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Workforce PlanningKey Insights Report
Prepared by
Contents
2
1. Context 03
2. Research Methodology 08
3. Workforce Planning Overview 10
4. Insight Highlights 14
5. Insight Findings 16
6. Case Studies 31
7. Insights By Organisation 38
1. Context
SCOPE OF PROJECT
Context
4
• One of the most popular topics for FIRM group members on the discussion board is around Workforce Planning.
• Many FIRM members are keen to understand how others are coping and what is the optimum way to both implement and manage Workforce Planning.
• This insight report is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of how a variety organisations approach their own Workforce Planning.
APPROACH
Context
5
• A number of organisations were approached directly by The FIRM and Talent Insight Group.
• Each participant completed a short online survey.
• Organisations participating were given a guarantee of confidentiality and anonymity with regards to the final report.
Context
6
BENCHMARKING SET
The report focuses on a selection of organisations from a number of industries:
• Clinical Research• Construction• Defence• Education• Financial Services • FMCG• Healthcare• Housing• Insurance• Logistics & Supply Chain• Management Consulting• Manufacturing • Oil & Gas• Real Estate• Telecommunications• Transport • Utilities
Context
7
QUESTIONS LEVERAGED
• Workforce Planning - how far in the future do you plan?• Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical?• How often do you review Workforce Planning processes?• Do you cover attrition, business growth and succession by
area/function/department? • What external factors (if any) affect your plans?• Do you have a framework/methodology in place for planning? If so, please
describe.• What tools/software do you use (if any)?• Who has responsibility for what in the Workforce Planning process?
(Line/HR/ TA)• How do you engage hiring managers/HR in the planning process?• How successful is your approach to Workforce Planning?• How are you showing the ROI of your planning process?• How are you utilising the data/what impact is this data having on your
delivery?• Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning process?
2. Research Methodology
2. Research Methodology
9
Findings are based on primary contact with relevant members of the TA/HR teamsfrom the sampled organisations.
The report is split in to five sections:
• A general overview of Workforce Planning,• Highlights of the insight findings,• Findings organised by each question leveraged,• A couple of case studies looking at member WFP practices, and• Individual insights gathered from each organisation
The 23 organisations that have participated in this research have been drawnfrom a variety of industries. In the interest of respondent anonymity, each hasbeen labelled by industry (rather than by company name).
3. Workforce Planning Overview
Workforce Planning
Workforce Planning is a core business process to align changing organisation needs with people strategy. Itcan be the most effective activity an organisation can engage in. It does not need to be complicated andcan be adjusted to suit the size and maturity of an organisation. It can provide market and industryintelligence to help organisations focus on a range of challenges and issues and pave the way foroperational initiatives to directly support longer term business goals.
Workforce Planning presents an important opportunity for the senior leadership team, HR Directors andboard members to drive the strategic end of the process and set the agenda for workforce change.
While HR practitioners appear to recognise the importance of Workforce Planning in principle, for manythere is a ‘knowing–doing’ gap and many practitioners are actively seeking better solutions to thechallenges of Workforce Planning. Issues of world economics, technology, demography and changing socialattitudes constantly influence how organisations are resourced.
We believe Workforce Planning can help to enable sustainable organisation performance by providing thebasis for better decision-making about the future people needs of the business.
11
Source: www.cipd.co.uk
12
Workforce Planning
Workforce Planning processes can:
• reduce labour costs in favour of workforce deployment and flexibility
• identify and respond to changing customer needs
• identify relevant strategies for focused people development
• target inefficiencies
• improve employee retention
• improve productivity and quality outputs
• improve employees’ work-life balance
• make recommendations to deliver strategic value through talent
This will inform HR practices such as:
• organisational design and development
• succession planning
• work-life balance initiatives such as flexible working and well-being
• recruitment and selection
• retention planning
• talent management
• job design
• career planning
• learning and development focus
• reward and recognition
Source: www.cipd.co.uk
Workforce Planning Process
Understand the organisation
and it’s environment.
Analyse the current
potential workforce.
Determine the future
workforce needs.
Identify workforce gaps against future
needs.
Actions to address
shortages, surpluses or
skills mismatches.
Monitor and evaluate actions
Workforce Planning
Workforce Planning is a process of analysing
the current workforce, determining future
workforce needs, identifying the gap
between the workforce you will have
available and your future needs, and
implementing solutions so that an
organisation can accomplish its mission,
goals, and strategic plan.
While it is convenient to describe Workforce
Planning as a series of steps, it is equally
important to understand that it is an
iterative process, not rigidly a linear one.
