What Is Workforce Planning and Consulting?
Workforce planning and consulting is a service delivered by expert workforce planning professionals/firms aimed at developing replicable processes for analyzing, forecasting, and planning of supply and demand within the available universe of all types of workers and talent. This often involves assessing gaps in an organization’s workforce composition, establishing targets for talent management programs, and development of plans to deliver the best people—with the most applicable skills—at the right time to achieve business goals.
What Are the Benefits of Workforce Planning and Consulting?
The benefits of engaging workforce planning and consulting initiatives are derived from the application of a standardized process for workforce management process design. Such design typically involves four broad steps. First, current state analysis of the “as-is” state of workforce planning process. Step two focuses on future state or “to-be” state analysis to establish the goals for producing a new, improved workforce planning process. Step three involves “gap analysis” to understand what must be done to advance operations from the “as-is” to the “to-be” state—and should yield a formal plan for accomplishing said goals. The fourth step is the execution phase, during which the new plan is implemented and adjusted, and metrics are developed to understand how effective your efforts are at achieving the goals set forth.
Properly executed, the primary benefits of workforce planning and consulting include increased alignment between the FTE workforce and more strategically deployed contingent workforce assets. This alignment delivers greater overall workforce productivity, more efficient labor spend allocation, and overall improvement in the timely, cost-effective attainment of broad business goals.
How Does nextSource Differentiate Among Other Providers of Workforce Planning and Consulting?
A key point of differentiation for nextSource as compared to other providers of workforce planning and consulting services is the depth and breadth of the offerings fielded by our organization. nextSource offers a powerful array of tools and practices to advance highly effective workforce plans. For example, nextSource performs a holistic, proprietary Contingent Workforce Program Maturity Assessment. By completing a quick 15-minute survey, nextSource data scientists analyze customer responses and detail their findings in a diagnostic report. nextSource then provides a holistic assessment of the results—along with guided next steps on how to enhance the recommended program.
Offered independently or as an add-on service to complement any of nextSource’s other workforce solutions, workforce planning and consulting services from nextSource deliver a clear view of any workforce program with strategic guidance to help achieve critical business goals.
Why Might I Consider Pursuing Workforce Planning and Consulting for My Organization?
Put simply, aligning workforce programs with an organization’s goals is critical to success. Understanding how to assess workforce composition, gaps, sourcing, and training is essential to success. Whether you’re just getting started or ready to grow, nextSource’s Contingent Workforce Planning and Consulting services will guide you to the right strategy. Contact us today for more information.
