Workforce Planning is a clearly defined strategy that identifies an organization’s current workforce needs and highlights the resources necessary to implement the plan successfully. It’s reviewed regularly so leaders can anticipate future business trends and make necessary adjustments.
The business challenges of the last few years have continued to increase the necessity for a well-thought-out workforce planning strategy to remain competitive and keep current with new technologies.
This guide explains what a workforce planning strategy is and why strategic business leaders need to develop a comprehensive plan to guide their business into a successful future.
Workforce planning uses an inclusive and holistic approach to identify the current business status and prepare for future trends and business sustainability.
AIHR identifies WFP as “a continual process of identifying gaps in the workforce and developing a methodical people plan to ensure an organization has the employees, skills, and knowledge needed to meet current and future business goals. It’s based on the organization’s long-term strategy and also accommodates for unexpected events and changes.”
It starts with understanding your business’s core strengths. Workers are a major reason to create a well-planned and executed strategy that includes a focus on the total well-being and engagement of its workforce.
It examines what has worked in the past and makes adjustments to continue utilizing proven strategies and discarding or adjusting things that have not contributed to the overall success.
Your plan will provide inclusive, focused plans to continue successful strategies or improve areas that are not aligned with the organization’s goals. Although every step in workforce planning can be described as critical to its success, change is something that can easily derail the most comprehensive strategy. Leaders must understand how business and societal changes significantly impact their business and develop strategies to address them.
There’s still a lot of work to do for business leaders. Only 33% of HR leaders surveyed feel their organizations are effective in the use of the data gathered. It’s clear that a different approach is needed to make workforce planning strategies more effective.
Step 1: Assess the current workforce:
Although it may be tempting to jump right in and begin planning, it’s critical to start with a thorough understanding of the current workforce. This step is the foundation that supports the overall plan. It identifies the current state and builds the foundation for the next step of the plan.
Evaluate current workforce demographics, skills, and performance.
Skills are not the only important factor in assessing the current workforce. It’s also important to understand various aspects that make up the worker population including typical age, relevant experience, diversity, and motivation factors.
Understanding the current skills and abilities of workers determines if the business has the right people in the right roles. Assessing current performance levels identifies where additional work is needed or where recognition can enhance already successful performers.
Use of HR analytics tools to gather and analyze workforce data. The days of using spreadsheets to track HR analytics are over. Using tools that are focused on and specifically designed to return swift, accurate results is the best guarantee of a successful assessment of results. Streamlining the process and using quantifiable results increases the credibility and validity of the results.
Step 2: Forecast future workforce needs:
Forecasting the future is challenging but it’s also one of the areas that businesses don’t focus on as much as they should. But it doesn’t have to be an impossible task. With the right tools and insight, it’s not only achievable but also critical to creating a strategic plan.
Leaders need to study market trends to predict their future workforce requirements. It’s important to start with a solid understanding of where the organization has been, where it is now, and where it wants (and needs) to go.
Look for new technologies and business trends as well as changes in staffing models such as attrition, retirement, demographics, and availability or scarcity of skills. Use scenario planning and trend analysis to identify and address needs or to take advantage of opportunities.
Step 3: Identify gaps:
A thorough understanding of current capabilities and future requirements will provide invaluable data for forecasting future needs.
Skills gaps and challenges don’t have to be problems. They can provide invaluable information about opportunities for improvement.
Step 4: Develop workforce strategies:
Use the data gathered to create specific recruitment, training and development strategies to close current and future gaps.
The strategies must match and complement the organization’s business goals. Any plan’s ultimate goal is to understand the issues that prevent it from succeeding or thriving. Ensure that your workforce plan aligns with your business goals.
Step 5: Implement and monitor plans:
Now that you have all of this great data, how do you put it into action? Try to include all stakeholders and key personnel in the implementation. Ensure that everyone understands the objective and possesses the information and direction needed to implement and monitor the plan and obtain buy-in from all parties.
A key part of a successful plan is continual review to assess how well it is working and make any needed adjustments.
Technology plays a key role in developing, maintaining, and measuring the success of your workforce planning strategy.
Utilizing technology and analytics streamlines the process reduces the amount of time needed to build the data set, and virtually eliminates human error. When correctly utilized, quantifiable results provide highly accurate information that is easily understood and critical to developing action items tailored to your particular needs.
The use of technology automates routine or simple tasks which frees workers to perform more specialized tasks. Machine learning can react faster than people in helping draw out the insights and inferences that might otherwise take reams of manpower or not be uncovered at all.
Input and support from key individuals, business units, or external influencers are critical to the success of the project. Employees also have a personal stake in workforce planning and can provide excellent and reality-based perceptions.
A well-planned workforce plan must also have a well-planned communication strategy. Schedule informal, small-group meetings or forums where participants are encouraged to ask questions and participate in the concept. Be open and honest about the intent of the plan and how it can benefit the individual as well as the organization.
We know that change is unpredictable and inevitable, but it can also be beneficial. A plan that is designed to withstand the unexpected is strong enough to be successful when change comes.
Involving stakeholders with deep knowledge of the business can identify scenarios that seem unlikely.
Workers and their ability to support the organization’s success are a major reason for developing a workforce plan. Invest in employees by providing them with personal and professional development opportunities and encourage their participation in the organization’s success.
Maintain a constant focus on obtaining and retaining the necessary skill sets.
Your workforce plan should be a dynamic process. It needs frequent care and upgrading to withstand and benefit from changes in the market.
Use your analytics to fine-tune your goals and be able to change direction or make modifications when data or goals change.
Workforce planning challenges are difficult to deal with, but they can also be a positive sign that your plan is comprehensive in scope and has identified existing issues. Plan for the challenges so you’re prepared to address them as they occur.
The quality of your results will only be as good as the information and planning that went into developing the plan. The results must be valid and reliable and be integrated with all key systems.
Assume that there may be inconsistencies and barriers to obtaining valid data and have a plan to address those issues.
Engaging stakeholders in the process wherever possible encourages buy-in and ownership. Frequent, open communication with the ability to question builds trust and support.
A static market is not always a healthy market. Scenario planning can identify possible solutions to address the unknown.
Building flexibility into your workforce plan means that you can pivot quickly to withstand unforeseen issues.
Netflix was a game-changer when it debuted in 1998. Leaders successfully anticipated that streaming from home would be embraced by their customers. As a result, Netflix became the first successful streaming company while Blockbuster lost its market share and ultimately closed the business.
A client of PwC was using spreadsheets and relying on inconsistent data. PwC implemented workforce planning strategies that enabled the client to make evidence-based workforce decisions.
Phillips, a global health technology leader, transitioned from manual spreadsheets to a workforce planning solution. The new process allows leaders to make real-time adjustments to address evolving conditions.
Each company utilized key components of workforce planning strategy to make significant improvements in business operations. Netflix utilized a forecasting strategy to pioneer a previously unknown way to watch TV that revolutionized the industry. Both PwC and Phillips recognized that data integrity and delivery could only be achieved with a new method of collecting, analyzing, and reporting data.
Workforce planning is a critical and comprehensive tool to assist companies in identifying workforce needs. It provides a road map for your business to:
Set clear objectives
Analyze the current workforce
Forecast future needs
Identify skill gaps and opportunities
Develop recruitment and retention strategies
Monitor and evaluate your progress
Workforce planning best practices are essential tools for savvy businesses. They provide specific, tailored strategies that businesses can easily adapt to their scenarios to prepare for their future and maintain their continued success.
Contact us today to learn how Agentnoon has helped businesses just like yours with their Workforce Planning needs.