Elevating Human Capital - To Infinity & Beyond . . . with SWP

Whilst the “what” of Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) is becoming increasingly understood, with more and more peeps (thankfully!) realising that it isn’t rostering, org design or even (the latest buzz) a skills ontology, the “why” still remains somewhat elusive for many.  [Side note: if you still need the “what” feel free to look here].  We recently hosted a roundtable by The Conference Board and indeed it seems that the current global state of SWP maturity still predominantly remains that most orgs still haven’t seen it done holistically and/or effectively so are not “bought in”.  Thus, it often is the case that SWP teams must communicate the (incredibly compelling) case that comes from SWP, well before they are given the budget/time/resources to actually do it in the first place.  In extensive detail.  And often multiple times.

The success of SWP is so much more than the old “right people, right place, right time” that has been bandied about for years.  By all means, this is one of the outcomes of SWP and is critical in ensuring that essential connection of an organization’s people to its purpose.  However, the benefits of properly executed, integrated SWP actually bring an elevation to both the organization and its people.  At its highest level, the organization fundamentally shifts its view of the workforce from a cost to a value generating asset.  These “5C’s” that are part of our own measurement framework, bring clarity to the question on everyone’s lips (am I right?): how can SWP success truly be measured?

This approach is something that goes beyond “The Future of Work” rhetoric, and actually is about the Future.  Of Work, yes.  But of Organizations.  Of Society.  Of Humanity.  Because what we are doing is changing the “us vs them” mentality that exists within many (most?) entities.  We are elevating their consciousness to the fact that the workforce is the organization, the organization is the workforce, the workforce is society, society is all of us.  And in doing this, we are inherently linking all activities of the organization to a greater purpose and meaning, now and into the future.  Into the way of the future.  This is about a fundamental shift that moves beyond “conventional economic logic [where] you view your employees as self-interested agents and design your organizational practices accordingly, and that (most likely) hasn’t paid off as you’d hoped.” [Harvard Business Review]

In fact, by aligning your organization - ie. your workforce - with an “authentic purpose (that) permeates business strategy and decision making, the personal good and the collective good become one.  Positive peer pressure kicks in, and employees are reenergized.  Collaboration increases, learning accelerates, and performance climbs” according to the Harvard Business Review. So, the orgs that do this well experience not only improved people outcomes (engagement, contribution, productivity) but also huge financial outcomes such as stock prices multiplying significantly! #nobrainer

Lofty statements, I know.  They seem ethereal, intangible and a bit far-fetched.  But this is where we are heading.  Organizations that do not get on board will, eventually, find themselves unable to attract and retain talent.  Therefore, they will fall short of realizing their purpose, delivering their strategy, or even effectively operating.  Society is becoming increasingly purpose-led and purpose-driven.  That purpose tops the agenda for millennials is backed up by PwC’s recent Workforce of the Future survey, which found that 88% of them want to work for a company whose values reflect their own.  And BTW, millennials will comprise 75% of the global workforce by 2025 [1].  This way of thinking is increasingly hitting the radar, with organizations such as the World Economic Forum now heavily advocating for revisions to Accounting standards to reclassify the capture of the workforce to an asset, rather than that dated "it's just a cost" view of the world.

Luckily, because we know you all need the numbers – “show me the money” right? - we have grounded our approach in some tangible measures that will help you to actually see how your SWP can/is tracking and delivering true impact.  All of them are measurable, and the majority of them are directly attributable to SWP.  For the few that can be co-caused, there is still significant evidence that SWP directly delivers these, including tangible top line impact and transformation/digitisation success.  The sky really is the limit for this stuff. 

Not to state the obvious (even though I actually am about to do so), but the first measure of SWP success is that the organization actually has an SWP, then the rest flows from there.  Now, while this article is only just scratching the surface of our framework and has quite a lot of underlying detail, I will let the picture tell a thousand words. Or two thousand really, since there are two pictures. Yes, yes, you are correct - I am an accountant and very good with math.  This framework provides a great basis for grounding the conversation of SWP into the very measurement basis that our leaders are always asking for.  We all know the old adage that “what gets measured gets done” after all.  But hopefully this helps some practitioners in demonstrating the case so they can accelerate their journey to what is, one of the most compelling disciplines out there . . . well IMHO ;)

We would love to know how you are thinking about creating the case/ROI for SWP in your organization?  And if you are already underway (go you!), how are you measuring its success and efficacy?  Drop us a line or comment below . . .