With the pending departure of Baby Boomers from the workforce, many companies around the nation are turning to strategic workforce planning methods to help predict exactly how many workers will be needed in the future and how many employees will leave their current positions.
The practice is becoming so popular, in fact, that now there are post-graduate certifications available in strategic workforce planning. But it doesn't take a special certification to devise a plan – many business owners can create these plans on their own, so long as they are thorough in their research and plan outlines. In the past, strategic workforce planning was simply calculating the gap between talent supply and demand, but with almost 11 percent of each industry being comprised of contingent workforce, plans have become more sophisticated.
When devising a way to profile your current workforce, Snelling Staffing Services recommends using the following categories: number of current employees; a breakdown of employee status that captures full-time, part-time, permanent, temporary and contract workers; salary; location; age; education; and job classification. Businesses should also consider including trend data – what months do you need the most staff? What months do you need the least? Do you have fluctuations in salary and hourly wages for your company and your industry?
Once you have identified your current workforce, you can choose a method by which to forecast your potential employee needs. These forecast models can be created through historical data, industry analyst prediction, and many other widely accepted ways.
After future needs have been spelled out, a business can then determine how much of its workforce could be contingent. There are benefits to staffing up and staffing down instead of hiring permanent employees across the board to fill the gaps revealed by your plan. Hiring contingent workers gives employers the flexibility to keep their businesses operating efficiently and productively. Strategic workforce planning can help you translate your business sense into business cents. Your people are your greatest asset and, typically, your greatest expense. Planning in the present to prepare for all your future workforce needs, both permanent and temporary, will help to maximize that asset and minimize the expense.