Thanks for your comments. I couldn’t agree more that workforce planning must take into consideration cultural differences and the effect of any type of bureaucracy, whether governmental or organizational. You are most correct in asserting these concerns.

My approach to organizational consulting is to take into considerations a strategic plan that takes the human factors that must be considered along with organizational dynamics to form a cohesive whole. Easier said than done but well worth the effort.

Take a look at my website at http://www.managementvision.com.

Drop me a line sometime, it would be great to continue our dialogue.

Sincerely,
John

Ie) culturally the downsizing is not necessarily an option in a global market as ever increasing compliance must be considered.

Also I’d love to see more depth around figuring out what those future skills sets are for the future–a road map on how to truly forecast beyond analysing the past. the problem with forecasting often is it lies in the assumption that demand influences supply — when Top Talent actually can influence demand.

Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you enjoyed the article.

You may not have noticed from my website but I have the rather unique blend of a long career in finance & accounting management and ongoing graduate education and experience in organizational psychology and development.
With this in mind I really appreciate your focus on the financial modeling, including what appears to be economic forecasting, cost accounting, and business decision modeling for human resource goals.

I was steeped in financial decision modeling from my association with an extremely well run organization that put a lot of faith in analysis prior to decisions. With this said, as much as I am concerned about human factors, the numbers have to make sense. If not, nobody wins.

I couldn’t agree with you more. I also took a look at your company’s website. It looks like you have an exciting business model. Feel free to contact me at john@managementvision.com.

Thanks again for your comment.

Regards,

John Earll

Great article; thanks for sharing. One other point I’ll make that relates to the Key Programs section. In order for organizations to translate their workforce plans into effective hiring and retention initiatives, they must be able to estimate the financial costs of each activity.

Building financial models that, for example, take into account the difference in costs between hiring 1000 full-time staff versus 2000 part-time and temporary employees, or that compare current compensation levels with future market compensation rates, dramatically improve HR’s ability to provide analytical models that rival those of Finance.

Creating detailed cost analyses are critical for making workforce planning a business, rather than just an HR, process.

I really appreciate the content of your article. I believe, like you, that workforce planning is going to be crucial given our current economic challenges. My company offers many services in organizational psychology and organizational development that can help to bridge the “talent pool gap” that you so rightly point to. Many organizations should be mindful of this as the “belt tightens”.

Take a look at my website where I emphasize our current economy: http://www.managementvision.com/services/personality-assessment-testing/

Thanks for your timely article. I plan to read more of your writings.

Sincerely,
John J. Earll
Management Vision, P.C.

There’s more on this in our new book “Onboarding – How to get your new employees up to speed in half the time” (Wiley, 2009). You can download a working draft of its executive summary at http://www.primegenesis.com/landingOnB.html.

George Bradt
PrimeGenesis Executive Onboarding and Transition Acceleration
http://www.primegenesis.com