During this phase you will create a document that outlines how the workforce plan aligns with the organization's strategic direction and environmental factors (internal and external) affecting the workforce. By following these steps, you'll ensure that workforce planning aligns with your organization's strategic goals, helping to build a stronger, more capable workforce.
Steps
1. Obtain Executive Support:
Gain buy-in from leadership and necessary resources for workforce planning. Create a compelling business case for workforce planning using available data and showing the impact to the organization's mission and goals. Consider presenting a risk assessment that highlights the need for workforce planning, such as the potential costs of not planning (e.g., turnover, retirements, training costs), describing how workforce planning could help the organization respond to anticipated changes and achieve strategic objectives or complete major projects, and/or providing case studies or a comprehensive analysis to show real examples of how workforce challenges impact the organization's mission.
Ultimately the workforce plan will need to be approved by the organization's Director (or equivalent) so engaging with executives early on can help accomplish this. Involving the executives in the development of the plan also means they can provide input on plan priorities and support implementation.
2. Establish Ownership:
Workforce planning is a shared organizational responsibility that can be done with limited resources. While one person may coordinate the effort, a dedicated team can also support the process. For example, an organization can develop a steering committee with representation from each division. Define and document how the organization will develop the workforce plan.
3. Align Workforce Planning with Other Organizational Plans:
Align workforce planning with the organization's mission, vision, and critical functions as outlined in the strategic plan. If there is no current strategic plan, conduct an environmental scan and a Strength Weakness Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis or other environmental scan to inform workforce planning. Review the organization's Statewide Leadership Accountability Act Report (SLAA) to understand the organization's workforce related risks and how workforce planning can address those. Review the Annual Workforce Analysis completed by EEO and all action plans and information related to classifications with underutilizations to ensure the workforce plan will address these as well. The workforce plan must show clear alignment with these organizational plans and any others that impact the workforce.
4. Assess Current Envireonmental Factors:
Consider all factors that impact the workforce, such as political, economic, technological, and cultural trends. Evaluate how these factors affect the organization's goals and mission, considering both current trends and future implications. Ensure the workforce plan will address these factors.
Go to Phase 2
