Workforce Planning in the Public Service

Most organisations in the public sector are facing unprecedented challenges to maintain existing service levels and to function with diminished resources and changes in the levels of corporate knowledge. In particular the restrictions on recruitment, allied to the significant numbers of people leaving the public service over recent months have forced HR managers to adopt new techniques to ensure that each organisation has access to suitable people with the right skills, talent and experience to serve the organisations needs. There have also been real challenges in the loss of corporate knowledge and experience and longer term employees take early retirement.

At a time of such considerable change it is imperative that organisations take stock of their overall personnel requirements and identify what positions and competencies are critical for their successful operation. Assessing the needs of the organisation and the expertise and human resources available requires a key element of strategic workforce planning to ensure that the necessary skills and personnel are available to allow the organisation function effectively.

There are a number of strategies that underpin an effective workforce planning exercise. Assessing the requirements of the organisation, and matching these with the skills available can often be challenging, particularly where there are core technical or professional competencies that need to be filled. The traditional tool of supplementing departing talent or gaining new capacity through hiring is not generally available in light of the moratorium on recruitment, so it is often necessary to pursue other options. Some of these options make include redeployment, outsourcing or engaging people through consultancy services or different contractual arrangements.