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What are the components of manpower planning?

Posted by: Mansour Baker

​Introduction to Manpower Planning

Manpower planning is the strategic alignment of an organization’s people resources with current and future business needs.

​What is manpower planning?

  • A strategic management tool for aligning workforce capabilities with mission and goals
  • Regular and systematic assessment of our ability to match workforce capabilities with organizational needs
  • Integrated with strategic plans, line management priorities, budget process, diversity goals, human capital plans, union agreements, etc.
  • A process that involves managers at all organizational levels and representatives from HR, strategic planning, and budgeting

​What is not manpower planning?

  • Just a data collection exercise
  • A one-time event
  • Just an HR activity 
  • A process conducted by a small, isolated group

​​Effective workforce planning methodologies will enable a company to develop a strategic roadmap regarding its workforce.

​​Manpower Planning Components

1. Strategic Business Definition
  • Identifies core business areas to be covered by Workforce Planning
  • Establishes scope of initial analysis
2. Supply Analysis
  • Analyzes members of the organization who perform work
  • Identifies demographic segments of the workforce, such as age, position, and functional alignment
3. Demand Analysis
  • Analyzes the amount of work personnel must accomplish
  • Indicates the amount of work by customer segment
4. Gap Analysis
  • Utilizes information uncovered by the Supply and Demand Analyses to identify future trends that will affect the size of the workforce, and the amount of work requested of it
  • Predicts future workforce size and its ability to meet future demand
5. Road Map
  • Develops a plan for addressing issues identified by the Workforce Planning Gap Analysis (e.g., recruiting, succession planning, retraining of existing workforce, etc.)

​Manpower Planning Process

Manpower Planning Process

​Workforce Supply Analysis

​A workforce supply analysis provides a data-driven model of a company's current composition and characteristics.

​​A workforce supply baseline analysis:

  • Helps the organization better understand the workforce’s current and future characteristics and capabilities
  • Uses existing workforce data to analyze and profile the current employee workforce in terms of numbers, demographics, and representation - essentially providing a snapshot in time

​Results from the supply analysis will:

  • Allow leadership better to understand current workforce resources
  • Identify areas that may require attention to ensure the future supply of particular workforce populations
  • Inform the development of future target workforce objectives, including desired size, composition, and mix
  • Allow a basis of comparison against the future workforce requirements may be assessed, so that key gaps may be identified and addressed

​A structured approach should be utilized to develop the workforce supply analysis.

Workforce Supply Analysis

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​Workforce Demand Analysis

​Analysis of baseline demand provides a quantifiable, multi-perspective view of the utilization of core organization services.

​​The workforce demand baseline analysis:

  • Defines the core functions performed by the organization to address customer demands
  • Provides a structured means to measure activity levels associated with the key functions performed in support of the company’s customer base

​Results from the demand analysis will:

  • Provide leadership with a consolidated view of services utilized by customers
  • Highlight areas that may require attention to maximize efficiency in the delivery of services
  • Inform the evaluation of future demand, including service composition and customer segmentation
  • Allow a basis of comparison against which the future workforce requirements may be assessed, so that key gaps may be identified and addressed

​A structured approach to integrate the data elements involved in the baseline demand analysis.

Workforce Demand Analysis

​How to develop an effective workforce planning?

​To develop a workload-based workforce planning approach and methodology according to industry and international best practices and train human resource staff members on its administration and associated tools.

​Objectives

  • To enable the company to achieve and sustain a balance between demand for and supply of the workforce needed.
  • To identify areas with the greatest risk of misalignment or gaps and to develop mitigation strategies and recommendations to address identified gaps.

​Near Term (1-6 months) Initiatives

  • Develop a strategic workforce plan/workload-based workforce planning approach and methodology according to industry and international best practices.
  • Train HR staff members in the administration of the new workforce planning approach and associated tools.

​Medium Term (6-12 months) Initiatives

  • Manage expectations and train concerned stakeholders on workforce planning process.
  • Train front line department heads to implement strategic workforce planning at the unit level.
  • Deploy methodology to identify optimal staffing levels for the company and all its functions.

​Manpower planning is work-load based for accurate projections

Manpower planning is work-load based for accurate projections

​Key Activities

  • ​Conduct baseline assessment of workforce to evaluate work predictability and volatility, key measures, etc.  
  • Undertake supply analysis focused on workforce and competency supply
  • Conduct demand analysis to assess workload and competency demand
  • Carry out workforce gap and risk analysis  
  • Working group of company staff to assess desired framework for revised workforce planning approach 
  • Develop company’s strategic workforce plan 

​Key Deliverables

  1. Workforce baseline assessment 
  2. Supply analysis 
  3. Demand analysis 
  4. Workforce gaps and risk analysis 
  5. Strategic workforce plan and approach
1. Workforce baseline assessment
  • Assessment of current company workforce planning methodology.
  • Evaluation of work predictability and volatility and defining key measures of organization performance.
  • Definition of up to 10 mission critical occupation types/position groupings upon which to focus analysis.
2. Supply analysis
  • Detailed baseline of company’s current workforce attributes (current staffing levels/mixes, key workforce trends that affect the size and mix of future workforce supply, etc.).
  • Assessment of the extent the workforce possesses those competencies deemed most important for successful job performance by assessing current proficiencies (informed by demand analysis).
3. Demand analysis
  • Baseline of how work is distributed, and current levels of staffing are used.
  • Definition of anticipated changes in the nature, type, and/or quantity of the work.
  • Evaluation of future requirements for numbers, types, and levels of employees.
  • Definition of competencies that are required for successful job performance.
4. Workforce gaps and risk analysis
  • Assessment of the level of risk associated with those gaps or surpluses.
  • A working group of selected company staff to assess desired planning framework.
  • Draft recommendations on workforce planning methodologies.
5. Strategic workforce plan and approach
  • Assessment and prioritization of identified gaps and identification of critical mismatches between current and future workforce and competency requirements.
  • Integrated workforce planning strategies to effectively bridge or close the workforce and competency gaps.


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