The main steps in the Workforce Planning
process are:
13
Source: www.cipd.co.uk
4. Insight Highlights
Insight Highlights
15
Only 17% of respondents feel that their approach to Workforce Planning is proving successful, with one
respondent pointing out that it had taken them two years to gain a demonstrable level of success.
Only 13% look beyond 12 months with regards to their Workforce Planning activity, with the vast
majority planning no more than one year ahead.
Only 21% of respondents have adopted a more strategic approach to Workforce Planning, with the
bulk of respondents (65%) still utilising a more tactical approach.
Of the 83% of respondents who have a Workforce Planning tool/system in place, 32% of those are still
using Excel Spreadsheets in the main.
Workforce Planning is clearly still in its infancy, as evidenced by 39% of respondents stating that it is
too early to judge process successes and 78% of respondents unable to evidence any Workforce Planning ROI.
5. Insight Findings
1. Workforce Planning - how far in the future do you plan?
Insight Findings
17
87% of respondents conduct Workforce Planning 0-12 months in the future, with 4.3% extending their plans for 1-2 years in advance. Only 8.7% planning ahead for 2 years+, those being in the FMCG and Utilities industry.
20
12
How far in the future do you plan?
0-12 months
1-2 years
2 years+
0-12 months• Clinical Research• Construction• Defence• Education• Financial Services 1 & 2• Healthcare• Housing• Insurance• Logistics & Supply Chain• Manufacturing • Oil & Gas• Real Estate• Telecommunications• Transport 1,2 & 3• Utilities 1
1-2 years• Management Consulting
2+ years• FMCG• Utilities 2
Industry Split
2. Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical?
Insight Findings
18
15
5
21
Approach Used
Tactical
Strategic
Both
NA
65% of respondents have a mainly tactical approach to their Workforce Planning. 21.7% follow a more strategic approach while 8.7% implement both tactical and strategic approaches. Some respondents who do take a tactical approach are looking to be more
strategic, whether it be to adapt to certain projects or to implement a full strategic approach.
“Tactical at present, but implementing strategic
thinking and processes for short/medium term improvement, etc.”
Clinical Research
“Fairly tactical, but in some areas we look at future roles
which need building.”
Transport 1
“Tactical, but trying to be more strategic.”
Utilities 2
“Currently more tactical than strategic, but projects
in place to switch this.”
Manufacturing 3
3. How often do you do review Workforce Planning processes?
Insight Findings
19
2 2
8
2
4
1
2 2
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Daily Monthly Quarterly Bi-annually Annually 2 years+ Varies N/A or Never
Review Time Frames
35% of respondents stated that the most common time to review Workforce Planning was on a quarterly basis, with 17% doing same on an annual basis.
4. Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by area/function/department?
Insight Findings
20
17
3
3
Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by area/function/department?
Yes
No
Some areas
The majority of respondents (74%) did cover these areas by function/department. Only 13% did not and the remaining 13%covered one or two of the areas by function/department (i.e. only business growth or only business growth and attrition).
“Just business growth and attrition. Succession is done
through our talent management process.”
Healthcare
“We are trying to with the introduction of Foresight.”
Transport 1
“Yes - everything is driven by analytics from our HR
systems, business data and external trends.”
FMCG
“In a word; no! this is something that needs to be
looked at in order to forecast effectively.”
Clinical Research
78% of respondents stated that their Workforce Planning was affected by external factors. The most common factors which caused such an affect were funding, Brexit and economy changes.
5. What external factors (if any) affect your plans?
Insight Findings
21
18
5
Affected vs. Not Affected By External Factors.
Affected
Not Affected
• Funding• Customer needs• New business cases• Skills shortages• Government• Labour market analysis• Sponsor engagement • Number of trials• Candidate shortages for
niche roles• Employment Legislation• Contractual compliance• Brexit
• Attrition• Business performance• External market shifts• Shift in business priorities• Economy changes• Key commercial factors (e.g.
oil price)• Unemployment metrics• Growth/transformation• Competition• Big projects/winning of
projects• Demand for product
External Factors Affecting Workforce Planning
6. Do you have a framework/methodology in place for planning? If so, please describe?
Insight Findings
22
11
12
Framework/Methodology in place?
Yes
No
There was an almost 50/50 split in respondents who have a specific framework or methodology in place for Workplace Planning. There was great variation in the types of frameworks and methodologies respondents had in place. Some used specific
programmes or basic spreadsheets containing various data from across the business and for others Workforce Planning sits within other processes/functions.
