We have heard it over and over. “We have to work on establishing a more engaged workforce.” “We have to get our employees more engaged” What does that mean? Let’s define Employee Engagement. Employee Engagement is nothing more than the extent the individual chooses to apply their knowledge, skills, and abilities toward an effort. I invite your attention to three words “the individual chooses.”
What does that mean?
I remember his frustration. He showed me the equipment he bought that promised to make his work easier. He showed me the software he bought that promised to make his salespeople more efficient. He was angry too. I had been referred to him because he needed help. He was angry, frustrated, and taking it out on me because everything he had purchased to help his business didn’t. His words still resonate with me, “I bought this $%*+, and nothing happened.” I knew part of the answer as to why. He bought something that he thought would make his business successful; he forgets that Success Comes From Actions and Not Things.
A common reason I am given for a business to not engage in workforce planning is that they don’t see the value in it. Aside from the information, I presented in my article Why do Organizations Need Workforce Planning, there is the information presented in the Entrepreneur Magazine article, 5 Important Guidelines to Increase HR Values In Your Organization. These articles may not address the objections of your harshest critics. In that instance, you would have to develop a Business Case for Workforce Planning.
How do you develop a business case for Workforce Planning (WP)?
You’ve developed the five parts of your Simple Business Plan. You’ve talked them over, dissected and digested them. They are how you want them now. You aren’t done. You have to complete and execute your business plan. If you just complete it, you’ll be like many but not all businesses. You’ll have a business plan. If you execute the plan, you will be among those highly successful businesses that both complete and execute their business plan. Given the survival rate of businesses in the US, when you complete and execute your business plan, you can find yourself in that group of businesses with long term sustainable survival and growth.
How do you complete and execute your business plan?
Workforce Planning is the single best way to not only drive your talent strategy but also to support your overall business strategy. Your workforce planning strategy should not exist unless it is aligned with and supporting your overall business strategy. Building a Workforce Plan, as I have shared before, takes time, effort and knowledge. A common concern is its complexity. Is Workforce Planning Too Complex?
Let’s answer that question…