In an economy characterised by intense competition for talent in a frequently changing competitive landscape, a strategic approach to identifying and securing your workforce is critical.

Workforce Planning is a continuous process of shaping your workforce to ensure that it is capable of delivering your organisational objectives - now and into the future.

Ultimately, workforce planning is about aligning human resource strategies within a strategic planning framework to constantly deliver the right people in the right places at the right time to achieve successful business outcomes.

Chandler Macleod has honed our expertise in Workforce Planning over 53 years of providing workforce sourcing, assessment, development and management to organisations throughout Australasia. Through many economic cycles, legislative changes, technological advancements and demographic trends, we have developed a means of creating long-term sustainable outcomes through people.

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Why increase your focus on Workforce Planning now?

There are three key trends driving the strategic workforce planning imperative:

Globalisation

An increasingly globalised market which leverages advanced technology means the most productive human capital are being employed across dispersed locations for a lower cost:comparative advantage.

Workforce Demographics

Both a maturing workforce in the developed world and a growing young and well-educated middle class in emerging markets are leading to a variety of workforce configurations to meet business demands: full-time, outsourcing, contingent workforce management, engaging older workers, etc.

Availability of Analytics

The amount of data available to the organisation, including workforce data, has grown exponentially. Organisations are increasingly using advanced analytics, integrating Business Intelligence with talent management systems to build competitive advantage, drive productivity growth and to make better business decisions.

An effective workforce plan will:

• Anticipate the impact of labour market trends on your workforce
• Identify your top talent in critical job roles and ensure you have a plan in place to attract and retain them
• Assist in mitigating the risks associated with “salary war” and poaching activities from competitors for similar talent
• Enable you to effectively budget for the human component of your strategic growth plans
• Establish the workforce composition required to meet your immediate and longer-term requirements
• Facilitate rapid and strategic response to change – expected or unexpected
• Identify which skills and occupations within your organisation are at risk of turnover, will require retraining or upskilling, or will require additional talent acquisition
• Identify opportunities for cost reductions in non-core labour force
• Positively impact productivity and ability to take new products and initiatives to market
• Protect corporate memory and mitigate the risk of IP loss through targeted succession planning
• Provide clear governance and consistent reporting to external stakeholders.

If you are not introducing workforce planning to drive fact-based decisions on your workforce, your organisation will be less competitive in the current global economy.