BEST PRACTICE STRATEGIC WORKFORCE PLANNING (SWP) AND

TALENT ATTRACTION

CHARLES COTTER

14 MARCH 2014PALAZZO HOTEL, MONTECASINO

Planning

Attracting

Retaining

Motivating

Evaluating

Developing

SCOPE OF PRESENTATION – HRM VALUE CHAIN

DEFINING STRATEGIC WORKFORCE PLANNING

HOLISTIC SWP PROCESS

GETTING IT “RIGHT”

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

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

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

LEVELS OF SWP MATURITY

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

“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

SWP PROCESS ILLUSTRATED

S CANNING

P ROFILING

A NALYZING

D EVELOPING

I MPLEMENTING

C ONTROLLING

SWP: S-P-A-D-I-C PROCESS/CYCLE

S-P-A-D-I-C

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

Forecasting HR Demand (Futuring)

Measuring Current Supply

STEP 2: PROFILING

"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

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

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 skillsCertificates 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

STEP 3: ANALYZING – RECONCILING/GAP ANALYSIS

STEP 4: DEVELOPING – STRATEGIC HR ACTION PLANS

Develop and initiate a Resourcing Strategy

Action plan-based implementation methodology

Matching strategy (intervention) with scenario (surplus or deficit)

STEP 5: IMPLEMENTING - INTERVENTIONS

Tracking implementation progress – monitoring, measuring and evaluating

STEP 6: CONTROLLING

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

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)

COMPONENTS OF VIABLE EVP

HISTORICAL EVP’S

“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

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

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

THE LINK BETWEEN TALENT ATTRACTION AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Key points

Questions

Conclusion

Contact details:

Charles Cotter 084 562 9446 charlescot@polka.co.za Linked In Twitter: @Charles_Cotter

SUMMARY