{"id":1257,"date":"2019-09-05T17:09:25","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T17:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=1257"},"modified":"2024-04-24T23:37:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T23:37:26","slug":"business-strategy-and-workforce-planning","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/chapter\/business-strategy-and-workforce-planning\/","title":{"raw":"Business Strategy and Workforce Planning","rendered":"Business Strategy and Workforce Planning"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Describe the relationship between business strategy and workforce planning<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>What is Workforce Planning?<\/h2>\r\nWe've previously discussed the strategic planning process and the role that HR management plays in supporting the planning and implementation process. As stated in <a href=\"..\/chapter\/human-resources-today\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Human Resources Today<\/a>, the role of human resource management is to ensure that an organization has the talent\u2014the right combination of skills, knowledge, aptitude and attitude\u2014to achieve its strategic goals. The organization\u2019s strategy, including its mission or \u201cwhy,\u201d core values and culture as well as its competitive strategy, has implications for not only human resource structure, policies and practices but how roles are designed and valued. Workforce planning is not simply a matter of filling open requisitions, it is a complex research and design problem that involves developing a detailed understanding of a role, it\u2019s requirements and how that role relates to organizational strategy and to other roles within the organization.\r\n\r\nThe state of California\u2019s Human Resource Department abbreviated definition of workforce planning is \u201chaving the right number of people with the right skills in the right jobs at the right time.\u201d[footnote]\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.calhr.ca.gov\/state-hr-professionals\/Pages\/workforce-planning.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Statewide Workforce Planning<\/a>.\" California Department of Human Resources.\u00a0Accessed September 10, 2019.[\/footnote] Good as far as it goes, but this definition doesn\u2019t capture the complexity of workforce planning in what is, practically speaking, a full employment economy on the verge of the next industrial revolution. HRZone\u2019s definition better reflects these operating realities: \u201cworkforce planning is the process of ensuring an organisation has current and future access to the human capital it needs to perform effectively.\u201d[footnote]\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrzone.com\/hr-glossary\/what-is-workforce-planning\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What is Workforce Planning?<\/a>\" HR Zone. Accessed September 10, 2019.[\/footnote] Using the term \u201caccess\u201d also reflects the increasing use of alternative employment\u2014for example, contract and temporary\u2014rather than a traditional full-time employee relationship.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>PRactice Question<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/3bf03517-7c15-4cc2-8a49-12c528b052b7\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>The Workplace Planning Process<\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1504\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"450\"]<img class=\"wp-image-1504\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4056\/2019\/09\/20164506\/WorkplacePlanning-1024x833.png\" alt=\"The Workplace Planning Process. Strategic planning leads to current workforce analysis, which leads to identify future workforce requirements, which leads to gap analysis, which leads to action planning, which leads to execution and evaluation, which leads back to strategic planning and the cycle continues.\" width=\"450\" height=\"366\" \/> Figure 1.\u00a0The Workplace Planning Process[\/caption]\r\n\r\nWorkplace planning is generally done based on a multi-year horizon (for example, 3\u20135 or 5\u201310 years) and consists of a six step process, as illustrated in Figure 1. The steps in the process are fleshed out based largely on the federal Office of Personnel Management\u2019s workforce management training materials.[footnote]\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.opm.gov\/policy-data-oversight\/human-capital-management\/reference-materials\/strategic-alignment\/workforceplanning.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OPM's Workforce Planning Model<\/a>.\" opm.gov. Accessed September 10, 2019.[\/footnote]\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Strategic planning.<\/strong> Align the workforce planning process with the organization\u2019s strategic plan and annual business plan to support achievement of long-term (strategic plan) and short-time (annual performance) goals and objectives.<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Current workforce analysis.<\/strong> Analyze current resources, including projections for training and development and turnover.<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Identification of future workforce requirements.<\/strong> Develop specifications for the types, quantity, and location of human resources required to accomplish strategic objectives<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Gap analysis.<\/strong> Identify the gaps between current and projected workforce needs.<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Action planning.<\/strong> Identify how to close resource gaps, including development of implementation plans and associated evaluation metrics. Plans may encompass a range of activities including recruiting, training, reskilling, organizational restructuring, contracting\/outsourcing, automation and succession planning.<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Execution and evaluation.