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What is Strategic Workforce Planning?

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The Economist Intelligence Unit, (EIU) research found that companies are currently struggling to meet their strategic talent needs. 76% of survey respondents feel the market for skilled talent will become even tighter. Discovering and retaining high-potential employees will be the greatest problem faced by employers.

Wouldn't it be great if you were able to predict the skills and employees you will need in the future? Could you ensure that you will have the necessary people in place at the right time?

What Strategic Workforce Planning is

With the Strategic Workforce Planning, you can. Strategic workforce planning (SWP) is the analytical, planning and forecasting process of defining the plans to balance business demand and supply of key talent over time. It's an adaptive approach which uses machine learning algorithms and human judgement.

According to the Human Workforce Institute, SWP 'builds upon quantitative activities, such as headcount planning and workforce analytics and uses that data as part of a qualitative decision framework that can inform and transform organisational strategy.'

It requires a thorough understanding of the entire organisation in a way that makes sense to people beyond the data. SWP typically connects with business strategy and expands over the period of three to five years.

Strategic workforce planning helps you build a better workforce. One that'll help you deliver your strategy in the short and long term. And one that'll mean better value for your money.

In today's talent economy, the workforce is the most important tangible asset of organisations. Given that people expenditure often amounts to 60% of business variable costs, it makes sense to carefully plan, measure and optimise it. People are the biggest investment but can make the biggest difference in achieving your business goals.

6 Step Methodology to Effective Strategic Workforce Planning

To get the formula for success - download our Strategic Workforce Planning Guide

Strategic Workforce Planning

Where we explain the 6 step methodology to effective SWP:

  1. Articulate the business strategy and talent demand need
  2. Model future needs for talent and skills
  3. Analyse talent supply and conduct gap analysis
  4. Develop talent acquisition strategy and plan
  5. Implement strategic workforce plan
  6. Monitor SWP's impact and progress

If you need help with Strategic Workforce Planning talk to our experts. We can help you with:

  • Forecasting your future talent needs
  • Forecasting knowledge drain as employees leave
  • Implementing an effective workforce analytics strategy
  • Determining and evaluating likely future sourcing options

When you work with us, we'll help you make cost-saving decisions based around having the right people doing the right things.