The Importance of Strategic Planning for your Workforce – How Does Strategic Planning Work at Your Agency?

This is the second post in a series of blog posts and podcasts talking through the recent GovLoop Guide to Workforce Planning. Be sure to take a listen to the podcast below and view the guide. You can find more HR resources by visiting the GovLoop Guide to Workforce Planning Homepage.

The first section of our guide talks through an important element of workforce planning, strategic planning. The report states, “Agencies need to start the process of developing a workforce plan by being strategic. While developing a plan, input will be required from a variety of different leaders across the agency. In developing the plan, one of the keys is that the entire organization will need to buy into both the plan and the process. By bringing in leaders who cross multiple functional areas of the agency, like budgeting, human resources, program managers, and communications officials, the organization will have a more holistic view and develop a stronger strategic plan that addresses the needs of each department.”

Strategic planning is the act of aligning resources and assets to match organizational needs. As this is done, agencies can more clearly articulate and anticipate how their workforce is changing. I heard an interesting quote from President Eisenhower, “Plans mean nothing, planning is everything.” Essentially, what President Eisenhower is advising, is that by investing the time into strategic planning and thinking critically about your agency, there is much value from the actual process of strategic planning, along with tangible outputs.

With tightening budgets and increasing demands on citizens for services, strategic planning allows government agencies to be proactive towards addressing needs. For governments to continue to meet the demands of citizens, they will need to become increasingly proactive, and avoid reacting only during a crisis or emergencies. A well-defined strategic plan related to workforce planning and recruitment will help agencies anticipate staffing needs, anticipate staffing changes and recruit talented individuals into their agencies.

How Does Your Agency Perform Strategic Planning?

Oracle offers an optimized and fully integrated stack of business hardware and software systems that helps organizations overcome complexity and unleash innovation.. Check out their Optimize with Oracle group on GovLoop as well as the Technology Sub-Community of which they are a council member.