What Is Strategic Workforce Planning?

Strategic workforce planning is derived from the capitalization of an organization and its management of the human resource capital in an organization. This process involves the alignment of the workforce with the identified aims and objectives of the organization. It also involves the identification of the salient capital needs of the organization in relation to the objectives at hand.

One of the elements of strategic workforce planning is the study of the organization in order to discover the organization’s goals and corporate objectives. Part of a general organizational strategy is the development of objectives and goals that the organization will work toward achieving. Such a study will also include an assessment of the operations of the company, its current recruitment strategy, and other types of human resource responsibilities. In relation to strategic workforce planning, an understanding of these objectives will allow for a careful assessment of the type of human capital needed to achieve those goals and objectives.

After analyzing the company’s goals, the process of strategic workforce planning will allow for the blending of those goals with the right type of workforce necessary to achieve them. This process involves the development of a workforce plan that will list all of the necessary positions the organization will need to achieve the goals. Where some salient positions are missing, such positions will be created as part of the strategic workforce planning. The next step would be to embark on recruitment drives aimed at connecting the qualified human capital with the created positions. This strategy must make provisions for the training and personal development of the employees as part of the process of keeping them aligned with the company’s corporate objectives.

After the workforce has been selected, the strategic workforce planning should make provisions for ongoing examination and evaluation of the selected employees to ensure that they are keeping to the established goals. It will also serve as a means for weeding out poorly performing employees and for promoting performing ones. For instance, a junior manager may be doing an excellent job. This part of the plan will make provisions for constant analysis of the employee's performance to promote him or her to a position of higher responsibilities where the company can further benefit from his or her human capital. The plan will also include a method for incentives to encourage the employees to always strive to give great output.