Workforce Sucess Planning | Human Resources

Workforce Planning

Workforce planning is the purposeful process by which the University determines the future human resource requirements needed to achieve its strategic objectives. It requires an analysis of numerous factors, including current staff, long- and short-term needs and weaknesses in the talent pool. It also calls for a detailed understanding of the skills of the workforce and advanced decision support tools to help maximize the organization's talent pool. Its purview is the entire breadth and depth of an organization.

Workforce planning is looking forward to what the University needs to accomplish now and in the future to successfully meet its goals; what knowledge, skills, and experience are required to get the job done; and how large and what type of workforce, what roles are required to provide that mix of skills, knowledge, and experience. It defines the activities necessary to have the right people with the right skills in the right roles at the right time.

Succession Planning

Succession planning is part of workforce planning. It enables the University to identify talented employees and provide education to develop them for future higher level and broader responsibilities. The objective of succession planning is to ensure that the University continues to operate effectively when individuals occupying critical positions depart. Succession planning helps you "build bench strength."

Succession planning is a process whereby the University ensure that employees are recruited and developed to fill key roles. There are four phases to the succession planning process:

Phase 1: Identify Key/Critical Positions

When identifying a key/critical position, the question you should ask is… if the person were to leave the University, would leaving it vacant or not filling it with the 'right' person have an adverse impact on the University's goal, mission or major function? This position may or may not be a managerial or supervisor position. A critical position may also be a position that utilize unique, hard-to-replace competencies.

Phase 2: Conduct Position Analysis

Identify the specific skill sets that will be needed to satisfactorily perform the key roles. Assess the current bench strength by determining the "readiness level" of current employees. Identify any gaps in competencies or skill sets not possessed by the current staff. Create a strategy for addressing the gaps.

Phase 3: Develop Succession Plan

The succession plan is the culmination of Phases 1 and 2. This is where Phases 1 and 2 are formally documented. In this phase, the strategies to overcome the gaps are outlined to include target completion dates, responsible parties and required resources.

Phase 4: Monitor, Evaluate, Revise

Ongoing evaluation and adjustments are vital to effective succession planning. Although the succession plan covers a 3 -5 year period, it should be reviewed at least annually. The inability or risk of not completing phase 4 can lead to failure to meet University goals or not having the ability to rapidly respond to unanticipated changes.