2014 is right around the corner! What does your workforce strategy look like? Here’s a look at some key components yours should have to ensure you have access to talent when you need it next year – and beyond:
Analyze Your Current Workforce
As one of the country’s top staffing agencies, Peoplelink can tell you that your first step in ensuring your workforce strategy is on track is to make sure you’ve taken into account your current workforce. In other words, what is its composition and the capabilities within it? Are there upcoming retirements, promotions, or transfers that are in the works that will impact the makeup of the organization?
Once you have all this information, you should have a strong sense of what your current workforce looks like.
Analyze Areas That Need Attention
Your next step in the process should be to forecast the areas and competencies in which your current workforce is lacking. What skills do they need to be successful in that they currently don’t have?
Determining this requires a bit of prediction, including looking at both internal factors, such as the company’s mission, vision and goals, as well as external factors, like economic conditions, legislation and competitors.
Analyze Skill Gaps and Surpluses
Once you know the makeup of your current workforce, as well as the areas that need some attention, then you should be able to determine the gaps, as well as any skill surpluses.
Clearly, finding deficiencies is critically important to the future success of your company, but so is pinpointing the surpluses, as well. If your company has an oversaturation of a certain skill set, it may be wise to consider transferring some of those employees into different departments or positions to learn new skills and increase their value with the company.
Develop Solutions
Finally, your workforce strategy should outline the solutions you’re going to put in place to deal with gaps and surpluses. You should be identifying specific ways in which you plan to help your current workforce enhance skill sets, as well as deal with an overabundance of a certain skill.
You should also factor in the use of temporary staff in order to supplement your current staff with specialized skills or to help during busy periods.
Need More Help With Your Workforce Strategy?
If you’re ready to bring a workforce planning expert on board, give Peoplelink a call. As one of the country’s top staffing agencies, we can work with you to ensure you leverage the full power and value of strategic workforce planning. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you.
