West Lothian Council
A guide to workforce planning
August 2014
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Contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 3
What is workforce planning? ............................................................................................... 3
Why plan your workforce? ................................................................................................... 3
The benefits ........................................................................................................................ 4
The process ........................................................................................................................ 4
Stage 1 – Where are you now? ......................................................................................... 5
Establish current position .................................................................................................... 5
Workforce profile ................................................................................................................. 5
Worked Example ................................................................................................................. 6
Stage 2 – Where do you want to get to? .......................................................................... 7
Worked Example ................................................................................................................. 7
Stage 3 – Where are the gaps ........................................................................................... 9
Prioritisation of Gaps and Needs ......................................................................................... 9
Worked Example ................................................................................................................. 9
Stage 4 – How are you going to get there? ................................................................... 10
Develop Your Workforce Development Plan ..................................................................... 10
Review and Evaluation ...................................................................................................... 10
Making the Process Work ................................................................................................. 10
Further Information ......................................................................................................... 11
Appendix 1 – Workforce Profile ..................................................................................... 12
Appendix 2 – Workforce Profile and Service Data Prompt Questions ........................ 16
Appendix 3 - PEST/LE Model ........................................................................................ 18
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Introduction
Our Corporate plan has promised that the council will ensure that it has the visionary
leadership, organisational flexibility and people capacity required to deliver improved
services, greater efficiency and better customer focus in front line services, in line with
being an excellent organisation. The workforce plan should support the council’s
mission, values and guiding principles.
This document is designed to provide guidance on the workforce planning process. It
will outline the key stages of workforce planning and explain the tools that you will be
given to help you through the process. In addition, this document also contains a
worked example based on “HR – Any Council” to illustrate the process.
What is workforce planning?
There is no set model of workforce planning, nor is it a mechanistic or static process. It
is about analysing the current workforce, and then extending that analysis to identify
the future skills and competencies needed to deliver new and improved services.
The comparison between the present workforce and the desired future workforce will
highlight shortages, surpluses and competency gaps, whether due to external
pressure or internal factors. These gaps become the focus of a detailed workforce
plan, identifying and implementing strategies that will build the relevant skills and
capacity needed for organisational success.
Why plan your workforce?
The majority of improvements come when the right people with the right knowledge,
skills and behaviours are deployed appropriately throughout the structure.
Workforce planning is about how you achieve that match. It can make the links
between business strategies and your people plans for recruitment and retention, staff
development and training. It is about how you get to where you want to be.
It also provides the opportunity for longer term thinking about future service pressures
and needs, and what you need to do now to get workable strategies in place – not only
for people development, but for financial and change management agendas.
Workforce planning is perhaps the most important tool in managing change in any
labour intensive service and as such will assist you in:
1.
Analysing the current make up
and skills of your workforce
Where are you now?
2.
Identifying the future workforce
required to deliver changing
services
Where are you trying to get to?
3.
Highlighting shortages, surpluses
and competency gaps
What are the gaps?
4.
Planning how you will change your
workforce to meet your service
needs
How are you going to get there?
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Workforce planning should be an open process conducted with the collaboration of
staff, trade union representatives and partners within and external to the Council it
should be developed in accordance with best practice and procedures.
The benefits
Workforce planning will help you to:
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Decide how many employees will be needed for future demands
Cope with peaks and troughs in supply and demand for different skills
Deliver improved customer focus by aligning service plans to people plans
Retain employees and identify longer term workplace accommodation
requirements
Implement diversity policies effectively
Manage staff performance and sickness absence
Ensure that sufficient and appropriate training and development is provided
Build links between Financial Planning and WLAM requirements
Your plan should be prepared, reviewed and updated on a regular cycle that links
closely with the Council’s Business Planning Cycle.
The process
The process for establishing a workforce plan is as follows:
Stage1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Where are
you now?
Where are
you trying to
get to?
What are the
gaps?
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Stage 4
How are you
going to get
there?
Stage 1 – Where are you now?
It is important that the Head of Service and senior management team are signed up to
the process and champion the cause, providing the necessary leadership to ensure
the process is implemented effectively and consistently.