“It sits in our budget process.”
Financial Services 2
“Yes - we use SWP plans globally per country in
conjunction with our annual people planning process.”
FMCG
“We are using Foresight for up to 12 months and
implementing a railway strategic tool for longer-
term planning.”
Transport 1
“Basic Excel spreadsheets drawn from HRM data.”
Utilities 2
83% of respondents had tools and software in place in order to assist with their Workforce Planning process. Of those, the most utilised was Foresight, with 47% of respondents currently using or implementing the software. Excel was the second most
common, with 32% using spreadsheets as their main tool for Workforce Planning.
7. What tools/software do you use (if any)?
Insight Findings
23
19
4
Do you have Workforce Planning-specific tools/software in place?
Yes
No
• Foresight• Excel Spreadsheets• Cold Harbour• Care Plan• Hyperian• Tripepad• Talent Data Exchange• Oracle
Software used by respondents:
8. Who has responsibility for what in the Workforce Planning process? (Line/HR/TA)
Insight Findings
24
“Line managers generally have the responsibility for completing any tool or information, with HR supporting and guiding & generally analysing information.” | Transport 1
“Line manager for feeding information. TA for analysing the data and building plans. HRBP supports line.” | Healthcare
“HR and Business Management survey the business leaders about their needs and requirements and subsequently use the inputs from Foresight to work it into a plan. TA
review the plan as it's getting built and then execute.“ | Insurance
"Line Manager - building forecast, TA - build resourcing plan, HR - approve." | Manufacturing 3
“The line for headcount budgets for the new year in line with growth plans and business objectives. HR for using this with attrition and retirement data to try and plan the year
ahead and skill needs in the business.“ | Transport 3
“HR/Recruiters are responsible for updating end dates and suggesting allocation.”| Construction
Workforce Planning was most commonly managed by Human
Resources and Talent Acquisition according to our respondents.
Other functions/roles that were mentioned of those who were
involved in the process included:
• Line Managers• Operational Directors
• Finance• Procurement
Functions involved in Workforce Planning:
9. How do you engage hiring managers/HR in the planning process?
Insight Findings
25
“Through detailed budget planning process and then reviewing workforce plans together.” | Telecommunications
“Workshops, knowledge sessions and regular updates.” | Transport 1
“Easy when you use a tool like Foresight as it's intuitive and user friendly.” | Insurance
“Sit down with sites at start of financial year and work with them.“ | Manufacturing 3
"HR/Talent Management lead the process with input from TA and the business. It's structured and runs in the same way each year.“ | FMCG
“Through departmental talent forums.” | Utilities 1
“With difficulty! We utilise the heads of department who tend to be more interested in the long term implications of resourcing.” | Utilities 2
"During the budget setting process and then he partnering throughout the year to gain alignment against the plans.” | Transport 3
10. How successful is your approach to Workforce Planning?
Insight Findings
26
9
54
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Too soonto tell
Limited or couldbe improved
Successful Notsuccessful
Success of Workforce Planning Approach
39% of respondents had quite recently implemented Workforce Planning processes and therefore felt it too soon to gauge success rate. Only 17% felt that their approach was successful, one of which pointed out that it had taken them two years to get to that
point.
“Pretty good - we've created internal tools to predict leavers that are 70% accurate at a senior level. We focus a lot on hi-po's and key roles to maintain focus (possibly too much focus
on hi-po's versus key contributors).”
FMCG
“Very successful now, but its taken 2 years!”
Construction
“Provides information in key areas but the insight
produced is not really actioned.”
Education
11. How are you showing the ROI of your planning process?
Insight Findings
27
“Measuring attrition numbers, promotions, success year-on-year versus previous year, etc.” | FMCG
“When we get there we will use time, cost and quality.” | Healthcare
“In time we will have the info we need in order to streamline the forecasting process. This will then result in us being able totangibly define the ROI.” | Clinical Research
“Too early to say but we will do so by showing our increased ability to source more top diverse talent - better/quicker/cheaper, etc.“ | Insurance
"We'll be looking at ECT, reduction in advertising costs, increased productivity (especially within sales).“ | Manufacturing 2
“With data analysis.” | Construction
78% of respondents stated that they were not showing the ROI of their process or that it was too soon to collect this data. The remaining 22% are showing their results in a variety of ways:-
