Workforce Planning Free Essays

string(74) " also constricted by the funds and resources they have at their disposal\." Group 2 Manage Workforce Planning Autism Victoria – Workforce Plan By James Watts, Jessica Lim, Luke Farrugia and Kair Aueil For Jan Kelly 06/04/2012 Table of Contents 1. The Necessity of Workforce Planning3 2. Overview of organisation3 2. We will write a custom essay sample on Workforce Planning or any similar topic only for you Order Now 1. Autism Victoria’s services3 3. Strategy3 3. 1. Autism Victoria’s Vision3 3. 2. Autism Victoria’s Values3 3. 3. Autism Victoria’s Mission4 3. 4. Autism Victoria’s Strategic Priorities4 3. 5. SWOT Analysis4 4. External Factors4 4. 1. Global Factors5 4. 2. National and Regional Factors5 4. 3. Challenges5 5. Internal Environment6 5. 1. Business Planning Process6 5. 2. Internal Changes6 5. 3. Labour Issues6 5. 4. Organisational Structure6 6. Current Workforce Profile7 7. Future Workforce Profile7 8. Gap Analysis and Closing Strategies7 9. Conclusion and Recommendations8 10. References8 1. The Necessity of Workforce Planning Workforce planning is a comprehensive process that provides managers with a framework for making staffing decisions based on an organisation’s mission, strategic plan, budgetary resources and a set of desired workforce competencies. (Dessler, Griffiths Lloyd-Walker 2007 pp78) Workforce planning allows managers to anticipate changes in the external and internal business environment and how they will impact their organisation’s workforce needs. It also provides a basis for managers to devise strategies to tackle said changes and generate the maximal amount of value for their dollar. As Autism Victoria is a non-profit organisation, it relies heavily upon government grants and funding. The limitations on this form of income make it imperative that Autism Victoria invests every penny wisely. And because the hiring and payment of workers is so costly, significant effort must be put into the workforce planning process in order to ensure that it isn’t costing the company more than it benefits it. . Overview of organisation Autism Victoria, trading as Amaze, is a member-based not-for-profit organisation and is the peak body for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) in the state of Victoria. Their aim is to improve the quality of life for people affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders, their family and carers. They also provide a range of services to individuals and agencies with an interest in Autism Spectrum Disorders (including Asperger Syndrome and PDD-NOS). 3. 1. Autism Victoria’s services Autism Victoria offers the following services: free phone support for individuals and organisations affected by ASD * certified and customised training programs for professionals and businesses * information and education sessions for individuals and families including the Early Days workshops * autism accreditation for services, schools and practitioners * administration of the FaHCSIA â€Å"Helping Children with Autism† funding on behalf of government * information Services – Autism Library, Spectrum Magazine, eSpectrum newsletter, online resources, Fact Sheets and more 3. Strategy 4. 2. Autism Victoria’s Vision That all people affected by an ASD have the best quality of life outcomes possible 4. 3. Autism Victoria’s Values * Diversity * Co-operative spirit * Willingness to learn * Background in dealing with an ASD 4. 4. Autism Victoria’s Mission To provide the best quality range of information, advice and support to families and individuals and advocating for systemic change, the establishment of networks, links and communities and the provision of training and accreditation to the service support system. 4. 5. Autism Victoria’s Strategic Priorities Autism Victoria’s most recent Board of Directors meeting yielded 5 priorities for this quarter. They are: 1. To confirm and enhance the role of Autism Victoria as the Peak Body on Autism Spectrum Disorders in Victoria 2. To ensure Autism Victoria is a robust and functional organisation 3. To develop and adopt a number of diverse income streams to ensure the financial viability of the organisation 4. To provide comprehensive quality information and advice on all matters related to Autism Spectrum Disorders 5. To take direct action to improve the provision of service and standards to people with an Autism Spectrum Disorder 4. 6. SWOT Analysis 4. External Factors There are several external factors which currently have an influence on Autism Victoria’s workforce planning considerations. Some of these external factors have a positive influence; others, negative. In this section, several strata of external factors will be discussed. 5. 