Workforce planning

1. Workforce planning THE TIMES 100

2. Workforce planning Workforce planning involves assessing the current and future labour needs of an organisation to get the... >right number of workers >with the right skills >in the right place >at the right time to help it meet its aims and objectives.

3. Stages in workforce planning Audit the current workforce Analyse the future workforce in terms of both demand and supply of labour Identify any gaps Implement strategies to eliminate the gaps

4. Assessing the current workforce Human resource data can be analysed to find out: How many employees work in each area of the business The skills and abilities of current staff The tasks and roles workers carry out

5. Analysing future workforce needs

6. Strategies for addressing workforce needs Workforce analysis may indicate that the organisation should: Increase the workforce through the recruitment of additional workers Reduce the workforce through natural wastage, redundancies or restructuring such as delayering Develop the skills and abilities of the current workforce

7. Workforce activities Recruitment & selection Draw up job description & person specification Advertise the post Use appropriate selection methods Appoint and carry out induction training Training and development Identify individual training needs Implement on or off-the-job training Use appraisal systems to ensure continuous development of employees

8. Workforce planning in context

9. Workforce planning at British Gas Use the case study to identify the different factors that influence workforce planning at British Gas. Factors affecting workforce planning include: Demand from customers who have service agreements Demand from customers who call for one-off assistance Engineering skills must be updated regularly to stay up to date with technical changes Health and safety regulations change frequently Career progression opportunitiesFactors affecting workforce planning include: Demand from customers who have service agreements Demand from customers who call for one-off assistance Engineering skills must be updated regularly to stay up to date with technical changes Health and safety regulations change frequently Career progression opportunities

10. Attracting quality employees British Gas uses a number of methods to attract its socially inclusive engineering workforce. Use the case study to find examples. Examples include: Georgina and the Dragon campaign (to attract women engineers) Advertising on specialist TV channels which focus on careers Advertising in specific magazines and other publications to attract ethnic minority applicantsExamples include: Georgina and the Dragon campaign (to attract women engineers) Advertising on specialist TV channels which focus on careers Advertising in specific magazines and other publications to attract ethnic minority applicants

11. Selection at British Gas If applicants are successful, they will take part in British Gas’ half day assessment centre. What are the three elements they will take part in? The three elements are: Interview Role plays of customer service situations Manual dexterity testsThe three elements are: Interview Role plays of customer service situations Manual dexterity tests

12. Training at British Gas To meet its training requirements, British Gas has several training routes. Use the case study to find what these are. The training routes are: Apprenticeships Traineeships Technical training for all engineerSThe training routes are: Apprenticeships Traineeships Technical training for all engineerS

13. Useful resources Workforce planning lesson suggestions and activities (The Times 100) British Gas case study (The Times 100) British Gas website