Skilled workers are the foundation talent of a company, but a shortage of these skilled workers is making it hard for businesses to find the right employees at the right time. For a large number of businesses, this is a growing concern, with many missing out on revenue goals due to unorganized hiring processes. 

In fact, as of September 2018, the unemployment rate in the US declined to 3.7 percent - the lowest jobless rate since December 1969. This is great for employees who now have the ability to shop around for the perfect office environment and an offer that meets their expectations, but it’s a huge challenge for HR and procurement departments who are tasked with finding talent for the future of their business. 

Thankfully, the booming contingent workforce has opened new opportunities for companies to access talented workers with specialized skills. Businesses must, however, adopt strategic workforce planning to anticipate organizational skill gaps and recruit the right candidates to fill them.

What is strategic workforce planning?

Strategic workforce planning is created by designing a process within your organization that proactively anticipates current and future hiring needs. This will ensure your organization has the resources needed to meet its business goals.

Through the use of business analytics, finance, and input from HR and procurement team data, you will be able to create a strategic workforce plan that meets your desired long-term goals and maintains your company’s long-term success.

Strategic workforce planning will help you to build an organization with stable staffing levels across every department, with the right skills in the right positions for more successful results and a higher return on investment (ROI).

How do I create a strategic workforce plan?

There is no set way to create a strategic workforce plan. Every company is unique, every industry has different needs and every worker is expected to meet different goals. However, each plan must be designed to analyze your company’s current workforce in a bid to identify gaps and fill future needs.

The aim of strategic workforce planning is the constant evaluation of workers and their performance, preventing your business from being surprised by the ever-shifting needs of your workforce.

Strategic workforce planning is no easy task, and most companies will benefit from the expertise that a managed service provider (MSP) can bring them. With unique insights into the contingent workforce, acquiring top talent and the use of innovative technology to design a strategic workforce plan, outsourcing help can set you up for long-term success.

What are the benefits of strategic workforce planning?

Once you have adopted a strategic workforce plan and you can successfully identify all current and required workers, you will be able to hire the top talent in your particular field and stay one step ahead of your competitors at all times.

Creating and implementing a strategic workforce plan can help your business realize a plethora of benefits. HCMWorks has listed some of the most important here:

Addressing current workforce gaps - Analyzing the skills of your current employees can provide insights into the skill or resource gaps that you currently have within your business. Through this evaluation, you will be able to identify the gaps between your current workers’ competencies and what you’ll need in the future to reach your goals. Using that information you can ensure you acquire top talent with the skills required for your company’s success.

Improving KPIs - Business is all about constantly developing and improving those key performance indicators (KPIs). You can use the data from your strategic workforce plan to drive your business forward and ensure you are constantly improving performance metrics and meeting new objectives.

Preparation for the unexpected - Once you have created a strategic plan that not only looks at your current business needs but also your future requirements, your company will avoid potential and unexpected problems down the line. Being prepared for these issues will save your company significant time and money in the long run.

Ready to learn more about creating a strategic workforce plan and how it can benefit the future of your business? Contact HCMWorks today and learn how we can create a plan specifically designed for the future success of your business.