitions. In addition to assigning hundreds of short, program-specific courses for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), Section 8, and Enterprise Income Verification (EIV), Aspire clients can upload 3rd party training (i.e., industry certifications) and schedule annual recertification.
- Comprehensive Reporting: Use the interactive dashboards and scheduled reports to ensure that the required skills and competencies are in place and necessary certifications are up to date.
Implementing a succession plan with Aspire
- Identify Key Roles: Start by identifying the roles that are crucial for your PHA’s operations. Aspire can help document the responsibilities and skills needed for each role.
- Develop Potential Successors: Use Aspire to create and track personalized development plans for potential successors. These plans can include opportunities to earn badges and rewards, keeping staff motivated to build the skills needed for leadership roles.
- Monitor Progress and Revise: Regularly review the progress of potential successors using Aspire’s reporting features. Adjust learning plans as needed to address any skill gaps or new requirements.
Incorporating Yardi Aspire into your succession planning process gives your public housing authority the tools it needs to stay resilient and prepared for the future. Aspire’s features help ensure a smooth transition during leadership changes, keeping operations running smoothly and maintaining compliance with HUD regulations.
