BASICS OF

WORKFORCE PLANNING
Presenters:
Max Reichert
225-342-8541
max.reichert@la.gov

Dwuena Wyre
225-342-8084
dwuena.wyre@la.gov
 WORKFORCE PLANNING
OVERVIEW
Max Reichert
Department of State Civil
Service

Contact Information:

(225) 342-8541

max.reichert@la.gov
 WORKFORCE PLANNING
DEFINED
Workforce planning is
• getting the right people
• with the right skills
• in the right jobs
• at the right time

Pg. 2
 WHY IT IS URGENT

Why is workforce
planning urgent now?
 14% are eligible to retire
in one year.
 21% are eligible to retire
within three years.
 29% are eligible to retire
within five years.

Pg. 2
 GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR
WORKFORCE PLANNING

 Avoid overreaching.
 Don’t collect data
until you know how
you will use it.
 Keep it simple

Pg. 3
 OVERVIEW OF STEPS IN
WORKFORCE PLANNING
• Define your purpose
for workforce
planning.
• Get top management
and leadership
support.
• Integrate and align
with strategic plan
and budget.
Pg. 4
 OVERVIEW OF STEPS IN
WORKFORCE PLANNING

• Determine scope of
workforce planning
• Form a task force
• Predict future
workforce needs
• Analyze workforce
supply

Pg. 4
 OVERVIEW OF STEPS IN
WORKFORCE PLANNING

• Determine gap
between supply and
needs
• Create action plan to
address gap
• Create evaluation
process to assess
progress
Pg. 4
 GETTING STARTED

Dwuena Wyre
Department of State Civil Service

Contact Information:

(225) 342-8084

dwuena.wyre@la.gov
 GETTING STARTED

 Determine the purpose

Ask, “Why do we need to do this?”
 3Determine
Good Reasons (out of
the goal ofmany)…
your workforce plan
1. To create a pool of potential replacements
2. To preserve critical knowledge
3. To retain and recruit valuable employees

Pg. 5
 LEADERSHIP SUPPORT

Chief Executive Endorsement:

 Communicate to all the
purpose, importance, &
intentions
 Designate an executive
level employee to oversee
efforts
 Provide funding for staff
development Pg. 6
 ALIGNING THE PLANS

Types of Plans We Have:

 Strategic

 Budget

 Workforce
Provides information to support
executive decisions. Includes
the strategic vision. Pg. 6
 PREDICTING FUTURE
WORKFORCE NEEDS

Two Important Questions:

1. What positions should be
included within the scope
of the workforce planning
efforts?

2. What positions will need to

be filled and when?
Pg. 7
 IN OR OUT?

 Determine which jobs or positions to include.

Jobs to consider:
- difficult to recruit
- require scarce or technical expertise
- executive or managerial level
- occupied by retirement eligible employee
- mission specific
- high turnover
Pg. 7
 YOU’RE LEAVING?

 Determine when positions need to be filled.

Current workforce data

- Timeframe for projections
- Retirement eligibility
- DROP participation

Pg. 8
 AGENCY WORKFORCE
PROFILES
 Data is for classified permanent and
probational employees.
 Data is organized by EEO-4 job categories.
 Data items include average age and the
number of employees:
- currently eligible to retire,
- in DROP, and
- eligible to retire in 5 years.
Pg. 8
 IMPACTS ON THE
WORKFORCE
 Should these vacancies be filled?

Look to your strategic plan for guidance.

- Technology
- New Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities
- New Programs
- Budget
- Reorganizations Pg. 9
 THE ANSWERS

Many questions have to be

answered when trying to predict
future workforce needs.
Guess who has the answers…

YOU!

Pg. 9
 DEVELOPING A STRATEGY FOR
EACH POTENTIAL VACANCY

Max Reichert
Department of State Civil
Service

Contact Information:

(225) 342-8541

max.reichert@la.gov
 DEVELOPING A STRATEGY FOR
EACH POTENTIAL VACANCY

THE GOAL:
Create a pool of well
qualified applicants
who will be available
when the vacancy
occurs

Pg. 10
 THREE STRATEGIES

1. Fill with internal

employees who do not
need much training or
development.
2. External recruitment.
3. Train and develop
internal staff to succeed
to vacancies when they
occur.
Pg. 10
 IDENTIFYING
COMPETENCIES
Competency: the
combination of
knowledge, skills,
abilities, attitudes
and behaviors an
employee must have
to successfully
perform a job or task
 JOB PROFILING

 A formal process for

identifying and
documenting
competencies
required and
connecting them to
job duties
 WHO TO TRAIN AND DEVELOP?

• Use job-related
objective criteria
• Do not just nominate
people with “potential”
• Communicate to
employees what to
expect
 WHAT ABOUT PRE-
SELECTION?
 Creating a pool is not
pre-selection
 Legal standards for
hiring apply to
selecting who gets
into the pool
 Use of details and
double incumbency
can be competitive
 Two Key Decisions

1. Will training and

development be
mandatory for
promotion to the
position?
2. How to evaluate
performance during
training and
development
 CONTINUING THE
PROCESS
 Establish a schedule
to assess progress
 Get feedback from
managers
 Survey employees
 Modify and maintain
workforce plan as
ongoing process
 APPENDICES
and HANDOUTS
 Assessment Tools
 Classification and
Pay issues
 Job Profiling
 Websites
 Sources of
Competency Lists
 WRAP-UP

Question
and
Answer
Session