Broadbanding Trends in the States

The authors report on the adoption of broadbanding in state civil service systems. Twelve states use a full-scale broadband system, and four use it on a limited scale. Eighteen states have considered it and decided against adoption, and the remaining 16 have not considered it. States that adopted it did so because they wanted to reduce the number of job classifications and implement pay for performance. To learn more about the realities of a broadband system, the authors present an in-depth analysis of three states—South Carolina, Virginia, and Florida—each of which implemented broadbanding at least 7 years ago. Findings indicate that it does not achieve its promise because the related administrative changes that must accompany it—especially budgetary and managerial discretion—failed to be simultaneously implemented. The authors conclude that if broadbanding is to achieve its objectives, its implementation must be accompanied by simultaneous administrative reforms.