Part 3: Identifying workforce needs

Workforce planning in Crown Research Institutes.

In this Part, we discuss the importance of identifying workforce needs. We then set out our findings on how the CRIs were:

We also present our views on how the CRIs were identifying their workforce needs.

Importance of effectively identifying workforce needs

Effective workforce planning is underpinned by a solid understanding of an organisation’s current workforce capability and characteristics, the skills and knowledge required for the future, and how external factors might affect the supply and demand of workers. A comprehensive assessment of workforce needs allows an organisation to identify risks and establish workforce strategies that can deliver the right mix of skills at the right time. Figure 4 outlines some factors that organisations should consider when identifying their workforce needs.

Figure 4
Considerations in identifying workforce needs

Data Profiling the workforce
Relevance – what data is needed? Is the right data being collected?
Collection systems – are there systems to collect data needed for analysis?
Quality – is data current and accurate?
Baselines – is a baseline required so progress can be measured?
What are the demographics of the organisation – by age, gender, diversity, length of service?
What is the current mix of skills (technical as well as skills such as leadership or mentoring)?
What motivates the workforce (variety of work, contribution to society, recognition and reward)?
Are there roles critical to reaching organisational goals?
Supply and demand Future direction
What is the internal demand for skills?
How do external factors affect supply and demand (labour market information, external demographic profiles)?
Where will required skills be sourced (internally, or local or international labour markets)?
Is support required to establish supply?
What skills will be needed to achieve future goals?
How will changes in the future work environment affect skill supply and demand?

Source: adapted from Australian National Audit Office (2001), Planning for the workforce of the future: a better practice guide for managers.

Considering the relationship between workforce planning and strategic direction

All CRIs acknowledged that staffing challenges and identifying workforce needs were strategic issues. However, only a small number of CRIs had comprehensively related their workforce needs to their overall strategic direction.

Identifying how an organisation’s strategic direction relates to its workforce needs is part of effective workforce planning. It allows an organisation to understand clearly where, and whether, it needs to enhance or change the skills and knowledge of its workforce to reach the organisation’s goals. With this understanding, the organisation can then consider targeted plans for developing its workforce.

Through their strategic planning processes, all CRIs had linked their ability to attract and retain staff to reaching their organisational goals. They were aware that not having the necessary skills and knowledge in their workforce could affect their ability to reach those goals. Staffing challenges and ways of addressing these challenges were a feature in most strategic documents. A few of these documents acknowledged that building and maintaining the right mix of skills and knowledge was challenging because of factors like the global competition for science skills and the ability to offer competitive pay. These factors were recurring themes in our discussions with the CRIs. In response to these challenges, most CRIs were aiming to attract and retain staff by creating an attractive work environment.

While workforce challenges and needs were a strategic issue for all CRIs, only a small number of CRIs had comprehensively related their workforce needs to their strategic direction. In one of the best examples we saw, the CRI outlined a mix of workforce initiatives focused on long-term retention, attracting staff, and ensuring that important knowledge was retained within the organisation. These workforce initiatives were set out against a time line with specific goals that the initiatives were intended to deliver. It also identified which initiatives were under way, which were still to be funded, and which ones needed some form of external involvement to reach the overall goals. The CRI had also identified the existing mix of skills and knowledge within its workforce, where new skills and knowledge were needed, and whether they would be sourced internally or externally. It was clear that this CRI was planning its workforce with a well-rounded, long-term view.

In comparison, another CRI had outlined workforce initiatives with little indication of time lines or resources needed to deliver these initiatives. This CRI recognised the need for a more structured approach to its workforce planning. It intended to produce a plan that would identify the skills and knowledge it would need and establish targeted initiatives to support the organisation in attracting and retaining suitable staff.

Understanding workforce capability and characteristics

The CRIs had clear profiles of their organisational capability, but were less likely to be using what they knew about individual employees’ skills and knowledge, or the collective characteristics of their staff , to inform their workforce planning.

Understanding the existing mix of skills and knowledge and the characteristics of the workforce is an important part of identifying workforce needs. It enables an organisation to see where there are gaps and to identify trends that could pose a risk to long-term organisational capability. It also helps the organisation to establish baselines against which it can evaluate its progress. We discuss data and evaluation further in Part 5.

Each CRI had identified its organisational capabilities. Six CRIs had profiled individual skills and knowledge or workforce characteristics to inform their workforce planning. Figure 5 outlines how some CRIs were using what they knew about their employees’ skills and knowledge, and the characteristics of their workforce, in their workforce planning.