12. How are you utilising the data/what impact is this data having on your delivery?
Insight Findings
28
“It's totally correlated with right sizing the team, scouting for critical skills and understanding the trends in recruitment to be more proactive in the market.” | Telecommunications
“We will be using this to plan recruitment campaigns and tie in with our sourcing strategy.” | Healthcare
“More accurate reducing waste and temp agency fees.” | Manufacturing 3
“To define clear recruitment planning against AOP increases and reduction.“ | Manufacturing 2
"Everything is driven by data - it enables us to make decisions and then course correct as we can measure the impact of our approach.“ | FMCG
“We have extensive tools to provide data insights and the insights are positioned as decision support.” | Management Consulting
“We are using it across the business to show where we are wasting money on contractors/showing potential upcoming redundancy costs.” | Construction
44% of respondents stated that they were not utilising any data or that it was too soon in their process to effectively utilise data/obtain sufficient data. Those who are utilising the data do so in various ways to highlight interesting impacts:-
13. Any top tips for people starting out on the Workforce Planning process?
Insight Findings
29
“Understand that true strategic Workforce Planning is a far more in-depth and forward looking exercise for some firms,
but tactical Workforce Planning (which is what we are implementing using Foresight) should be attainable and a
realistic aspiration for most firms.”
Insurance
“Keep it simple, prove the concept and build
from solid foundations.”
Management Consulting
“Get buy in from the top, but determine what you aim to achieve with
the data.”
Education
“Don't be overwhelmed; something is better than nothing. Even if you don't have the money for big investments,
the basics will make a difference.”
Utilities 2
“Choose the right tool/system.”
Housing
“Take it seriously if you want to be a real partner
to the business you're supporting.”
Telecommunications
“Start using a tool from day 1 rather than Excel.
Saviom is excellent.”
Construction
13. Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning process? (cont.)
Insight Findings
30
“Trial and area first so you can get used to the data before rolling it out on a larger scale. Support your HM in the process so they understand
what SWP really means.”
Healthcare
“Data, more data and the engagement of the hiring manager
community - without their data the process is flawed and not fit
for purpose.”
Clinical Research
“Try in small trial areas and get it right.
Keep going!”
Transport 1
“Ask your managers for their forecast, if they don't give a comprehensive answer, start
digging!”
Manufacturing 3
“You'll need buy-in from the business and HR before TA can even think about
Workforce Planning. We don't do a great job of recruitment forecasting but we
manage our talent fairly well!”
FMCG
“Start with your most engaged stakeholders who will ‘get it’.
Deliver that area well and then roll out to other, more challenging
areas of the business.”
Manufacturing 2
“Make it simple, do not make it a digital
exercise.”
Defence
6. Case Studies
Case Study – Ideal Standard
32
From humble beginnings in 1872 when US businessman, John Pierce, opened a tin ware shop in Massachusetts, Ideal Standard has deep and rich history that brings this iconic business to where it stands today. By 2012, Ideal Standard International operated in 20 countries with more than 11,000 employees, and continues to produce the highest quality products with the consumer at the very heart of the business
• We started our aim of a complete recruitment transformation back in 2015, mainly because of a desire to provide far greater value to the business bottom line. Unsurprisingly our thoughts soon turned to the need for a new ATS, a revamped EVP, plus updated candidate sourcing techniques.
• However the more we considered our goal, we kept coming back to the same root problem - We were far too reactive!
• Whilst useful, these tools and technologies couldn’t solve this primary problem. We recognised early that the only way for us to become truly proactive would be to get our business colleagues to engage with us earlier.
• Easier said than done right?
• Our recruitment planning process was very ad hoc. There was no real structure in terms of what info we needed to capture, from who and when. No-one had ownership of the process. It felt like finance had a part to play, and HR, but the real info we needed was out in the business.
• Our live vacancy numbers kept us firefighting in the here and now. Nothing had been tried before at Ideal Standard. As such we had to build a business case to show why this would be fundamental to our success.
• We had to think about how we made the whole planning cycle real for our hiring communities to make them want to engage with us. We did this by linking into their day to day drivers / pain points.
• Being a very fast paced, complex, transient and in some aspects traditional business, change can sometimes feel difficult!
