Workforce planning: rebuilding after coronavirus

Workforce planning means having the right people in the right roles at the right time. And there’s no better time than now to start to rebuild using smart, simple and proven workforce planning techniques.

While the past few months has been challenging for everyone, it seems we’re now heading in a more positive direction, with lockdown restrictions easing. This should have positive flow on effects for all sectors of the economy.

In order to survive, many business owners have had to downsize staffing numbers. If you’re now starting to think about the best way to rebuild and move forward, this is a smart time to reassess and make sure you consider your post-coronavirus HR model in light of simple questions around two key concepts:

1. Effective workforce planning
2. Smart recruitment

Effective workforce planning

Workforce planning aligns the HR structure of your business with its objectives, with the aim of improving efficiency and effectiveness of your people. Maximising your workforce planning starts with answering the following:

• how many employees do we really need right now?
• do we have the right people in the right roles?
• do our existing team members know exactly what they need to do to contribute to our rebuilding?

Simple questions, right? You’d be surprised how many businesses simply don’t actively consider workforce planning. Often this is because business owners don’t take the time, know where to start or how to implement workforce planning into their strategic plan. Luckily, we do. Check out how we can help here.

Smart recruitment

Recruiting the right people is something you should take time to get right. Most employers hire based on technical skills but there are at least two other attributes you should consider…including the one we see many new hires fail at…and the one that costs you across a number of areas if you get it wrong: cultural fit.

Your first question? How can we ensure any new hires are exactly right for our business?

We can show you how to advertise effectively, targeting those with the skills and attributes you need so you spend less time trawling through applications. We’ll show you the right questions to ask around three key areas so you have the best chance of hiring Mr or Ms Right. Find out more on our Recruitment page.

Bare Bones Consulting specialises in HR for small to medium sized businesses. Whether you need one document or a full suite of HR procedures, we offer you the choice: we can do everything for you or show you how to do it yourself. And we’ll take the time to find out what you really need so we get things right first time.

Like to know more? Give us a call or shoot us a message and we’ll get right back to you.