Other pages of the Vermont Department of Human Resources website will serve as vital workforce planning tools, in addition to the resources available on these Workforce Planning Toolkit web pages. Click on the document, “DHR Website WP Resources” in the Forms & Documents box on the right for a guide to those pages and where they may be helpful in the workforce planning process.

What Is Workforce Planning?

Workforce planning is a systematic process for identifying the human resources required to meet organizational goals. It includes developing strategies to meet those requirements. Workforce planning involves having:

• the right number of people 
• with the right knowledge, skills, and abilities (“KSA’s”, also known as “competencies”)
• in the right positions
• at the right time

Strong and effective workforce planning provides the tools to address systematically the issues driving workforce change.

It is a part of a larger strategic planning process, and relies on your organization’s strategic plan. A strategic plan will give your workforce planning a strong base. If your organization does not have a strategic plan, consider starting your workforce planning process with a strategic planning process.  If you have no strategic plan and have compelling reasons to skip strategic planning for now, "The Seven  Step Workforce Planning Model" (posted on the page) offers alternative approaches.

View a color graphic representation of the Seven Step Workforce Planning Model Workforce Planning Model Graphic (Color) (48k)

Workforce planning ensures your organization will be able to base staffing decisions on knowledge, skills and abilities that will be needed to accomplish long- and short-term goals (as expressed in the strategic plan). It relies on the interplay between external factors and internal factors.

External factors may include:

• the available workforce with the needed skills
• the economy
• secondary and postsecondary training trends

Internal factors may include:

• program management
• human resources
• budget
• current staffing
• union contracts

Workforce planning requires:

• Strong management leadership, including a consistent, clear, strong and motivational message supporting the process.
• Cooperative, supportive staff efforts in several functional areas, including management, finance and human resources.
• Clearly identified competencies to support building the future workforce through strategic recruitment, training, development, and retention techniques.

The capacity to do effective workforce planning develops over time. It is critical to begin carefully and to validate your findings at each step. It is suggested that large organizations begin with a subset of the workforce, and extend planning through the rest of the organization as skill and experience develop. For example:

• Begin by developing a workforce plan for one specific program within a division, as opposed to the entire division; or
• Pilot workforce planning in one department of your agency before conducting a process throughout the agency.

Why Is Workforce Planning Important to Do?

The State of Vermont is currently experiencing changes that are stressing its ability to deliver important services to Vermonters. The economic environment is but one challenge. Within the next decade, the State can expect to see:

• Its workforce age, leading to...
• An increasing number of employees retiring, which may result in knowledge loss at all levels.
• A diversifying workforce in age, culture, language base and more.
• A shift toward higher-skilled jobs. 
• Increasing competition for talent.
• A smaller state workforce.
• Workers with changing values and expectations. 

Specifically, workforce planning provides agencies and departments with many benefits:

• It allows for a more effective and efficient use of staff. This will become increasingly important as some agencies/departments find themselves having to do the same amount of work or more with fewer staff members. 
• It helps ensure replacements are available to fill key vacancies through succession planning. Filling key vacancies is especially critical as organizations face limited resources. An increasing number of employees eligible for retirement, combined with labor market shortages in particular skill areas, will also present unique challenges.
• It both informs and responds to financial realities and the budget process. Workforce planning makes it possible to make staffing decisions based on both the work needed and the funds available. It provides realistic and accurate staffing projections based on skills needed to do the work. Realistic projections are very helpful when justifying budget requests to the leadership and the Legislature.
• It provides clear training and development goals and priorities focused on the work that needs to be done. It also provides rationale for expenditures relating to: training or retraining, professional development, career counseling, and recruitment efforts.
• It may help to maintain or improve a diversified workforce.
• It will help an agency to prepare for restructuring, reducing, or expanding its current workforce.

How Can Workforce Planning Help ME? (. . . and my organization)

1. Fill Your Gaps: Workforce Planning takes the guesswork out of resolving the gaps between workforce availability and other external influences. It can help compare the skill base you have in your current workforce with the workforce you need, now and in the future. 
2. Know What You Need: The analyses you do as a part of your workforce plan will make clear to your leaders and staff where your staffing, skills and training need to be to address your current goals. It will also help you to plan a change, expansion or contraction in your staffing to meet the goals and realities of the future.
3. Build your Team: The planning process is designed to involve a cross-section of your organization’s staff and to ensure strong communication along the way. This can help align parts of your organization that may not have positive contact with each other, and to generate new ideas for addressing the challenges you face.
4. Build Career and Leadership Pathways: If you don’t plan for your workforce needs, your workforce needs may never be met!

A workforce plan will help you to:

• Direct your recruiting efforts;
• Focus your training and development efforts on skills most needed;
• Plan for turnover and the transfer of key knowledge;
• Prepare new leadership; and
• Build pathways to keep motivated staff moving and growing within your organization.