Step 2 – Gather the information for your workforce plan

Quantitative and qualitative data

Quantitative data may include:

• number of positions that are filled, vacant and budgeted for
• number of resignations
• number of positions you've recruited for (categorised by type of role and reason it was needed)
• the diversity of your workforce in terms of
  • age (including youth and mature age)
  • gender
  • cultural background
  • declared disability.

Qualitative data may include:

• learning and development needs
• level of employee engagement
• work-life stage of employees (new to the workforce, close to retirement, etc)
• employees’ career aspirations
• employees’ intentions to stay or leave.

Identify your business goals

To be in the best position to have the right combination of people, skills and employment types across your workforce, think about your business goals and how you will achieve them.

Consider the timeframe of your workforce plan when setting your goals.

Business goals tend to relate to one of the following:

• growth
• decline
• maintain
• diversify.

Each goal has its own challenges and obstacles to success.

What your workforce looks like now

Using the most recent information you have, workforce planning can help you create a picture of your workforce supply—the size and make-up of your current and future workforce. It considers employee turnover through resignations and retirements, and how these affect the size of your workforce over time.

You may already have information and data that allows you to answer the following questions:

1. What are your workforce segments based on? For example
   • roles, or job families (groups of roles that perform similar tasks)
   • employment status (full-time, part-time, casual)
   • business unit.
2. What are your employees’ key skills, occupations or qualifications?
3. How many staff do you have? For example
   • permanent – full-time or part-time (e.g. 0.6)
   • temporary – casual, on contract, or employed through a labour hire agency.
4. What is your workforce turnover rate? Look at
   • resignations (anticipated turnover based on previous resignation rate)
   • retirements (workers approaching 60+ years).
5. What are your current work practice arrangements? For example
   • hours of work are fixed or flexible, or work is done in shifts
   • type of leave offered (e.g. annual, sick or other types of leave).
6. What is the demographic profile of your workforce? Look at
   • occupation/position
   • location (if your business has more than one location)
   • length of service
   • diversity statistics including
     • gender
     • age (including youth and mature age)
     • cultural background
     • declared disability.
7. What is the current workforce cost? This includes
   • fixed costs, such as
     • wages/salary (including superannuation, leave loading, etc)
     • overhead costs
   • variable costs (e.g. training).

What your future workforce needs to look like

The answer to this question may not be what you expect. The workforce planning process can help you estimate the number and types of employees you’ll need to reach your business goals. A workforce plan will enable you to answer the following key questions:

1. What types of skills will be required?
2. How many jobs will be required?
3. How many people will be required for each role?
4. What roles
   • will be hard to fill?
   • are essential?
   • require skills that can take a long time to develop?

You may already have information and data that allows you to answer the following questions:

1. What factors will drive your future workforce needs? One or more of these scenarios may fit your business plan
   • Business growth – increase in demand for products and services
     • What skills/occupations will be needed?
     • When will these skills/occupations be needed? Will there be a continuous need or a need to cover peaks and troughs (e.g. leave)?
     • What locations will they be needed in?
     • How many of these skills/occupations will be needed?
   • Maintaining current business size and operations
     • Which skills/occupations will be needed?
     • Will there be any changes to these skills/occupations?
   • Business downsizing or shift into new areas – a decrease in product line or service
     • Which skills/occupations will be affected?
     • How many employees will be affected?
     • What is the timing of the impact?
     • What locations will this occur at?
2. What skills and capabilities that will be required
   • When skills need to change?
     • What will the impact on affected roles will be?
     • Do you need to recruit new staff? And what should their employment status be? For example
       • permanent – full-time or part-time (e.g. 0.6)
       • temporary   casual, on contract, or employed through a labour hire agency.
     • Can you train existing staff?
   • To maintain adequate skills and capabilities?
     • Should the level of skills need to increase, decrease or remain stable?
   • When new ways of working are required (e.g. introduction of new technology)?
     • Is it required across the whole business?
     • Is a specific role affected?
3. What are the volumes and timings of these impacts?
4. What is the availability of these skills/occupations in the existing and external workforce?
   • Are they difficult to find?
   • Do you expect that they will be harder to find in future?
5. What are the expected workforce costs? This includes
   • fixed costs, such as
     • wages/salary (including superannuation, leave loading, etc)
     • overhead costs
   • variable costs (e.g. training).

What to do with this data

Once you’ve gathered your workforce data and information, you can:

• compare your current workforce and skills supply to your future demand
• identify your workforce and skills gaps
• start to identify strategies and put actions in place to close your workforce and skills gaps.

Also consider...

• Find more guidance in the:
  • Workforce Planning Connect toolkit for small- to medium-sized businesses
  • Workforce Planning Connect workbook for micro businesses and small enterprises.