JEFFERSON CITY, MO – The State of Missouri’s Information Technology Division (ITSD) is being nationally-recognized as one of the top two states in the country for “IT Workplace Planning” because of its efforts to address the need for a skilled IT workforce today and into the future. The Center for Digital Government provided Missouri with the recognition based on a review of the state’s 2022 Digital States Survey. Missouri received an overall grade of an A-, marking the sixth consecutive year the state has received an A- or better on the Digital States Survey.
According to the Center for Digital Government (CDG), an A- or better “reflects a state that demonstrated very strong innovation, high performing solutions with verifiable impacts across all categories. Excellent practices have been applied in all aspects of their operations, governance and administration.”
"Missouri is committed to recruitment and retention of our state workforce, while also focusing on innovative technologies to serve our customers," said Commissioner Ken Zellers, Office of Administration. "I am proud of the processes and solutions our talented team members are implementing throughout state government. We will continue to find more ways to move Missouri forward."
As recruiting and retention within the field of IT prove to be challenging across the country, Missouri continues to align with the Governor’s Priorities of workforce development and education. This is accomplished by fully-investing in IT professional development programs and learning platforms, enhancing our recruiting efforts, streamlining our hiring processes and training the talent of the future through a robust internship program.
Professional development and training opportunities include:
- A partnership with PluralSight for ongoing IT training courses and labs
- A six-month ITSD-University class to build IT leaders
- A comprehensive 12-month onboarding program, including mentorship
- Access to MOLearning, a platform powered by LinkedIn Learning
- Training for professional technical certifications
In December 2021, Governor Mike Parson included a 5.5% cost of living pay increase for most state employees in his recommended emergency supplemental budget. This unprecedented, mid-year request to immediately enact a statewide pay increase was a quick response from the Governor to meet each departments’ need for increased personnel budgets.
“Recruiting and maintaining a skilled workforce in our ITSD Division is essential to providing a high level of customer service to both our state employees and Missouri citizens,” said Missouri Chief Information Officer Jeffrey Wann. “In order for us to compete in today’s job market, we have had to not only look at the salaries of our employees, but also find innovative ways for them to grow professionally. Our commitment to long-term professional growth and continuing education has been at the center of our strategic employee retention planning.”
The CDG is a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. The CDG conducts a Digital States Survey every two years. The survey is a comprehensive study examining best practices, policies, and progress made by state governments in their use of digital technologies to better serve citizens and streamline operations. The survey serves as a benchmark for continuous improvement as well as a self-audit. The CDG awards a letter grade to each state's survey submission as a way of assessing progress over time.
For a complete list of the survey rankings, visit http://www.centerdigitalgov.com.