Strategic Staffing: A Comprehensive System for Effective Workforce Planning, Second Edition

Strategic Staffing: A Comprehensive System for Effective Workforce Planning, Second Edition

by Thomas P. Bechet
Released May 2008
Publisher(s): AMACOM
ISBN: 9780814409381

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Book description

Many organizations understand the benefits of a longer-term approach to staffing: reduced turnover and hiring costs, improved efficiency and morale, and ultimately greater profits. Unfortunately, traditional approaches to staffing are often more effective on paper than in the workplace. Completely updated, this new edition of Strategic Staffing shows how to identify staffing needs and opportunities through qualitative and quantitative measures, and presents several effective, nontraditional approaches to their hiring needs. Featuring full case studies and dozens of examples, the book is both enlight­ening and practical. And to help readers create their own staffing plans, the online forms offer a trove of invaluable tools, including: customizable Excel spread sheets assessment and evaluation forms * calcula­tions and analyses * sample staffing plans, Powerpoint slide presentations, and much more. This book is a detailed, process-oriented guide that offers all the tools staffing professionals need.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Preface to the Second Edition
  3. Setting the Stage
    1. An Overview of This Book
      1. Section 1: Setting the Stage
      2. Section 2: Developing the Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning Process
      3. Section 3: Implementing and Supporting Your Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning Process
      4. Section 4: Beyond Staffing Plans: Analyzing and Applying the Results
      5. Appendices
      6. Summary
    2. What Is Strategic Staffing, Anyway?
      1. Definition
      2. Objectives and Outputs
      3. Other Key Definitions
      4. What Is the Objective of Strategic Staffing?
      5. An Overview of the Process
      6. Staffing Strategies
      7. Staffing Plans
      8. Summary
    3. How Should You Begin?
      1. Why Is Effective Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning So Rare?
      2. Common Impediments to Strategic Staffing
      3. What Should I Do?
  4. Developing the Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning Process
    1. Placing Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning in a New Context
      1. Traditional Approaches Just Aren’t Effective
      2. More Effective Approaches to Strategic Staffing
      3. Summary
    2. Designing Your Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning Process
      1. An Overview of the Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning Process
      2. Step 1: Define Critical Staffing Issues
      3. Step 2: Define Staffing Gaps and Surpluses
      4. Step 2a: Define Your Overall Staffing Model Process
      5. Step 2b: Create a Detailed Staffing Model
      6. Step 3: Develop Staffing Strategies
      7. Step 4: Define Staffing Plans
    3. Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning at 30,000 Feet
      1. Striking a Balance Between Consistency and Flexibility
      2. The “Common” Part
      3. The “Tailored” Part
      4. An Example, Part 1
      5. An Example: Part 2
      6. Conclusion: Strike the Right Balance
    4. Defining Required Staffing Levels
      1. There Is No “Magic Bullet”
      2. Preparing the Right Foundation
      3. Defining Required Staffing Levels: An Overview
      4. Regression
      5. Staffing Ratios
      6. Project-Based Staffing
      7. Staffing Profiles
      8. Case Study: Combining Approaches
      9. Summary
    5. Defining Staffing Requirements Where Plans Are Uncertain
      1. Alternatives to Perfect Data
      2. Creating Specific Plans in an Uncertain Environment: An Example
      3. Reducing Uncertainty: A Second Example
      4. Considering Project Probabilities
      5. Summary
    6. A Staffing Model Example
      1. Part 1: Defining Staffing Gaps and Surpluses
      2. Part 2: Defining Required Staffing Actions
    7. Effective Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning: Case Studies and Examples
      1. Case 1: A Pharmaceutical Company
      2. Case 2: An International Bank
      3. Case 3: A Utility
      4. Additional Examples
  5. Implementing and Supporting Your Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning Process
    1. Implementing Your Process Effectively
      1. An Effective Implementation Framework
      2. Implementation Roles and Responsibilities
      3. Obstacles to Effective Implementation
      4. Summary
    2. Placing Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning Within Your Business Context
      1. Integrate, Don’t Align
      2. A Simple Diagnostic
      3. Step 1: Take an Inventory of Your Current Processes
      4. Step 2: Review Each Cell
      5. Step 3: Examine the Relationships Between Cells
      6. Some Final Thoughts
    3. Assessing Your Current Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning Process
    4. Engaging and Involving Managers in the Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning Process
      1. Engaging Line Managers in Workforce Planning
      2. Involving Line Managers in the Process
      3. Defining Staffing Implications: An Interview Guide
      4. Summary
    5. Developing a Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning Web Site
      1. Why Create a Web Site?
      2. Designing Your Site
      3. Site Content and Objectives
      4. A Final Note
    6. Supporting Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning: HR Structure and Required Skills
      1. Should Strategic Staffing/Workforce Planning Stand Alone?
      2. The Overall Structure of HR
      3. Final Thoughts
    7. Getting Started: Conducting a One-Day “Kickoff” Session
      1. Session 1: Developing and Implementing an Effective Process
      2. Session 2: Tools and Techniques
      3. Session 3: Applying the Strategic Workforce Planning Process
  6. Beyond Staffing Plans: Analyzing and Applying the Results
    1. Using Workforce Planning to Define the Impact of Retirements on Your Workforce
      1. Traditional Analyses Will Not Be Sufficient
      2. Integrating Retirement Analyses and Workforce Planning
    2. Using Workforce Planning to Support Management Succession and Development Planning
      1. A Quick Review of Succession and Development
      2. Applying Quantitative Staffing Analysis to Succession Planning
      3. Summary
    3. “Talent Planning”: The Key to Effective Talent Management
      1. What Should You Do?
    4. Structuring Strategic Workforce Planning to Support Common Business Initiatives: Setting Up Relevant Staffing Models for the Changes You Are Facing
      1. Business Initiative: A Growth Scenario
      2. Business Initiative: Merger or Acquisition
      3. Business Initiative: Opening a Greenfield Site
      4. Business Initiative: Major Change in Required Capabilities
      5. Summary
    5. Defining Staffing Reductions in a Strategic Context
      1. Using a Staffing Strategy as a Context for Reduction Decisions
      2. Common Mistakes That Strategic Staffing Can Help You Avoid
      3. Summary
    6. Measuring Staffing Effectiveness and Efficiency
      1. Measuring Staffing Efficiency
      2. Measuring Staffing Effectiveness
      3. Measuring Both Effectiveness and Efficiency
      4. Tracking Progress
      5. Summary
    7. Calculating Staffing Costs and Evaluating Staffing Options
      1. Step 1: Calculate Staffing Costs
      2. Step 2: Analyze Staffing Costs
      3. Step 3: Evaluate Options and Draw Broad Conclusions
      4. Summary
  7. Appendices
    1. Frequently Asked Questions
    2. Using the Strategic Staffing Templates from the Web Site
      1. Terms and Conditions
      2. Initial Model Setup (Both Template Versions)
      3. Defining Staffing Plans
    3. Retrieving the Book’s Computer Files
  8. Recommended SHRM Resources
    1. Staffing Management magazine
    2. The Practical HR Kit
    3. The Source Book Kit
  9. Index

Product information

  • Title: Strategic Staffing: A Comprehensive System for Effective Workforce Planning, Second Edition
  • Author(s): Thomas P. Bechet
  • Release date: May 2008
  • Publisher(s): AMACOM
  • ISBN: 9780814409381