Establish current position
The key outcomes for this section is to generate useful information from a variety of
existing management information systems and bring it together into a coherent
framework for a specific service or directorate.
Allied to this is the generation of quality information about the supply of skills internally,
in the wider external labour market and partner organisations. This is being driven by
the need to address both shorter-term issues of recruitment and retention and longerterm business needs like partnership working.
Workforce profile
An in-depth understanding of the existing workforce is the basis for looking at trends
and will help to establish strengths and weaknesses of your current situation. The
information required for effective workforce planning will be collated from a number of
sources. A workforce profile to support workforce planning has been suggested and
will be collated from a number of sources:

Workforce profile – this will provide comprehensive information on the current
workforce and will be provided by Business Partners. Appendix 1 gives further
information on the information that will be provided.
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Service specific information – information that may be useful includes
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Service plans
Improvement plans
Planned initiatives (e.g. introduction of electronic forms)
Project work (e.g. process review using lean management)
Financial and other resource limitations
Predicted legislative changes
Benchmarking information

Workforce profile and service specific data prompt questions – appendix 2
provides details of the types of issues that should be considered when developing
a workforce plan
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Corporate Information – this could include the following:
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Community Plan
Corporate Plan
Outcome Agreement
Locality Plans
Service Plan
Improvement Plans
Modernising Agenda
Financial Plan
Risk management plan and policy
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Worked Example
Service Unit
Health and
Safety
Possible Issues
Supporting Information
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Static workforce. Turn over - small
team so 1 leaver inflates figure
Age Profile – 1 possible retiral
within next 5 years
No temporary contracts
No recruitment issues
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Majority of female employees
Young age profile
Turnover figure inflated by
temporary contracts
High number of temporary
contracts
4 casual employees
No recruitment issues
4 temporary employees in post
more than 2 years.
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Static workforce. Turnover relates
to council average
1 temporary contract
Possible retirements in future. 8
staff aged 56 – 65.
Predominately female workforce
Many have over 10 years service
Significant part time / jobshare
work patterns
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Manager and one staff member on
secondment
Turn over significant. Many
leavers no replacements to date
1 staff member nearing retirement
Age profile is satisfactory
Grades of posts. 4 advisers, 1
senior adviser, 1 manager.
Can staffing level support the
policy review and development
required by the organisation?
Static Workforce
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33% on secondment
66.7% turnover
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1.4 FTE
Turnover rate inflated due to small
numbers of staff
1 possible retiral with in next 5
years.
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50% turnover
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HR Business
and
Administration
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Pay and Reward
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Learning and
Development
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Policy
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Management
Support
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Turnover 14.3%
compares to council
level of 6.2%
57% staff over 50
90% female staff
compares to Council
level of 71%
58% under 40
9.7% turnover compared
to Council figure of 6.2%
22.6% temporary
contracts (7 out of 31)
45% of employees over
50
93% female employees
55% over 10 years
service
37% part time / flexible
working
Stage 2 – Where do you want to get to?
To ensure that the service has the right people in the right place with the right skills at
the right time to deliver continuously improving services it is necessary to try and
predict the level of service required and the way that it will be delivered in the future.
Although it is impossible to predict the future with any certainty, undertaking this
process enables the organisation to make staffing decisions now that take account of
the longer-term context.
To help make that assessment the following information will be important:
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A clear understanding of the corporate vision and objectives
The likely impact of central government initiatives e.g. efficiency review
The key objectives for each service area.
Planned major changes/reorganisations
The predicted workforce profile in five/ten years
What initiatives are already in place to fill future skill gaps e.g. succession
planning, specific training initiatives
Recruitment and retention hotspots
Demographic changes that could impact on services
See Appendix 3 for the PESTLE model. This lists the external factors to be considered
e.g. political, economic, social, technical, legislative and environmental which may
influence where you are trying to get to.
Worked Example
Re structured service
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Address acting up and temporary contract situation
Current vacancy situation
Review posts, grades and re-deployment
Brigade knowledge, skills and resources to address corporate and HR agendas
Consider administration support with new agendas and business as usual –
diagnostic?
