Too often, sales teams only think about hiring when there’s a sudden need. Maybe someone leaves or annual budget planning rolls around. But by then, it’s often too late. The team ends up with frustrated employees and rushed hiring. Instead of doing it this way, try flipping the script with strategic workforce planning. By anticipating which roles you’ll need and which skills matter most, you can have the right plan in place so you’re always ready.

Insperity’s Abe Turner says strategic workforce planning prepares your organization for multiple possibilities. Rather than using a 1-year view, it looks 3-5 years out to ensure your organization has the right people with the right skills at the right time and at the right place. And since it’s more strategic, it tends to be less detailed than a staffing plan, which usually has a more tactical focus. Want to develop your own strategic workforce plan? Read on. In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we outline Turner’s 5 steps for effective planning.

  1. Discuss business strategy. Turner says your organization needs a clear, shared vision of its long-term goals to have an effective strategic workforce plan. To get there, develop your long-term business strategy by exploring where you want to be as an organization in 5 years. Some things to consider include your strategic focus and what you need to stop, start or continue to get there.

  2. Perform a current-state analysis. According to Turner, leaders should review their talent by job role rather than by person. This can help you be more objective. Then, he recommends analyzing the capabilities of the employees in those roles. To determine future talent supply, you could make projections based on historical turnover numbers or industry benchmarks.

  3. Decide which roles are critical to current and future success. This may be the most difficult task involved in strategic workforce planning, Turner says. In this step, you decide which are the key positions in your organization or those most crucial to moving toward your goals.

  4. Analyze gaps and risks. If there’s a skills gap between what you have and what you think you’ll need, Truner advises considering all the ways you could close those gaps. For example, would it be best to train your people or hire from the outside? And if some on your team are nearing retirement, do you need to offer packages to get them to stay so you don’t lose their knowledge?

  5. Develop an action plan. Looking again at your most critical roles and skills, Turner recommends prioritizing and putting your action plan in place. Which roles or skill gaps present the greatest strategic risk to your success? What actions should you take regarding those roles and skill gaps that pose the greatest risk? Use SMART goals to focus your efforts and continue following up to make sure it happens.

When you want to future-proof your team, it comes down to preparation. How well you prepare now makes the difference between a sales team that’s constantly putting out fires and one that’s ready to seize opportunities as they arise.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Abe Turner is a senior performance consultant for Insperity.