A little over a week ago, the National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE) held its annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Representatives of 27 states attended. After a couple of days of panels and speakers (and a trip to Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby) the attendees had some time together, along with experts in the field from the conference’s sponsors, to highlight the most important topics and trends they’re experiencing in HR today.

We at Barrett and Greene, Inc. were able to attend the majority of the conference, but we missed this last session and so Kelly Hardwick, Mississippi’s personnel director and vice president of NASPE, was kind enough to act as wildly overqualified stringer for us and put together a list of the topics that came up. 

Following is his list:

• Remote/Telework plans and reactions: Federal mandates reshaped flexibility norms in some states. More and more states are going to a hybrid model to balance those concerns. Lastly, more states are looking at it from an equity lens for those whose jobs don’t allow remote work (correctional officers, healthcare providers, transportation workers, those in a rural setting, etc.).

• AI: theory vs. practice: Touched on the real-world deployment hurdles. Additionally, discussions focused on ethical guardrails (including the responsible use of AI in hiring, investigations, and other areas) and training gaps for state employees.

• DOGEisms and how state governments are reacting: The group touched on the fact that over half of all states had launched similar initiatives (example: Mississippi folks have dubbed it MOGE, Louisiana is LaDOGE). There was also discussion about how these trends tend to consolidate executive power and reduce autonomy for agencies.

• “Big Beautiful Bill” implications for state employees: The discussion was generally related to how states would deal with the tax shifts for overtime if a state chose to conform. There was also discussion about how changes in federal cost-sharing could pressure state budgets.

• Recruitment/Retention: Lots of discussion about how to reach Gen Z and mid-career differently. The conversation included the possibilities of AI  identifying patterns in attrition and retention risks. Lastly, there was discussion about promoting flexibility, professional development, and the purpose of public sector employment.

• Clarity, transparency, and building trust with vendors: There was discussion about balancing procurement compliance and relationship building as well as using partnerships with other associations to enhance best practices.

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