Talent Management - November 2008 - (Page 36)

recruitment & retention assessment & evaluation compensation & beneﬁts performance management learning & development succession planning [succession planning] by Paige Menge, Nick Garbis and Mick Collins Stay Out of Workforce Planning Pitfalls Executing critical talent management activities before they’re needed is an earmark of a successful organization. Given the current challenges in the talent landscape, workforce planning might be among the most important of those activities. There are several pitfalls talent managers should avoid during planning. F acing a triple threat of shrinking talent pools, an aging workforce and the increasing global competition for labor, more organizations are establishing or expanding a workforce planning function. According to a recent Infohrm survey titled “The Workforce Planning Advantage,” 96 percent of the 300-plus respondents are conducting workforce planning or intend to begin in the near future. With so many on this journey, or about to start, it is critical to identify some of the common pitfalls of workforce planning and illustrate how practitioners can avoid them, thereby increasing the likelihood of success. Pitfall No. 1: Expecting HR to “Own” Workforce Planning mand and help the business translate its strategies into human capital needs. HR also ensures the needed workforce is delivered. Success requires the expertise of business leaders and workforce planners — which may mean some new competencies should be developed within the team (See Pitfall No. 6.). Mark Thomas, vice president of human resources at Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC), cites ownership from within the hospital management team as the key element to success for a recent workforce plan developed for the bedside nursing role. With guidance from HR, nursing managers directed each aspect of the plan, including the interventions to address the growing capacity and capability gaps. The managers were invested in the strategies and committed to their success, and GBMC reduced its termination rate from 18 percent to 14 percent and saw its nursing vacancy rates fall from 14 percent to 5 percent. The result: a projected savings of $4.5 million in reduced RN agency costs over two years. Pitfall No. 2: Focusing Forecasts on Short-Term Time Frames Workforce planning is a strategic exercise, not a shortterm budgeting endeavor. Ergo, the goal is not to slot employees onto project teams or into schedules but to ensure talent managers prepare a future workforce to execute company objectives. As a rule of thumb, the time frame of the forecast should be equal to the time required to source and fully train an employee. This is usually somewhere between two and ﬁve years (See Figure 2.). Of course, there are exceptions. Mining companies often plan 10 years or more into the future because it can take as many years for a mine to be ready for excavation. Also, it is critical for the workforce plan to estimate the impact of known business changes that are expected to Yes, you read that correctly: HR should not own workforce planning. HR’s role should be one of stewardship. After all, the goal of workforce planning is to reduce the risk to business strategy associated with workforce capacity, capability and ﬂexibility. Therefore, the foundation for workforce planning is the corporate/businessunit strategy. Workforce planning should be owned by the business units. The business units are responsible for the success or failure of their strategic plans, and the human capital requirements of the strategy are no less a part of their responsibility than the ﬁnancial, technical, operational or other components. Respondents to “The Workforce Planning Advantage” survey reported that when ownership for workforce planning resided within management or in business units, a greater level of competitive advantage was realized (See Figure 1.). Talent managers need to be the content experts and consultants in the workforce planning process, articulating the value of workforce planning, providing the necessary tools and processes and driving accountability. HR must ask challenging questions that compel managers to think about what drives workforce de- 36 November 2008 talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com http://www.talentmgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talent Management - November 2008

Talent Management - November 2008 Editor’s Letter Contents Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Recruitment & Retention Assessment & Evaluation Compensation & Benefits Performance Management Learning & Development Succession Planning Insight Dashboard Application Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

Talent Management - November 2008

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