<\/strong> Execution involves, in brief, establishing roles and responsibilities and securing required resources. Evaluation involves monitoring progress relative to goals and making adjustments as necessary to reflect changes in plan assumptions or other relevant factors.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nAs the circular design implies, this is a continuous rather than linear\u2014start to end\u2014process. For perspective on the significance of this process, the state of California\u2019s HR departments notes that \u201cworkforce planning informs recruitment, retention, employee development, knowledge transfer and succession planning.\u201d[footnote]\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.calhr.ca.gov\/state-hr-professionals\/Pages\/state-of-california-workforce-planning-model.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">State of California Workforce Planning Model<\/a>.\" California Department of Human Resources. Accessed September 10, 2019. [\/footnote] For perspective on sequencing, author, blogger (HR Bartender) and president of human resource consulting firm ITM Group, Inc., Sharlyn Lauby notes that \u201cbefore companies can start thinking about their succession plans, they have to understand their jobs.\u201d[footnote]Rassi, Elias. \"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saba.com\/blog\/6-quotes-about-the-value-of-succession-planning-from-2015\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">6 Quotes About the Value of Succession Planning from 2015<\/a>.\" SABA Blog. December 30, 2015. Accessed September 10, 2019.[\/footnote]","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Describe the relationship between business strategy and workforce planning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>What is Workforce Planning?<\/h2>\n<p>We&#8217;ve previously discussed the strategic planning process and the role that HR management plays in supporting the planning and implementation process. As stated in <a href=\"..\/chapter\/human-resources-today\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Human Resources Today<\/a>, the role of human resource management is to ensure that an organization has the talent\u2014the right combination of skills, knowledge, aptitude and attitude\u2014to achieve its strategic goals. The organization\u2019s strategy, including its mission or \u201cwhy,\u201d core values and culture as well as its competitive strategy, has implications for not only human resource structure, policies and practices but how roles are designed and valued. Workforce planning is not simply a matter of filling open requisitions, it is a complex research and design problem that involves developing a detailed understanding of a role, it\u2019s requirements and how that role relates to organizational strategy and to other roles within the organization.<\/p>\n<p>The state of California\u2019s Human Resource Department abbreviated definition of workforce planning is \u201chaving the right number of people with the right skills in the right jobs at the right time.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"&quot;Statewide Workforce Planning.&quot; California Department of Human Resources.\u00a0Accessed September 10, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-1257-1\" href=\"#footnote-1257-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a> Good as far as it goes, but this definition doesn\u2019t capture the complexity of workforce planning in what is, practically speaking, a full employment economy on the verge of the next industrial revolution. HRZone\u2019s definition better reflects these operating realities: \u201cworkforce planning is the process of ensuring an organisation has current and future access to the human capital it needs to perform effectively.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"&quot;What is Workforce Planning?&quot; HR Zone. Accessed September 10, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-1257-2\" href=\"#footnote-1257-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a> Using the term \u201caccess\u201d also reflects the increasing use of alternative employment\u2014for example, contract and temporary\u2014rather than a traditional full-time employee relationship.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>PRactice Question<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_3bf03517-7c15-4cc2-8a49-12c528b052b7\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/3bf03517-7c15-4cc2-8a49-12c528b052b7?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_3bf03517-7c15-4cc2-8a49-12c528b052b7\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The Workplace Planning Process<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_1504\" style=\"width: 460px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1504\" class=\"wp-image-1504\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4056\/2019\/09\/20164506\/WorkplacePlanning-1024x833.png\" alt=\"The Workplace Planning Process. Strategic planning leads to current workforce analysis, which leads to identify future workforce requirements, which leads to gap analysis, which leads to action planning, which leads to execution and evaluation, which leads back to strategic planning and the cycle continues.\" width=\"450\" height=\"366\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1504\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 1.\u00a0The Workplace Planning Process<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Workplace planning is generally done based on a multi-year horizon (for example, 3\u20135 or 5\u201310 years) and consists of a six step process, as illustrated in Figure 1. The steps in the process are fleshed out based largely on the federal Office of Personnel Management\u2019s workforce management training materials.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"&quot;OPM's Workforce Planning Model.&quot; opm.gov. Accessed September 10, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-1257-3\" href=\"#footnote-1257-3\" aria-label=\"Footnote 3\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Strategic planning.<\/strong> Align the workforce planning process with the organization\u2019s strategic plan and annual business plan to support achievement of long-term (strategic plan) and short-time (annual performance) goals and objectives.