3 Skills Needed to Deliver Business Value with Workforce Planning
When done well, workforce planning delivers millions of dollars to the organisation through predicting where skills and workforce costs will be in the future and how to plan for them in the right locations, while managing existing costs. A research study conducted by OrgVue and CEBR, found that workforce planning is a key measure for improving productivity. In the US, better people planning could contribute a whopping $92.2 billion in additional GDP, while in the UK it could help generate an extra £10.4 billion in GDP.
Impactful workforce planning has helped businesses select the right locations to establish offices and factories. It has enabled R&D teams to deliver and scale new products quickly, through understanding where the skills are to launch, manage and serve those products and services. It has helped executives understand which skills to focus on for redevelopment, based on thoughtful analysis of the business strategy and operations, and in turn saving millions of dollars, as well as helping people develop their careers thoughtfully and sensitively.
The opportunity for workforce planning to support the business has never been greater, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt work and workforce models. Findings from a recent survey conducted by McKinsey, show that of the global executives surveyed:
35% said they would need more workers skilled in automation, AI, and robotics, a reflection of the increased deployment of automation during COVID-19.
More than a third said that their organisations were unprepared to address the skill gaps exacerbated by automation and digitisation.
70% said that two years from now they expect to use more temporary workers and contractors than they did before the COVID-19 crisis.
It is no surprise that 79% of CEOs, according to one survey, are concerned about skill availability impacting innovation, cost, quality and growth. According to Insight222’s own research, nearly all companies surveyed (90%) expressed a desire to build a skills-based workforce planning process. However, only a quarter of companies (26%) are actively doing so.
There are a number of complexities surrounding workforce planning that make it difficult to achieve the business value described above. You can read more about these challenges here:
Many HR functions struggle to create a direct connection between business strategy and actions that can be taken in the people space
HR often fails to gain buy-in from the business to own the workforce planning process
HR teams often lack the capability to leverage internal and external market data to inform and evaluate their talent decisions
In this blog, we will explore the skills needed to take on these challenges. To navigate these complexities, it is imperative for the workforce planning team to build skills in the following three areas:
1. Consulting and influencing,
2. Analytical skills
3. Stakeholder management
Consulting and influencing
The workforce planning team should be able to understand the vision and strategy of their organisation, as well as learn and thrive in a constantly changing environment and deal with ambiguity. Demonstrating political awareness and interpreting organisational dynamics and influence across teams is also important.
When communicating insights and results with stakeholders, being able to build a compelling narrative in a concise way that will engage an audience is a clear advantage. This includes translating analytics into easy-to-understand insights tailored to the audience and presenting recommendations that drive action.
Some of the skills in the consulting and influencing group include:
Active listening
Critical thinking
Challenging assumptions
Facilitation
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Building this group of skills enables the workforce planning team to partner closely with business leaders to understand their priorities and communicate these insights to the rest of the workforce planning team. In the final stages of the process, these skills are employed when implementing actions and communicating results and business outcomes.
Depending on the workforce planning team’s size, working with business stakeholders and consolidating findings may fall under the remit of a dedicated person or group, HR Business Partners (HRBPs), or similar client-facing team members.
Analytical skills
Some of the different skills and expertise required include:
Data management (and the detailed use of SQL)
Data modelling
Statistical analysis (including learning specific applications such as ‘R’)
Developing dashboards and reports
Forecasting
Maintaining data integrity and quality • Data visualisation
That said, if the workforce planning team is just getting started, these skills may be available in other teams across the organisation such as Finance. However, the workforce planning team should be able to clearly demonstrate analytical thinking:
Translating business problems into hypotheses by drawing on critical thinking and domain knowledge
Partnering closely with People Analytics experts to identify opportunities for organisational efficiency and opportunities to drive business value
Being confident in having data-based conversations with business leaders and using data to provide recommendations for action
Stakeholder management
Throughout the workforce planning process, the team will be expected to partner with business leaders to understand their perspectives, concerns and challenges. Being able to motivate and engage stakeholders by building trust and credibility will help to ensure that joint ownership for workforce planning is established effectively.
Stakeholder management skills needed include:
Stakeholder identification
Communication
Negotiation
Assessing needs
Managing expectations
Facilitation (and the facilitation of online workshops in particular)
Problem solving
Workforce planning projects require data, access to systems and input from multiple business units and functions. Getting this information may be easy for some companies. For others, support from an influential sponsor or leader may be necessary. Managing stakeholders effectively throughout the workforce planning process will help teams to gain a better understanding of the business priorities, opportunities and challenges – which will lead to more relevant and effective planning.
Stakeholder management is arguably the most important skill the team requires. It permeates every aspect of the workforce planning process.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Caroline Styr is the Research Director at Insight222. She is a thought-leader, researcher and writer on people analytics and the future of HR. Prior to joining Insight222, she worked at the Center for the Future of Work where she was an advisor and in-demand speaker on topics related to the future of work. She has also held roles in digital services and transformation consulting at Cognizant. Contact Caroline at caroline.styr@insight222.com