Workforce Planning is the activity used to identify and address the staffing implications of business strategies and plans, helping analyse and plan for the workforce development and changes required. It is ongoing and dynamic, aligned to strategic planning and used to inform decision making, risk assessment and resource allocation.
Driven by future organisation needs
This is the starting point for all workforce planning - what people resources are needed in order to deliver the required organisation and services in the future? This can range from a whole scale reorganisation, changes to an area of service delivery, a change in staff numbers and skills mix, to succession planning for those retiring.
Integral to strategic planning
Workforce planning is part of how an organisation operates, flowing from organisational strategy and linking people and workforce strategies. It is a core people management activity and provides the context for most other activities around recruiting, developing and deploying people. It gives managers the opportunity to stand back and consider how future staffing requirements can be delivered.
Informed by data and evidence based
Key to workforce planning is underpinning plans with workforce information. This can be broad workforce information and monitoring such as staff numbers by post or grouping, age ranges, fixed term and permanent. Alternatively, it could be specific information, for example, for a workforce change project. Research can provide local or national trends for example recruitment information for hard to fill posts.
Some key questions to ask
- What changes and challenges are coming up?
- What are the potential implications for the workforce?
- What actions are needed to deliver the changes?
- Are our workforce planning decisions transparent?
Phone: 07815 732048
Phone: 07557 587501
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Organisational Development
Supporting capacity building to improve the performance and effectiveness of organisations.
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Scenario Planning
Scenario planning supports and informs the strategic planning process by providing a set of tools for thinking about the future and exploring possibilities of what that might look like.
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Talent Management in Public Services in Scotland
This research has been undertaken by the University of the West of Scotland’s School of Business and Enterprise, Edinburgh Napier University Business School, and the Improvement Service to establish the current nature and status of talent management across Scotland’s public services.
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Talent Management in Public Services in Scotland: Practitioner Report
Joint research report exploring senior stakeholder perceptions of the drivers, barriers and enablers of talent management within a collaborative public service context.
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Local Authority Organisational Development Network
A group for people working in organisational development across Scottish local authorities.
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Change Managers Network
Operated by the IS Change Management Team, this network coordinates the sharing of good practice and facilitates discussion on change and transformation.
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Society of Personnel and Development Scotland
A space for heads of HR and other senior HR professionals in councils to consider issues around personnel management in Scottish local government.