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The Strategic Role of Workforce Management That You Should Know

By Benard Njuguna

November 11 2019 - For any company, relying on skilled employees is the key to success. Nevertheless, finding such employees when they are needed is becoming a major challenge. Therefore, there are many companies that are operating with a small number of employees or employees who are not fully skilled.

So, companies that want to bypass this challenge are using strategic workforce management, which ensures that the right employees are hired in the first place and that they are qualified to do the right work. Also, strategic workforce management makes certain that employees are working at the right time.

The biggest role of workforce management, therefore, is to eliminate the staffing challenges for the company. The good thing is that it can eliminate this for good if it becomes a part of your business's culture.

Major Reasons for Strategic Workforce Management

Now that we understand what workforce management is, it is time to dive deeper into the reasons why it is an important strategy in any work environment. According to experienced HRMs, both small and large companies should embrace this approach for a number of reasons.

  • Managing talent - it all boils down to hiring a talented workforce with the drive to work, eagerness to innovate and a passion to grow in their careers. The younger generation is now vibrant, and companies are preparing these people to replace seniors who are retiring from major management roles. An organization cannot nurture talent unless they use the right approach. And this is where strategic workforce management comes in.
  • Coping with demographic changes – as mentioned, organizations are now focused on working with the young and skilled managers and other employees. These organizations develop workforce management strategies to prepare them for the future. One challenge that comes along with this is the different approaches of the two demographic groups. But with the right strategic approach, this becomes possible and easy.
  • Reducing costs related to staff management - any current strategic approach in an organization has a goal of reducing costs. Appropriate workforce management strategies are not an exception. If you consult the right experts during recruitment and employee management, you will avoid high employee turnover and at the same time keep them motivated. Such a work environment reduces costs in an excellent way.

Creating a Workforce Management Strategy

One of the roles of the HR office is to plan, test and implement the strategies that are working well. For now, the most important step is to conduct workforce planning as part of management. It is worth noting that good planning ensures employee motivation and agility and reduces expenditure per employee.

Step 1: Analyze the current productivity and condition of the workforce

Planning is crucial. But it will not be a success if you do not understand the current productivity and condition of the workforce. When planning, it is prudent to look at the quantity and quality of work produced by each employee. If you are having any difficulties assessing this, consult with the Synel Americas experts because they have been helping organizations with the right workforce management solutions.

Step 2: Analysis of what the future will look like

Now that you know the current situation of the workforce, it is good to predict how the future will look. There are many tools that you can use to create possible future scenarios. Additionally, you can brainstorm with the management on what they think about the future. This is the most important step that should be explored thoroughly. If the internal decision-making requires a boost, try and consult with an expert in human resources management.

Step 3: Make a future workforce strategy

If you remember well, we said that this is all about preparing the workforce that will replace the senior demographic. But before they take on any roles, especially at the management level, it is good to have hands-on solutions to possible challenges. This type of planning is one of the roles of strategic management of the workforce.

Of course, this step identifies all the gaps and proposes possible solutions. Because it is a continuous process, solutions will keep changing as new challenges are realized. This can happen before the time for the workforce to take over arrives or during their operations. Ultimately, the role of this strategy is to have employees with the right skills working in the right place.

If you are in the fleet business, for instance, establishing a workforce strategy may lead to the reduction of drivers and hiring of skilled fleet managers with IT skills to control autonomous trucks remotely. One such employee should have the ability to handle 3 to 5 trucks at a time. See, strategic planning of the workforce has enabled this company to understand future operations and the employees that they need.

The Takeaway

Strategic workforce management is all about planning matters that are related to employees to provide current and future solutions. It is carried out by the HR office in collaboration with the management and consultants. As you can see, its success is critical in any organization. Thus, it is recommended that you introduce the strategy in your company if it is within your job scope.

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