Workforce Planning

Workforce planning involves analyzing the workforce implications of a business plan and developing
solutions to address them. Steps include:

• Analyzing the organization's strategic goals.
• Determining competencies required to attain those goals (needs analysis).
• Conducting a talent assessment of the employee population.
• Performing a labor market analysis (availability).
• Identifying the gap between the current capabilities and the needs, which forms the basis of a
  talent-build (employee development), borrow (use of a contingent workforce and project-based
  work) or buy (staffing) matrix.

 

Organizational Capability Assessment

• On completion of a workforce plan, the next step is to conduct an organizational capability
  assessment. This assessment will focus on the factors that affect an organization's ability to
  attract, motivate and retain the talent needed to reach organizational objectives.

Attract

• Efficient and effective methods of attracting and acquiring talent are critical to success. In a
  strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis, "strengths" refers to the
  organizational qualities that would be difficult for a competitor to replicate. Because methods
  for producing products tend to be similar, an organization can distinguish itself from its
  competitors by developing and communicating its unique people advantage.

Motivate

To perpetuate and build on a competitive people advantage, organizations must understand what
attracts and motivates employees. Motivational factors frequently cited in research include:

• Training, development, and career.
• Immediate management.
• Performance management.
• Communication.
• Equal opportunities and fair treatment.
• Pay and benefits.
• Health and safety.
• Cooperation.
• Family friendliness.
• Job satisfaction

Leaders of high-performing organizations must strive to understand the mix and multitude of
motivational and engagement factors and to introduce efforts to influence them. Diversity and
individual values also play an important role in engagement.