NEW YORK, August 5, 2009… Many companies make today’s difficult human capital decisions without the data and analytics that can best position their business for tomorrow – a mistake avoidable by using Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP), according to a report released today by The Conference Board, the global, independent business membership and research association.
When looking to reduce human capital’s huge share of a company operating budget, drastic cost-cutting measures such as slashing headcount, freezing hiring and suspending training can cause long-term collateral damage. Avoiding rigid, across-the-board targets, SWP allows companies to make selective, strategic decisions about where to invest and where to trim, and whether to buy, rent, build or redeploy talent to meet future needs.
“Strategic Workforce Planning helps companies look beyond short-term budget or headcount planning to examine organizational capacity issues,” says Mary Young, Senior Research Associate, Human Capital, The Conference Board. “It also helps identify and manage human capital risks. Unlike older, more operational HR approaches, the primary beneficiary of SWP is the business.”
“By providing a vital link between business strategy and workforce strategy, SWP can reframe the HR agenda,” says David Learmond, Executive Fellow at The Conference Board. “It provides a unifying context for decisions on reward strategies, learning approaches, diversity and inclusion issues, and many other related and important HR issues.”
The report, Implementing Strategic Workforce Planning, introduces two models: a competency model for SWP practitioners, The Conference Board Maturity Model, and an animated illustration, The Conference Board Model of Strategic Workforce Planning in Action. Go here to view:
It also features four case studies of companies that successfully employ SWP:
IBM’s Workforce Management Initiative manages an extended workforce of roughly 500,000 (including contractors) as a single talent-supply chain, delivering a 4:1 ROI.
Starbucks anticipates long-term changes and aligns workforce investments with business priorities – ensuring the right talent to execute business strategy.
Canada Post, facing 50 percent attrition over the next 10 years, zeroed in on key and vulnerable positions.
Australian Mining Industry and fellow mining giants set aside competitive issues to overcome a national workforce crisis that threatened their ability to meet booming demand from China and India.
Also from The Conference Board:
Best of Strategic Workforce Planning Quarterly Digest, a summary of recently published materials for The Conference Board member firms, starting mid-August.
Managing Human Capital Risk, a three-part program under The Conference Board KnowlEdge Series™, 11 a.m. on Sept. 15, 22, 29. Click here to learn more:
A virtual reunion of alumni of The Conference Board Research Working Group on Strategic Workforce Planning, in October.
SWP in Global Organizations, a new research report, due out in November.
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE BOARD
The Conference Board is an independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Its mission is unique: To provide the world’s leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance AND better serve society. The Conference Board publishes information and analysis, makes economics-based forecasts and assesses trends, and facilitates learning by creating dynamic communities of interest that bring together senior executives from around the world. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status in the United States. For further information, visit The Conference Board website at www.conference-board.org.