Efficiency agenda – how do we make savings?
Respond to Current agendas
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Move to Civic Centre
Modernisation agenda – electronic forms, new ways of working, self service
Efficiencies agenda – how do we make savings?
Recruitment Portal – training for staff and managers
Single Status – phase 2
EDRM
Mobile / flexible / home working
Review of manager programmes
Maintenance and development of MyToolkit and e-learning
New and revised policies and procedures required for agendas - e.g. mobile and
home working
AHP – Sickness absence
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Developing new skills and knowledge - e.g. data manipulation and analysis for
HoS reports.
Services efficiencies agendas will have impact on HR Input
Equalities legislation
Government Legislation – e.g. changes in Employment Law
Demands from Council Services
Possible Issues
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Do we have the breadth and depth of knowledge and experience to address the
agendas?
Do we have the right mix of personnel working in the right areas?
Can we support the policy development required to address the main corporate
agendas?
What systems and processes can be developed to ensure smooth transitions?
Adviser groups in HR Business and health and Safety split under single status.
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Stage 3 – Where are the gaps
Having established what the future may look like together with the skills and
competencies that may be expected it is necessary to compare that information with
the information gathered from Stage two. Once the imbalances have been identified it
will then be necessary to prioritise based on their impact.
Prioritisation of Gaps and Needs
The following table identifies the types of gaps and needs that may be highlighted as
part of the workforce planning process
Low impact
High impact
Large gap
Priority 3 large gap and low
impact
Priority1
high impact and large gap
Small gap
Priority 4 small gap and low
impact
Priority 2 high impact and small gap
Worked Example
Low impact
Large
gap
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Gender balance of
workforce
Developing a consistent
customer focused,
consultative approach
E-learning expertise within
team
High impact
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Small
gap
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Links with support units
within services eg. H&S,
L&D
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Structure required to support vision and
objectives
Do we have the resources in place to
support the policy development
required for current agendas?
Do we have the resources in place to
respond appropriately to the large
Corporate agendas? (Single status,
Civic Centre, EDRM, EHP, mobile and
home working)
Accuracy of information from CHRIS
IT skills to manipulate data for analysis
Numbers and length of time staff have
been on temporary contracts
Tension between expectations of
Services and addressing corporate
agendas
Sharing knowledge and cross working
between teams in HR Service
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Stage 4 – How are you going to get there?
Develop Your Workforce Development Plan
Once the gaps have been identified and prioritised it will be possible to draw up a
workforce development plan that will set down how you intend to deal with them. Not
all of the gaps may be capable of local solution but it will be possible to identify
regional and national issues enabling both West Lothian and other local authorities to
work together with local and national agencies to help find appropriate solutions.
The workforce development plan is an action plan detailing what action you will take to
meet future needs. Actions should not be restricted to learning and development
solutions only but should also include the following:
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Redesign and remodel jobs
Opportunities for joint delivery or shared services with partners
Extended sources of recruitment
Enhanced role/promotion opportunities for internal employees across service
boundaries
Review of qualification and entry requirements for posts that are difficult to recruit
Greater job flexibility e.g. more flexible working
Increase Learning and Development opportunities
Undertake process redesign and improvement
Improve productivity
The workforce development plan should also include performance measures to
measure progress and clearly indicate resource implications. It should also take
account of other initiatives that may impact upon the plan.
Review and Evaluation
For workforce planning to be effective it should be subject to regular review and
evaluation. The review process should be integrated into the annual service planning
process and should be updated when major initiatives/changes are planned. The
authors of any reports proposing significant changes within the service or directorate
should therefore be required to show the people management and consequent
resource implications of their proposals as well as the impact upon the workforce
development plan.
Making the Process Work
For the process to work there needs to be:
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Commitment from the senior management team and leading members.
An approach that is merged into existing corporate and service/business planning
processes rather than something which just appears to make more work.
Willingness by managers to help, especially in identifying future service needs.
A champion or champions with influence to drive the initiative forward.
