Strategic Workforce Planning for Future Success

Introduction

Those in charge of teams, projects, or organizations usually are expected to have a plan on how different activities will be met. These kinds of planning require training, recruitments, and deploying of the people who are expected to offer results. If the managers do not act immediately and wait till the last minute that the particular work is required to do all these, the needed skills and personnel will definitely not be available. Timely workforce and effective planning surpasses headcount and gives great solutions to aggregate a business’s future direction. A workforce plan that is strategic gives good decisions of the business and produces very essential data like productivity time, difficulty, and easy time which in return assists in risk identification early enough and therefore actions are set on time. According to CIPD members’ guide, Workforce Planning Practice is laying out the steps to planning a workforce for Human Resource professionals and managers of particular lines. Cases of uncertainties and change make planning very essential because it helps organizations to prepare themselves for survival by securing resources of the workforce that are required now and in the future (Armstrong et al., p55).

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The first question I will tackle is the principles of effective workforce planning and the tools used in the process. (AC2.1). Workforce planning is the act of analyzing the present-day workforce, the determination of the needs of the future workforce, recognizing the space between the workforce that will be available, and coming up with solutions for an organization to acquire the goals of its mission and have a strategic plan. A workforce planning process requires the following tools; the first one needs to define and outline the objectives of their business. Organizations need to identify their goals, vision, motives, and mission (Swanson & Richard, p.32). Human resource needs to come up with a plan to align these objectives. Secondly, the current workforce should be modeled. The current workforce needs to be understood in terms of character and capabilities to ensure good results in the end. The third tool is; establishment of the future workforce’s direction. The organization needs to keep analyzing external and internal factors that influence the different processes of the business to establish the future direction of the organization.

The second question I will talk about is Key considerations when planning and conducting a downsizing of an organization. (AC2.3). In the business climate of today, downsizing of an organization has become an important and common activity that helps in the increase of competitiveness and the elimination of redundant capacity. The listed are the key considerations that an organization needs when downsizing; first and foremost, the retention of the organization’s reputation. In a company’s decision to downsize, the results of this decision on the community and the suppliers and customers are intense. Therefore it is recommended that such decisions are communicated by the company to those who will be affected directly before rumors get to them. Secondly, the company should manage communications. This entails the company communicating to the external members of the organization and the employees. This means they have to be put in the clear for the reasons for such decisions. Thirdly, the company should be in charge of the actual closure of the organization. This is a very important stage because it includes setting the downsizing vision, planning operation run down, and the determination of employee number reduction. Lastly, it is important to manage employee investment in the organization. Downsizing will have an emotional impact on the employees and training them is the best way to handle the displacement.

The third question is an explanation of the main legal requirements for recruitment and selection. (AC2.5). In this sector, I will discuss the different checks an organization needs to take before recruiting an individual. First, an organization is expected to ask for the right to work check. This is to ensure that the person being selected by an organization has the permission to work in that country and can do the job being asked of him. Secondly, an organization should ask for criminal records check. This will help in ensuring that vulnerable individuals in society are safeguarded. An organization before recruiting should ask for this to ensure that ex-offenders are determined. Thirdly, organizations are expected to ask for medical checks when recruiting. It is expected of them to ask very carefully when it comes to health-related issues and medical information. Lastly, it is expected of them to ask for reference checks from people during selection. New employees should at least give one accurate referee from their previous employments when interviewing for a new job.

• The fourth question is Guidance on practice in the development of job descriptions, person specifications, and competency frameworks. (AC2.4). The main purpose of this job is to provide worldwide soft energy drinks and beat other competitors in the coming years. It is also aiming at creating job opportunities and reducing unemployment rates in the EU. The levels of authority in PTP soda drinks are to manage job seekers and employee’s expectations, to ensure employers are flexible when it comes to change, and to be a key provider in order to establish security and give a good branding for the organization. The functional responsibility we have will include the following; Employer should position themselves as an employer of choice to ensure survival in case of tight labor markets, the employee on the other side is expected to use any alliance with other competitors, reviewing new trends & applying new approaches and finally, about the soft drinks industry, the support of Food and Drug Authority is essential to be more attractive & stable in the business.

Question number 5; An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of different methods of recruitment and selection. (AC2.6). The first method of recruitment I will discuss is; websites and online job boards. Job boards like monster.co.uk can be very useful without an individual having strong brands from employer because it has the capability of attracting candidates directly. Most organizations already have a section of vacancies on those websites. The table below gives the advantages and disadvantages.

