If you fail to create and execute a workforce plan, you plan to fail in your business. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be a difficult task. You can start planning your workforce right now with our guide.

1. How to execute
workforce planning
at your organisation

2. Today’s workforce is
constantly changing
Workforce composition can change in a
minute. Employees retire, go on maternity
leave, and/or become disinterested in their
work for personal reasons.
Most mid-size organisations are aware of
workforce planning and agree it is important,
but they are overwhelmed at the
prospect of actually undertaking it.

3. Risks of not having a workforce plan
High time-to-fill
rate
High cost Talent not aligned
to business needs
Capability
gaps
Low quality/
retention

4. If you fail to create and execute a
workforce plan, you plan to fail in your
business. Having the right people,
deployed to the right roles at the
right time and at the right cost,
is fundamental to business success.
Kimberley Hubble – Global RPO Leader, Hudson

5. Signs you need a
strategic workforce plan
High cost-per-hire
High time-to-fill metrics
Undesirable employee churn
Significant company expansion
High employee demand in your market
People failing to achieve desired
productivity levels within timeframe
Company is slower to react to
new business opportunities
Added pressure on current employees
covering for open roles

6. Don’t delay!
No midsize company should tolerate the
business impact of poor workforce planning.
The return on investment is substantial:
a skilled workforce aligned in a shared
mission to grow the business.

7. Workforce
Planning
Execution
Guide

8. Step one:
Take stock of your people
Identify the available skills within your
organisation. Check performance reviews and
current job descriptions.
Are you able to move people around if needed?
Do you have a current succession planning
process? If so, is it adequate?
With the right training and development, can the
current workforce fulfil future skills needs?

9. Before you start looking externally, don’t forget
the wealth of internal skill sets within.
When it comes to workforce planning, many
organisations are externally-focused. However,
an effective workforce plan isn’t about bringing
new people in; it’s about identifying and filling
key role and skill gaps.
By training employees who possess the right
transferable skills, organisations can save a lot
of time, and the disruption to workforce planning
will be less severe.
Look within before
you look out

10. Step two:
Analyse the talent market
Once you have determined any internal gaps in talent
needs, conduct an external analysis of the talent
marketplace in the desired geography to understand
the availability and cost of acquiring talent.
Conducting an external analysis will allow you
to identify how you might fill your talent gaps,
and at what cost.

11. It’s not just HR’s job
While HR must spearhead workforce
planning, the business must own this
transformative process, given the direct
impact to the bottom line.
Tip

12. Step three:
Calculate ahead
Conduct a cost-benefit analysis, which is
instrumental in identifying the most effective
method to obtain or train the necessary talent.

13. Step four:
Make a plan
Focus on the action plan to get from point
A to point B. This will consist of developing training
plans, retention management programs, succession
management and the talent acquisition plan.

14. Start somewhere
If you are introducing workforce planning begin by
focusing on something manageable, such as all of your
director levels for example, to get people engaged and
demonstrate value before taking on larger projects.
Tip

15. Step five:
Get specific
Develop an implementation plan.
Establish the objectives and required
participants, map out the milestones,
deliverables and timeframes, and begin
the work.

16. What you need to get started
Business data:
Number of permanent employees, location,
role type, salaries
Number of contractors, location, roles, pay rate
Prior work history information to identify
additional skill sets.

17. Set your progress criteria
Here are some key stats to measure,
so that you can monitor your progress
Retention statistics (identify areas with turnover issues)
Time-to-fill statistics
Cost-per-hire
Percentage of positions open and for how long
Any predictive analytics about who is at risk

18. Evaluate regularly
Be sure to create a process for evaluating
the plan’s effectiveness along the way.
Tip

19. Do you need help planning and implementing
the right workforce plan for your organisation?
Visit au.hudson.com/rpo for more information
about how Hudson can help you get the most out
of your organisation.