Overview Strategy Where did we start
Case Study – Ideal Standard
33
We decided to bypass the excel stage. Having spoken to others that had tried excel, we knew we needed the data but excel wasn’t the way for us. We wanted to be taken seriously & to do this we needed to showcase innovation to make this as painless as possible for the hiring managers (after all I did say we were a complex, traditional company).We needed a solution that was quick & easy to deploy, that would help us to reduce those typical hiring manager grumbles and escalations, whilst unsurprisingly being budget friendly! Most of all we needed to put the TA team in centre stage and create an environment where we were “included” not “told (late).” Our first plan was kept simple, We kept it to the UK business units and all we asked for future ‘known’ recruitment needs. This was nothing more than starting with the normal recruitment needs such as Mat/Pat, Resignations, Retirees, Flight risks and Growth. From these needs, again we kept it simple and only asked Job title, Grade, Salary, Location and When. Our next phase is to roll it out across our European countries.
• The data flooded in. We knew the hiring communities knew their hiring plan but we didn’t realise how ready they were to include us.
• I now have a hiring plan (recruitment forecast) for the next 30,60,90, 120 + days
• I have on average across all of our vacancies an average lead time of 30 weeks (unimaginable before)
• I control the hiring process and am rarely at the mercy of business colleagues landing vacancies on me at the last minute (as was the norm before)
• I am viewed differently and as such my relationships with managers are changing for the better
• Don’t get me wrong, I am still busy, but now feel in control!
• The visibility of this project has given me great exposure to the c-suite
• The reward to effort ratio is unparalleled.
• Yes there are a few areas that didn’t comply, there always will be but we are light years ahead of where we were. This isn’t the end, we’ll refine, refresh and improve.
• All the other pieces of tech that we’ve invested in will benefit from having a clearer picture of what we are going to recruit.
Solution Results for me
Case Study – Ideal Standard
34
• TTH is reducing quickly
• CPH is coming down as we are able to direct source candidates more and use less 3rd parties. We can also be more strategic with ad spend (which here is comes from a Hiring Managers budget)
• The reporting suite allows us to showcase back to the business the power of working with us, and the consequence of not! We measure something called “empty chair time” now which gives a direct link to productivity of a team / business area!
• Everyone is working towards the same people plan.
Results for the business
The TA team now feels super-human. Yes. 100%. Start simple but just start. .
Vivienne Pearsons – Recruitment Manager Ideal Standard
Would I recommend?
Case Study - Vodafone
35
We're one of the world's leading mobile communications providers, operating in 26 countries and in partnership with networks in over 55 more. Across the world, we have almost 444 million customers. We made the first ever mobile phone call on 1 January 1985 from London to our Newbury HQ and since then we are constantly uncovering tactics to innovate the way we operate, connecting global organisations in a rapid changing world to ensure they stay agile and competitive.
• Our challenges in recruitment are practically similar to everyone else’s. As a function we are striving to be more proactive, being able to pipeline for strategic skills our organisation needs for the future in a timely manner. On the face of it, we were doing our best to be a trusted partner to the business but still failing at times. However being ‘reactive’ wasn’t the only problem it was the fact that recruitment and the business needed to be better connected.
• As a company we are fast paced, very dynamic, ever changing and have demanding internal stakeholders that are sometimes resistant to change. On the other hand we have extremely high standards and equally ambitious targets on potential of hires and also diversity and inclusion. It’s our company ethos to do things better where we can.
• Like many other companies we are also on a digital transformation looking at our internal processes that can be converted into a digital experience bringing huge time, effort and resource savings. In the current recruitment landscape, what really matters is the unmatched candidate experience that you can deliver and therefore you have no choice but build a better under-standing of your business and articulate your unique value proposition to your candidates. And to be able to do this, we needed more time to plan our hiring activities and data to support the right investment/recruitment plan.
• From a data collection perspec-tive, we weren’t in a bad place. We were tracking headcount actuals, target, variance, attrition and growth by business unit.
• Our forecasting process was driven by the resourcing function together with the functionally aligned HRBPs and all captured in different excel sheets. So you can imagine the sheer number of excel docs being distributed, chased, collated and also the different ways in which people would submit the information which caused us a lot of challenges with the accuracy and quality of the information collected. Whilst excel didn’t cost us anything, the time spend on arriving at the right set of data / information was a huge hidden cost
Overview Problem Where did we start
Case Study - Vodafone
36
• We’ve invited our hiring managers / HRBPs to take a more active role in strategic workforce planning to adopt to the changes in the candidate landscape. You’ll be surprised by just how much the business will want to share their teams strategy when you help them understand how it will affect their productivity. They have quickly realised how important it is to be able to review this information together which in turn reduces the time it takes to recruit and allow us to start attracting a higher calibre of talent into our organisationby being more cost efficient.
