Task force hears workforce survey, auditors press for clear benchmarks

The Legislative Task Force on Government Efficiency heard a review of a statewide workforce-program survey and a briefing from the State Auditor's Office on the need for measurable benchmarks during the committee's meeting, members and staff said.

Auditor Josh Gallien and Dan Cox of the State Auditor's Office told the task force that while agencies supplied detailed program lists, the state lacks a consistent definition of what counts as a "workforce" program and — crucially — many programs lack pre‑specified outcome benchmarks auditors can evaluate.

"If you don't have criteria, you can't evaluate whether a program succeeded," Josh Gallien, North Dakota State Auditor, told the task force. "Benchmarks are one of the things we'd love to see more of in the development of these programs." Dan Cox, director of audit services, described the logic auditors use to judge results and said performance measures should be set up front so audits can compare expected outcomes to actual results.

The Department of Commerce told the panel how three programs track different kinds of outcomes. Katie How, deputy commissioner and workforce director for the Department of Commerce, described Operation Intern, a wage‑matching program for private‑sector internships. Commerce records about 80% retention in North Dakota's workforce one year after participants exit postsecondary education and about 70% after two years for cohorts it can measure; Commerce staff also reported roughly 60% retention at the five‑year mark for the cohorts that could be observed.

"We haven't nailed down what retention should be because the statutory intent of the program is to create internships, apprenticeships and work‑based experiences," How said. She told members Commerce is reviewing program structure, participant mix and employer reporting requirements and has increased the program's biennial appropriation for this cycle.

Sarah Adi Coleman, director of tourism and marketing for Commerce, described the state's "Find the Good Life" talent‑attraction marketing work and the campaign's marketing metrics: more than 2.35 million impressions, roughly 900,000 digital users and 7,767 form submissions (leads) over the campaign period reported to the task force. Commerce staff said 100 candidates who fully participated in the program had relocated as of the dates covered in their report; Commerce cautioned that the agency cannot measure how many people were influenced indirectly by advertising impressions.

Members pressed for more consistent outcomes and cross‑agency definitions. Several legislators said they want metrics that show how many workers programs trained or placed, how many remained in the state, and whether funds achieved the intended policy results.

Task force members also heard that Commerce's list of workforce programs and the inventory produced by agencies did not perfectly match: the auditor's review found programs Commerce included that some agencies did not report as workforce programs, and agencies reported programs Commerce did not list. "Different people have different definitions of what a workforce program is," Gallien said. The auditors noted roughly one in four programs appeared on one list and not the other, indicating the state's program inventory is incomplete without a shared definition.

Auditor staff recommended the task force and legislators push for performance measures at the time of appropriation or program establishment so the auditor can evaluate effectiveness later. Dan Cox walked the committee through a basic logic model (inputs → activities → outputs → outcomes → impacts) and stressed the point auditors need stated expectations (“x to y by when”) to form evaluation criteria.

Committee members and staff discussed next steps: legislative council policy analysts, newly added staff members, and the State Auditor's Office could help agencies and committees define appropriate benchmarks and reporting approaches. The auditor's office said it will evaluate programs against any benchmarks the legislature or agencies establish and that its performance audit team has the technical capacity to perform such reviews if the task force designates priorities.

The discussion flagged a near‑term issue: a large forthcoming health‑care transformation grant (presented to the task force by other speakers) that will include substantial workforce spending. Auditor staff warned that without prior benchmarks it will be difficult to measure whether that new funding produces sustainable workforce outcomes.

Members asked Commerce to bring back additional information and to invite agencies to a future meeting to describe certain programs' intended outcomes and available data. The task force did not take formal action at the meeting but directed staff to pursue clearer program definitions and options for requiring outcome metrics.