A flexible approach
A willingness to look at a variety of different and innovative solutions to resolve
supply, competency and skill gaps
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Further Information
http://webgis/wlc/webgis.htm A mapping portal with information from service based
geographical information systems.
http://www.idea.gov.uk Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/home Scottish Government information
http://www.improvementservice.org.uk Improvement Service
Organisational Change and People Development team – HR Shared Services
Email [email protected]
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Appendix 1 – Workforce Profile
Topic
Management Issue
1.1 Total number of employees
1.2 Number of employees with permanent contracts
1.3 The number of people on temp contracts
1.4 The number of staff in specific apprenticeship posts
1.5 Number of casual/supply workers
Employment Status
1
1.6 Number of employees on a fixed-term contract for longer than 2 years
1.7 Total number of employees
1.8 Number of full-time employees
1.9 Number of part-time/job share employees
1.10 Number of casual/supply workers
%
2.1 Band C
2.2 Band D
2.3 Band E
2.4 Band F
2.5 Band G
Salary Grades
2
2.6 Band H
2.7 Band I
2.8 Band J
2.9 Band K
2.10 Band L
2.11 Band M
2.12 Band N
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No
Topic
Equality Issues
Management Issue
3
3.1
Percentage of staff from Black and Ethnic Minority Communities within
the service
3.2
Percentage of staff from Black and Ethnic Minority Communities within
West Lothian Council
3.3
Percentage of West Lothian population from Black and Ethnic Minority
community (2001 census)
3.4 Percentage of Female staff within the service
3.5 Percentage of Female staff within West Lothian Council
3.6 Percentage of Females within West Lothian (2001 census)
3.7 Percentage of disabled staff within the service
3.8 Percentage of disabled staff within West Lothian Council
3.9
Equality Monitoring Questionnaire return rate across West Lothian
Council
%
4.1 Staff aged over 70
4.2 Staff aged 66 - 70
4.3 Staff aged 61 - 65
Age Profile
4
4.4 Staff aged 56 - 60
4.5 Staff aged 50 - 55
4.6 Staff aged 40 - 49
4.7 Staff aged 31 - 39
4.8 Staff aged 21 - 30
4.9 Staff aged under 21
Leavers
5
5.1 Turnover rate for the service area (12 months to 31 October 2008)
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No
Topic
Management Issue
5.2 Turnover rate for West Lothian Council (12 months to 31 October 2008)
5.3
No of staff leaving employment due to the non-renewal of a fixed-term
contract
5.4
Number of employees on fixed term contracts nearing completion in the
next 6 months (1.11.08 - 30.04.09)
5.5 Number of staff who left in the last 12 months (Not inc Contract Expired)
5.6 Number of staff who left in their first year (Not inc Contract Expired)
5.7 Number of employees leaving due to:
5.7.1 Retirement
5.7.2 Early Retirement
5.7.3 Ill Health Retirement
5.7.4 Deceased
5.7.5 Other Employment in WLC
5.7.6 Other Employment out of WLC
5.7.7 Dismissal – Capability
5.7.8 Dismissal – Misconduct
5.7.9 Leaving Area
5.7.10 Pregnancy
5.7.11 Personal Reasons
5.7.12 Voluntary Severance/Redundancy
5.7.13 Other Reason – Non-Specific
6.1
Length of Service
6
Employees who will reach their normal retirement age in the next 5
years
6.2 Percentage of staff with 10 or more years service
6.3 Percentage of staff with 1 to 9 years service
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Topic
Management Issue
6.4 Percentage of staff with less than 1 years service
7.1 Total number of posts advertised
7.2 Total number of posts advertised externally
Recruitment
7
7.3 Total number of posts advertised internally only
7.4 Total advertising spend
7.5 Average length of time taken to fill a post (days)
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Appendix 2 – Workforce Profile and Service Data Prompt Questions
Workforce Profile Data - Prompt questions
Topic
Questions to consider
Gaps/issues Identified (HR Example)
Employment Status
 Has your workforce grown - or reduced?
 Does this change match with your plans or did something unexpected
happen?
 Is there a trend towards part-time working?
 Is it at all levels or only certain grades?
 Are there levels of staff, which are more likely to work part-time?
 Does this mix of full and part-time staff affect shift arrangements
 Has your agency/temporary staff increased or decreased over the review
period
 Has your use of overtime increased or decreased?
