Process for Strategic Workforce Planning

Process for Strategic Workforce Planning

For businesses of all sizes and in all sectors, workforce planning is an essential exercise. In order to ensure that the business has the appropriate amount of employees with the appropriate capabilities in the right location at the right time, it requires forecasting future personnel needs and making decisions on how to meet those needs.

Having a strong personnel planning strategy in place is crucial for firms in the quickly evolving business climate of today. Organizations may make sure they have the resources necessary to achieve their business objectives and maintain their competitiveness by taking the time to examine their present and future personnel needs.

While many only view workforce planning as a staffing tool for predicting employment needs, it may also be a vital tool for succession planning and staff training and development. Organizations that want to succeed should regularly and thoroughly assess their workforce planning so that staffing needs can be determined, training and development objectives can be established, and contingent workforce options can be used to build an ideal workforce that is well-trained and capable of meeting the demands of the business.

Steps in the Workforce Planning Process

Demand analysis: In this step, the organization's future staffing needs are projected based on various corporate objectives, growth strategies, and market shifts. 
Supply model: In this step, the business evaluates the size, skill levels, and demographics of its current workforce and forecasts the availability of a future labour force. 
Gap analysis: To ascertain if there is a deficit or surplus of workers, the discrepancy between the demand and supply of personnel is examined. 
Solution analysis: The organisation determines and assesses viable solutions, such as hiring, training, and succession planning, to satisfy its human needs based on the gap analysis.

Every organisation has a different succession plan that covers different job categories. Traditionally, only executive-level employees were covered by these programmes. However, organisations have started choosing replacements for roles across the board in recent years. The necessity for current succession planning grows during periods of economic turmoil when companies' and their employees' financial stability may be in doubt. A shaky economic picture increases the likelihood of downsizing, mergers, and acquisitions. Implementing a succession plan is a crucial tactic a business can take to lower turnover costs and promote smooth transitions in light of these occurrences potentially increasing turnover. A succession plan can also encourage employee loyalty because it shows workers that the company supports their professional growth and internal expansion.

Reference: 
Program Course (Analytics for HR) Under - Dr. Gunjan Mohan Sharma
The Amazing Ways How Unilever Uses Artificial Intelligence To Recruit & Train Thousands Of Employees Investing in People - Wayne Cascio, John Boudreau