FROM PILLAR TO POST strategy to overhaul your processes , practices and programmes .
Conducting a workforce analysis is the first step . This entails evaluating your current staffing structure , the skill sets to which you have access and the availability of those employees throughout the week . During this process , you may identify some gaps between your operational requirements and the capability and capacity of your workforce to meet them . because they ’ ll help your business get from where it is now to where it needs to be one , two and five years hence .
Irrespective of the nature of your enterprise , a high calibre workforce is your biggest asset . Hence , your fourth step should be the establishment of an ongoing training and development programme that enables your employees to enhance their capabilities and acquire the skills they need to help you drive the business forward .
Having determined the status quo , it ’ s time to start planning for the future . Analysing historic company data and examining industry trends will help you predict upcoming fluctuations in demand and workload . Armed with these insights , you ’ ll be able to adjust your staffing line-up and rosters to ensure you have access to sufficient resources during busy periods and fewer bodies on the books during the lulls .
Next , you ’ ll need to establish open channels of communication between managers and team members . Your aim should be to facilitate conversations about everything from shift preferences to skill development opportunities . Getting those exchanges happening is vital
Workforce management isn ’ t a set and forget exercise . It should be an ongoing process of improvement ; one that draws on up to date data to inform decisions . That ’ s why your final step needs to be tracking and assessing the effectiveness of your strategies and actions on a regular basis .
Tools to make the task easy
While the benefits of improved workforce management are hard to dispute , it can be challenging to realise them without the right tools . We ’ re talking here of operations and enablement technology which allows you to empower and oversee a team of permanent and contingent workers .
Brendan Maree , Vice President and Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand , ProHance
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