Strategic Workforce Planning research, process and best practice guidelines and strategies for Talent Attraction

1. BEST PRACTICE STRATEGIC
WORKFORCE PLANNING (SWP) AND
TALENT ATTRACTION
CHARLES COTTER
14 MARCH 2014
PALAZZO HOTEL, MONTECASINO

2. Planning
 Attracting
 Retaining
Motivating
Evaluating
Developing
SCOPE OF PRESENTATION – HRM
VALUE CHAIN

3. DEFINING STRATEGIC WORKFORCE
PLANNING

4. HOLISTIC SWP PROCESS

5. GETTING IT “RIGHT”

6.  Aligned with organization’s strategic plans
 Future-focused, adopting a strategic, medium to long-
term approach
 Pro-active, sensitive and responsive to (internal and
external) environmental change and trends
 Organized, well coordinated and systematic approach
 Collaborative and partnering effort (HRM has co-opted
business partners to the process)
DIAGNOSIS: 10 BEST PRACTICE
GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE SWP

7.  Integrated (bundled) with other HR processes e.g. Succession
Planning and Recruitment
 Generates meaningful business intelligence which informs
business planning and supports strategic decision-making
 Integrated both scientific (HRM metrics and analytics) and
artistic (planning) principles
 Continuously monitored, reviewed, evaluated and adapted
 Yields a positive ROI, with tangible/demonstrable outcomes and
impact – creates sustainable HCM competitive advantages
DIAGNOSIS: 10 BEST PRACTICE
GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE SWP

8.  Although 92% of companies have some level of workforce
planning, only 21% take a strategic, long-term approach to
addressing the talent demand, talent supply and the actions
necessary to close the gap between the two.
 Although best-practice companies align workforce planning as
an integral part of their business and financial planning, 67% of
companies at every level still conduct workforce planning on an
“as-needed” basis.
 Only 25% of workforce plans are effective at helping business
leaders forecast revenue and operating budgets.
 Only 27% of workforce planning processes are conducted by
recruiting and staffing departments . The majority of workforce
planning processes are owned by individual business leaders –
so they are disjointed from recruiting and even HR.
RESEARCH-BASED (BERSIN) REALITY
CHECK

9. LEVELS OF SWP MATURITY

10.  According to Bersin & Associates:
 Only 11% of organizations have currently
reached Level 3 of Maturity.
 Only 10% have reached Level 4.
LEVELS OF SWP MATURITY -
RESEARCH

11.  “Strategic workforce planning helps organizations understand the talent
required to deliver their strategy – without it, the costs are significant.” (Hay
Group UK)
 “A talented and aligned workforce is crucial for bringing strategy to life and
ensuring an organization delivers on its objectives” (Hay Group UK)
 “Bringing together the right information with the right people will
dramatically improve a company’s ability to develop and act on strategic
business opportunities” (Bill Gates)
 “CEO’s expect the Human Resources function to play a much more active role
in enabling business strategies.” (Deloitte, 2013)
 “A company’s employees are its greatest asset and your people are your
product .” (Richard Branson)
THE STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE OF
WORKFORCE PLANNING

12. SWP PROCESS ILLUSTRATED

13.  SCANNING
 P ROFILING
 ANALYZING
 DEVELOPING
 I MPLEMENTING
 CONTROLLING
SWP: S-P-A-D-I-C PROCESS/CYCLE

14.  Reviewing current HRM and organizational
strategies (Strategic Intent)
 Conducting an environmental scan
 Identifying workforce trends and challenges
 Benchmarking
 Preferred Scanning tools – SWOT and PESTEL
Analyses
STEP 1: SCANNING – STRATEGIC
ANALYSIS

