Introduction
The purpose of this proposal is to highlight the importance of strategic workforce planning, in the context of Kudler Fine Foods. The objectives of the proposal include the following. First, the purpose of workforce planning at Kudler Fine Foods will be highlighted.
Second, the use of workforce planning in addressing international employee demand and supply issues will be discussed. Finally, the importance of workforce planning in succession planning will be discussed.
The Purpose of Strategic Workforce Planning
Strategic workforce planning is the process through which an organization ensures that it has access to suitable talent to enhance its future success. The expected loss of knowledge through staff exists, as well as, the knowledge required to sustain the organization must be taken into account during workforce planning.
The knowledge required to sustain a business or an organization include technology, workforce intelligence, as well as, new skills. Hence, the purposes of workforce planning include the following.
First, workforce planning integrates human resource planning into the business’s strategic planning. Thus, the human resource management objectives will be aligned to the firm’s strategic goals, as well as, priorities. Second, workforce planning will enable Kathy to understand how the functions of her organization will change over time, and how such changes will impact job requirements.
Third, workforce planning provides a framework for analyzing and understanding changes in the workforce in terms of performance, skills, as well as, demographics. Fourth, it will enable Kathy to assess the ability of her workforce to respond to future job requirements.
The assessment will help in identifying gaps in the workforce in terms of skill requirement. Finally, workforce planning helps in formulating strategies for addressing staffing needs. In this context, the strategies should be based on the gaps identified in the workforce.
International Employee Supply and Demand
Workforce planning will help in addressing international employee supply and demand issues through supply analysis and demand analysis. Supply analysis is the process through which the current workforce is profiled and future workforce composition is predicted. Supply analysis involves analyzing the current workforce’s attributes, reviewing trend data, as well as, forecasting future workforce supply.
Profiling the workforce helps in identifying existing jobs, the number of employees executing each job, and the importance of each job. Additionally, it helps in determining the jobs or tasks that are no longer necessary in the organization. Supply analysis will also enable Kathy to determine the existing number of employees and positions, as well as, existing performance and competency levels.
Trend data gives a picture of past occurrences such as the past hiring patterns, turnover and retirement. Thus, supply analysis will help Kathy to predict the possibility of accessing the number of employees and type of skills she will need in the new markets.
Demand analysis focuses on identifying work or tasks that the organization must perform in future and the staff required to perform them. The information about the tasks to be performed in future should be based on Kudler Fine Food’s strategic plan. Decisions on the tasks to be performed in the future should also be based on information obtained or accessed through environmental scanning.
In this case, the business environment in Mexico and Canada will be analyzed in order to determine the tasks that should be performed in future. The environmental factors that are likely to affect workforce demand include legislative changes, and budget trends.
Demand analysis will also help in identifying demographic factors such as high turnover and aging population that can affect workforce demand in the new markets. Finally, demand analysis takes into account the effect of technological advancements on operations and jobs in an organization. Consequently, it will be possible to determine the effect of technology on employee demand in the new markets.
Succession Planning
Succession planning is the process through which important positions are identified and employees are prepared to fill them. Succession planning begins with assessment of the possibility of vacancies arising in key positions in the organization. The readiness of the existing employees to assume the important position is then analyzed.
The identified gaps should be addressed through appropriate strategies such as mentoring and training. Workforce planning helps in succession planning in the following ways.
First, workforce planning provides the relevant statistics that help in understanding staffing trends. Such statistics include recruitment, turnover, promotion, as well as, staff mobility rates. These statistics help in predicting the possibility of vacancies arising in future.
Second, workforce planning provides advice on how to change the staff profile in order to facilitate succession. Staff profile can be changed through appointments, promotions and transfers. Additionally, workforce planning provides information on the assistance that employees need to settle in new positions. For example, new managers can be trained in order to perfect their leadership skills.
Third, workforce planning enables organizations to deal with the change associated with succession. Preparing employees in advance to assume higher positions helps in avoiding the risks associated with unforeseeable employee exits. Additionally, all members of the organization will be prepared to work with their colleagues who assume the new positions.
