This document discusses workforce planning, including: - Defining workforce planning as determining current and future labor needs in terms of number of employees, skills, timing, and location. - Involving assessing factors like staffing levels, turnover, internal/external demands and supplies of labor, and developing strategies to achieve staffing targets through training, recruitment, or staff reduction. - Noting the value of workforce planning in preventing labor issues but also its limitations if not based on quality information and adaptable to changing conditions.

1. 3.17 Developing and
implementing workforce
plans

2. identify and
explain
components of a
workforce plan
assess the
factors
influencing
workforce plans
Learning objectives
Assess the
value of using
workforce
plans
Analyse positive
and negative
effects of
implementing a
workforce plan

3. What is workforce planning?
Definition
Definition
The process of determining
The process of determining
the labour needs of the
the labour needs of the
business now and in the future
business now and in the future

4. How many?
How many?
total employees,
total employees,
full time, part
full time, part
time
time
When
When
needed?
needed?
What
What
skills?
skills?
Where
Where
needed?
needed?
What does it involve?
How to achieve targets?
How to achieve targets?
Increase staffing through: training;
Increase staffing through: training;
redeployment, external recruitment
redeployment, external recruitment
Decrease staffing (rationalise) through: natural
Decrease staffing (rationalise) through: natural
wastage; voluntary redundancy; early
wastage; voluntary redundancy; early
retirement; compulsory redundancy
retirement; compulsory redundancy

5. Staff turnover
Staff turnover
Proportion of staff leaving over a period of time
Proportion of staff leaving over a period of time
number of staff leaving in given time period
x 100
average number of staff in post in given time period
Demand: internal influences
Functional and
Functional and
strategic decisions
strategic decisions
eg move to direct
eg move to direct
marketing or telesales, new
marketing or telesales, new
products
products
Sales
Sales
total, by region,
total, by region,
product,
product,
country
country

6. Task 1
 Use the information on the worksheet provided to
calculate the labour turnover rate for Steward
and Mathers over the period 2004 - 2008

7. Task 2
 Read the information provided on the worksheet
for Pickerell’s
 Calculate the number of staff that need to be
recruited in 2008 in each of the categories
mentioned
 How would the number of full-time staff below
manager level that needed to be recruited be
affected by additional training which reduced
labour turnover by 20%?

8. Competition
Competition
tends to reduce staffing
tends to reduce staffing
needs, raise skills or
needs, raise skills or
flexibility needed
flexibility needed
Technology
Technology
tends to reduce
tends to reduce
staffing needs or
staffing needs or
raise skills needed
raise skills needed
Demand: external influences
Changing production techniques
Changing production techniques
improving productivity through new
improving productivity through new
machinery, teamworking reduces need for
machinery, teamworking reduces need for
workers and increases skills required
workers and increases skills required

9. Promotion
Promotion
Staff
Staff
development and
development and
training
training
Supply: internal influences
Flexibility
Flexibility
changing workforce
changing workforce
practices may help
practices may help
supply of labour
supply of labour
Staff loss and
Staff loss and
retirement
retirement

10. Competition
Competition
Housing
Housing
market
market
availability and
availability and
price
price
Public
Public
transport
transport
Unemployment
Unemployment
Supply: external influences
Availability
Availability
of skills
of skills
Availability of
Availability of
flexible workers
flexible workers
Population
Population
Government training
Government training
and subsidies
and subsidies

11. Employee / employer relations
Employee / employer relations
Internal recruitment and training tend to
Internal recruitment and training tend to
motivate staff but may not suit needs of
motivate staff but may not suit needs of
employer
employer
Key issues
Corporate image
Corporate image
particularly important
particularly important
when there is a need to
when there is a need to
downsize as may impact
downsize as may impact
on sales
on sales
Costs
Costs
Internal
Internal
recruitment can be
recruitment can be
more cost
more cost
effective
effective

12. Prevents unforeseen difficulties
Prevents unforeseen difficulties
labour shortages and surpluses are costly
labour shortages and surpluses are costly
Value of workforce planning
Limitations
Limitations
only as effective as quality of information on
only as effective as quality of information on
which they are based and how appropriate
which they are based and how appropriate
plans are ––they need to be adaptable to
plans are they need to be adaptable to
changing strategy and external environment
changing strategy and external environment

13. Task 3
 Use the Work Foundation website to research
examples of workforce plans implemented by one
of the following businesses / organisations








Elli Lilly
Lloyds TSB
Marks and Spencer
Price Waterhouse Coopers
Royal Bank of Scotland
Unilever
BT
Inland Revenue