workforce planning

• definition of workforce planning ?

  The process of determining the labour needs of a business now and in the future, then devising a plan to achieve those labour needs.
• key points of workforce planning

  • It involves looking to the future and judging the level of demand, skills and staff wastage within the business.
  • The right number of workers, with the right skills, doing the right jobs, at the right time and in the right place.
• Is there a link between workforce planning and recruitment?

  Workforce planning may also mean shredding workers.
• definition of redundancy ?

  Redundancy is usually a type of dismissal when a role is no longer needed.

  • Voluntary redundancy is when your employer is planning to make redundancies, you can choose to put yourself forward for redundancy before being selected ('voluntary redundancy'). This can be done by either: your employer asking for volunteers. you offering ('volunteering') to be made redundant.
  • Early retirement schemes - Early retirement is a situation in which a person stops working earlier than at the usual statutory retirement age.
  • Natural leavers
• what factors influence workforce planning ? ( business objectives )

  Business objectives, such as increasing output or opening new branches, will invariably require more employees.
• what factors influence workforce planning ? ( tech )

  Technological change is leading to large change in ways of working and the skills needed in the workforce. Many manual tasks can now be carried out by robotic technology, reducing the demand for certain types of labour.
• what factors influence workforce planning ? (labour market trends )

  Labour market trends have implications for the recruitment and retention of

  staff. Engineers are in increasingly short supply as less undergraduates are

  choosing to study in this discipline.
• what factors influence workforce planning ?( demographic)

  Demographic change, such as the ageing population in the UK, is affecting both the demand for products required by this age group, as well as workforce supply.
• benefits of workforce planning ?

  • Decide how many employees will be needed and when 🡪 able to continue to operate productively & efficiently
  • Manage employment expenditure by anticipating changes 🡪 avoids overspending
  • Ensure that sufficient and appropriate training is provided 🡪 avoids costly mistakes
  • Cope with peaks and troughs in supply and demand for different skills 🡪 satisfy customers
  • Deliver improved customer service 🡪 gain competitive advantage
  • Identifies the skills required from the workforce 🡪 productivity levels are maintained
  • Reduced employee turnover
  • Manage staff performances and sickness absences
  • Identifies where workers may be needed 🡪 do any workers need to be redeployed?
• drawbacks to workforce planning ?

  • Collecting and analysing workforce data can be time consuming and expensive 🡪 recruitment programmes are expensive.
  • Bad relationships between employers may make it difficult to implement workforce plans. Internal or External recruitment?
  • Predictions are not always correct 🡪 external factors changes can be unexpected eg covid
  • Corporate image? Business are conscious of how they are viewed in the public eye 🡪 workforce plans must be carefully prepared so that they do not present the business in a poor light �� downsizing may look bad on the company.