7. Global Factors As Autism Victoria is a state organisation, there aren’t many global factors currently affecting it. The most notable factors would be the new developments in ASD diagnosis and treatment. The American-developed DSM-X diagnostic tool will be replacing the current DSM-IV version, and this has the potential to cause a great deal of uncertainty in the diagnosis of ASDs. Autism Victoria predicts that 20% of would-be autistics would be failed to be diagnosed. This would lead to a large population of ASD symptom carriers being deemed unfit for access to quality knowledge and care. One potential global factor that could be beneficial for Autism Victoria involves a conference that is currently being held by them every two years. This conference is streamed into 9 regional centres in Victoria. With the advent of new media technology that is available today, they would have the opportunity to stream the conference live into surrounding nations, spreading knowledge and awareness much more effectively. Autism Victoria is constantly on the lookout for new research and technologies which have the potential to benefit their cause. This would greatly influence their workforce planning process, as technological knowledge and skills would be a crucial part of assessing an applicant’s suitability. The advent of this technology may even create new job positions. 5. 8. National and Regional Factors A national factor which has the potential to affect Autism Victoria is the introduction of a new National Disability Insurance Scheme by the Victorian Coalition Government. It is still unknown whether this new process will have a positive or negative effect on Autism Victoria and their beneficiaries. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development has released an Autism State Plan for Victoria, which is committed to supporting all children affected by an ASD. In conjunction with Autism Victoria, they have been promoting the spread and knowledge of ASDs through the Victorian school system. Autism Victoria is also constricted by the funds and resources they have at their disposal. You read "Workforce Planning" in category "Papers" Though the amount of funding they have received has increased greatly over the last few years, there is still room for growth, as there are still a large number of ASD sufferers in Victoria. 5. 9. Challenges There are several challenges that are currently being faced by Autism Victoria. In Australia today, 1 in 100 children is diagnosed with Autism. This places a large demand on the services and support Autism Victoria provides. Funding and manpower is a significant part of the fulfilment of these demands. Autism Victoria’s CEO organises a quarterly board meetings in order to discuss a wide range of matters. The current purpose of their next meeting, which is due to happen as of now is to develop a paper for the government underling what policies Autism Victoria believe should be changed or added. They also prepare papers on how much funding is needed. Recently Autism Victoria has been lobbing with education ministers to get the amount of experience teachers get with autistic people while studying to become teachers increased. There are currently no guidelines on how much time teaching students get hands on with Autistic children, with many universities offering no hands on time with Autistic children while studying teaching. This is something that the current CEO of Autism Victoria believes strongly in and is trying to get changed. 5. Internal Environment 6. 10. Business Planning Process Every year Autism Victoria holds their Annual Planning Day. This is a day where planning for the next year is done. The strategic plan is revised by the Board of Directors, and all managers are required to do SWOT analysis of their departments. . 11. Internal Changes As Autism Victoria as an organisation has had enormous growth within the past 3 years, during the increase in size of Autism Victoria’s operations they have had hire many new people to meet the demands of the organisation and the community. As a result, current offices have become cramped and there is no free office space within their current offices, due to this they are currently looking at moving to a new larger office. 6. 12. Labour Issues Autism Victoria’s only current problem with labour is an oversubscription. They recently encountered a problem in which 100 applicants applied for a new position that Autism Victoria had made available, this in turn created a problem of having to interview lots of applications. The CEO of Autism Victoria states that they only interviewed the people that where in the yes category because there where so many applicants it was not worth there time to interview the maybes as well. 6. 13. Organisational Structure At the head of the organisation structure of Autism Victoria is the current CEO Murray Dawson-Smith. Below him 5 work teams which are headed by respective managers. There are roughly 5 staff per work team. Autism Victoria’s Organisational Chart: 6. Current Workforce Profile The current workforce employed by Autism Victoria is more than adequate to perform the tasks and operations necessary at the organisation. Though the company is expanding and will be able to hire more employees, the supply of workers desirous to gain employment at Autism Victoria far exceeds the demand for employment by the organisation. This means that Autism Victoria has a great deal of control over both the internal and the external elements of hiring and promotion, and the luxury of choice when it comes to filling any position within the organization. The