People are at the heart of every project. Staffing your team with the right people, skills, and support is key to delivering results on time and within budget. Workforce planning is the process of evaluating, acquiring, assigning, and managing the talent responsible for completing the tasks that move your projects forward. Here are the crucial workforce planning strategies you should know.
What is Strategic Workforce Planning?
Strategic workforce planning is all about making sure you have the right people with the right skills working on your project at the right time. It’s an element of capacity planning that requires a close analysis of project resources, objectives, and deadlines. It includes considering everything from time management to project specifications so you can determine how many employees with what kind of experience you need to get a project done on time and within budget.
Work planning functions as a roadmap for your company and team. When done right, work planning helps you plan for the future needs of your team, setting you up for success. It requires flexibility, foresight, and risk mitigation strategies intended to serve your long-term goals.
5 Essential Workforce Planning Strategies for Project Management
How you handle workforce planning can make or break your project. Inadequate planning leaves managers scrambling to fill gaps, while strategic workforce forecasting can help you stay flexible and mitigate risks. Below are some key strategies to know for optimal workforce planning and management.
1. Align Workforce with Project Goals
The core of a project is the outline of what needs to happen and to what end. Once you know the ultimate objectives, key milestones, and ideal deadlines of a project, you can start analyzing the number of staff and resources you’ll need to see it through.
Determine what skills or specialized knowledge would be helpful in meeting your goals. This will help you narrow down if, when, and how you need to bring in additional team members to help complete or oversee tasks. Consider the project’s complexity, duration, and scope to help you narrow down the best approach to workforce planning.
2. Analyze Current Work Capacity
Before you can determine what you need, you have to know what you have. Look at the scope of your project, especially the specific tasks involved, and identify any skill gaps on your team. Can they be addressed by training current staff, or will you need to bring in consultants or contractors?
When assessing your team’s current work capacity, consider their schedules, workload, and other obligations to avoid issues like burnout and overwhelm that can delay the project.
3. Optimize Resource Allocation
Even the best teams can’t perform without the right tools. Assessing, planning, and optimizing resources is a key factor in workforce planning. Your team members are one of the most vital resources, but it’s important to ensure you have access to the time, space, and support they need to do their jobs.
Use project management tools to monitor resource distribution. Keep open lines of communication with team members to evaluate efficiency and unmet needs.
4. Track Progress and Performance
When you set and monitor KPIs for your project, you allow team leaders to leverage insights and make timely, well-informed decisions. Remaining data-driven in both staffing and capacity planning will keep you from missing the forest for the trees. A team that seems small for a task might perform better than expected, while a large team experiences unforeseen delays due to miscommunication and inefficient workflows.
When you establish KPIs that align with your project objectives, you can trust them to tell you what you need to know about your team’s capacity and progress.
5. Expect the Unexpected
Even when managing the most reliable team of people, there are natural workforce risks. Illness, emergencies, or unexpected absences can leave your team strapped for talent. Have a contingency plan in place in case a regular team member becomes unavailable.
This backup plan can also serve your team in cases where you find the workload exceeding expectations. Having some extra hands to call in when things get tight is the best insurance policy for your project. Staying dynamic and agile is key to success when faced with uncertainty.
Choosing the Right Tech for Strategic Workforce Planning
Managing the details of workforce planning isn’t something you can do with pen and paper. Software tools can help you evaluate, forecast, and plan your staffing needs with ease. Here’s what to look for when choosing the best tech for your team:
- Identify your needs: The size of your company and team, the scope of your projects, and the common obstacles you face will help you narrow down the best solutions for your business. Look for gaps and areas for improvement to identify the features that will best serve your team.
- Scalability and flexibility: Choose a tool that can grow with you. A one-size-fits-all software solution fits everyone poorly. Look for tech that adapts to your workflow to avoid future upsets.
- Data reporting and analysis: Predictive analytics and forecasting capabilities can help you stay ahead of the curve when it comes to workforce planning strategies. Choose a software platform that saves you time and effort with accessible reporting for optimal, actionable insight.
- Seamless integration: An ill-fitting tool is as good as useless. In fact, it can even get in the way. Look for software that can work seamlessly with your existing tools and processes to ensure peak ROI and a smooth transition.
Power Strategic Project & Workforce Management with Sciforma Vantage
Workforce planning is about more than capacity planning. It’s about establishing a roadmap for success with your greatest assets: the skilled people who get the work done. Effective workforce planning strategies can help your team stay dynamic, efficient, and ready to tackle the most demanding projects that come your way.
Take your workforce planning practices to the next level with tools tailored to help you meet your goals. Sciforma’s powerful strategic PMO solutions can help you forecast, plan, track, and deliver the projects that bring the most value to your team. Book a demo today to see how Sciforma Vantage can help you unlock your full potential.