Summary of Workforce Planning Principles
To begin with, workforce planning should involve all stakeholders in the organization. Thus, the employees, and the management should be involved in the formulation, and implementation of the strategic workforce plan. Strategic workforce planning is likely to succeed if the “management set the overall direction, pace, tone, goals and involves other stakeholders in formulating the strategy”.
The organization should define the essential skills, as well as, the competencies that it will need in the future in order to realize its strategic goals. Thus, the internal and external environmental factors that affect access to the needed skills and competencies must be analyzed.
Once an organization has identified the skill and competency gaps in its workforce, it can formulate strategies to address the identified gaps. The organization will also be able to align its human capital strategies to the overall business strategy in order to sustain the benefits of all essential skills and competencies. In this case, strategies include the policies and practices that facilitate acquisition and retention of talent.
The organization must also focus on building the capacity required to address administrative, and operation requirements for workforce planning. Finally, the progress of the organization towards achieving its human capital goals should be monitored and evaluated.
Summary of Workforce Planning Theory
Strategic planning involves getting the “right number of people with the right skills, experiences and competencies in the right jobs at the right time”.
It provides a framework for making human resources decisions based on the mission, desired competencies, strategic plan, and financial resources of an organization. Workforce planning enables organizations to anticipate change and identify strategies for addressing current and future workforce challenges.
The components of workforce planning include succession planning, projecting retirements, as well as, workforce demographics. Workforce planning provides information about the anticipated changes on these components and how the changes are likely to affect key positions in the organization. This enables managers to plan for timely replacement of lost skills and competencies in the workforce.
The success of an organization is contingent on the competencies of its workforce. Workforce planning enables the managers to identify the desired competencies and how to select employees with the required competencies. Additionally, workforce planning enables managers to address issues that drive workforce change.
An effective workforce plan should reflect the management, as well as, the environment of the firm. Thus, managers should focus on the information required for workforce planning and the expected outcomes. Developing a workforce plan involves conducting workforce analysis, gap analysis, transition planning, and competency assessments.
It also includes supply and demand analysis, solution analysis and monitoring and evaluation. These assessments illustrate the relationship between workforce planning and the organization’s goals, human resources strategy and budgetary allocations.
Supply analysis enables managers to identify the existing competencies, staff demographics, as well as, employment trends in the organization. Through competency analysis, baseline data on the current and future competency requirements of the organization can be obtained. The effect of workforce issues such as turnover and retirement can be described and predicted through trend analysis.
Demand analysis attempts to predict the future activities, as well as, workloads in the organization. It also describes the competency set required to achieve the goals of the organization in future. Demand analysis takes into account workforce changes caused by technology, workload, and work process.
Gap analysis involves “comparing the results of supply and demand analysis in order to identify the ‘gaps’ or differences between the existing competencies and the expected future competency set”. Gap analysis enables managers to determine whether the current competencies or number of personnel is more than or less than the future workforce needs of the organization.
Solution analysis provides “a framework for formulating strategies for closing or reducing the competency gaps”. The strategies that can be adopted to close the gaps include recruiting new employees, staff training and promoting employees. Solution analysis should enable the managers to select the strategy that will facilitate achievement of the desired workforce change.
Evaluation is the process in which the workforce plan is periodically and systematically reviewed. The missions and objectives of the workforce plan must be reviewed to ensure they remain relevant and valid.
The inconsistencies or problems noticed during the review process should be addressed by amending the workforce plan appropriately. In conclusion, effective workforce planning should be based on the internal and external environment of the organization. Additionally, the planning process should include all stakeholders.
References
Glower, J., Wirojanagud, P., & Gel, E. (2008). Heauristics for Workforce Planning with Worker Differences. European Journal of Operational Research, 190(3), 724-740.
Hertz, A., Lahrichi, N., & Widmer, M. (2010). A Flexible MILP Model for Multiple-Shift Workforce Planning Under Annualized Hours. European Journal of Operational Reserach, 200(3), 860-873.
Stolletz, R. (2010). Operational Workforce Planning for Check-in Counters at Airports. Transport Research: Logistics and Transport Review, 46(3), 414-425.
Toler, A., Shvarts, S., & Reuvani, H. (2010). A Report Card an the Physician Workforce: Israeli Health Care Market: Past experiences and Future Prospects. Health Policy, 97(1), 38-43.