Strategic Workforce Planning Addresses Talent Shortage as a Board-Level Matter

Businesses projecting shortfalls from retirement and attrition are increasingly realizing that workforce planning is a board-level concern. Itís critical to understand the differences between strategic and operational planning, says Aruspex, a leading provider of strategic workforce planning software and consulting services.

Aruspex maintains that organizations looking three to five years into the future need strategic planning, as opposed to operational, or tactical, planning. Its new CAPTure software addresses this board-level concern and is aimed at C-level executives, corporate strategists and HR executives who realize the need for a more strategic, business-driven view in workforce planning.

ìStrategic workforce planning ensures that people planning aligns with the organizationís business strategy,î explains Tess Walton, co-founder of Aruspex. ìOur workforce is not homogenous . . . rather than attempting to mathematically predict a certain future and over-simplifying the real world, it creates agility and prepares the organization for any event.î

Aruspex views strategic planning as a holistic framework that guides a company to assess and analyze the impact of both internal and external trends on the workforce, exploring alternate futures and highlighting actions. The end goal is to define and create a preferred future workforce who can deliver an organization's strategy, looking three to five years into the future.

Aruspexís CAPTure technology enables companies to analyze internal and external demographic trends, identify future scenarios and workforce gaps, and guide human resources professionals to action. On the other hand, operational workforce planning aligns with a business plan and generally forms a basis for operating decisions that address short-term needs and daily operations. Driven by forecasting and internal data, such plans project 12 months into the future and revolve around hiring and training needs.

ìA commonly seen example of operational planning is the quarterly staffing plan,î notes Aruspex co-founder Stacy Chapman, ìusually aimed at calculating how many people you need to hire based on ëbusiness as usual,í or known events in the coming months. Operational workforce planning should only be done in the context of a strategic workforce plan, similar to how a strategic plan influences business plan priorities and risks.î

ìA true strategic planning approach should include qualitative and quantitative aspects, and incorporate data and events from the ëreal worldí outside the organization,î Chapman adds. ìThe key is to focus on the most valuable details, avoid information overload, and have an action plan with deadlines.î

Aruspexís approach with its CAPTure program automatically allocates demographic trends, internal HR trends, business strategies, or other factors which match a select scenario. ìAction Planningî is managed by recommending programs and solutions that offer the best match to the organizationís needs. As circumstances change, users can evaluate new possibilities and fine-tune plans.