The events of COVID-19 have forced many of us to consider models of work that we might not otherwise have considered and, as external forces continue to shift, we’ve heard from some of our clients that they’re struggling with their Workforce Planning.
Following is a basic primer to help guide you through these next weeks and months.
What is Workforce Planning?
Sometimes called Human Resources (HR) Planning, workforce planning is the process of forecasting future HR requirements to ensure your business has the right number and mix of employees to meet the company’s business goals. It's ideally a thoughtful, thorough process that engages the right stakeholders and provides an opportunity for gap analyses to be conducted that then inform discussions about development opportunities for existing employees as well as decision-making about job postings and recruiting efforts.
Unfortunately, in extreme situations like we’re in, decisions are often made out of fear and panic rather than thoughtful, reasoned planning.
Forecasting Labor Supply & Labor Demand
Unfortunately, we've heard about a number of companies that have begun layoffs and others who have paused hiring temporarily. This means there are opportunities for savvy businesses to take advantage of, such as:
1. Accessing previously “unavailable” talent
Because we've been building remote tech teams for our clients over the last 15 years we have close relationships with many of the best developers, QAs, PMs, data scientists, and other tech talents in western Canada. Some people who previously weren’t available may now be open to conversations and/or available. Contact us if you want to know more!
2. Scaling with individual contractors or contract teams
Just because a permanent posting feels like too much risk at this point in time doesn’t mean the strategic projects you have in the works should pause, too. Keep your projects moving with our scalable teams. They can ramp up and down as you need them and match the workload you have during these unpredictable times. These teams have all worked together before taking the risk out of the hiring process.
3. Leveraging internal candidates
Identify who in your company might be interested in doing some up-skilling or re-skilling. There are a number of amazing learning opportunities available online that can benefit both the company and help with the engagement and retention of your staff.
We’re already seeing the supply of contractors increasing and we believe the demand will increase as well. Contact us to learn about our services and how we can help.