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Importance of workforce planning for your business

We are currently seeing a rapid change to the Australian workforce and economy with ongoing environmental and social impacts seeing businesses having to change and adapt more quickly than ever before, technology advancements replacing human labour, increasing customer expectations, legislative and regulatory changes, demographic shifts and shortages of skilled and qualified workers. These immense changes raise many organisational and human resources challenges now and for the future.  

People form the foundation of any business and its more important than ever before to have an agile, diverse workforce that can respond accordingly and still deliver on customer expectations.

How can you assess and develop your workforce now and for the future? 

Strategic workforce planning will help you put a system in place to proactively align the long-term goals of your business with your future workforce needs. It will ensure you have the right people, in the right roles and identify opportunities to further develop your team’s skills and behaviours or recruit if required to deliver core customer outcomes.  

A strategic workforce plan will be slightly different depending on the type of business, industry and what is expected of the workforce to meet that business’s particular goals. The core requirements of a workforce plan remain the same; to assess and develop your people capabilities to be adaptive to change and meet the future needs of your business.  

Importance of workplace planning and people management

Why is workforce planning so important? 

To be prepared for the future you need to assess and understand what might be required from your greatest asset – your people. Creating a workforce plan and putting it into action can positively impact your business in more ways than one.

Here’s why: 

— Improves employee engagement – if your people see a plan for their future, they will be motivated to achieve success in their roles and will form a deeper commitment to the business. 

— Provides an understanding of any skill gaps and builds a pipeline of what talent you may need to acquire to reach your future goals.  

— Continuously reviewing your current and future business needs, will help you stay ahead of changes to your industry, technology, legislation and regulations and identify any compliance related issues. 

— Allows a more diverse and gender balanced workforce which has seen to provide greater innovation. 

— Making more efficient and informed decisions based on metrics and success measures a workforce plan provides. 

A workforce plan is crucial in these times of uncertainty and rapid change. It takes time but is a valuable process that can be the difference between competing businesses and being able to adapt quickly to the changing environment.  

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Managing people through change

Organisational change continues to be difficult for many businesses as we adapt to sudden shifts in our industry, new business models that may be required and even external factors including pandemics such as COVID-19. 

What is Change Management?

Change management is a structured approach that helps businesses be prepared, equipped and support individuals to adapt change that delivers a positive outcome for the business and its people.  

A change could be a simple process within your business that needs adjusting or it could be a major change in policy or strategy that’s required to further leverage your business potential within your industry and even grow.  

This structured approach focuses on the wider impact change may have for your people and how they, as individuals and even teams, transition from the current situation to a new one.  

Change Management

How do we continue to adapt to change and make sure that we’re keeping our people informed? 

With digital technologies and the changing nature of the workforce creating new opportunities and challenges for businesses each and every day we need to make sure that we are building a foundation that incorporates change in a positive way and continues to involve people at every level across the business.  

As human beings we are generally averse to change especially if it may be misaligned to our own beliefs or actions or thrown upon us without any understanding of why this change may be required.  

For any business to adapt to change it’s important that people understand why it’s happening and leaders don’t assume that this transformation is clear to the whole business. Clear communication is a fundamental avenue that leaders need to develop to help all employees understand where the company is headed, why it is changing, and why this change is important.  

Change Management

What are some of the warning signs when it comes to change management? 

— Are any of your employees on edge? 

— Does your leadership team focus on adverse outcomes or problems? 

— Are your employees unclear about expectations? 

— Are your employees working on multiple projects but don’t know which ones are priorities?  

— Is there a lack of planning that require urgent results?  

— Do you not have an approved change plan?  

— Has the change happened without any monitoring?  

— Has the change been implemented with no change policy and procedures? 

 

Who is responsible for change and how should it be incorporated into your business? 

For change management to be successful it is the responsibility of the leadership team to engage, inspire and support employees to adopt the change and the individual employees’ responsibility to change their behaviour to start a new way of working. 

