Visualizing Workforce Planning data through the use of organizational charting software so management can better understand and assure the right people are in place to accomplish critical business objectives in the most efficient and cost-effective manner, is the topic of the latest white paper available from OfficeWork Software. Visit www.Orgchartpro.com to download a copy of the white paper. “Workforce planning is an ongoing balancing act requiring continuous access to fresh, up-to-date organizational information. It’s not a one-time event,” explained Joe Kolinger, CEO of OfficeWork Software, a workforce software solutions and professional services company that helps organizations operate at peak efficiency. “There are no hard fast rules on how to implement and run a successful Workforce Planning program. However, a correctly implemented Workforce Planning program has the potential to significantly reduce operating costs and enable companies to focus on critical business objectives.”

1. Visualizing Workforce Planning:
How Org Charts Can Help
There is a consensus in business today; Workforce Planning is an
essential component of a company’s day-to-day operations. However,
there are no hard fast rules on how to implement and run a successful
Workforce Planning program. And even though there are many
Workforce Planning established best practices, what works for one
company may not necessarily work for another. What is agreed upon
is that a correctly implemented Workforce Planning program has the
potential to significantly reduce operating costs and enable companies
to focus on critical business objectives. Read on to learn how you can
begin visualizing your workforce and benefit your company.

2. What is Workforce Planning?
In its simplest terms, Workforce Planning
is the act of strategizing for the future of an 5. Implementation Executable
Integrate, Strategies
organization. Strategy is an important ingredient Measure,
Review
in organizational planning, as it lays out the 4. Strategy, Impact Strategic
and Cost Modeling Priorities
roadmap for growth and change. Workforce
Planning can include, but not be limited to, 3. Gap and Risk Analysis Talent
Risks
deciding personnel requirements, performing
Future
2. Forecasting - Demand and Supply
headcount audits and closing gaps in the Workforce
Projections
required workforce talent. Workforce Planning Future
1. Strategic Analysis
provides managers with a framework for making State
Scenarios
staffing decisions based on an organization’s WORKFORCE PLANNING FOUNDATIONS
mission, strategic plan, budgetary resources,
and a set of desired workforce competencies “A correctly implemented Workforce
— a set of behaviors that encompasses skills, Planning program has the potential to
knowledge, abilities, and personal attributes
significantly reduce operating costs
that, taken together, are critical to successful
and enable companies to focus on
work accomplishment. According to Financial
Express, “Workforce Planning is getting the
core business objectives.”
right number of people with the right skills, Aberdeen Research study, organizations that
experiences and competencies in the right jobs integrate workforce data into their analytics tools
at the right time.” are nearly three times as likely to achieve Best-
While customarily tied to a human resources in-Class performance results as those that don’t.
department, Workforce Planning needs to be Every day organizations face challenges with
a company-wide effort that should be owned hundreds, even thousands, of decisions based
by executive management, finance, middle on workforce capabilities, skill alignment and
management as well as project managers available resources. What if there was an easy
since they are all ultimately responsible for the way to “see” the available manpower to aid
success or failure of their individual strategic in making these decisions? What if there was
plan and that of the enterprise. an easy way to manipulate that manpower
As more and more companies find themselves to develop the best possible teams to get
looking for ways to run leaner and still jobs done? What if there was a way to make
meet business objectives, they must have Workforce Planning more efficient and clearer,
a comprehensive Workforce Management without disrupting current operations and
Program in place. In fact, according to a recent business practices?

3. The Power of Visualization
Org Charts are a concise way to communicate When used to their fullest potential, Org
organizational structure and other important Charts actually have the ability to improve the
employee information, as they are immediately way a company does business by creating a
understandable and actionable. Commonly decision canvas to empower better visibility,
used in presentations and reports, Org organizational interaction, and strategic planning.
Charts are diagrams representing the Org Charts reveal an integrated view of the
management structure of a company, showing entire company and give employees immediate
the responsibilities of each department, the access to critical information to effectively meet
relationships of the departments to each other, business goals.
and the hierarchy of management. An Org
Chart makes it easier for people to comprehend
and digest large amounts of information as a
visual picture rather than as a table of names
and numbers. Many people have trouble
understanding and processing information when
it’s text-based. For example, it might be easier to
understand a route drawn on a map as opposed
to following written directions. By presenting
complex information in a visual way, Org Charts
effectively do the same thing.
“When properly done, workforce
analytics and planning initiatives
deliver measurable impact on business
results by organizations’ profit per FTE
(Full-Time Equivalent) by 11%”
—Intelligent Human Capital Management, 2010