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Current workforce analysis.<\/strong> Analyze current resources, including projections for training and development and turnover.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Identification of future workforce requirements.<\/strong> Develop specifications for the types, quantity, and location of human resources required to accomplish strategic objectives<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Gap analysis.<\/strong> Identify the gaps between current and projected workforce needs.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Action planning.<\/strong> Identify how to close resource gaps, including development of implementation plans and associated evaluation metrics. Plans may encompass a range of activities including recruiting, training, reskilling, organizational restructuring, contracting\/outsourcing, automation and succession planning.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Execution and evaluation.<\/strong> Execution involves, in brief, establishing roles and responsibilities and securing required resources. Evaluation involves monitoring progress relative to goals and making adjustments as necessary to reflect changes in plan assumptions or other relevant factors.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>As the circular design implies, this is a continuous rather than linear\u2014start to end\u2014process. For perspective on the significance of this process, the state of California\u2019s HR departments notes that \u201cworkforce planning informs recruitment, retention, employee development, knowledge transfer and succession planning.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"&quot;State of California Workforce Planning Model.&quot; California Department of Human Resources. Accessed September 10, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-1257-4\" href=\"#footnote-1257-4\" aria-label=\"Footnote 4\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[4]<\/sup><\/a> For perspective on sequencing, author, blogger (HR Bartender) and president of human resource consulting firm ITM Group, Inc., Sharlyn Lauby notes that \u201cbefore companies can start thinking about their succession plans, they have to understand their jobs.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Rassi, Elias. &quot;6 Quotes About the Value of Succession Planning from 2015.&quot; SABA Blog. December 30, 2015. Accessed September 10, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-1257-5\" href=\"#footnote-1257-5\" aria-label=\"Footnote 5\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-1257\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Business Strategy and Workforce Planning. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Nina Burokas. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Image: Workplace planning process. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-1257-1\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.calhr.ca.gov\/state-hr-professionals\/Pages\/workforce-planning.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Statewide Workforce Planning<\/a>.\" California Department of Human Resources.\u00a0Accessed September 10, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1257-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-1257-2\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrzone.com\/hr-glossary\/what-is-workforce-planning\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What is Workforce Planning?<\/a>\" HR Zone. Accessed September 10, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1257-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-1257-3\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.opm.gov\/policy-data-oversight\/human-capital-management\/reference-materials\/strategic-alignment\/workforceplanning.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OPM's Workforce Planning Model<\/a>.\" opm.gov. Accessed September 10, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1257-3\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 3\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-1257-4\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.calhr.ca.gov\/state-hr-professionals\/Pages\/state-of-california-workforce-planning-model.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">State of California Workforce Planning Model<\/a>.\" California Department of Human Resources. Accessed September 10, 2019.  <a href=\"#return-footnote-1257-4\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 4\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-1257-5\">Rassi, Elias. \"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saba.com\/blog\/6-quotes-about-the-value-of-succession-planning-from-2015\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">6 Quotes About the Value of Succession Planning from 2015<\/a>.\" SABA Blog. December 30, 2015. Accessed September 10, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1257-5\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 5\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":17,"menu_order":3,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Business Strategy and Workforce Planning\",\"author\":\"Nina Burokas\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Image: Workplace planning process\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"f7c75b6e-d456-45d3-a60f-e4d03a4e1610, e5ded329-1174-4ff6-9c29-5e2312b0912a","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-1257","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":1253,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3328,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1257\/revisions\/3328"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/1253"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1257\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=1257"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=1257"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=1257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}