Here are five key steps to consider when incorporating change into your business: 

Success – Best chance of success when everyone with authority and influence is engaged. 

Adapt – Always assess and adapt. Assess what is working and adjust next steps. 

Execute – Leadership team should NEVER delegate execution. 

Delivering change is running business 

Don’t rely on past work, assumptions 

Pre-work to determine legitimate case for change

All – More efficient to bring people along with you on the journey. Lead with process and make sure all of it is in place such as training, incentives, procedures and processes. 

New – Define essential behaviours that are vital. Leadership team must visibly model new behaviours. Behaviours shift when procedures change and incentives are in place.  

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The Importance of Career Planning & Succession Management Within the Workplace: Part 2

In Part 1 of this topic I introduced the concept of succession management and the importance of career planning when it comes to retaining your employees and creating a culture of growth. In Part 2 we’ll dive deeper into the individual needs of your employees and how communication is central to the success of your ongoing succession plan.

Effective succession planning goes beyond a one-time event; it’s important to plan with your team and encourage the continual development of your staff through mentoring, regular check-ins, goal setting and strategic evaluation over time. Career plans are no longer static, and as companies continue to downsize and flatten, traditional career ladders are becoming less prevalent. Instead, helping your employees seek opportunities to grow and having authentic, timely conversations about their personal and professional goals can have a huge influence on how engaged they are, their perception of where or how they work, and how supported they feel on their professional journey.

Particularly when managing a multi-generational workforce, each of these different demographics has varying needs, wants and expectations. Baby boomers, for example, might have typically enjoyed decade-long careers while millennials will seek multiple jobs throughout their lifetime. With this in mind, succession planning then isn’t just about finding the right talent, but also dealing with high rates of turnover within younger generations. Yet in the race to replace older generations and retain the millennials, it’s important you don’t forget about Gen X. This demographic is often next in line to step into leadership roles as older generations move into retirement, but if they’re continually looked over in favour of millennials or sense a ‘grey ceiling’ looming above them, they might leave to follow their career dreams elsewhere.

Once stripped back, the common thread is all about communication. Communicating and planning across the board is essential, not only regarding succession management but planning for growth and being prepared for successions when they arrive. Staying ahead of the curve by understanding each employee’s individual growth trajectory and communicating openly with your team has long-lasting results; effective leadership means less about ruling from the top, and more about identifying if the people who work beneath you are growing and developing.

It’s important to really know your team; we’re all humans after all – each with varying aspirations, attitudes, skills, goals and dreams – and it’s human nature to want to grow, whether that’s learning a new skill to advance your career, embracing new responsibilities, or exploring ways to find happiness and challenges in your day-today that might simultaneously help your company too.

Communication is imperative and working with your team to plan for and execute an effective growth strategy requires the right tools to do so. Inspired by my passion for strategising and deep interest in culture and career development I’m excited to announce the I’ve recently finished working on a customised business planning system that’s finally ready to launch in the market. It’s been built using years of industry knowledge and experience, drawing upon case studies and fervent analysis of the ins and outs of career planning and succession management.

If you’re looking to adopt an innovative and cost-effective approach in the new financial year, I’d love to hear from you.

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The Importance of Career Planning & Succession Management Within the Workplace: Part 1

Driven by an increase in global competition and dramatic changes to workforce demographics, Succession Planning is more than just a plan. Coming of age over the past decade, a successful ‘succession’ goes hand in hand with career development and the weight it carries with both new and existing employees. 

As 2020 fast approaches, establishing an effective succession management strategy alongside career development processes is more important than ever. The evolution of succession starts at the bottom; retaining, motivating and driving employees to consider how their role might extend deeper into the business, and giving them the tools to do so. With talent continuity essential to the evolution of succession planning, what better place to start than with your own team?

What is Succession Management, and why is it important?