4. The Workforce Planning Process
For Workforce Planning to be successful there
1
needs to be buy-in from senior management
as well as an agreement down the line 8 “What if” Clearly Defined
Scenario Mission and
regarding the need for Workforce Planning Planning Objectives 2
and the processes involved. Understanding
an organization’s operations and analyzing
Reduce Define
resources and determining the talent to achieve Costs Competency
Needs
the organization’s long-term goals, is where 7 WORKFORCE
Workforce Planning comes into play. The PLANNING
Workforce Planning process includes: Quantify PROCESS
Assess 3
and Measure Existing
Competencies
Clearly Defined Mission and Objectives
In addition to strong management leadership Balance Match
6 Demand Employees with
and cooperative supportive efforts of staff, there and Supply Organizational
needs to be a clearly articulated vision, mission of Talent Needs 4
and strategic objectives set by management. Quite
5
simply, what is the task at hand and how are we
going to accomplish it?
Define Competency Needs Balance Demand and Supply of Talent
Organizational success depends on having the right Organizations are looking at employees in a new
employees with the right competencies at the right light. Not only do they want to make sure any gaps
time. Workforce Planning provides managers the are closed to meet objectives, they also want to
means of identifying the competencies needed in make sure the employer/employee process works to
the workforce, not only in the present but also in the mutual benefit of all parties involved.
the future, and then selecting and developing that
workforce. Quantify and Measure
Any Workforce Planning program must be equipped
Assess Existing Competencies with monitoring mechanisms to quantify and
To effectively assess existing competencies, measure effects and progress. There also needs to
organizations must compile the workforce data into be an amount of flexibility built in for sudden change
one place to provide a picture of the organization’s modifications.
resources. This current workforce profile is a
complete assessment of the existing talent in an Reduce Costs
organization. Aligning Workforce Planning with business
objectives can reduce hiring time and expense,
Match Employees with Organizational Needs lower training costs, and increase productivity
Once the mission and goals are set and competency across the organization. And, reassigning and
data is reviewed, management can then evaluate the retaining employees is more cost-effective than
current workforce’s ability to meet the needs of the hiring new employees to fill positions.
organization as well as mitigate any gaps between
the current workforce’s competencies and company “What if” Scenario Planning
goals. Future workforce issues such as recruitment The business environment is constantly changing.
and availability of talent in the marketplace can also Being able to forecast resource demands and gaps
be explored. is essential.
“If you and your head of HR haven’t recently discussed ideas
for using data to generate a talent strategy that’s more closely
linked to business results, it’s time to start.”
—McKinsey Quarterly, March 2011

5. Visualizing Workforce Planning
Now imagine being able to take all this
overwhelming text-based information — key
jobs, reporting relationships, workforce
competencies and profiles essential to
accomplishing company/project goals — and
“map” them in clear, concise charts. That’s what
Org Charts do for Workforce Planning.
Org Charts are designed to assist organizations
with their Workforce Planning initiatives. Whether Org Charts also improve communication
creating organizational charts for the entire since everyone in an organization — from
company or just a workgroup, an Org Chart’s top management, to individual contributor
ability to present a clear visual of complex employees and everyone in between — can
workforce information will help facilitate insights “see” relationships and escalation paths in an
to create the right organizational structure. easy-to-understand format. By being able to
Additionally it will leverage that workforce easily visualize the organizational structure
information for other such important tasks as with critical workforce data, management and
organizational design, succession planning, executives are empowered to quickly respond to
performance management, and corporate changing conditions and opportunities.
reorganization/right-sizing.
Practical Uses for Org Charts in Workforce Planning
With today’s Org Chart software capabilities, Org Charts allow companies to compile and
customized Org Charts can be created using prepare detailed, real-time reports and build
existing employee database information, corporate intelligence to develop strategies,
including salary, gender, tenure, education, support organizational initiatives and maintain
skills, photo and other information needed for goal alignment. With a good Org Chart, users
individual decision-making purposes. Previously, can view all reporting relationships including
to view the data, a complicated database report individuals and their associated chain of
might have been created or data was imported command, position-to-position or indirect
into a spreadsheet for further analysis. Using reporting relationships, or the entire organization.
Org Chart software, managers can synthesize Org Charts are an essential part of “What-if”
data from across an organization allowing scenarios as they can be used to model what-
them to effectively control data and leverage if plans for growth, reorganizations, budget
information and can integrate hundreds of planning, succession planning, mergers &
datasets against a single record to give stronger acquisitions and more. Users can easily analyze
workforce visibility. before and after changes, anticipating and
eliminating any surprises in advance.

6. Conclusion
“Org Charts have the ability
to change the way a company
does business by creating a
decision canvas to empower
better visibility, strategic
planning and effective project
management.”
It’s not a one-time event. Workforce planning is
an ongoing balancing act requiring continuous
access to fresh, up-to-date organizational
As your company looks to align its strategic
information. By visualizing this data through
business objectives with workforce growth and
the use of organizational charting software,
development plans, consider how Org Charts
management can better understand and assure
will deliver an essential perspective of the
the right people are in place to accomplish
workforce for creating a solid plan for driving
critical business objectives in the most efficient
business success.
and cost-effective manner.
About OfficeWork Software
Headquartered in Northern California, OfficeWork Software provides Workforce software solutions and
professional services that help organizations operate at peak efficiency. Our OrgChart solution offers cost-
effective and low-maintenance solution to chart, analyize, visualize their workforce. We realized long ago that
charting and being able to visualize an organization is an overwhelming task, but important for better decision
making and establishing a blueprint for future.
OfficeWork Software—simplying the complexities of Workforce Planning.
For more information, contact OfficeWork Software at +1-800-477-1408
Email us at sales@officeworksoftware.com
Visit us at www.Orgchartpro.com, www.OrgchartforVisio.com or www.officeworksoftware.com