Strategic workforce planning designs a process within your organization that proactively foresees current and future hiring needs. Forecasting methods to predict turnover and retirement are important parts of the process. This ensures your organization has the resources needed to meet its business goals.
When reviewing gap analysis and demand planning, consider contingent staffing and filling positions with a variety of employee types: part-time, full-time, short-term, temporary, contractor, job-sharing, fractional, and seasonal. These are parts of a strategic plan for a more robust workforce.
A hybrid environment offers its own set of challenges inspiring the need for creative organizational solutions. The aspect of “right person, right seat” needs to be modified so that it represents the current needs of the organization.
Our current landscape has compelled employers and employees to interview and onboard remotely, thereby creating a unique opportunity to learn about the company and team without what was traditional face-to-face interactions.
Here are 6 hints:
- Shift workforce planning from a top-down strategic process to managing talent retention and collaborating with partners.
- Analyze the data and metrics to quantify the risk (can we fill this gap with the right person who can flex and sit in the right seat?). This provides something concrete for leaders to manage. “Think outside the box” when coordinating and planning for hire costs both within the organization, as well as with external recruiters, job boards and sourcing partners.
- Identify and secure solid sourcing agencies, tools and job boards for your organization and the level of positions you are filling, such as LinkedIn, Indeed, CareerBuilder, TalentBin/Monster, Zillion resumes.. A more targeted approach using contingent or retained sourcing agencies specializing in “immediate” talent can be economically feasible, and a chance to vet several candidates for multiple opportunities. Working with one agency versus several for a good number of jobs may let you negotiate rates.
- Utilize joinhandshake.com, an online recruiting platform, connecting you to college students/grads/alumni nationwide as a way to broaden your pool of diverse candidates.
- Create a virtual "open house" on social media to highlight your workplace culture and ensure you have a "get to know us" feature with current employees talking about their great experiences, opportunities and culture.
- Host a fun "hiring event" to attract recent graduates and conduct on the spot interviews while showing them a bit of your culture.
By amending your traditional workforce planning strategies to reflect today’s recruiting trends, your business can in effect garner more talent. It’s about finding the right person for the right seat for continued company growth and success!
Article courtesy: Crothers Consulting, LLC