Secondly, I will discuss the use of search consultants. This method can be used when a vacancy is not needed to be of public notice because it may be of the senior post or it may have market sensitivities. Its advantages and disadvantages are listed in the table below

Thirdly, there is the use of the press to advertise these job opportunities. This includes journals, local and national newspapers to recruit. Most people who have special skills usually try to find vacancies in professional journals. Agencies that recruit in most cases bargain rates that are special with these media groups. Its advantages and disadvantages are listed in the table below.

Question 6; Advice on good practice in the management of dismissals, retirements, and redundancies that complies with current (local) legislation – 3 separate sections. Unlawful discrimination should be avoided at all costs. An employer should never treat another person with cruelty as compared to the rest just because he or she has a protected characteristic. An example is that of an employer who makes use of persistent lateness for the dismissal of a gay man just because he is gay and a straight man that does the same lateness pattern is never dismissed. Therefore, employees and employers shouldn’t treat another individual in a different way than they know will have the worst effect on them and the people who share the same protected characteristic than the impact it has on people of different characteristics from them. If what you have done can be seen, or what your intentions are, this is a type of discrimination that should be avoided at all costs. Your actions can mean the types of decisions you make or rule application. One is advised not to treat a person with disabilities unfavorably because of something related to their situation and their acts are not justifiable. This is only applicable if one could have been reasonably expected to be aware of the person’s disabilities.

An organization or an employer is not allowed to unlawfully dismiss an employer. One is required to have good reasons for dismissal purposes (Deakin et al., p7). One is expected to follow procedures of the disciplinary before these occurrences. An employer should communicate to an employee and inform them about the disciplinary hearing and the reason for their dismissal for example misconduct. They should also ensure that the date and time of the disciplinary hearing do not at all costs collide with the employee’s religious holiday. In cases where it does and the organization insists on holding the hearing, this can be classified as indirect discrimination. It is very advisable and appropriate to discuss these cases with the worker and it can be very great for an organization or an employer to seek expert advice on the capabilities of an employee or what can be done before terminating or dismissing someone. It is a very risky chance for an organization to depend on medical advice when assessing a person’s situation. This is because the health professional most definitely is not made aware of the employer’s work adjustments.

It is very difficult for employers to avoid unlawful discrimination of employees in times of redundancy decision making. This section will assist us in understanding how employers can avoid these kinds of discrimination when choosing individuals for redundancy especially redundancy criteria and procedures, qualifications and training, and working hours and records of absentia. An employer should ensure that the redundancy procedures and criteria they follow do not discriminate unlawfully. They should remember for example in cases of people with disabilities, they make the appropriate and needed adjustments which include redundancy criteria adjustments. This includes when an employer is seeking a permanent employee, an intern, or volunteers. However, it is very possible to give redundancy payments in consideration of age. It is also advisable for a company or organization to know the length of service when selecting individuals for redundancy. It is also very appropriate for an employer to use qualifications for redundancy selection. In case an employer has two employees with the same roles, but one of them has the relevant additional qualification, the decision of giving more work to the employee with more qualification cannot be labeled as unlawful discrimination. It is also advisable to make it clear for the applicants that a particular qualification is a must-have for the job vacancy. In this case, when individuals who do not have the particularly required qualification apply and are not taken, it is not considered as discrimination.

When it comes to retirement, making an individual retire because of their age is discrimination itself, discrimination of age. However, the law of equality gives retirement an exception; an employee is only allowed to give a worker retirement when he or she is 65 years of age and above, all the tests considered legal are satisfied by the dismissal of an employee and the employer follows the appropriate procedures. The law of equality does not have any effect on the age that an individual is entitled to a pension given after retirement. An employee should never forget to give all the required information about retirement to any persons with disabilities because this is considered discrimination. When giving references to former employees, it is expected of employers to give the best with good remarks. Employers should not unlawfully discriminate against their employees when giving these no matter how long they have worked for you or they are still under your employment but are looking for greener pastures.

Lastly, I will talk about how I am going to use the acquired information. This research has been very useful and knowledgeable for assisting me in understanding my rights as an employee and how well I should treat my employees as an employer. The collected knowledge will help me avoid being sued as an employer for now I know how well employees need to be treated and their rights. This will help me avoid discrimination whether as an employee or vice versa to avoid making people of a particular group feeling out of place or underappreciated. This work will help me help my friends who are employed but are not familiar with the dos and don’ts of an organization of individuals of different races, religions, and ethnic groups. The education I have gained from this work I will not keep to myself but I will spread it to friends and family. This has been very educative research for me today, the future, and for PTP soda Drinks Company.

Works cited

Armstrong, Michael, and Stephen Taylor. Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers, 2014.

Deakin, Simon F., Gillian S. Morris, and Gillian S. Morris. Labour law. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2015.

Swanson, Richard. Analysis for improving performance: Tools for diagnosing organizations and documenting workplace expertise. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2017.

Herman Bailey

With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.