According to a Manpower Group Talent Shortage Survey 2014 conducted among 42 countries– India ranks
3rd in top ten countries that have difficulty in filling
jobs. Out of 37000 employers surveyed worldwide
36% of employers report difficulty in filling jobs and
54% of employers experiencing a talent shortage say
this has medium or high impact on their ability to
meet talent needs.
Workforce planning has ever increasing significance in
wake of these results. However, 78% of surveyed employers in Manpower Group global survey, conducted
by the company's Strategic Workforce Consulting
(SWC) business, either lack a workforce strategy or
struggle to implement one.
SWP is positively correlated with overall performance
of company.i4cp conducted survey of about 200 business and workforce planning leaders. They contrasted
higher-performing (based on revenue growth, market
share, profitability and customer satisfaction) and lower-performing organizations' strategic workforce planning. The result was quite shocking as more than one
in four high-performers rated their programs highly or
very highly effective. In contrast, the number of respondents from lower-performing companies who
labelled their strategic workforce planning equally
effective was a shocking zero.
Drivers for SWP are: High Attrition Rate, Talent Scarcity, Organizational Restructuring, Change in Business
Strategy, and Change in Macroeconomic Environment
All these leads to workforce deficit which forces companies to keep huge bench strength for safety. However, it does not solve the problem as there are requirement not only at technical level but also deficit in leadership roles such as VP’s and Business Heads. The requirement for talent keeps changing with change in
business strategy and competitive environment so the
bench needs to be trained and tested before being
deployed in suitable areas. The problem with extra
workforce is also that it is scattered at different location and cannot be easily transferred when needed.
The process of SWP deals with correct demand and
supply forecast of workforce. Mostly SWP is perceived
as HR function rather than organizational function and
hence forecasting might not be in line with key business, organizational strategy and allocated budget.
Understanding
SWP: Strategic
Workforce Planning (SWP)
summed up in
diagram given.
8
October 2014 |CONSILIUM