Figure 5
Collecting and using information about workforce capability and characteristics

Identifying skills and demand
Landcare Research was establishing a model to record its workforce skills and estimate the likely demand for these in the future. The model included identifying each employee’s primary skills as well as other skills like negotiating, mentoring, or measurement analysis. Having this model to collect information on employees’ skills helps the organisation to think strategically about its workforce development. It can use the model to identify employees who can be trained in areas that will meet organisational needs, and where the organisation needs to recruit staff with the required skills and knowledge.
Demographic profiling
IRL had profiled its workforce by age group and distribution of staff in different career stages. This revealed that about one third of the CRIs’ staff were approaching retirement in the next 10 to 15 years, representing a potential loss of organisational knowledge. The CRI identified a need to develop staff in the early to mid-career stages to ensure that staff had the knowledge and skills to maintain organisational capability.

Four CRIs commented that their ability to use data about their employees’ capabilities and characteristics in workforce planning was limited by:

  • inadequate systems to collect and record data;
  • data that was not current; or
  • a lack of capacity to analyse the data.

These CRIs planned to address these limitations with information technology projects or by reviewing data to ensure that the necessary information was being collected.

Assessing workforce needs

All the CRIs had systems to assess their current and future workforce needs but not all were analysing those needs in a comprehensive way. This was usually because their data was not current or because of shortcomings in their analytical tools.

An essential part of identifying workforce needs is having a broad set of workforce information to analyse. Each CRI had a range of systems to gather internal and external data for workforce planning. These systems included collecting demographic and capability data, turnover data, entry and exit interview data, and information from staff surveys and external pay surveys. Business planning and performance review processes were used to get workforce information. Another mechanism for collecting workforce information was through periodic meetings with other CRIs' human resources managers. Figure 6 gives more detail about the rationale and benefits of these meetings.

Figure 6
Sharing workforce information

For several years, human resources managers from each CRI have met informally as a group to share information, insights, and knowledge about their workforce. The group exists because the human resources managers recognised that CRIs face similar issues in their workforce planning, and that it would be useful to work together where possible. The group provides an important collegial support network and enables continuity of human resources knowledge across CRIs.

The group helps CRIs in assessing their workforce needs because the human resources managers discuss common problems, benchmarking, and sharing data. Participants can learn from others' experiences, as they share information on initiatives that have worked well or things that have not worked quite so well.

Most CRIs' mix of systems to gather workforce information provided a good base for gathering data from which to assess workforce needs. In the better examples we saw, CRIs used a range of internal and external information to assess their existing needs and how these might change over time as the internal and external environment changed.

However, not all CRIs were using this breadth of information to analyse and establish their workforce needs thoroughly. This was usually because the data was not current or their systems needed improving to enable the analysis.

Figure 7 provides examples of some ways CRIs assessed their workforce needs. These examples take a broad view, considering current and future needs, gaps between current and future needs, demographic trends, the demand for skills, and external influences on the demand for skills.

Figure 7
Ways to assess workforce needs

Capability matrix
ESR used a capability matrix to assess its capability needs. The matrix set out the mix of skills its employees had against the organisation’s science disciplines. The matrix identified which skill sets needed to be maintained or enhanced as well as areas where capability might need to expand in the future.
Strategic planning workshops
NIWA used its strategic planning workshop to consider internal and external workforce challenges, recruitment and retention needs, and ideas to address these. As part of the workshop, capability profiles of science groups were prepared. These included assessments of constraints and growth trends.
Business planning
AgResearch included a people and capability template as part of its science group business planning. The template prompts science managers to consider:
  • demographic trends, such as the age groups of their staff;
  • current science capabilities and other skills, future needs, and any gaps;
  • ways to address gaps, such as recruitment or internal development;
  • team culture;
  • reward and recognition; and
  • any internal and external factors that are risks for capability.

Our views on the effectiveness of identifying workforce needs

In our view, it is not surprising that CRIs were at different stages in identifying their workforce needs. Workforce planning is a continuous process and can require several attempts to establish effective systems and strategies. The CRIs that were using workforce information from a range of internal and external sources were in a good position to identify specific workforce needs and risks. They were able to plan their workforces in an informed way, decide whether the needs or risks require a solution, and find out which solutions were most appropriate.

The CRIs that did not have a broad understanding of their workforce needs were at risk of making uninformed decisions about their capability. Without a comprehensive assessment of workforce needs, organisations cannot be sure that they are targeting workforce initiatives and resources effectively and efficiently. This is critically important for CRIs because of the funding uncertainty they face. We were encouraged to see that the CRIs with a less comprehensive identification of their workforce needs were planning work and introducing systems to enable them to form a broader and more detailed understanding of their workforce needs. We have told these CRIs that we consider it important that they continue their efforts in this area.

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