Workforce Planning | Meaning and Definition

What is Workforce planning?

It is a very important process through which an organization analyses its workforce as well as determines the activities it has to take to meet the future employee requirements. It indicates that the firm has access to the people or human resources it requires now and in the future. It entails determining present and emerging personnel requirements, as well as determining the most appropriate as well as cost-effective techniques for recruiting and retaining these people.

Importance of workforce planning

Because it ensures that the correct individual is in the right position at the right time, the method is also called strategic workforce planning. Strategic workforce planning, as per Evers (in the year 2014), is just becoming increasingly essential for a variety of reasons, which include shifts which are demographic, then there is cost reduction, adaptability, as well as talent management.

Workforce Planning Recommendations

Human resource professionals in charge of planning projects should make sure to do the following to ensure the success of the process:

• Assign the process to a specific member of the HR department.
• Identify a high-ranking executive who will champion the proposal.
• Participate in the the process with important stakeholders.
• Align the strategy with the company’s overall business strategy.
• Work with succession planning as well as career development programs to coordinate the workforce plan.
• Consider it as a continual process, with regular assessments of changes in the organization’s internal and external environments that may alter staffing requirements.