• As we were digitalising our processes, it also gave us chance to decide which data points we are looking to gather during this process. We decided to refine and start gathering information on ‘known’ leaver data, Mat/Pat leavers, Resignations, Retirees, Promotions, Internal mobility, Early careers. This allowed us to start analysing the ‘unknown’ (general attrition) v’s what was actually known and coming down the pipeline or where we anticipate we may lose a key skill and build a proactive plan to buy or build that critical skill for a specific area. We believe Foresight gave us a really great opportunity to build the pace and insight that enabled us to transform our recruitment function.
• Started at a 80% completion rate, through refinement currently standing a 98% completion rate. This was achieved by constantly looking at what we asked, how we asked and made the journey as easy as possible. Its quite easy to fall into the trap of waiting until we had the perfect process before starting. Just start.
• We are now capturing a rolling plan in excess of 2500 hires in such granular detail meaning our recruitment performance is more proactive.
• The recruitment team feel ever more connected to the business and vice versa enabling us to build more credibility as a trusted partner.
• Did we get it 100% right first time? No. It’s a case of starting, refining, refreshing because the data that comes back is extraordinary.
Solution Results for me
Case Study - Vodafone
37
• Clear understanding on strategy to build / buy a specific skill.
• Reduced time to hire / stronger pipelines.
• Reduced CPH as a result of being able to build a direct source of candidates and use less 3rd parties.
• Being more strategic on building the attraction plans and targeted ad spend
• Whilst we are achieving against our D&I plans, it’s now even clearer as to how we accelerate this.
Results for the business
Yes. You have a great opportunity to transform the way you work in recruitment. No-one will fix this process for you, just start thinking what you can achieve by adopting this process. It’s easier than you think. The results and strategic conversations that can be had off the back of this are incredible.
Elif Gurtekin – Group Resourcing Manager Vodafone
Would I recommend?
7. Insights By OrganisationOrganised alphabetically by industry
Clinical Research
39
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical?Tactical at present but implementing strategic thinking, processes for
short, medium term improvement etc.
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Daily, it is an ongoing process
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? In a word, no.. this is something that needs to be looked at in order to
forecast effectively.
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans?Sponsor engagement, number of trials, candidate shortages for
niche/technical/clinical roles
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.No
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Tribepad (ATS), Foresight (forecasting)
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)Line informs TA/HR of plans
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?Foresight - will be implemented
Clinical Research - cont
40
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? Not very
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process?in time we will have the info we need in order to streamline the
forecasting process, this will then result in us being able to tangibly
define the ROI.
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?data is key, this is where there is work to be done.
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?Data, more data and the engagement of the hiring manager community
- without their data the process is flawed and not fit for purpose.
Construction
41
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Tactical
3 How often do you do this/ review this? daily
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? Winning of projects/change of economy
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.yes- we have weekly resource meeting
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? excel
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)HR/Recruiters are responsible for updating end dates and suggesting
allocation
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?Weekly meeting/going to site to brief/debrief
Construction - cont
42
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? very now, but its taken 2 years
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? with data analysis
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?We are using it across the business to show where we are wasting
money on contractors/showing potential upcoming redundancy costs
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?start using a tool from day 1 rather than excel!! Saviom is excellent
Defence
43
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Tactical
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Some annually, some quarterly
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? No
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? Employment Legislation, contracts, contractual compliance
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.No
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Spreadsheets
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)Line
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?It is run by the line so hiring managers and HR are involved
Defence - cont
44
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? Limited
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? No
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?No
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?Make it simple, do not make it a digital exercise
Education
45
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Tactical
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Every couple of years
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Business growth
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? Funding chqnges
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.No
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Excel
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)Line - providing information
HR - constructing data summaries
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?Instruction from Senior Executive
Education - cont
46
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning?Provides information in key areas but the insight produced is not really
actioned
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? Not
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?Very little yet
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?Get buy in from the top but determine what you aim to achieve with the
data
Financial Services 1
47
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? No
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Yearly
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? Economic fluctuation
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.Not really
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? N/a
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)Line and HR
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?Face to face interactions and through e-mails
Financial Services 1 - cont
48
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? Average
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? Positive
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?60%
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?Must be agile
Financial Services 2
49
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Tactical
3 How often do you do this/ review this? 2 x a year
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? Competition and \organic growth
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.It sits in our budget process
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Spread sheet
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)HR and Line
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?its a conversation between the 2 and Finance business partner
Financial Services 2 - cont
50
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? Not very
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? we don't
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?we are not using the data
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?