Succession Management is, at its heart, a comprehensive and integrated recruitment strategy for positions of leadership. The world of work is changing, and no company can assume that essential talent will always be available. When it comes to the long-range view, finding value in the development and training of future leaders is equally as important as placing weight on technical skill.

Effective succession facilitates a positive impact on performance management, not only in terms of ensuring that key positions are filled with competent performers, but also in terms of saving money on external recruitment and training, which are often significantly more costly than promoting from within.

By encouraging the broader participation of existing employees, it shows your team that they have a future in your organisation; a path to get there, and a reason to stay. It’s vital for creating a culture of growth, which is both positive to the personal and professional development of your staff, as well as an important way to identify which employees have the necessary skills to either replace senior executives, or step into positions of leadership down the track.

Your employees know what’s in it for them; and it’s often the ambitious, talented team members who value the ability to take charge of their own careers that become your future leaders.

Where does HR come in?

In playing a vital role in the process of succession planning, HR leaders are on the front line when it comes to facilitating the smooth and successful transition of critical positions. While on the surface this process appears seamless, the challenges often lie within the integration of both long and short term goals, as well as choosing the right candidate with the best cultural fit.

With the concept of succession planning ever evolving, it’s become clear that an effective program needs to be dynamic and ongoing, multifaceted and further linked to greater collaborative initiatives. It’s a complex process that requires the right people to lead it, and deep investment into a long-term strategy.

In Part 2 of this topic I’ll share some deeper insights into understanding you team, their needs and how effective communication is paramount when implementing succession planning within you company.

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When is the right time to bring in external HR support?

If you’re running a growing small business and are finding yourself spending an increasing amount of time and energy on your staff instead of spending that time on your business then this is the list for you.

If any of the below apply, then bringing a HR consultant on board could be the right choice for the future of your business.

1. You’re out of time

After good staff, the most valuable resource to your business is likely time. You may need a HR consultant if you or your team are consistently short on the number of hours you can devote to day-to-day HR tasks – or if those tasks are fractured among different staff members. Leaving HR as an afterthought can often lead to costly non-compliance or legal issues and dissatisfied employees. A HR consultant also saves you the time that you’d spend training and on-boarding a new in-house HR manager. Plus, a professional’s existing expertise also means tasks are often completed faster.

2. Your business is rapidly growing or changing

During periods of high change in your business, you’ll have enough matters – aside from HR – that demand your attention. And when that change is particularly tumultuous, a specialist can help navigate the stickier side of running an organisation. Especially as they understand the ramifications of changes in pay or roles, down-sizing, restructuring, terminations, investigations, conflict resolution and any disciplinary matters that arise.

3. You just haven’t found “the one” yet

Culture fit is one of the most important factors that nurture a happy workplace. Whether you’re thinking of adding an HR manager to your team for the very first time, or you’re in between HR managers, you want to hire the perfect person. Temporarily partnering with a HR consultant as a stop-gap measure during this time is often more cost-effective in the long run than hurrying the recruitment process. It also ensures your eventual new hire will be seamlessly joining a well-run department. Not to mention, a HR consultant can also assist you in finding the right person to join your team.

4. You need the resources to meet your business growth goals

Do you have big plans to grow your business and need a top-level HR strategy to meet your objectives but don’t know where to start? HR Consultants are experts in providing the framework to ensure you have the right staff and systems to meet your strategic business objectives. On top of this, they can develop an employment strategy in line with your overall business plan to communicate the vision to existing staff, build and motivate your team, drive efficiencies, and inspire individuals to reach their full potential. HR Consultants can also customise strategies to develop the individual capabilities of staff, to enable you to achieve your business goals.

5. You simply don’t need a full-time HR manager

If your business is small to medium in size you may very well not require permanent HR staff. Yet as soon as you hire your very first employee, it’s important to start thinking about your future HR requirements. You probably have an intimate knowledge of what your business offers, who it’s for and what your hopes are for the future, but may not know the finer details of HR. Working with a HR consultant means you can add their wide-ranging expertise to your team, and save on the salary and recruitment costs you’d spend on HR staff. Good consultants are also highly adaptable and flexible; meaning you can hire them on a project-by-project basis or for longer or shorter time periods to suit your business needs.

