The Holy Grail of WFP is being able to conduct a detailed PEST analysis – the Political, Economic, Social, and Technological issues that may impact short and longer term recruiting success. Combine this with a classic SWOT analysis and you have the complete picture…

Thanks for you comments. I’m thinking succession planning is one element of a comprehensive, long-term, strategic workforce plan. I’d like ot know more about your experiences in this area. Also, I like your definitions. I think we (HR) have opportunity to define these and other terms better. I’d like to know more about your firm and services.

Thanks!

John

You bring up a great point. I believe we have to bring the right metrics forward and educate Executives on the economic impact of HR services and deliverables. It’s hard to do and honestly, I’m not sure we have done a good job of quantifying the strategic and economic impact of HR. Metrics such as Human Capital ROI, Human Capital Economic Value Added, Human Capital Operating Margin Factor, etc., to name a few.

I think some companies may see Recruiting as a expense because we have not demonstrated the ROI of Recruiting. Some will always see HR as expense simply because we don’t directly generate revenue. My mantra is, “we generate the revenue generators”.

Workforce planning is so much more than Recruiting. It’s multi-functional, inter-disciplinary and complex. That’s probably why it’s not in many recruiters toolbox. I believe it will take a Executive champion who believes their organization needs SWP (strategic workforce planning) and someone who is credible, comfortable with the quantitative pieces, strong in data analysis, good communication and presentation skills, credible, strong collaborator, good persuasion skills, knowledgeable in the various elements of workforce planning, and a lot of energy and passion.

Thanks for your comments and questions.

Very best!

John

Thanks for your comments and questions.

I have found it helpful to say that WFP seeks to solve the gaps in capacity/capabilities for specific ‘roles’ (e.g., Sr. Engineer), whereas SP tends to be focused on specific ‘positions’ (e.g., Sr. Engineer of Aerospace Hydromechanicals, currently held by Jane Doe).

Sean — The output of a robust WFP should be an input to the recruiting strategy, so I don’t think the recruiters themselves will be expected to own/drive the WFP process. The WFP is often executed through a ‘Center of Excellence’ model — a team within the HR function that gets the tools and processes lined up and engages the business line managers along with the HR Business Partners and recruiters. The COE will need a range of skills to do this, ranging from business acumen, to communication/influence, business strategy knowlege, and some level of analytical skills. In the end, the business line managers need to own this with support from HR/COE, otherwise it will not be nearly as successful. This has been proven out in our WFP research.

Nicholas Garbis, Sr. Consultant
Infohrm — Global Leader in Workforce Planning, Analytics, and Reporting.
http://www.infohrm.com

Great outline…and I look forward to reading your full article.

Quick question…

In my experience, to get companies to take this type of approach to workforce management depends on the type of company they are. I have seen success, to some degree, when the “company’s business” was a “consulting” type model or a service type business model where if they don’t have the right people on staff/bench…they don’t have revenue.

For companies that delivered products, rather than services, most companies think transactional and that’s as far as you are going to get. HR/Recruiting will remain a “spend” and not a form of “revenue.”

Any thoughts on getting company buy in where a company makes and sells a product to think of workforce management as a strategic/tactical process and not just reactive?

Also, I don’t see workforce management in the toolbox of too many recruiters…if any. What type of person would lead or see this type of program through the hurdles of gaining success (long term) at a company?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.