FMCG
51
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 2 years +
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Both
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Annually
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Yes - everything is driven by analytics from our HR systems, business
data and external trends
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans?Attrition, business performance, external market shifts, shift in business
priorities
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.Yes - we use SWP plans globally per Country in conjunction with our
annual people planning process
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Internal tools only!
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)HR in partnership with the business and TA
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?HR / Talent Management lead the process with input from TA and the
business. It's structured and runs in the same way each year.
FMCG - cont
52
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning?
Pretty good - we've created internal tools to predict leavers that are
70% accurate at a senior level. We focus a lot on hi-po's and key roles
to maintain focus (possibly too much focus on hi-po's versus key
contributors)
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process?Measuring attrition numbers, promotions, success year-on-year versus
previous year etc.
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?Everything is driven by data - it enables us to make decisions and then
course correct as we can measure the impact of our approach
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?
You'll need buy-in from the business and HR before TA can even think
about resource planning. We don't do a great job of recruitment
forecasting but we manage our talent fairly well!
Healthcare
53
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Tactical
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Quarterly
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Just business growth and attrition. Succession is done through our
talent management process
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans?
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.Utilise a forecasting tool
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Foresight
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)Line manager for feeding information. TA for analysing the data and
building plans. HRBP supports line
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?Through comms, HRBP’s and leadership team meetings
Healthcare - cont
54
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? We are in the early stages!
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? When we get there we will use time, cost and quality
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?We will be using this to plan recruitment campaigns and tie in with our
sourcing strategy
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?
Trial and area first so you can get used to the data before rolling it out
on a larger scale. Support your hm in the process so they understand
what swp really means
Housing
55
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Tactical
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Quarterly
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? Funding and customer needs
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.No
7 What tools/ software do you use if any?Various depending on sector - Cold Harbour is one. Very poor. Moving
to Care Plan
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)Operational directors
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?We have a new ATS. We work collaboratively
Housing - cont
56
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? Will get better
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? Early days
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?Work to do
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?Choose the right tool / system
Insurance
57
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? tactical
3 How often do you do this/ review this? quarterly
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? n/a
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.not yet - we are early stages
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Foresight is being implemented
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)
HR and Business Mgmt survey the business leaders about their needs
and requirements and subsequently use the inputs from Foresight to
work it into a plan TA review the plan as it's getting built and then
execute
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?easy when you use a tool like Foresight as it's intuitive and user
friendly
Insurance - cont
58
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? Too early to say - we are piloting this year
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process?Too early to say but we will do so by showing our increased ability to
source more top diverse talent - better/quicker/cheaper etc.
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?TBD
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?
understand that true strategic workforce planning is a far more in-depth
and forward looking exercise for some firms, but Tactical Workforce
planning (which is what we are implementing using Foresight) should
be attainable and a realistic aspiration for most firms.
Logistics & Supply Chain
59
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Strategic
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Quarterly
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? Labour market analysis
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.No
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Foresight
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)TA
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?via Foresight
Logistics & Supply Chain - cont
60
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? Yet to be seen
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? TBC
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?TBC
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?We are only starting
Management Consulting
61
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 1-2 years
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Strategic
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Varies
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans?Economy
Key commercial factors (e.g. Oil Price)
Unemployment metrics
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.We have developed our own methodology
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Talent Data Exchange
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)The process is typically run by a governance function consisting of
representatives from procurement, HR, finance, IT and the business
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?Both the business and HR should be represented on the governance
committee
Management Consulting - cont
62
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning?We have had mixed results from very good to mediocre in different
circumstances
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? This is a facet of the methodology we are working on.
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?We have extensive tools to provide data insights and the insights are
positioned as decision support
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?Keep it simple, prove the concept and build from solid foundations
Manufacturing 1
63
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Strategic
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Monthly
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? Economic
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.No
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Any
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)HR
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?No
Manufacturing 1 - cont
64
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? Not yet
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? Excel
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?Process
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?Sales
Manufacturing 2
65
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Both
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Every quarter
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? None
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.none as yet
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Foresight
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)TA and HR
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?Good communication outlining FABS
Manufacturing 2 - cont
66
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? We've just implemented it, so it's too early to say, but so far so good.
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process?We'll be looking at ECT, reduction in advertising costs, increased
productivity (especially within sales)
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?To define clear recruitment planning against AOP increases and
reduction
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?
Start with your most engaged stakeholders who will "get it", deliver that
area well and then roll out to other, more challenging areas of the
business.
Manufacturing 3
67
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? currently more tactical than strategic but projects in place to switch this
3 How often do you do this/ review this? quarterly
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? Brexit!
