Work Force Planning: A Strategic Driver for

Talent Management Success

Organizations are using work force plans to address operational,
tactical, and strategic work force requirements

What do organizations with a formal supply chain talent management program look like? In
June 2013, APQC embarked on its Recruiting and Developing Talent in the Supply Chain study to
investigate leading organizations’ talent management practices. Managing talent within the
supply chain discipline is a critical issue that has become of great interest to senior level
executives in many organizations. This is increasingly true as supply chain becomes a more
strategic function within the enterprise.

As part of its study, APQC collected survey responses from 167 organizations that represented
more than 40 different industries. The survey results reveal the need for additional action from
organizations to ensure that they create formal supply chain talent management programs.

Work Force Planning

According to APQC’s Best Practices Study Strategic Work Force Planning: Anticipating and Filling
Talent Gaps, best-practice organizations show that work force planning is best managed as a
centralized process that can provide relevant tools, support, and solutions to the organization
while at the same time identifying possible issues and risks. Work force planning processes
should be able to be used enterprise-wide; however, they should be flexible enough so that
business units can customize them to their needs. In order for work force planning to be
successful, organizations must obtain leadership support. APQC found in the Strategic Work
Force Planning study that organizations benefit from formal, standardized work force planning
processes. The study also found that work force planning is most successful when an
organization’s work force plans and talent demand forecasts are linked to strategic plans and
business planning processes. Increasingly in APQC’s human capital management best practices
studies, work force planning has been a primary way that organizations link their talent
management programs with business strategy.

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Research provided by APQC, the international K04810
resource for benchmarks and best practices ©2013 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
 Work force plans help secure buy-in for talent management investments,
conveying talent requirements in the language of the business. And work
force plans guide the customization of talent management practices to the
unique needs of critical-skill, short-supply talent populations.

- Elissa Tucker, Human Capital Management Program Manager

APQC

APQC’s Recruiting and Developing Talent in the Supply Chain Study shows that more than half
(57 percent) of responding organizations conduct formal work force planning for supply chain
talent. Figure 1 shows that of those organizations that conduct formal work force planning, only
20 percent use time horizons 4 to 5 years out. Organizations that use both short- and long-term
time horizons may help work force planners to better address operational, tactical, and strategic
work force requirements.

Time Horizons Used for Organizations that Conduct Formal

Work Force Planning

100%

75%

48% 50%
50%

25% 18%
7%

0%
1 year out 2-3 years out 4-5 years out Other

N = 96
Responses = 118

Figure 1

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Research provided by APQC, the international K04810
resource for benchmarks and best practices ©2013 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
URS Washington Division, an organization featured in APQC’s Best Practices Study Talent
Management in a Tough Economy, uses five major stages for its strategic work force planning
process:

1. Collect data and information about current and future talent supply and demand.
2. Generate talent demand scenarios and forecasts.
3. Determine the size and nature of the talent gap (current recruiting rates versus how quickly
people are leaving the organization).
4. Create action plans to address talent gaps in different functions.
5. Collect feedback and evaluate the work force planning process.

In its supply chain talent management study, APQC found that organizations that conduct
formal work force plans use a variety of inputs to create supply chain work force plans. Figure 2
shows that organizations most often use competency assessments, skills inventories, and
performance evaluation results to help create these plans.

Inputs Used to Create Supply Chain Work Force Plans

Competency assessments 64%

Skill inventories 64%

Performance evaluation results 63%

Long-term business strategy 56%

Anticipated attrition 49%

Short-term business strategy 39%

Information on the external supply chain work
26%
force
Other 4%

0% 25% 50% 75%

N = 140
Responses = 510

Figure 2

Page 3 of 4
Research provided by APQC, the international K04810
resource for benchmarks and best practices ©2013 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Conclusion
APQC’s research reveals that organizations should consider using work force planning as a
primary method of linking talent management programs with business strategy. By using work
force planning organizations can help customize talent management practices to better address
supply chain talent gaps, as well as operational, tactical, and strategic work force requirements.

ABOUT APQC
APQC is a member-based nonprofit and one of the leading proponents of benchmarking and
best practice business research. Working with more than 500 organizations worldwide in all
industries, APQC focuses on providing organizations with the information they need to work
smarter, faster, and with confidence. Every day we uncover the processes and practices that
push organizations from good to great. Visit us at www.apqc.org and learn how you can make
best practices your practices.

Page 4 of 4
Research provided by APQC, the international K04810
resource for benchmarks and best practices ©2013 APQC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED