Workforce Planning

Question 1

What is one Reason for workforce change?

Answer 1

new staff may be needed for the following reasons:

• to meet increasing demand for existing products
• to develop new products to satisfy demand
• to assist in opening new stores/factories
• to help enter new markets
• to respond to flexible working arrangements

Question 2

What is another reason for workforce changes?

Answer 2

Existing staff may be removed or leave for the following reasons:

• to respond to falling sales/demand for products
• to take up positions with competitors or other local employees
• because employees retire, take sick leave, go on maternity leave, and so on
• The business needs different employees with new skills

Question 3

What is workforce planning?

Answer 3

Workforce planning is about deciding how many and what types of workers are required and when. There are several steps involved in workforce planning.

Question 4

What are the steps in workforce planning?

Answer 4

1. The organisation analyses the potential demand for its goods/services and decides how many staff are needed and what skills are required to meet this demand. The organisation will take PESTEC factors into account.
2. The organisation will conduct a staffing forecast to highlight if any staff are due to leave (maternity leave, retiring, ect.) and if there is a shortfall of surplus of staff.
3. The organisation analyses the profile of its current workforce to determine the need for new staff and the skills that need to be developed in existing staff.
4. If there was a surplus of staff then they may have to be removed; if there is a shortfall then the organisation ‘closes the gaps’ to ensure it has the workforce required to provide the goods/services to meet their objectives by:
   a) recruiting and selecting new staff
   b) training existing staff
   c) retaining existing staff through motivation methods
5. Review process and make changes if necessary

Question 5

What is internal or external supply of staff?

Answer 5

An organisation can recruit for staff from either within the organisation (internal) or from outside the organisation (external)

Question 6

Internal

Answer 6

• staff noticeboard
• organisations intranet
• internal email to all or selected staff
• company newsletter

Question 7

External

Answer 7

• job centre
• newspaper adverts
• websites such as Monster or S1 jobs
• recruitment agencies- specialist organisations that are experts in recruiting and selecting the best staff for the other organisation. This is an example of outsourcing.

Question 8

Advantages and disadvantages of internal recruitment

Answer 8

Advantages

• The vacancy can be filled quickly
• The employee knows the organisation which saves induction training costs and time
• employee is known to the organisation and can be trusted to do a good job
• The organisation saves money on external advertisement costs
• employees will be more motivated as they know there is a chance of promotion

Disadvantages

• applicants are drawn from a very limited pool so the organisation may not hire the best person for the job
• promoting one employee will consequentially create a vacancy in the old post
• The organisation misses out on a chance to bring in fresh new ideas and new skills to the organisation
• employees can resent a fellow colleague being promoted over them. This can cause conflict and relations to become strained

Question 9

Advantages and disadvantages of external supply of staff

Answer 9

Advantages

• fresh new ideas and skills are brought into the organisation
• there is a wider pool of candidates to choose from
• it avoids creating a further vacancy in the organisation
• it avoids the jealousy and resistance that is often created by one employee being promoted over others

Disadvantages

• candidates do not know the organisation so induction training will have to be carried out taking up production time and costing money
• such a potentially vast pool of candidates can mean it takes longer to choose suitable applicants for interview
• The organisation does not know the successful candidate, which carries a risk that they may not be suited for the job or worse are untrustworthy
• existing staff may be demotivated as they perceive that there is no chance of internal promotion

Question 10

What is selection the process of?

Answer 10

Selection is the process of choosing the correct person from the pool of applicants that have applied for the job

Question 11

What are the 6 selection methods?

Answer 11

• application forms and cv
• interviews
• testing
• assessment centres
• references
• trial periods

Question 12

Application forms and cv’s

Answer 12

An application form is a document, produced by the employer, containing questions that applicants answer to provide details of their skills, experience and qualities. This is often more useful than a curriculum vitae (CV), which is usually a two page document listing a persons work experience, qualifications and personal experiences. By using an application form, every applicant answers the same questions, making it easier to compare their answers with those of another applicant than with a CV.

Question 13

What are interviews and what are the advantages and disadvantages to it?

Answer 13

All interviews are designed to compare the applicants responses to questions againsts set criteria. Interviews can take various forms: with one manager (one-to-one), with a single manager, one manager after another (successive) or in front of a number of people at the same time (panel)

Advantages

• interviews find out how an applicant reacts under pressure
• interviews give an indication of the appliants personality and character

Disadvantages

• some applicants can train specifically for interviews and say what the job interviewers want to hear but may not be the best person for the job
• interviews can be highly stressful. This means an organisation may miss out on quality employees who underperform in the pressure of an interview

Question 14

What is testing?

Answer 14

Tests provode additional information about an applicant

Question 15

What are the tests used during selection?

Answer 15

-attainment test, this allows an applicant to demonstrate their skills
-aptitude test, this assess if a candidate has the natural abilites and personal skills for the job
-psychometric test, the assesses an applicants personality and mental suitabillity for a job. There are no right or wrong answers; instead the test gives an insight into how an applicant thinks and if they would fit into the organisation
Intelligence/IQ test, this measures a candidates mental ability, used for jobs where candidates may be solving problems
-medical test, this measures physical fitness levels which may be required for certain jobs

Question 16

What are disadvantages of testing?

Answer 16

• they can be time consuming to carry out
• they may put applicants under too much pressure to perform as they would once they get the job
• candidates may be more prepared on the day and once hired not perform to the same levels evident in the test

Question 17

What are assessment centers and what are the advantages and disadvantages of it?

Answer 17

Organisations use assessment centres to see a large number of applicants at the same time. Applicants take part in a variety of team-building and role-play exercises as well as a number of tests. This allows an organisation to scrutinise applicants, to assess their suitability for the job, as well as how they interact with others.

Advantages

• allows an organisation to really scrutinise applicants over a longer period of time
• assesses how applicants interact with others
• assesses how applicants react to role-play scenarios that mimic real work situations
• reduces the chance of interviewer bias as the results are a true reflection of each applicants abilities and not just what one manager thinks

Disadvantages

• a venue will need to be hired, if an organisation doesn’t have its own assessment centre, which is expensive
• several managers will need to be sent to the centre to comduct and supervise the tests, losing production time
• such tests require careful planning and preparation, all of which takes time

Question 18

References

Answer 18

This is using references, or information from referees. These are used to confirm that the candidate is who they say they are, and that they are reliable. References are usually requested from previous employers and/or someone else with authority, such as the head teacher at the candidates school.

Question 19

Trial periods

Answer 19

This involes an applicant being employed for a short period of time, a day, a week or longer, before they are offered the position permenantly, to make sure they are capable of doing the job, and that they are reliable and trustworthy. This avoids an organisation making a mistake by offering a job to someone who isn’t suitable, and potentially having to go through lengthy discipline and dismissal procedures.