internal supply of workers, however, is largely tapped out. Though the workforce is highly qualified, experienced, and performs their tasks/fills their roles in a manner that meets or exceeds expectations, individuals at the organisation are also well-suited to and satisfied with their current positions, making internal promotion or lateral movements to fill vacancies and new positions undesirable and an ineffective and inefficient way to meet current workforce needs. External supply is also quite extensive, meaning Autism Victoria has many choices when it comes to filling current workforce needs. A high level of experience is not actually a requirement for considering employment, as extensive training is available for the right candidate. When seeking employees in the external workforce, then, personality, values, and ability to fit in with the other individuals at the organization are the key considerations. 7. Future Workforce Profile The most significant difference between the current and future workforce profiles at Autism Victoria is the planned expansion of the organisation, which will enable it to hire fifteen more individuals. As the organisation is devoted to providing autism assistance services, the new hires will need to be willing to work in this environment and to receive ongoing training and development towards providing individuals with autism and their families with always-improving services; however current knowledge or experience in the area is not really required. Even so, there are many applicants on file in the external workforce with experience, knowledge, and a strong desire to work at Autism Victoria, such that if the experience and knowledge considerations were to become more important in the future this would not present a problem to the organisation in the slightest. The desire to work for Autism Victoria in the wider external workforce is so strong, in fact, that the company should not have problems filling any open positions for some time, even with the company’s emphasis on ability to personally integrate with the other members of the organisation in a productive fashion. Such strong embedded cultures can be prohibitive to outsiders, but with a large pool to choose from this should not be an issue. In addition, former employees will and do apply for open positions. Even in the external workforce, then, there are potential employees known to be a good fit with the organization. The supply of available employees in the external workforce is more than enough to meet the organization’s needs. 8. Gap Analysis and Closing Strategies Autism Victoria is in a good state to fulfil their current strategic obligations. However, with the impending relocation on the horizon, they will need to focus on expanding their workforce capacity in order to cope with the coming staffing demands. This will not require a large increase in staff-seeking expenditure or effort, as Autism Victoria already has the exposure necessary to warrant oversubscription. Another area Autism Victoria should focus on is increasing the technological capabilities of its workforce. With the advent of new diagnostic and treatment tools, a workforce capable of utilising these developments stands to retain its usefulness far into the future. Autism Victoria can promote this focus by developing technological training programs for its staff. An increase in funding is imperative to secure the aforementioned developments. Thus, it necessary for Autism Victoria to continue to promote government funding at every available opportunity, as this provides a layer of buffering in the event that said developments fall through and contingency plans must be introduced. 9. Conclusion and Recommendations Autism Victoria has had the good fortune of rapid expansion within the last 5 years, and has thus far been capable of adapting to the changing environment of the industry’s workforce. But in order to secure its place in the future and fill out its expanding business scope, Autism Victoria will have to take the following actions: * Increase its workforce by 15 staff in order to adequately expand into its new location * Develop a training program to education staff in the use of the DSM-V diagnostic tool * Secure a 50% increase in government funding through the lobbying of ministers It is reasonable to believe that through the use of these recommendations, Autism Victoria stands to perform exceedingly well in the industry in a period out to 2020. 