Still not sure if a HR consultant can assist your particular situation? Get in touch for a chat about how Catie Paterson Consulting can help you.

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The Path to CPC: A World of Hotel Management, Hospitality and HR

While there are some things you can teach, not everything comes as naturally as a second skin. Some of us are born leaders and loud communicators; others are deep thinkers and quiet achievers. In many instances our upbringing or familial roles can seamlessly shape our future experiences, where in others you must learn to cultivate and develop your path along the way. 

Growing up on a farm in the deep south of New Zealand, my formative years were shaped wholesomely by the remote area in which my family lived. At the tender age of thirteen I went off to boarding school in Dunedin – the only accessible option for a high school education – and spent family holidays in Queenstown, where in the winters we snow-skied and in the summers we water-skied. My first job was a room attendant in one of the hotels here, where at the age of fifteen I became acutely aware of the broad opportunities the hotel and hospitality industry could bring. 

Dunedin, NZ

Travel, culture and the exciting possibility of exploring beyond my home town was welcomed. 

In my final year of boarding school I applied to gain a place at the only Hotel Management School in New Zealand, based in Wellington. At the same time I applied for a scholarship to attend Drysdale in Hobart, one of the best Hotel Management schools in the Southern Hemisphere. The scholarship was an initiative between the sister cities of Invercargill and Hobart, established to boost tourism throughout Tasmania. I was fortunate enough to secure one of these scholarships, and so my adventure in Australia began.

From here my passion for working with people catapulted. A component of my three-year degree at Drysdale was a six-month practical placement which I was fortunate enough to secure at the Grand Hyatt, where I remained for a subsequent three years. During this time part of my role was to look after the VIP guests who stayed there, from U2 and the Rolling Stones, to Phil Collins, Sammy Davis Jnr and Katherine Hepburn.

14th June 1969: British rock band the Rolling Stones in 1969, after the death of founding member Brian Jones. They are, from left to right; drummer Charlie Watts, new member guitarist Mick Taylor, vocalist Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards and bass player Bill Wyman. (Photo by Len Trievnor/Express/Getty Images)

For a teenager from the deep south of NZ, starstruck was an understatement. 

Yet customer service – or rather, ‘people’ service – soon became a natural extension of who I was, and the experiences I gained in my formative years certainly paved the way for the career I have now. 

Working with people is not something I felt challenged to learn, nor did I feel the need to suppress. It was simply who I was. Following my studies I managed a few bars and pubs before deciding to go back to school as a lecturer, teaching food and wine studies to give back to the industry. While this certainly kept me busy and immersed in the thriving food and culture scene of Melbourne, a career in HR was something that had always been at the forefront of my professional ambition.

Two years later I completed my post-grad studies in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management at RMIT, and haven’t looked back since. 

In the past two decades my career has seen me tackle challenging tasks head-on, and deliver practical, tangible results to corporate companies across Australia, Asia and the US. My experience spans companies across a multitude of industries from hospitality, building, construction, law and IT, to banking, finance, retail and not-for-profit. My toes are well-travelled, and my passion for human development ever increasing.

In late 2016 I established my own consulting firm, which is where I find myself today. Drawing upon my strengths and skillsets developed over many decades, my offerings are as unique as they are time honoured, and while inherently consistent they are not without regular reimagining. With each new year comes a new innovation or trend, and I’m both fortunate and excited to be in the position of welcoming change. 

One of these is developing a more digital presence for Catie Paterson Consulting, and I invite you to follow my journey along the way. Each month I will be publishing a blog post on an interesting concept, or an exciting or relevant piece of HR news, littered sporadically with engaging commentary and personal insights. 

My aim is to connect better with people online, and showcase a different side to the world of HR in an expressive, informative and digital way. 

-Catie Paterson

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