From the course: Human Resources: Strategic Workforce Planning

What is strategic workforce planning (SWP)?

From the course: Human Resources: Strategic Workforce Planning

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What is strategic workforce planning (SWP)?

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- No matter what kind of organization you work for, be it a hospital, a retail establishment, an insurance company, a bank, or a manufacturer, the wise use of talent is a perpetual problem. Some common questions that companies need to answer are what talents, abilities, and skills are available within our organization today? Is there a talent pool that we can dependably draw upon for the future? As we grow, how will the number and the mix of skills change in our organization? How might the supply and demand for talent in the outside labor market affect our ability to grow? It's critical for companies to answer these questions, because they affect the ability of firms to execute their business plans and to compete in the marketplace. In this video, I want to walk you through a process that addresses these issues in a formal way. It's known as strategic workforce planning. Defined broadly, SWP is an effort to anticipate future business and environmental demands on an organization. And to meet the talent requirements dictated by these conditions. Although SWP means different things to different people, most agree that its ultimate objective is the wisest, most effective use of scarce, or abundant, talent. Strategic workforce planning connects business strategy to talent strategy and practices, and it ensures that a company has the right people, in the right place, at the right time, and at the right cost. Should you buy, build, borrow, or rent talent? Answers to these questions have become more important as a result of developments like globalization, outsourcing, employee leasing, and diversity in the workforce. This general view of SWP suggests several specific interrelated activities that, together, comprise an SWP system. Talent inventory, when you analyze the current use of employees by assessing current skills and abilities. Work force forecasts, to predict future talent requirements. Action plans, to enlarge the pool of qualified individuals. And control and evaluation, to monitor how well the company achieved its talent goals and objectives. Let me give you an example. Suppose you're in the fast food franchising business and you plan to open 30 franchises within a hundred mile radius in the next three years, 10 per year. How will you staff the new franchises? What mix of skills will you need? Will you be able to draw from the current population of employees? Or will you need to recruit from the external labor market? Who will manage each new franchise? Finally, what actions might you take to ensure that you enlarge the pool of qualified, internal talent? Strategic workforce planning forces decision-makers to answer these kinds of questions so they make the wisest use of the talent available.

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