PEER-GRADED ASSIGNMENT: WORKFORCE PLANNING

APPLICATION: UNDERSTANDING BUSINESS LABOR CHALLENGES

AND FINDING EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS.
I. INTERNAL ANALYSIS:

Workforce planning is the process of balancing labour supply (skills) against the demand (numbers
needed). It includes analysing the current workforce, determining future workforce needs, identifying the
gap between the present and the future, and implementing solutions so that an organisation can
accomplish its mission, goals, and strategic plan. It’s about getting the right number of people with the
right skills employed in the right place at the right time, at the right cost and on the right contract to
deliver an organisation’s short and long-term objectives. Workforce planning can enable sustainable
organisation performance through better decision-making about the future people needs of the business.

Larger organisations may have dedicated workforce planning teams. Others may start the process
following a specific event such as a merger, acquisition or a transformational change project. But a focus
on broader workforce planning is important at any time. It can uncover obstacles or unrealistic targets that
could hinder strategic change, and provide solutions to mitigate risks to strategic objectives.

Workforce planning processes can:

 Reduce labour costs in favour of workforce deployment and flexibility.

 Identify and respond to changing customer needs.
 Identify relevant strategies for focussed people development.
 Target inefficiencies.
 Improve employee retention.
 Improve productivity and quality outputs.
 Improve employees’ work-life balance.
 Make recommendations to deliver strategic value through talent.

In turn, this will inform HR practices such as:

 Organisational design and development.

 Succession planning
 Work-life balance initiatives such as flexible working and well-being.
 Recruitment and selection.
 Retention planning.
 Talent management.
 Job design.
 Career planning.
 Learning and development focus.
 Reward and recognition.

Section 2. EXTERNAL FACTORS

Perhaps the main function of human resources departments is to maintain adequate staffing levels through
workforce planning. One external factor that influences the ability to recruit qualified candidates is the
labor market availability, which is affected by unemployment rates, number of qualified workers in the
reasonable commuting distance and, in some cases, the availability of applicants with specialized skills
such as nursing or technology. An organization might have difficulty identifying and attracting suitable
candidates, especially if the same skill sets are in demand throughout the industry.
The company's geographic location may also be a factor if the labor pool is not large enough in the
immediate area. Then, HR managers may need to focus their recruiting efforts outside the region and pay
relocation packages as appropriate to encourage qualified staff to take up a position.

EXTERNAL FACTOR: GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS

Federal and state workplace laws and regulations are external factors affecting human resource
management that require human resources to ensure the company is in compliance. Regulations can
influence how a company goes about hiring, training, compensating and even disciplining its workers,
and a misstep could result in sanctions against the company or even lawsuits filed by employees,
prospective employees, vendors and customers. An example is the Americans with Disabilities Act,
which in many cases creates the need for companies to modify their office configurations or provide other
reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

INTERNAL FACTOR: LEVEL OF GROWTH

An internal factor that impacts human resources is the company's rate of current and projected growth.
Companies experiencing aggressive growth and rapid expansion may require its human resources
department to focus on recruitment and staffing. More stagnant companies may place a greater focus on
efforts on employee retention and improving the company's culture and workplace environment through
upgrading job descriptions and enhancing compensation and fringe benefits programs. Downsizing
companies may have to take the regrettable decision to lose some of its staff; a message that's often left to
HR to relay.

INTERNAL FACTOR: USE OF TECHNOLOGY

One of the key internal factors affecting human resource planning is the willingness for the HR
department and company management to use technology to aid in certain key human resources functions.
For example, companies that make greater use of tools such as online benefits management, where
employees can make changes to their benefit plans on their own, provide human resources workers with
more time to focus on other areas like recruiting or training and employee development. This can free up
a considerable amount of time and resources across the organization.

SECTION 3. WORKFORCE PLANNING SOLUTIONS

Workforce planning, also called strategic workforce planning, is about making sure that the right person
is in the right job at the right moment. This means that there are not too many people available
(overstaffing) nor too few (understaffing).
Workforce planning thus solves staffing problems for today and for the future. According to Evers
(2014), strategic workforce planning is becoming increasingly important for a number of reasons.

 Demographic changes: An aging workforce poses a number of different problems, including

a lack of in-demand skills, reskilling challenges, and mass-retirement.
 Cost reduction: Increasing global competition forces companies to work smarter. At the
same time, the aging workforce is a more expensive one – but not necessarily a more
productive one.
  Talent management: Talented employees form a competitive advantage for the company.
Having people with the right drive and lining up a talent pipeline to replace the aging group of
senior management and executives in the company is essential.
 Flexibility: Today’s competitive landscape requires faster and more disruptive innovation.
The revenue produced by products that are less than a few years old has increased
tremendously in the last few decades. At the same time, the tactics that got us here won’t get
us where we need to go next.

THE END.