Is COVID-19 and the previous bushfires affecting your business?
Do you have rapidly changing needs?
Looking for new staff to meet demand?
Getting ready to make some redundancies?
Uncertainty?
You need a plan and strategy to support these changes, and this is where workforce planning comes into place. A workforce plan and strategy helps you adapt to the changing environment and market conditions.
How an Independent consultant can help?
In these uncertain and rapidly changing times, it is more important than ever that you have a current workforce plan and strategy to support these changes.
The content of your workforce plan will vary depending on your business and its specific requirements. The plan takes into account the workforce and organisational strategies and aims to reduce the risks to achieving your business outcomes.
Things to consider when making a workforce plan
Segment your workforce
Analyse demand and supply, considering current demand and supply, and future predicted supply.
Identify the Gaps. What they are? Analyse the Gaps.
Consider workforce affordability.
Focus on key workforce risks to achieving business outcomes.
Create and Implement your strategic workforce plan.
Focus on key workforce risks to achieving business outcomes
Plan for the future
Workforce planning isn’t about predicting the future, however, the use of scenario planning is a useful tool to understand possible futures. It requires thinking about future uncertainties, to develop an awareness of possible risks and the ability to identify and implement strategies to address them.
The iterative nature of workforce planning will also help mitigate the risks of an uncertain future. It’s easier to forecast 12 months ahead than it is five years ahead, however, you need to plan past 12 to 18 months for critical job roles—longer if these roles require a significant skills-development lead time (or ‘time to productivity’).
Should change be the only time you create or update your workforce plan
Most organisations are constantly undergoing change, so even if it is not planned structural changes, your organisation needs to be able to respond and adapt to the changing marketplaces in which it operates. It’s important to have a strategy and well thought out plans in place so you are in the position to activate the plan if this happens. The bushfires and COVID-19 outbreak are perfect examples of how external factors can influence your organisations’ workforce plans.
How to create the plan
It is a good idea to ensure sure your plan includes:
- Suggested outline
- Introduction
- Segment your workforce
- Gap analysis
- Supply analysis
- Demand analysis
- Business outcomes and organisational strategies
- Review and revise where required.