Many businesses are beginning to realise that without the right people in place they are entering the current phase of economic recovery at a distinct disadvantage. Faced with leaner teams and the prospect of high demands as recruitment commences, HR teams are increasingly turning to RPO (recruitment process outsourcing) providers to support their resourcing.

The challenge for employers is to ensure they take a holistic view to their resourcing and don’t just focus on immediate staffing issues. In the past, when one person left there was a rush to replace the individual on a like-for-like basis, but a new pair of eyes from the RPO provider naturally raises questions about what type of person might be needed, where the person would work best within the business, and how the individual fits alongside the rest of their team, the department and the organisation as a whole.

Combined with a focus on cost cutting, which remains from the recession, an appreciation about how costly a bad recruitment decision can be and a limited talent pool in a number of sectors, companies are more likely than ever before to carry out a full evaluation of the skills they have. Workforce planning has stemmed from the rise in RPO and the more strategic view of resourcing.

Review skills
Recent research by Hays revealed that 95% of employers agreed it was either essential or important to review the skills in place across an organisation and 39% did so every six months or more frequently. However, although 91% of respondents stated that they have a strong understanding of skills within their organisation, only 59% of respondents were confident that they had the right skills in place to support their organisation over the coming year and 34% claimed that they only consider the individual role when recruiting. If employers aren’t planning for their short-term needs, how can they be confident their workforce will support the organisation’s long-term future?

Lost skill sets
This is particularly important in light of the skills lost during headcount cuts in the recession, which has created a skills gap. This was confirmed by our research, which showed that 52% of respondents believed they had lost key skill sets over the past 12 months.

Positions, which were not refilled or replaced following natural attrition or redundancy during the recession, have left gaps that must now be filled, with management and leadership skills particularly sought after by 70% of respondents.

The pressure will therefore be on employers to find the right skill sets, develop talent from within and make sure it is retained.

However, assessing talent that exists within the business is far from straightforward. It is possible that some skills are left unrecognised and that talented individuals might not be working in departments where they are best suited and where their skills might be more highly sought after. It is crucial for a business to assess how well it is harnessing its talent and whether it is getting the most from it.

Future talent
Considering what talent might be needed in the future presents its own challenges. With 30% of respondents stating that it would be difficult to access the required skills for their organisation, there is a huge potential for skill gaps in the future and subsequently higher costs to secure the right individuals.

Workforce planning could help to prevent a situation arising where positions are left unfilled - not through choice -; if tied in with other aspects, such as succession planning.

Workforce planning could help to prevent a situation arising where positions are left unfilled - not through choice -; if tied in with other aspects, such as succession planning.

Given that 87% of respondents claim that having a true understanding of your organisation’s current and future skills’ needs should always be relevant - not just during challenging times or periods of growth - and a tremendous 95% agreed that if an organisation doesn’t have the right skills in place and doesn’t have plans to rectify the situation it will be detrimental to business it isn’t surprising that workforce planning is growing in popularity.

Providing this sentiment remains, workforce planning will continue to move up the agenda and will reinforce its position as an essential component of any successful approach to resourcing.

68% of organisations have experienced recruitment difficulties, due mainly to a lack of necessary specialist skills (67%), according to this year’s CIPD Resourcing and Talent Planning survey

Powerpoints

• 150 clients were surveyed in May 2010 on a range of questions about workforce planning and skills
• Companies are more likely than before to use workforce planning due to a variety of factors, including cost cutting and the use of RPO providers
• 95% of employers agreed that it was either essential or important to review the skills in place across an organisation. However, lack of focus on ensuring skills are in place for the future
• Focus on required skill sets is particularly prevalent due to cuts made during the recession, when professionals weren’t always replaced
• Assessing talent needed now in the future isn’t straightforward, but is essential to avoid skill gaps and higher costs
• Workforce planning should be part of an integrated and strategic approach to resourcing, rather than being viewed in isolation, if it is to be most effective in supporting an organisation’s growth strategy