HR · Workforce planning · Component
The demand forecast
What capability the plan will require, over a horizon long enough that the organisation could still acquire it.
The deliverable
What it is
The forecast is derived from the plan rather than from last year’s headcount. If it cannot be traced to something the organisation intends to do, it is an extrapolation wearing a forecast’s clothes.
The horizon must exceed the time it takes to acquire the capability. A twelve-month requirement for a capability with an eighteen-month lead time has already been decided by default.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The requirement
What capability is needed, at what depth, by when.
3 attributes: Capability · Depth needed · Needed by
LearnThe horizon
How far ahead the forecast reaches, set against how long capability takes to acquire.
2 attributes: Forecast period · Acquisition lead time
LearnThe assumptions
What the forecast depends on being true — growth rate, attrition, retained work.
3 attributes: Assumption · Attrition rate · Confidence
Learn
Set the horizon from acquisition lead time, not from the planning calendar. A shorter horizon decides the question by default.
The other components in workforce planning
The capability map
What the organisation can currently do, expressed as capabilities held by people rather than as a list of job titles.
LearnThe gap analysis
The difference between capability held and capability needed, with a decision attached to each gap.
Learn