0. References Dessler, G, Griffiths, J Lloyd-Walker, B 2007 Human Resource Management, 3rd edn, Pearson Education, Australia How to cite Workforce Planning, Papers Workforce Planning Free Essays India shines Shalini Shukla 18 Apr 2012 In the last two decades, India has gone from being one of the least globalised economies in the world to one of the most dependent on international commerce. â€Å"Our markets are more open, we enjoy a wider range of consumer items than ever, and those who go abroad (far more than ever before) finance their travel expenses with foreign exchange,† says Shashi Tharoor, elected member of the Indian Parliament from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala and former Minister of State for External Affairs. Business process outsourcing has (also) tied large numbers of Indians to foreign work environments and business partners. We will write a custom essay sample on Workforce Planning or any similar topic only for you Order Now † This year, India is poised to over take Japan as the third largest economy in the world, based on purchasing power parity. James Agarwal, consulting director and head – India, BTI Consultants, a part of Kelly Services, says that main growth drivers seem to be a variety of internal and external factors, including investment-friendly public policies and regulations. India has also successfully raised its aggregate savings rate to levels that would allow sustained high levels of domestic capital formation, in turn helping high growth,† says Agarwal. While India’s economy is one of the world’s most dynamic, corruption, sloppy standards, a lack of decent staff and too much red tape are common gripes amongst businesses. Prince Augustine, EVP – Human Capital at Mahindra Mahindra, says there is much to be improved. â€Å"The potential of India has not been fully tapped in terms of its resources and people capability,† he says. There is ample scope for growth looking at the vast expanse of the country, its population and rich cultural heritage. † The country’s labour force is one to be reckoned with. It boasts the world’s largest labour pool, with 270 million entering the workforce over the next 20 years, says McKinsey Company. It also has the world’s youngest workforce, with 70% of the population falling under the age of 35, according to the latest Indian Census. â€Å"By and large, people (in India) are hard-working, and management is participative, forward-looking and quite performance-oriented,† says Augustine. Agarwal agrees and says work culture in India requires one to be acclimatised to the behavioural as well as cultural variations of the country. â€Å"For instance, here, people consider their family when accepting job proposals, although Gen X is emulating the west gradually,† he says. â€Å"Also, workers in India have a strict work ethic; they do not mind even working on weekends if the demands are such, unlike most other countries where weekends are almost exclusively considered personal time. However, Agarwal added that Indian workers can be rather particular about certain festivals which cannot be ignored, such as Diwali. Gender equality While India has certainly done some things right on the business front to achieve double-digit economic growth, gender equality in the country still has a long way to go before it comes even close to levels of other economic giants. According to the Gender Sensitivity Benchmark for Asia 2011 report, India is the worst among six top Asian economies when it comes to the representation of women in the workplace at the junior- and middle-level positions. Indian multinational companies studied had the lowest number of women employed, at 24. 43% of the total workforce in India. Agarwal laments that despite the fact that recent times have witnessed a boost in the status of women, such discrimination still seems to exist. â€Å"Discrimination here relates to matters like pay, conditions pre- and post-employment, promotions and other opportunity matters,† he says. â€Å"For a developing country like India, gender equality is still a long way off, coupled with unprecedented efforts to grant women an equal status and thereby ensure her development. There is a silver lining though. In spite of all the challenges, India has shown and worked on progressive policies. Today, most of India’s companies are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all. Employers are increasingly realising the value of trained human resource, especially women in India. Diversity hiring intent among leading companies has gone up by alm ost 500% since 2010, according to a study by the Chennai-based FLEXI Careers India, which sources only women executives. Some organisations are changing their HR policies to retain their valuable employees,† says Agarwal. â€Å"There are companies which are providing flexibility so that female employees at various life stages could benefit from these policies, like working from a different city, sabbatical from corporate life, and extended maternity leave. † A host of companies, like Godrej Industries, Pepsico, Genpact, Kraft, PG, Deutsche Bank and others, have all stepped up their gender diversity hiring recently. Progressive companies such as Mahindra Mahindra believe in equal opportunity and do not discriminate in any form. â€Å"Our philosophy is that the right person should be selected for the job. We have an evolutionary approach to diversity as the working population base needs to be aligned to ensure that there is a rich supply of employable workforce,† says Augustine. â€Å"In the manufacturing sector primarily in engineering, although the number of woman employees is limited, we have good representation. IBM is another company that’s been championing diversity in the workplace. Three or four times a year, a team from IBM goes on a recruitment drive with a difference – they screen and select