When Holly Sample started at the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) nearly three decades ago, she was a customer service representative working on the front lines.

Today, she serves as the agency’s chief operating officer. For Sample, that career progression was thanks to leaders who took the time to share knowledge that wasn’t written in manuals or training guides.

“I got lucky because specific managers took the time to teach and show me things they weren’t required to,” she says. “A COO who started as a customer service rep? I’m the poster child for what can happen when you invest in your employees.”

Her experience led her and her colleagues to create the Indiana BMV’s Associate Enrichment Plan, a structured development program designed to prepare employees for future leadership opportunities before vacancies arise—all while encouraging newer employees to build long-term careers in public service.

Indiana’s program is just one example of how agencies are responding to a changing workforce. As veteran employees retire in growing numbers and younger generations enter public service with different expectations about career growth, flexibility and workplace culture, agencies face a dual challenge: preserving institutional knowledge while evolving workplace practices to attract and retain the next generation of employees.

At Risk of Being Lost

Succession planning is becoming increasingly urgent. Roughly 11,000 Americans reach retirement age each day, and, by 2030, every Baby Boomer will be at least 65 years old. The demographic shift is already visible inside agencies. At the Maine BMV, Deputy Secretary of State Cathie Curtis estimates that one in three supervisors will be eligible to retire within the next few years.

For motor vehicle organizations, where expertise is often built over decades of service, the question isn’t simply who will replace retiring employees. It’s how agencies can ensure that critical knowledge, leadership skills and organizational history are passed on before those employees leave.

“That institutional knowledge of how to apply processes to a single transaction is gained by experience and not necessarily found in a procedures manual,” Curtis says. The challenge becomes especially apparent when newer employees encounter unusual situations or infrequent requests that don’t fit neatly into standard workflows. Veteran staff often know how to navigate those areas because they’ve spent years serving customers and solving problems in real time.

In Indiana, Sample sees an additional risk: the loss of specialized operational and technological expertise. Indiana’s homegrown operating system was built by employees who are now beginning to retire, and newer staff may not yet have the same depth of understanding.

“We are at risk of losing the processes, the reasons behind them and the system knowledge across all aspects of our organization,” Sample says.

While some expertise inevitably leaves with retiring employees, Lt. Colonel Barry Bratt of the Colorado State Patrol points out that generational turnover also creates opportunities for agencies to evolve.

“As new people come into the workforce, they bring new and fresh ideas,” Bratt says. “They help us think outside of the box. Do we lose some knowledge? Yes, but we gain a lot with that new perspective. It balances itself out.”

A Roadmap Before Retirement

Many agencies are responding to impending retirements by making succession planning a consistent priority rather than a reactive hiring process.

For Bratt, who retired in July after 40 years in law enforcement, this preparation begins long before the vacancy occurs. Instead of waiting until someone is promoted, agencies should introduce employees to leadership opportunities early and create intentional handoff periods when retirements approach, Bratt says.

“When someone’s ready to retire, we try to do a transition,” Bratt says. “Hopefully, there will be the opportunity to lead the new employee, make introductions, go through files and offer guidance.”

In Québec, Renée Delisle, with the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), plans to retire in October. At the end of 2024, she transitioned from the director of standards development and business partnerships to the less demanding role of business opportunities advisor in road safety as she began to prepare for her retirement. Until October, she is focused on making sure that years of institutional knowledge remain accessible after her departure.

“I want to ensure that the work I did over the last decade leaves a clear trace so others can easily look up how and why things were done,” she says.

Her transition efforts include documenting project histories, annual planning cycles and organizational responsibilities, creating a roadmap that future employees can follow long after her retirement.

At the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), succession planning includes giving emerging leaders direct exposure to executive decision-making. Through the agency’s Executive Connect Fellowship program, participants work alongside executive leadership and gain firsthand experience with strategic initiatives, legislative processes and enterprise-wide leadership.

“It accelerated my understanding of our executive leadership team, enterprise thinking, stakeholder engagement and servant leadership,” says Julie Johnson, director of the Iowa DOT’s Administrative Services Division. She adds that other successful succession strategies to consider include formal mentoring programs, leadership shadowing opportunities, cross-training employees, rotational assignments and documentation of processes and decision-making. “Our team members across the organization have built a tremendous amount of knowledge through years of experience. If we don’t intentionally capture and share that knowledge, we miss an opportunity to strengthen our organization and prepare the next generation of leaders,” Johnson says.

Many agencies are responding to impending retirements by making succession planning a consistent priority rather than a reactive hiring process.

Indiana’s Associate Enrichment Plan is another example. Participants can step into higher-level roles, helping them determine whether leadership is the right fit while expanding the agency’s pool of qualified internal candidates. “The program goes beyond observation,” Sample says. “They don’t just watch; they do the work.” Even employees who decide not to pursue promotion leave with broader organizational knowledge and new skills.

New Generation, New Expectations

While agencies work to preserve organizational knowledge, they must also adapt to a younger workforce that has different priorities and views on work than previous generations.

Delisle says younger workers are much more likely to seek roles that align with their personal values and long-term goals.

“Traditionally, government benefits like insurance, pension funds and job security were the primary attractors for older generations,” she says. “This is no longer as true for younger workers, who prioritize stimulating roles aligned with their values over pure comfort.”

For Sample, the shift in priorities became clear during a recent hiring process. A candidate choosing between two positions passed on the higher-paying role in favor of one that offered greater exposure to decision-making, learning options and career development.

“The candidate actually picked the lower- paying job because of those opportunities,” Sample says. “The current workforce wants to see where its next opportunity is. People want to work for organizations that invest in them, focus on upskilling and provide a clear path for growth. Employee experience and upskilling can no longer be treated as an afterthought.”

The desire for career growth is another recurring theme among agency employees. In Maine, Curtis says many employees now want to understand advancement opportunities from the beginning of their careers.

“Whereas in the past people were concerned with stability, people now want to know what the path to advancement is as soon as they start,” Curtis says. “They want regular and clear feedback with the opportunity to talk about how they’re doing, what’s next for them and what development opportunities are available to them.”

Work-life balance has also become a larger priority. Bratt has seen younger employees place greater value on flexibility and personal time than previous generations.

The agencies most likely to succeed will be those preparing for vacancies, treating employee development as a strategic priority and embracing the value new generations present.

“My generation was probably a little bit more focused on work,” he says. “Overtime doesn’t matter nearly as much to my new employees. It’s the ability to have the time off.”

Sources agree that many of these changing expectations are positive developments. Johnson says younger employees are eager to contribute ideas and improve the organizations they join. At the same time, Delisle believes their emphasis on purpose is pushing agencies to become better employers, which in turn can help retain these employees.

“Unlike older generations, younger workers change jobs much more frequently and do not follow a linear career path; they may even switch professional careers entirely,” Delisle observes. “To be effective, leaders need to explicitly communicate why a task is being assigned, who benefits from it and why it is worth doing.”

Investing in the Future

While succession and generational workforce challenges will likely remain for the foreseeable future, agencies have the opportunity to prepare.

Sources agree that the agencies most likely to succeed will be those preparing for vacancies, treating employee development as a strategic priority and embracing the value new generations present. Those efforts can help agencies navigate workforce transitions while continuing to deliver on their mission to the public.

“Public service offers an incredible opportunity to make a meaningful impact,” Johnson says. “When we invest in people and leadership intentionally, we strengthen not only our workforce but our ability to serve the public for generations to come.”