Workforce Planning

The Downturn is Coming, But When? Many HR individuals I’ve met do not even like to discuss the topic of economic downturns. I presume this avoidance is based on the premise that even “talking” about them somehow will make them happen. Unfortunately, the consequences of not discussing or preparing for downturns might mean that the disruption to the company will …

Most of us have read about upcoming workforce trends like decreasing employee loyalty, differing generational expectations, and the impending retirement of the baby boom generation, but surprisingly few organizational leaders are fully aware of how those issues will impact them. Several of the organizations I have worked with in recent years have discovered aspects of their business that could lose …

In Part 1 of this article, I outlined the first six of 13 key factors that differentiate great workforce planning efforts from mediocre workforce planning efforts. Here are the remaining seven points to note. Factor #7   Demonstrate the likelihood that your recommended actions will actually work. In addition to designating an action plan for each forecasted issue, workforce-planning efforts …

Few would argue that workforce planning is not a hot topic these days. Just five short years ago, it was nearly impossible to find a titled role for workforce planning in corporate America. Yet today, more than 54% of the Fortune 100 have dedicated FTEs to the activity.   Even more impressive is the fact that the growth in the …

Lack of Leadership Bench Strength: A Growing Problem As the second phase of the War for Talent slowly builds momentum, more and more firms are going to experience havoc directly related to the absence of leadership bench strength. The problems that have crippled smaller firms historically will establish a footing in every major enterprise, as the competition for management and …

Beyond this commitment, what follows are the major steps: 1. Make the business case for external succession planning. The first step is to present arguments to your senior leadership about the need for including external talent and development opportunities in your succession plan. Generally that means documenting current development problems/shortages, and putting an estimated dollar cost to each. This business …

Patience Is Waning Senior leaders thoroughly understand that building an organization or changing one takes vision, planning, patience, and flawless execution. To that point, they have given HR five years. All indicators are that HR has yet to change or plan to change anything, and that the patience of senior leaders is wearing thin. Around the globe, corporate leaders — and …

Readers responding to Part 1 raised some very valid points: R. Bistrick noted that many in HR have no associated industry work experience, which limits their understanding of the business and its issues to one of keywords, often without the benefit of context. (This is certainly true for many corporate recruiters!) “It is not a new concept that HR is, …

The Cost of Turnover may be higher than you think Performance Turnover Try using “Performance Turnover”, a measure I developed in our retention work, in lieu of the traditional turnover calculation. We have used it in a variety of configurations but it works something like this. Start with the assumption that losing a “Hi-Per’s” (High Performing Employees) is three times as bad as …

Do you remember the war for talent in the late 1990s? Well get ready, because it’s about to return with a vengeance. If you read my articles and books, you are aware that I do a good deal of forecasting. In the past, I’ve forecasted the beginning and the end to the last hiring boom and the hiring turnaround that …