only female employees. Conservative estimates suggest IBM has added well over 2,000 women in two years, with the proportion of female workers increasing from 24% of the workforce to 26%. â€Å"We keep trying to find new ways of hiring women,† Kalpana Veeraraghavan, div ersity manager for India and South Asia at IBM tells The Economist. This is not just about filling a talent crunch. There is a strong correlation between success in the marketplace and having a diverse workforce. † Other examples include Genpact, where the overall ratio of men to women is 60:40; Kotak Mahindra Bank, where two out of 10 employees are women; and KPMG, which has increased its headcount for female employees by 75% as compared to its figures for 2010. Schneider Electric has also bumped up its percentage of women in the workforce from just 9% in 2009 to 20% in 2011. Money talks Companies in India are cautious, but also confident of long-term performance this year. Organisations have emerged in a mature way post-downturn with a stronger compensation philosophy in place, designed around ‘pay for performance’ and a comprehensive view for long-term sustainability. According to the Hay Group Compensation Benefits Report 2011, the country witnessed an actual average salary increase of 11% in 2011 and is optimistic about seeing double-digit growth this year at an average of 12% across levels. Sridhar Ganesan, managing consultant and Rewards Practice Leader, Hay Group India, says, â€Å"in a short span of the last five years, the Indian employment market has witnessed a range of behaviours with employers on a hiring spree and also in rightsizing mode. The market is now stabilising and maturing to the next level of employer and employee relationships. † Graduate salaries are also picking up with monthly salaries touching Rs 40,000 (US$758) in industries including engineering, sales, marketing and even in support functions such as finance and HR. Salaries are going up at a good time as India experiences its highest inflation rates yet, with the annual inflation rate for the country accelerating to a 13-month high of 9. 78% in August 2011. For instance, Mahindra Mahindra does regular Mark-to-Market comparisons and appropriate changes are made in compensation based on market realities. â€Å"Employees are aligned to these realities,† says Augustine. Ganesan also observed that there is a constant reinforcement of pay for performance. Bonus figures have been continuously showing an increasing trend year-on-year, as organisations now believe in pay for performance with controlled merit increments. † More organisations have certainly designed variable pay to induce a performance-driven culture. The target bonus percentage ranges between 8% and 44% of base salary at junior management levels, 11–63% of base salary at middle management, and 15–75% of base salary at senior management levels. The Hay Group re port found that around 79% of the organisations participating paid some form of bonus in the last 12 months. When it comes to bonuses, Diwali is the time when employees expect them in India. According to The Economic Times, Diwali bonuses range from 10% to over 200% of basic pay. Consumer durables companies and IT and business process outsourcing companies are the most generous, with the former giving out 20–250% of basic pay during the festive season and the latter shelling out 80–100% of basic wages as bonuses. Bonuses in the financial services sector range from more conservative figures of 16–50% while those in the automobile industry fluctuate between 10% and 25%. The retail sector can give out anywhere from 9% to 60% of basic pay in bonus pay-outs during the festive season. LG Electronics India is a case in point. The consumer durables company gives out a total of 200–700% of basic salaries to its 4,500 employees annually through six bonuses, including two half-yearly performance incentives in January and July, a Diwali bonus, a post-Diwali bonus, an LG birthday bonus in May and a retention bonus to employees who have completed two years of service at LG. The retention bonus is a maximum of 400% of an employee’s basic monthly salary and is paid in three instalments in every consecutive year. Talent development There is no doubt that India’s vast manpower pool has played a vital role in its economic success story. It is increasingly obvious that the success of Indian companies is not just based on superior access to raw materials or technology or patents, but also fundamentally upon human skills. The major challenge, though, seems to be the issue of upgrading skill sets of this human resource through training development in the face of high attrition and competition, says Agarwal. â€Å"Indian companies are recognising their responsibilities to enhance the employee’s opportunity to develop skills and abilities for full performance within the position and for career advancement,† he says. The India that is going global is also a remarkably young country. â€Å"India’s youth population remains an under-utilised economic asset,† says Tharoor. Census figures show that nearly one-fifth of India belongs to the 15–24 year age group. Each year, the country