Right-Size Your Workforce Planning team

My industry peers and colleagues often ask, “How do you determine the number of people in a Workforce Planning organization?”  My response is, “Well…that depends!  Before you can answer that for your organization you have to decide what you want “workforce planning” to do for your organization.”

Here’s my reply to one such inquiry (other than her name, the letters are unchanged from the originals).

On 04/05/09 4:44 PM, Michelle wrote:
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John,

Thanks so much for your post as it is most helpful.  I can tell by the lessons learned you posted that you have been down the path & know all to well what does/doesn’t work.

One thing you mention is having the right skills for the members of the team.  I’m working to set up a WFP COE now that is very much in line with the way you lay out the skills (business-centric and analytical).  We are also working to avoid the zealots mentality - but what type of standard to you use to determine WHO and HOW MANY WFP planners with access to talent data & analysis are needed to work with the business on forecasting talent needs & aligning to talent mgmt strategies?

Thanks,

Michelle

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My Response:

Hi Michelle,

I don’t think there’s any one answer to “who” and “how many”.  It depends on the nature of the workforce, the culture of the company, and the strength of the interfacing work groups.  There is also a wide variation in what tasks or “sub-functions” different companies include in “workforce planning.”  I know of one Fortune 500 company with 15K employees that has one analyst doing workforce planning.  It works for that company because the distributed field HR reps have a very active role in local workforce planning and workforce development.

In my current situation, we have a senior manager and four full time analysts for a business unit of about 6000 employees.  My team does analysis and forecasting, creates the staffing plans, oversees the knowledge management program, and implements what we call “organizational configuration control.”  We also are the lead on several workforce development activities with colleges and universities around the USA.

I derived the size and structure of the organization by working with the President & CEO to determine what we wanted workforce planning to accomplish and encompass.  From that vision I built the business plan and a resource-loaded work plan to accomplish the goals within an agreed upon time line. That laid the ground work for determining how large the organization needed to be, and what core skills and competencies the group needed to possess.  Then it was a matter of finding the right people with the best set of skills and personalities to form the team.  Once the right people were in place everything took off.

The same approach would work elsewhere if senior leadership is engaged and supportive.

Regards,

John

Workforce Planning Fatal Flaws

Workforce Planning (WFP) is a relatively new specialty and function within the broader areas of strategic planning and human resources. There’s a lot of discussion occurring in human resources circles about what makes WFP successful, and how to structure WFP functions and organizations to achieve best results.

I have watched WFP efforts wither on the vine at several companies because of three “Fatal Flaws.” I was responsible for launching a successful WFP strategy and function for my organization composed of ~6500 highly skilled professionals, management, and business support personnel. Learning from the failures of others has helped us avoid similar mistakes. 

First Fatal Flaw: Reliance on Zealots. The WFP methods and processes relied on one or two “zealots” in the organization who “made it happen.” Because the processes were not embedded and integrated with other core business processes, when those individuals moved on to other things the WFP efforts stalled. Zealots can get things moving quickly, but they will not assure sustainable forward progress.

Second Fatal Flaw: Lack of Line Experience. The people who performed and managed the WFP function were Human Resources professionals with many years of experience, but lacked true understanding of the core business, the knowledge and skills required for success in critical positions, and how the various line groups interact to achieve results. Over reliance on line subject matter experts meant they were constantly seeking unsustainable levels of support from line managers and key personnel. The fix? While HR may be the right place in the organization for the WFP function, the WFP leader and some of the people providing WFP services need to have extensive line experience. 

Third Fatal Flaw: Lack of Skill in Data Analysis.  I’ve observed WFP efforts fail because forecasts and analysis just didn’t provide the information decision makers needed. For example, percentages of “retirement eligible” employees are of little value when employees continue to work. In another case, broad attrition averages were used that grossly under-predicted the loss of employees in high demand job categories. Every workforce planning team must have core competencies in data analysis and statistics, understanding what information decision makers need, and how to effectively communicate to them. Success depends on staffing the WFP team with the right people and developing forecasting tools and metrics that executives trust and rely upon.

While the Economy Slides, Demand Grows for Skilled Workforce

It’s amazing that even in our current period of economic decline there are still segments of the economy that are struggling to find skilled workers.  Here’s an example of an innovative partnership in Alabama designed to grow the supply of welders, pipefitters, and other skilled craftsmen.

The craft trades of welders, electricians, pipe fitters, steelworkers, plumbers and insulators, to name a few, have been good jobs until the recent recession. The average skilled tradesman is in his or her 40s or 50s and that’s the driving force behind the unusual cooperation between unions and non-union employers.

“This has been a perfect fit for the (contractors and unions) working on this project and we’re raising a lot of eyebrows working together,” said Leroy Nicholson, director of the Alabama AFL-CIO Labor Institute for Training. “You have to change the way of thinking and work together if you’re going to survive.”

 ClearTrend has been a leader in helping organization establish partnerships to solve workforce challenges.  Our skill set includes identifying stakeholders and funding sources, aligning workforce knowledge and skills with technical training and college degree programs, and helping leaders build the business case to invest in human capitol.

DOL Grants Work for Business

Companies around the USA are taking advantage of millions of dollars in federal grants to fund worker training programs.  In this example, construction companies around Ft. Benning, Georgia will be the beneficiaries.

Today Governor Sonny Perdue, along with U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss and U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, accepted a $5 million Workforce Development Demonstration Grant from U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao to assist with the planned expansion of Ft. Benning and the transitions of Fort Gillem, Fort McPherson and the Navy Supply Corps School.  The grant provides funding for regional workforce development projects tied to military base transitions associated with the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC).

These funds will increase the size of the construction workforce in the region, which may help moderate rising labor costs.  In addition, the funds may reduce spending by companies that would otherwise have to train new employees themselves.

ClearTrend can help your company form coalitions and partnerships to attract local, state, and federal workforce development funds to your communities.

ClearTrend LLC Files Provisional Patent for Innovative Workforce Analysis Technique

This is great news!  This week we took a big step forward in formalizing our Workforce System Simulation process.  In preparing our patent application we received advice from many our our friends and colleages in industry and in the academic community.

The provisional patent applicaiton is titled “A System and Method for Modeling and Analyzing Workforce Systems Using Dynamic Simulations.”

Here’s the first paragraph of the abstract: 

“Workforce problems are analyzed and needs such as workforce development, hiring, training, promoting and transferring workers are quantified and forecasted using workforce system models that allow dynamic simulation of multiple scenarios to derive optimal strategies.  The model for a given workforce includes input and output of people through the system, the “flow” of people within the system, and constraints on movement and advancement.  Models allow simulating various “what if” scenarios to identify probable results of workforce plans, decisions, strategies, and external forces acting on the system.

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