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.production planning vs resource needed
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? moving to Foresight
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)
Line Manager- building forecast
TA- build resourcing plan
HR approve
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?sit down with sites at start of financial year and work with them
Manufacturing 3 - cont
68
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? too soon to tell
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? TBC
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?more accurate reducing waste and temp agency fees
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?ask your managers for their forecast, if they don't give a
comprehensive answer, start digging!
Oil & Gas
69
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Tactical
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Monthly
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? No
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? None
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.No
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Spreadsheet
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)HR
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?They do it
Oil & Gas - cont
70
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? Poor
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? n/a
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?No impact
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?n/a
Real Estate
71
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Strategic
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Quarterly
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? Multiple
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.Yes
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Foresight, Hyperian,
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)TA, Line, Finance, HR
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?Review sessions
Real Estate - cont
72
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? Very
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? n/a
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?Various
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?No
Telecommunications
73
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Tactical
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Quarterly
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? New business case
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.Foresight
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Foresight
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)HRBP / TA
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?Through detailed budget planning process and then reviewing
workforce plans together
Telecommunications - cont
74
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? We can improve it further
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? Great
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?
It's totally correlated with right sizing the team, scouting for critical skills
and understanding the trends in recruitment to be more proactive in the
market
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?Take it seriously if you want to be a real partner to the business you're
supporting
Transport 1
75
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical?Fairly tactical, but in some areas we look at future roles which need
building
3 How often do you do this/ review this? attempted quarterly, but often half yearly
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? we are trying to with the introduction of foresight
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? funding, skills shortages, government.
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.we are using foresight for up to 12 months, and implementing a railway
strategic tool for longer-term planning.
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Foresight & SWP tool
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)
Line managers generally have the responsibility for completing any tool
or information, with HR supporting and guiding & generally analysing
information.
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?workshops, knowledge sessions, regular updates
Transport 1 - cont
76
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? very new!
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? not yet
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?not yet
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?try in small trial areas and get it right. keep going!
Transport 2
77
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Tactical
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Never
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? Growth/Transformation
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.Spreadsheets/Conversations
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? None
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)HR
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?Meetings
Transport 2 - cont
78
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? Poor
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? We are not
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?We are not
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?Short term first
Transport 3
79
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Tactical
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Annually
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans?The weather and therefore demand for the product peaking in the
colder months
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.No
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? None
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)
The line for headcount budgets for the new year in line with growth
plans and business objectives.
HR for using this with attrition and retirement data to try and plan the
year ahead and skill needs in the business
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?During the budget setting process and then he partnering throughout
the year to gain alignment against the plans
Transport 3 - cont
80
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning?Not very, ad hoc and region dependent for engagement and very
tactical
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? We aren't at the moment
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?
Utilities 1
81
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 0-12 months
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Strategic
3 How often do you do this/ review this? N/a
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Department level
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? Weather!
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.Not yet
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? None
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)HR & TA combined
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?Through departmental talent forums
Utilities 1 - cont
82
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? Currently very immature so not successful
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? Not doing so
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?Again immature approach currently
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?Stakeholder buy in to show value
Utilities 2
83
1 Workforce planning - how far in the future do you plan? 2 years +
2 Do you feel your approach is strategic or tactical? Tactical but trying to be more strategic
3 How often do you do this/ review this? Annually
4Do you cover attrition, business growth & succession by
area/function/department? Yes
5 What external factors (if any) affect your plans? Brexit and big infrastructure projects (such as Heathrow expansion)
6Do you have a framework/ methodology in place for planning? If
so, please describe.Basic Excel spreadsheets drawn from HRM data
7 What tools/ software do you use if any? Excel/Oracle
8Who has responsibility for what in the workforce planning
process? (Line/ HR/ TA)Talent Acquisition and Line Management
9How do you engage hiring managers/ HR in the planning
process?With difficulty! We utilise the heads of department who tend to be more
interested in the long term implications of resourcing
Utilities 2 - cont
84
10 How successful is your approach to workforce planning? We only started this year, too early to measure
11 How are showing the ROI of your planning process? See above
12How are you utilising the data / what impact is this data having
on your delivery?See above
13Any top tips for people starting out on the resource planning
process?
Don't be overwhelmed, something is better than nothing, even if you
don't have the money for big investments, the basics will make a
difference
w: www.thefirm-network.come: info@thefirm-network.com
w: www.talentinsightgroup.co.uke: hello@talentinsightgroup.co.uk
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