15.  Forecasting HR Demand (Futuring)
 Measuring Current Supply
STEP 2: PROFILING

16.  "Futuring is the field of using a systematic process for thinking
about, picturing possible outcomes, and planning for the future.
Futurists are people who actively view the present world as a
window on possible future outcomes. They watch trends and
try to envision what might happen.“ (Kirkwood, 2011)
 Futuring is a broader concept than the forecasting traditionally
done in Workforce Planning and enables organizations to look at
the future in four different ways (Cillie-Schmidt, 2013):
 The possible future - what could happen
 The plausible future - what could realistically happen
 The probable future - what is likely to happen
 The preferred future - what we want to happen
FUTURING

17.  Forecasting should consider the past and the present
requirements as well as future organizational directions
Number of employees
Type of employees
Skills requirements of these employees
Consider and assess the challenges and constraints
FORECASTING HR DEMAND

18.  Assess the current HR capacity of the organization by means of
the Skill inventories method
The knowledge, skills and abilities of your current staff need to be
identified
Employee experience, education and special skills
Certificates or additional training should also be included
 A forecast of the supply of employees projected to join the
organization from outside sources
 HRM indicators, metrics and indices e.g. turnover rates
MEASURING CURRENT SUPPLY

19. STEP 3: ANALYZING –
RECONCILING/GAP ANALYSIS

20. STEP 4: DEVELOPING – STRATEGIC
HR ACTION PLANS

21.  Develop and initiate a Resourcing Strategy
 Action plan-based implementation methodology
 Matching strategy (intervention) with scenario
(surplus or deficit)
STEP 5: IMPLEMENTING -
INTERVENTIONS

22.  Tracking implementation progress – monitoring,
measuring and evaluating
STEP 6: CONTROLLING

23.  Objective: Magnetically attracting the “Cream of the
Crop”
 Objective: Facilitating an optimal Person-
Environment (P-E) fit
 Strategy: Developing, articulating and advocating of
a compelling Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
 Strategy: Employer Branding – (re) positioning as an
“Employer of Choice”
STRATEGIC TALENT ATTRACTING

24.  A resourcing strategy is concerned with shaping what an organization has
to offer to people to join and stay in the organization. (Armstrong, 2011)
 EVP is a statement of what an organization will provide for people that
they will value - why the total work experience at their organization is
superior to that at other organizations.
 The EVP is an employee-centered approach that is aligned to existing,
integrated workforce planning strategies because it has been informed by
existing employees and the external target audience.
 Key Selling Points (KSP): Host of financial and non-financial benefits
 Non-financial benefits:
 The attractiveness of the organization
 Responsibility – corporate conduct, ethics and CSR/CSI
 Respect – diversity and inclusiveness
 Work-life balance
 Opportunities for personal and professional growth
EMPLOYEE VALUE PROPOSITION
(EVP)

25. COMPONENTS OF VIABLE EVP

26. HISTORICAL EVP’S

27.  “At Campbell Arnott’s, we are committed to attracting a diverse group
of talented employees and providing all our team members with
development opportunities and a culture in which they can flourish.”
CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLE:
CAMPBELL ARNOTT’S

28.  Unique Selling Points (USP) - Employer brand that is
unique and special
 Creation of a Brand image of the organization for
prospective employees
 Influenced by the reputation of the organization
 Creating an Employer Branding strategy
EMPLOYER BRANDING

29.  Analyze what ideal (preferred) applicants need and want
 Establish how far core values of the organization support the
creation of an attractive brand and ensure these are inculcated
into organizational value system
 Define the features of the employer brand on the basis of
examination and review of each of the areas that affect the
perception of people e.g. quality of management
 Benchmark the approaches of top performing companies as a
means of improvement
 Pragmatic approach: be honest and realistic
CREATING AN EMPLOYER BRANDING
STRATEGY

30. THE LINK BETWEEN TALENT ATTRACTION
AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

31.  Key points
 Questions
 Conclusion
 Contact details:
 Charles Cotter
 084 562 9446
 charlescot@polka.co.za
 Linked In
 Twitter: @Charles_Cotter
SUMMARY