Praticando um planejamento eficaz da força de trabalho

Practicing effective workforce planning

During the Great Resignation and beyond, it's important to have the right people in the right roles and prepare your organization for the future. That's where workforce planning comes in.

Imagem em destaque

In November 2021, a record 4.53 million Americans quit their jobs. Similar patterns are appearing around the world as we find ourselves in the midst of the so-called “ Great Renunciation .”

Many factors contribute to the Great Renunciation. The pandemic certainly played a role, causing people to reevaluate and shift priorities and mindsets. Many people are seeking a better work-life balance. Others are still burnt out, while some are changing careers completely.

Large-scale layoffs leave employers in the lurch. What do they do now? This is where workforce planning comes into play.

What is workforce planning?

Workforce planning , in a nutshell, means that an organization's leadership assigns and delegates the most appropriate tasks and responsibilities to the right individuals. Companies formulate a strategy to ensure they do not face staff shortages or layoffs, nor do they overcrowd their offices – virtual or physical – with more employees than they can reasonably accommodate.

This is a delicate balance, especially in uncertain times like the Great Renunciation. It requires the input of human resources and recruiters, senior management and all department managers. It also involves taking advantage of specific tools and technologies.

Workforce planning is part of a company's overall strategy, focusing first on results and then accounting for the skills and roles needed to achieve those results and fill gaps.

Why is that so important?

Workforce planning preemptively solves problems that may very well arise in your organization. It allows you to:

  • Consider the skill sets you need at any given time
  • Reduce costs associated with the hiring and onboarding process
  • Better retain employees and ensure they have a path to follow within the company
  • Improve your products and services
  • Improve your company culture
  • Avoid possible catastrophes
  • Assess risks and consequences
  • Prioritize your organizational needs

The role of technology in workforce planning

While workforce planning involves people – the people your company must have in its group to achieve the results it needs – technology is critical to effectively executing the steps in the process. Today, organizations rely on digital tools to formulate and manage strategies of all types, and workforce planning is no different.

Organizations use software to generate reports on their employees and their overall productivity, for example. Equipped with dashboards that display real-time analytics, workforce planning software can also help you evaluate output versus input, in terms of efforts and return, essentially allowing you to see the cost-effectiveness of your employees.

People analytics and performance analytics also play a critical role. This data makes it possible to evaluate the relationships between the people themselves and the business results, seeing what, precisely, is generating results.

Even technologies that are not specifically called workforce planning software can play a role in the process. For example, project management tools help you see investment and progress on specific initiatives, which in turn allows you to identify gaps and consider how you can increase productivity within your organization.

Human resources platforms and tools also help. Applicant tracking software (ATS), for example, helps recruiters identify potentially suitable candidates based on keywords and other factors, without a human professional having to manually scan resumes. Not only does this help you fill your organization and fill roles, but it also allows you to hire a more diverse workforce since identifying information and demographics are eliminated from the process.

Even payroll systems will give you a clearer picture of your personnel-related expenses and help you see the value employees are adding to your organization, giving you more information to make educated decisions .

The Goals and Phases of Workforce Planning

The overall goal of workforce planning is to ensure that the right people are in the right roles within your organization. But there are a series of other objectives associated with this process, such as:

  • Support your employment and recruitment strategies with hard data
  • Understand how your business works cohesively
  • Making progress towards future-proofing and protecting your business
  • Gaining a competitive advantage in your market and industry
  • Establishing an agile and flexible workforce
  • Incorporating the necessary skills into your group

What are the steps and stages involved in workforce planning?

How, then, do you establish an effective workforce planning system and process? This will look a little different depending on the nature, type and goals of your specific organization, but the stages are generally as follows:

  • Assess your business’s overall goals
  • Assess the roles and responsibilities necessary to achieve your organization's mission and objectives
  • Align these functions with key goals to formulate new specific personnel objectives
  • Assess the market demand for your organization's services
  • Assess how workforce needs have changed in your industry over time
  • Identify existing gaps and gaps in your business
  • Identify redundancies or functions that can be combined
  • Create recruitment strategies to obtain the skills needed in your organization
  • Continue monitoring your performance and adjusting your strategies based on your needs at any given time

If you haven't given much thought to workforce planning, it's time to start. This is a critical process for your organization at any time, but it's especially crucial now, when companies of virtually all types are facing high rates of employee turnover.

As a forward-thinking business , you must incorporate this process into your fold, giving it the attention it deserves. Moving forward will allow you to future-proof your organization and keep it thriving, growing, and successful.

Source: BairesDev

Conteúdo relacionado

Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.