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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
- Workforce baseline assessment
- Supply analysis
- Demand analysis
- Workforce gaps and risk analysis
- 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.