Navigo recently sent out an email campaign on the benefits of workforce modelling. Grant has been busy keeping up with the overwhelming response from HR pro’s who are looking to become Modelling Masters.
This is a great opportunity to highlight the differences between workforce planning and HR analytics. Both are great tools necessary for organisational success, but they serve different functions.
Knowing the difference between workforce planning and HR analytics can help you identify a gap in your HR metrics. It also makes it easier to get approval from decision makers if you’re interested in workforce planning tools.
Here’s an explanation of the differences between workforce modelling and HR analytics:
HR analytics tell you about the state of your current workforce
HR analytics give you a breakdown of your current organisational situation.The data from HR analytics will tell you how many people are working for you right now, who your biggest performers are, and what departments are performing the most effectively.
The timely perspective HR analytics provide is a great basis for making strategic decisions. You need to have a strong understanding of how your organisation currently stands to bring it into the future.
Yet HR analytics won’t tell you about the future of your organisation. You have no insight into where your organisation needs to be in a month, a year, or the next five years.
HR analytics won’t tell you what talent you need to expand. You may know your current skill gaps in the form of vacant positions, but you will not know what skills are required further down the line.
HR analytic’s lack of forward focus is where workforce modelling steps in. Workforce modelling can give you the insight into the future of your company the way HR analytics can’t.
Workforce modelling visualises your skill gaps and future talent needs
Source: MuZzak
Workforce modelling uses factors such as current headcount, likely attrition rate, and required skills sets to determine your future talent needs. Consider it succession planning for your organisation.
Setting up a workforce modelling initiative reduces the growing pains of an organisation as it expands. Skill gaps are pre-empted, and new employees are hired before current employees get stretched too thin.
Workforce modelling factors in elements such as turnover as well as talent shortages. Skilled workers who entered the workforce 20 years ago will be more likely to retire in the coming years.
Workforce modelling allows you to avoid ‘brain drain‘ in your organisation, by hiring talent to replace outgoing employees. You need to factor in what talent is leaving your organisation in the coming years as well as the talent coming in.
Using the predictive power of workforce modelling also eases major transformations, such as a merger or change in processes. Workforce modelling shows you who needs to be doing what, as well as additional factors involving training and data migration.
Being able to visualise such a significant change may make the task seem daunting, but workforce modelling has the opposite effect. Being able to predict what factors you need to include in a change makes managing the change easier.
Use workforce modelling and HR analytics together for a more organised workforce now and into the future
Workforce modelling is a great skill to have in your HR toolbox. It may sound like the replacement for HR analytics, but they are great complimentary tools.
HR analytics shows you where your organisation currently stands, workforce modelling shows you how to take it into the future. You need one for the other to exist.
HR analytics is the best starting point to decide how to progress your organisation. Use a current snapshot of your organisation as a basis for your workforce modelling strategies.
Create an outline of how you would like your organisation to look in 5 years time. Compare this to where your organisation currently stands in terms of headcount and skills. List all the positions you would need to fill and the skills those positions require. Look at your current workforce and what stage in the employee lifecycle they are. Assess what positions will need to be replaced as older employees retire and you face general turnover.
Placing new employees as you need them is a key part of becoming a hero of workforce modelling. Develop your strategy now so you can address your talent needs before they become problems.
Become the workforce modelling expert in your organisation today
You can become an expert in workforce modelling too. Show the C-suite who you need to hire leading into the future to grow as an organisation.
Present data that shows talent is a competitive advantage. Your organisation knows what it wants to do – show them how you’re going to do it.
Download our brochure on how to become the hero from HR today to learn about all the tools and skills you’ll need.
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