 Have you examined the reasons for overtime working
 Is the distribution appropriate for service delivery
 Is there a relationship between salary band and gender
 Is this mix appropriate – does it match your local population?
 Have you analysed your ethnic mix by grade/level and by training uptake to
ensure equality of opportunity for all your staff?
 Have you tried to match the age profile with the length of service patterns to
see how this is contributing to your retention issues?
 Have you used this to inform your succession and development plans?
 Can you use this information to estimate likely turnover?
 Are there clusters of retirements at certain ages or in certain groups?
 When forecasting retirements, have you allowed for the residual early
retirement rights of certain groups of staff (e.g. mental health officers)?
 Have you discussed with your HR Business Partner flexible working options
for staff nearing retirement?
 What are the key skills and knowledge you will be losing when these people
retire?
 Have you looked at how to replace these skills?
 Is the rate unusual? If so, can you explain why?
 Is your turnover rate consistently high or low?
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 Reduced. mainly through retirement.
 Supports efficiency agenda but was
in the main unplanned.
 Not a trend but balanced
 Mainly administration staff
 N/A
 N/A
 Increased OT during Pay award
processing and SS requirements
Salary Grades
Equality Issues
Age Profile and Length of
Service
Leavers
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Currently under review
Predominately female workforce
Does not reflect population profile
No analysis. Development
monitored through PR&PDP
Issues in P&R however there are no
recruitment issues in this area
Review under way + new ways of
working.
Can contribute to process
Nature of processes changing so
anticipated retirements and required
skill sets will be factored into
workforce planning activities.
 Acceptable except in L&D
 Consistent with Council figure
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Does this vary by staff group or by grade?
What is the effect on your recruitment budget?
Is there a trend building up?
Have you analysed the reasons why staff are leaving? Is there a particular
labour market issue involved here (e.g. new employers in the area offering
more competitive terms and conditions)
 Can you see a relationship with high levels of recruitment, vacancies, age
etc?
 Is there too much stability in some areas?
Recruitment
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Is the vacancy situation unusual - if so, why?
Which posts are particularly hard to fill?
Has the recruitment effort been redirected to address the problem areas?
What other strategies are being explored to reduce vacancies?
Have you looked at the cost-effectiveness of your recruitment effort?
Is your actual recruitment reflecting your equal opportunity targets?
Have you looked at the labour market for other forms of recruitment and other
sources of recruit?
Have you been able to recruit enough new qualifiers?
Have you had skills issues with the new qualifiers? Has this been followed
up?
Are staff aware of opportunities and possible career pathways?
Has additional training been required to up skill staff?
Do you support staff to pursue necessary qualifications (i.e. appropriate study
leave etc)
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except for L&D
No pattern emerging
Online advertising reduces costs
No trends evident
Have not analysed reasons for
leaving
 Not unusual
 No hard to fill vacancies
 Mobile and flexible working being
considered
 Can recruit new qualifiers and
experienced staff
 Skill sets and knowledge (eg.
Employment Law) constantly being
reviewed
 Support staff to gain CIPD and
Payroll Qualifications
Appendix 3 - PEST/LE Model
PEST/LE Model for Workforce Planning
Political Issues
Economic Issues
 Accountability
 Pay rates
 Transparency
 Skill shortages
 Equal opportunity
 Economic development plans
 Diversity
 Cost of living
 Best value
 Housing costs
 Partnership working
 Corporate risk
 E-government
 Public/private finance
Social Issues
Technological Issues
 Changing customer expectations
and needs
 Innovation – new equipment, new
techniques, new methodologies
 More sophisticated market
 Information technology
 Changing demographics
 Communications
 Changing employee expectations
and need e.g. work/life balance
 Improved transport/increased
mobility
 Inequalities and deprivation
 New ways of working
 Qualifications, skills and
competencies
 Flexible working opportunities
Legislation
Environmental Issues
 Service obligations
 Employment legislation
 Local markets
 Human Rights Act
 Environmental legislation
 European directives
 Increased awareness and
expectations
 Stricter controls
 Pressure groups
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