will add around five million young adults in that age group – five million potentially productive workers providing India with the fuel it needs to drive productivity higher, powering its economy even further. The education system is working to create a steady stream of young talent. According to National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), each year over three million graduates and post-graduates are added to the Indian workforce. However, there is still room for improvement in terms of developing this talent. Today’s new graduates seem to be grossly lacking in all-round skills – something that’s expected, given their formal education,† says Agarwal. Augustine agrees, saying some big concerns include the employability of fresh graduates and how aligned these graduates are to business reality. Still, many reforms are underway, from governance structure of higher education and decentralisation, to major inv estments in faculty development, for both private and public institutions. â€Å"A lot of effort is being put into expanding tertiary education, especially for low- and middle-income students,† says Agarwal. Corporates are also doing their business to improve the quality of education and hence increase the number of employable talent. For instance, Wipro works closely with the Indian school and college system through the Wipro Applying Thought in Schools (WATIS) programme. The strategy revolves around systemic education reform and transforming the current nature of schools and pedagogy, it works through building capacity of social sector organisations working in the space of education and directly with schools. The WATIS programme has engaged with over 2,000 schools and 30 social organisations across 17 states of India. Mission10X Learning Approach (MxLA) is another program by Wipro that focuses on improving the potential for employability of engineering graduates in India. It does this through direct engagement with engineering colleges and faculty capacity development. The program reaches out to over 300 colleges and has trained 10,000 engineering college faculty members. Aditya Birla Group offers Management Trainee Programmes through which the company recruits exceptional management graduates from the best business schools in the country. Siemens India’s one year training programme sees newly recruited management trainees undergo a rigorous five-week classroom training, six stints of three weeks each in Sales, Operations, Finance, HR and Corporate Strategy, and a 26-week project within a business unit or corporate function. The synergy between the public and private partnership with a strong focus on key HR programmes such as talent management and employee capability-building, coupled with attraction and retention will be pivotal as India continues its journey of rapid growth. Laws to keep in mind when doing business in India+  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to James Agarwal, consulting director and head – India, BTI Consultants, some important Labour Acts which are applicable for carrying out business in India are:+  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act+  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Employees’ State Insurance Act+  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Workmen’s Compensation Act+  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Maternity Benefit Act+  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Factories Act+  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Minimum Wages Act+  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Payment of Wages Act| JugaadA Hindi slang word, jugaad (pronounced ‘joo-gaardh’) translates to an improvisational style of innovation that’s driven by scarce resources – a case of ‘get it done, by hook or by crook’. Just as Guanxi describes the central idea in Chinese society, jugaad is almost a way of life in India. Most workers in India embody this intrinsic trait of jugaad in their day-to-day work, allowing them to creatively come up with products and services that are more economical both for the supplier and consumer, and maximises resources for a company and its stakeholders in as little time as possible. Resolutions for 2012The English daily, Mumbai Mirror, sums up some of the biggest workplace resolutions that people in all industries will try to keep in 2012:+  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Encourage leadership – This comes in handy as companies transition from closed to open source leadership formats this year+  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Monitor workplace gos sip – Managing office gossip is important in keeping major conflicts at bay+  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Strike a connect – Know the ‘why’ and then focus on the task, helping to avoid miscommunication, politicking, etc†¦| POISED TO: Cool, calm, collected or waiting at attention: as in poised to strike. purchasing power parity : aggregate:accumulated,  added,  amassed,  assembled,collected,  collective,  combined,  composite,corporate,  cumulative,  heaped,  mixed,  piled,total How to cite Workforce Planning, Papers