Enhancing Recruitment and Retention Efforts in the National Weather Service

The National Weather Service (NWS) has recently embarked on several new initiatives to enhance recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups in the agency, as highlighted in goal 1 of the NWS Strategic Plan 2023-2033, to ensure our workforce is representative of the diverse communities we serve. Outlined in detail in the complementing NWS Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Action Plan (SAP), specific tactical actions related to recruitment and retention that were taken in 2023 include:

• Establishment of a DEIA Recruitment Team to actively recruit Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and other employees from underrepresented groups
• Expansion of a buddy system to aid in the onboarding of new employees and establishment of connections while creating belonging across the organization
• Administration of a NWS BIPOC Barrier Analysis Panel to assess obstacles that commonly impact recruitment of BIPOC and underrepresented groups
• Development of targeted materials including recruitment flyers and audience-specific seasonal outreach presentations for underrepresented communities
• Enhancement of relationships with BIPOC groups in professional organizations and Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) Meteorological Departments
• Implementation of diverse hiring panels and diversity interview questions

This presentation will highlight the above efforts and approaches that NWS teams are working on to make recruitment and retention action verbs in the organization.