Workforce planning THE TIMES 100

Workforce planning Workforce planning involves assessing the current and future labour needs of an organisation to get the... >right number of workers >with the right skills >in the right place >at the right time to help it meet its aims and objectives.

Stages in workforce planning Audit the current workforce Analyse the future workforce in terms of both demand and supply of labour Identify any gaps Implement strategies to eliminate the gaps

Assessing the current workforce Human resource data can be analysed to find out: How many employees work in each area of the business The skills and abilities of current staff The tasks and roles workers carry out

Analysing future workforce needs Supply of labour How many of the current workforce are likely to retire or leave for other reasons? Will the current workforce have the right skills? Demand for labour How many staff will be needed in different areas of the firm & what skills will they need? Organisational objectives Does the business intend to grow? Is it considering moving operations elsewhere? Forecast demand for products Is the demand for each of the goods and services offered likely increase or decline? The external business environment Are more competitors due to enter the market? At what stage in the business cycle are we? Changes in technology Is new technology going to be introduced which may reduce the need for some workers?

Strategies for addressing workforce needs Workforce analysis may indicate that the organisation should: Increase the workforce through the recruitment of additional workers Reduce the workforce through natural wastage, redundancies or restructuring such as de-layering Develop the skills and abilities of the current workforce

Workforce activities Recruitment & selection Training and development Draw up job description & person specification Advertise the post Use appropriate selection methods Appoint and carry out induction training Training and development Identify individual training needs Implement on- or off-the-job training Use appraisal systems to ensure continuous development of employees

Workforce planning in context

Reasons for workforce planning at Tarmac Why is workforce planning so important for Tarmac? Use the case study to help you find out. Workforce planning is important to Tarmac for the following reasons: It needs the workers to help it deliver its vision to ‘achieve the exceptional’ and improve the business The nature of Tarmac’s business is constantly changing and evolving so it needs to anticipate where new skills are required, such as those involved with different technologies The scope of Tarmac’s business means that it must have a diverse workforce with a range of specialist skills both onsite and in Head Offices As with any other business, some workers will leave or be promoted within the business The economic climate will affect demand for Tarmac’s products

Recruitment When future employment needs have been identified, businesses may find they have to recruit and select new workers. List the stages that Tarmac goes through to ensure it selects the right candidates. Use the Tarmac case study to help you The stages are: Identification of recruitment needs Set job descriptions and person specifications Advertise Short list applicants Carry out interviews Select candidates

Engaging workers Having the right number of workers with the correct skills is crucial, but once these workers are in place, organisations must also make sure they are engaged and motivated. What does Tarmac do to ensure its employees are motivated? Use the case study to help you Tarmac ensures that employees are motivated by: Providing clear and understandable objectives and targets Using personal development plans Helping workers to improve and acquire the skills, qualifications and training they need to do their jobs efficiently Recognising workers’ performance and rewarding them accordingly

Personal development plans Personal development plans are used at Tarmac to enable employees to identify the skills they want to develop. What questions will employees ask when preparing personal development plans at Tarmac? Questions include: What skills or behaviours do I want to develop? What actions will I take to develop them? When will I do this? What are the benefits of development for me? How do they help Tarmac? How do I measure my success?

Useful resources Workforce planning lesson suggestions and resources (The Times 100) Tarmac case study (The Times 100) Tarmac website – www.tarmac.co.uk