The traditional human resource role has changed drastically over the years. What used to be a department for hiring and firing has become a position that deals with crisis management in the workplace and meeting employees’ needs during said crisis.
HR leaders have learned to identify and deal with a number of emergencies and crisis situations, anticipating, identifying and managing potential disasters before the rest of the company is even aware. This increasingly complicated role has become a focus for Reverb, which is why we have our own highly vetted HR experts at the ready for all your company’s needs.
Of course, nothing could have prepared most HR departments for the coronavirus pandemic. This has created an entirely new emergency situation for most companies, with completely new challenges to overcome. That’s where workforce planning comes in. Let’s take a closer look at what that is and how it can help.
What exactly is workforce planning?
So first, a crisis is a disruption to a business’s key operations, whether it’s property or equipment damage, harm to employees, environmental destruction or stakeholder negative perception. This could affect a business’ performance, reputation or employee productivity. The goal of workforce planning is to minimize the damage incurred, returning the organization to its original state as soon as possible.
Workforce planning is a series of processes that the company takes to ensure operations are sustained or resumed with minimum impact on the stakeholders.
During COVID-19, HR’s workforce planning could include temporary employee handbook policies, added PTO, flexible work hours, temporary purchasing of tools to aid in remote work and accepting lower production rates and fewer deliverables. This is an uncertain and scary time for many people, some of which aren’t used to working at home with less supervision.
Related: TIPS FOR LEADING REMOTE TEAMS: COVID-19 AND BEYOND
HR can guide leadership in communicating the available financial options to employees, including paid sick and safe time, company-given PTO, emergency Families First Coronavirus Response Act and extended Family Medical Leave.
What are the Benefits of Workforce Planning?
One of the biggest benefits of workforce planning is productivity improvement. Having plans in place develops a more engaged workforce, leading to improved productivity. This can be even further improved by matching employees to the right job. Retaining staff longer also helps avoid productivity dips.
Workforce planning also reduces hiring and turnover costs. It’s HR’s role to focus on the most valuable business asset: it’s employees. By better aligning skills and tailoring development plans to business needs, your company can reduce turnover rates and retain top talent. This reduces hiring costs, as does shifting capacity within the organization.
Workforce planning provides a mechanism for monitoring costs, providing better financial support for the organization.
How do you strategically plan for the future?
Strategic business plans create a direction for your organization, including its goals, objectives, and performance measures. Proper workforce planning requires leadership, commitment, and company-wide cooperation. Here’s what your HR department and beyond must do to ensure they’re prepared for a future crisis in the workplace.
Identify business priorities
To better prepare for the future, you must first know where you even want your company to be in the future. What is the company’s goal? Once you’ve identified what the organization’s financial plans and future accomplishments should be, you’ll better be able to align various team goals with company level goals. .
First, ask yourself, what is the most critical thing we need to do in order to be successful this year? Leadership should come to a consensus on this matter to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Then, consider how priorities will help you reach certain goals. “We can’t gain efficiency and results until we plan cross-functionally.” Think about how each decision impacts the priority before it’s implemented within the organization.
And then consider how each team owns a part of this priority. Each leader should have their own responsibilities towards achieving the priority, even if the priority is company-wide in nature. This requires communication, trust, reliability and dedication.
Evaluate the composition of your workforce
To ensure your company is ready to take on a crisis, you need to have a workforce that can successfully implement a plan. Take a closer look at not only the number of employees and their skills, but employee demographics in relation to work and strategy. Does your current employee demographics and skillsets, meet workflow, customer satisfaction and demand?
Some things to consider is a reduction of turnovers in core positions. Keep employees invested and engaged by making them feel valued. Offer training and mentor programs, as well as awards and praise. And don’t forget to prepare for the retirement of managers and other senior leadership members of the team (hint hint: succession planning).
Enhance recruitment to support certain parts of the company or help with certain projects. Retrain current staff when needed. Don’t be afraid to restructure or reorganize the workforce to make processes more efficient. You need to give employees the tools to better manage future problems in case of an incoming crisis.
Forecast the business workload
When you set goals for the company, you’ll better be able to assess the workload employees will take on, including yourself. What new projects will need to be implemented? What departments need to switch gears entirely?
And remember, it’s not always about taking on more work. Sometimes, it’s about eliminating a lot of unnecessary or stressful work for employees so they can better manage a situation like the coronavirus pandemic, where they aren’t used to working remotely.
Identify and address workforce issues
People Leaders must identify current employee productivity or process issues in order to ensure the company is capable of handling an incoming crisis. First, start by looking at your company’s strategic plan. Will you need more training programs or new recruitment strategies to better implement this plan?
As we’ve all seen recently, with the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of companies are struggling with a changing environment. Is your company equipped for remote work? Will budget cuts require a reduction to your current workforce or internal reorganization? How are employees interacting with each other and customers due to this change?
Take a closer look at the current workforce. Are you prepared if there’s a high turnover? Is the current training plan ensuring employees are knowledgeable and are retaining their skills? Are the staff performing at the desired level and are they personally invested in the organization’s success? Are they satisfied with the company?
Then turn to the leadership and the company culture. Is this a fun, challenging and inspiring place to work? Are there a lot of work politics?
Develop and execute your plan
Once you have set goals and a better understanding of employee strength and weaknesses, it’s easier to execute on a plan instead of just stopping at the planning stage. Unfortunately, the plan isn’t always easy.
During a crisis like COVID-19, People Leaders are put in a difficult position to ensure the company stays afloat while balancing employee health, wellness and job security. Unfortunately, some companies will need to restructure until business demand and financial stability returns.This can mean furloughs, layoffs, forming a new PTO policy and reevaluating employee benefits. These are things that Reverb can help clients with, ensuring you’re not alone while facing these tough company changes.
Related: FIVE WAYS TO REDUCE COSTS THAT DON’T INVOLVE PERMANENT LAYOFFS
Bonus Tips
- Communicate threats and vulnerabilities to employees: It’s important to be open with your employees, even if the truth is scary or uncertain. Communicate that resuming business to normal operations is the goal and you need their help to get there.
- Motivate employees: Find out your employees’ individual goals during the crisis and beyond. Help them align their goals to the company’s goals so they can feel better connected to the company’s successes and achievements. Keep a virtual presence for remote employees.
- Influence the organizational culture: At Reverb, we like to create a healthy, inclusive culture that unites teams and departments through situations like this. Void of office politics, employees can feel not only safe but appreciated within the company. This can help keep employees engaged and dedicated, even during uncertain times. If you are able, shift trainings to focus on mental health, working parents, and learning virtual tools.
Closing Thoughts
Smaller budgets and remote work structures have created a crisis within many companies during the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, many organizations just weren’t prepared for such sudden changes. That’s where workforce planning comes in, protecting your teams from future crises like COVID-19.
HR departments have grown into teams with the knowledge, experience and skillset to take on company-wide crises, making them the focal point of workforce planning. But it takes the entire company’s dedication to a plan to come out on top and get the company back on track.
Contact Reverb today if you’re looking to adjust quickly to the new normal whether your teams are working remotely, on-site, or a combination of the two. Do you have questions about flexible work, engagement, and the importance of communication? Want to make sure you’re leading with empathy? Let us help.
