What does Strategic Workforce Planning look like in a healthy organisation?
Author: Nick Richmond
25 January 2024
Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) is a term widely discussed, yet its significance, organisational challenges, and experience within a healthy and well-functioning entity often remain elusive. Why is SWP crucial, why do organisations grapple with it, and what characterises a successful implementation within a thriving organisation?
The core purpose of SWP is straightforward enough: to ensure an organisation possesses the right individuals, equipped with the requisite skills, in adequate numbers, precisely when needed and at a manageable cost, all to execute its strategic objectives.
| Despite its apparent simplicity, many organisations encounter hurdles in operationalising SWP. Here are the top three reasons we often observe: 1.Leadership and management priorities: Balancing future planning amidst present challenges proves daunting. Consequently, the responsibility for SWP frequently falls on HR, compounding their workload. The urgent consistently overshadows the important. 2.Strategy articulation and implementation: While organisations might possess a strategy, many struggle to articulate what specific changes are necessary to manifest this strategy. What services will the organisation be delivering, and how will they be delivered? A prevailing mindset fixates on the present without considering the necessary transformation. 3.Data Deficiency: Many organisations lack comprehensive people data, hindering their understanding of the current workforce and the ability to design future plans. Discrepancies in headcount’s and skill sets between departments persist. Surprisingly, organisational data often exceeds perceived deficiencies but lacks the requisite tools, skills, confidence, and language to influence business decisions effectively. |
| So what does good look like? Here are some basics to get you started: 1.Sufficient Daily Workforce: The organisation consistently maintains the required workforce, possessing appropriate expertise and skills, while being cost-effective. A simple, but effective test. 2.Future-focused Service Plan: A well-defined and universally understood service plan, translating the strategy into actionable services for customers and how these services will be executed (“the work”). 3.Structured Workforce Framework: Clear frameworks defining roles, skills, behaviours, estimated workforce numbers, a comprehensive view of the current and future workforce, and actionable strategies to bridge any gaps, all aligned with financial plans. 4.Culture of Strategic Investment: An organisational culture valuing long-term investment in its workforce, occasionally prioritising it over short-term urgencies, signifying a commitment to the important over the urgent. |
Curious to learn more about Strategic Workforce Planning?
Join us on 27th February, from 3 pm to 5 pm, to host a FREE webinar titled “Accelerating System Productivity and Efficiency through Strategic Workforce Planning.” During this session, we will share our perspectives on Strategic Workforce Planning and how organisations and ecosystems can develop a business-driven integrated plan. This plan, founded on robust economic analysis, ensures strategic positioning for sustained success.
To register for this FREE webinar, please email office@tricordant.com. Feel free to extend this invitation to colleagues who share an interest in this topic.