Practicing The Discipline of Workforce Planning
Practicing The Discipline of Workforce Planning
Practicing The Discipline of Workforce Planning
Workforce Planning
Overview
Workforce planning is the process an organization uses to analyze its workforce and
determine the steps it must take to prepare for future staffing needs.
Any business plan deals with resource requirements, and, just as financial requirements
need to be addressed, the business plan needs to ensure that the appropriate
workforce mix is available to accomplish plan goals and objectives. In workforce
planning, an organization conducts a systematic assessment of workforce content and
composition issues and determines what actions must be taken to respond to future
needs. The actions to be taken may depend on external factors (e.g., skill availability)
as well as internal factors (e.g., age of the workforce). These factors may determine
whether future skill needs will be met by recruiting, by training or by outsourcing the
work.
▪ The composition and content of the workforce that will be required to strategically
position the organization to deal with its possible futures and business objectives.
▪ The gaps that exist between the future "model" organization(s) and the existing
organization, including any special skills required by possible futures.
▪ The recruiting and training plans for permanent and contingent staff that must be
put in place to deal with those gaps.
▪ The determination of the outside sources that will be able to meet the skill needs
for functions or processes that are to be outsourced.
While many see workforce planning as purely a staffing tool for anticipating employment
needs, it can also be a critical tool for staff training and development and succession
planning. To be successful, organizations should conduct a regular and thorough
workforce planning assessment so that staffing needs can be measured, training and
development goals can be established, and contingent workforce options can be used
to create an optimally staffed and trained workforce able to respond to the needs of the
business.
Roles of HR and Senior Management in
Workforce Planning
Often, a workforce plan is completed simultaneously with organizational strategic
planning and is updated with the same frequency as the strategic plan. While the HR
department is typically responsible for the bulk of workforce planning initiatives, other
members of senior management may be involved in the workforce planning process,
including the CEO, COO, CFO and other leaders responsible for organizational
strategy. To ensure the effectiveness of a workforce plan, leaders should evaluate the
ability of the plan to anticipate and respond to future needs so that the organization can
make and execute sound business decisions. Performance indicators will include
standard organizational performance measures: profitability, ROI, productivity and so
on. An effective performance management system can have a positive impact on the
performance indicators of the organization. Benchmarks may also be established by
relying on industry data.
• Will the current workforce, with minimal retraining, have the skill sets necessary
to perform new duties with a new product line?
• Will current employees remain loyal to the organization if it has anticipated
changes in mind?
The future composition of the workforce must also be analyzed. This analysis will seek
answers to the following questions:
• How many employees will be necessary to achieve business plan goals and
objectives?
• What skills and competencies will be required for the new business?
• What is the composition of the available workforce population?
• What will the organization need to do to attract prospective employees?
• What will the organization need to do to attract and retain a diverse group of
workers?
Temporary workers
Part-time employees
Part-time employees are those who typically work less than a full-time schedule. Many
of these employees work a partial day every workday; some work part-week, and some
may work part-month. Some may even job-share with another part-time employee. Part-
time work can be used to attract diverse workers, including students, parents of young
children, older workers and others who need or want to work but do not wish to work a
full-time schedule. Most organizations require part-time employees to follow all policies
and procedures that their full-time employees must follow. Fewer or different benefits
may be offered to part-time employees than to full-time employees.
Outsourcing
Organizations may determine that certain noncore business functions would be better
accomplished by outsourcing them to an organization that specializes in those
functional areas. Jobs that are prime targets for outsourcing are those that require a skill
that is critical, in short supply and needed only periodically. If such needs can be
handled through contingent staff—for example, by using retirees—the organization will,
of course, be ahead. However, many high-demand, low-supply, leading-edge skill
needs may be met only through outsourcing to specialized contractors.
Companies and providers should work to structure an outsourcing contract that can
adapt to the client's changing needs. See Outsourcing the HR Function.
Organizations use a variety of models for succession planning, which may range from
self-identification or nomination to highly sophisticated software tools that maintain
information about individual employees' development plans, training and education
completed, classes taken, performance evaluations, and recommendations for future
development. See Engaging in Succession Planning.