Strategic Workforce Planning, also known as resource allocation, is a strategic approach enabling Human Resources Departments to navigate the challenges of increasing uncertainty effectively.
Based on a forward-looking approach, it allows us to anticipate future changes and to prepare the adequacy of resources for tomorrow's professions. It is therefore essential to make this approach a collective project and to reflect on the innovative levers that will make the Strategic Workforce Planning an operational and unifying mechanism.
The "Process Management" dimension of a resources allocation strategy
How to define resource allocation strategy?
The Strategic Workforce Planning is an anticipatory attitude of the human resources, according to the strategic decisions of the company in terms of development. Its objective is therefore to perfectly match the resources and the needs in strategic qualifications. This alignment is considered in detail in our page“Identifying the needs of skills“.
Before carrying out this strategic approach, the first step in the management planning process is to establish an in-depth diagnosis of your organization’s strengths and weaknesses.
Make an in-depth resource diagnosis
An initial inventory consists of asking the following questions:
- What are the most common skills and professional qualities of your employees?
- Which jobs are in tension today and which ones will be in the future?
- Which functions will evolve?
- Are there any new jobs emerging in your ecosystem?
- What qualifications do you absolutely need to have in the coming years?
Mapping proficiencies in the strategic resource allocation
Mapping the essential faculties is the result of the Strategic Workforce PlanningWhat are the 4 activities related to the mapping step?
- Define the objectives. Is it an ongoing transformation, to achieve dynamic age management or to renew your support practices for employability.
- Gather available data. How satisfied are you with your business repository? What is the preferred method of collection? How long ago was it updated?
- Structure your repository of skills. Is its formulation appropriate? Do the categories it contains need to evolve?
- Reveal the bridges between professions. The mapping highlights the proximity of faculties between professions and prefigures future mobility.
This step of the process Strategic Workforce Planning requires going into more detail. That's why we offer you this Complete Guide to creating a 6-step mapping.
The prospective vision of skills workforce
Changes in the work environment are extremely rapid: 80% of the jobs of 2030 do not exist today. A well conducted Strategic Workforce Planning allows you to anticipate medium and long term transformations. Indeed, it is part of the company’s 5-year strategic plan.
It is now time to think about training, mobility and recruitment policies. Artificial intelligence supports this anticipatory approach, with emerging skills appearing on job offers as they occur. The prospective vision of your Strategic Workforce Planning depends on the ability of your tool to provide external data reporting, as shown in the visual below.
The anticipatory vision also takes into account the internal mobility aspirations of employees. Skills are becoming increasingly important in the face of recruitment difficulties. Francis Boyer ‘s testimony on this subject is particularly enlightening:
Competencies are major levers of efficiency in the mobilization of skills. An individual who works in accordance with his or her skills will feel more useful, more fulfilled and will therefore be more likely to perform well at work.
Integrate every resource alocation together
More than 50% of large companies have implemented a tool for digitizing their adaptation processes. It is becoming essential, as the subject has become so complex.
Conducting your job and skills planning process inevitably requires reliable tools that are shared between the Human Resources Department, managers and social partners.
Choosing the right resource allocation tools?
There are three categories of Strategic Workforce PlanningThere are three categories of tools for the assessment of the impact of a project, from diagnostic tools to tools for setting actions in motion, including the identification of actions to be implemented.
Diagnostic tools
- Thejob descriptions
- The organization chart
- The age pyramid
Tools for identifying actions to be taken
- Mapping of key skills
- Annual and professional interviews.
- Business gateway mappings
The tools for setting in motion the actions decided
- HR development programs.
- The People Review
- The formalized succession plan.
Practical applications of digital solutions in resource allocation
- Aggregate data: DATA is an essential element of the Strategic Workforce Planning. For example, Neobrain updates the skill levels acquired as a result of training to get a true picture of your competitive arsenal.
- To manage your KPI’s: through the dashboards, you can manage and communicate on the results of your Strategic Workforce Planning ;
- Facilitate the appropriation of the approach by all the company’s stakeholders: by simplifying the processes, the management line and the employees will get involved with you.
Finally, don’t forget that effective management includes a continuous monitoring aspect of the forecasts and actions taken. By conducting regular reviews and adjusting your roadmap, you will have all the key elements to optimize your talent development strategy.
You wish to deepen the construction of your Strategic Workforce Planning ? Here are our recommendations of supports around this approach:
- Read our complete page: Gestion Prévisionnelle des Emplois and skills.
- Jobs & Skills Management and Strategic Workforce Planning : The reasons for the transition.
- Harmonization with the management of skills : Strategic Workforce Planning and management of skills
- HR tools: the tools of the Strategic Workforce Planning
- Make an appointment with one of our consultants to discuss it.
