Workforce Planning Standard
New Australian Standard – Workforce Planning AS 5260:2015
On the 20th October 2015 Standards Australia published a new Australian Standard dealing with Workforce Planning (AS 5260:2015).
This is a significant event that will assist many HR practitioners and senior managers. So often, we see the requirement to develop a Workforce Plan as a part of an organisational strategic plan. However there may be no real consensus as to the required process or what the plan should include.
At the very least the new Standard will form an authoritative basis to inform discussion between HR and other stakeholders (senior managers) that will lead to a shared process and outcome.
Those who are passionate about having clear links between subordinate plans and higher level strategies will note that this is a fundamental requirement of the Standard, it also reinforces the need to incorporate Risk Management (ISO 31000).
A neat framework is provided for Workforce Planning covering four broad stages:
1) Getting started
2) Analysis and risk
3) Execution
4) Implementation
Each stage is summarised then further supported with considerable detail, all not difficult to understand. In reality the framework is something that would be a sensible approach to almost any planning process.
Summarising, this new Standard is likely to be useful to any organisation regardless of whether they use it as a simple checklist or a comprehensive guide to a rigorous process.
Of course, the Workforce Plan can only be as good as the quality of the higher level objectives it is required to support.
Cheers
Gary Bourke