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Applying for Workforce Planning

We offer a five-step process for a typical workforce planning project.

Here is an effective five-step process for a typical workforce planning project (see Figure 4.2).

1. Create baseline and engage senior leaders. Baseline data on the current state of the organization as well as historic trends are collected. Engage senior business leaders in a conversation to understand business strategy and the organizational design and employee engagement requirements to deliver on business goals.
2. Identify productivity breakthrough opportunities. Based on the organizational requirements and the current state of organization, conduct a gap analysis. Build the business case for organizational design changes based on the gap analysis. Obtain senior leadership team commitment and the resources required to develop the workforce plan.
3. Conduct analysis and offer improvement ideas. Identify alternative paths the organization can take. Model the organization design’s impact on the workforce to assess any trade-offs senior leaders must understand and address. Identify the critical drivers of employee engagement, and suggest specific actions that can improve the level of engagement.
4. Develop comprehensive productivity action plan. In this step, the workforce plan is validated and approved by senior leaders. Specific and time-bound actions and goals are finalized. Key metrics are also identified to track progress against the action plan.
5. Implement and monitor. Work in conjunction with business leaders to implement design changes and employee engagement initiatives. Conduct periodic progress reviews and make adjustments to the action plan based on changing business plans and feedback received on regular employee surveys.

Figure 4.2

Five-Step Process for a Typical Workforce Planning Project

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