Why Strategic Workforce Forecasting Matters More Than Reactive Hiring

Picture yourself here: one of your top employees quits, and you are stuck with nothing except a huge problem on your hands. Alternatively, you might think that your sales department brought in a new big account, and you are thrilled with the result. The first thing you feel is probably dread. You get rid of your panic feelings by advertising for a new position, speeding up a few interviews, and hiring someone who only has to be "decent," that is, the first one you think will do after having been through all sorts of stress.

Putting out fires is what you do through reactive hiring when you do not have an extra worker, and then, you have to do something with that position, even if it means making some changes to your organization, your team composition, or just hiring someone quickly without really having the time to look through the entire pool of applicants.

To make sure you are ahead of those emergencies, it's not enough to react to the problems as they come up. Strategic workforce forecasting is forecasting future needs in manpower as you get into your business and your plans. Why is it a good idea to get ahead of future hiring? Here are some of the reasons.

What Reactive Hiring Really Costs You

When you only recruit when there is nobody for the vacancy, you are always trying to catch up. It's a method that has a few not-so-nice expenses, which are:

• More Expensive: In fact, if you do not have time to think things through about who you are going to recruit, you may end up agreeing with an offer that pays a high salary or paying a high placement price, or you could be charged for a very high-cost urgent job board, all of that, just because you have run after someone to hire!
• Worse People: When you don't have enough time, the best thing is to take the easy option, but you might regret it. You could hire the "just okay" candidate rather than a great but less obvious candidate.
• Employees Who Get Tired Of Their Job: Your workforce is going to be burdened and overloaded while that position is not being filled. This results in stress, errors, and even resignations that the employees will start.
• Reduced Income: Without a team to help in case of an emergency, a lot of operations will have to be postponed. That's when your revenue goes down.

What is Strategic Workforce Forecasting?

Basically, it means your organization is predicting how to best match your business goals from a workforce perspective.

Instead of focusing on "Who is our target hire today?" you'll focus on:

• Where is our business going? Our target is a position within the market in 12 months.
• What kind of talents are we going to need to support such a transformation?
• Talent pool analysis: Are we going to get the talent through internal promotion/transfer/retirement, or are we going to recruit from other companies?

As an example, if you want to introduce a new product after six months, you will know from forecasting that, besides other things, you will need more customer service reps and sales staff to handle the pre-launch activity.

Reasons for doing planning are saving us not only work but also time and money.

If your business model is changed from being reactive to proactive and being driven by the best-laid-out strategies, here are some of the ways you will benefit by it:

1. Your Organization Will Find and Attract Better Candidates

Saving the time for looking into the candidates means that you will not be hurried, and, therefore, you will not miss an opportunity to find the best ones. You will also have a better understanding of the passive candidates who are not actively searching for new job opportunities but who, for example, would appreciate a great work environment to change their jobs.

2. Workforce Planning Allows Different Hiring Approaches

When we talk about forecasting, planning, and projecting, we can find out when it is going to be our peak season so that we can make decisions accordingly. You can even hire contract workers or freelance workers for a certain period when the load will be heavy. This way, you avoid having an overstaffed department, and, therefore, you have much lower labor and training costs for your main staff, and you do not risk having to lay them off.

3. Minimize Hiring Bias

Impulsive decisions in hiring typically result from gut feelings, which sometimes leads to hiring people with similar traits. A well-organized approach helps you implement structured interviews and skill assessments. Ultimately, this ensures that a person is employed on the basis of their qualifications.

4. Expert Support at Your disposal

If you schedule your staffing strategy in advance, you can engage professionals from a reputable recruitment consultancy. Rather than contacting them for a last-minute vacancy, you'll be able to collaborate with them on building a talent pool for the long-term.

This means that you won't only rely on one or two people to get the job done at a time of emergency. A well-planned team of pre-qualified candidates will always be your fallback when the unexpected happens.

You Don't Need an Advanced Workforce Plan

The fact is you don't have to rely on a highly complex software platform to develop your workforce strategy. Here are three simple things you can do:

• Reflect on Business Targets: Speak with the board and your management team. Are you planning to move operations to another area? Add new services/product lines and thus need to hire new staff or just expand the existing team?
• Inspect Skills of Your Staff: Take a snapshot of the expertise of your staff. Do you have skill sets missing? Is it that your staff will be retiring shortly?
• Draft a Hiring Plan: Plan the roles you are going to fill for the next six to twelve months. It could be wise to make an immediate call to a contractor or a recruitment company if there is an urgent vacancy to fill. The rest of your hiring should be done via permanent hires while considering contract and temporary staffing where appropriate.

TASC Outsourcing, Future-proofing Your Team

Workforce planning is the foundation of HR and as such requires time to do it well and also, requires local knowledge where applicable. It is here that we can add value.

TASC Outsourcing, a top-tier staffing and recruitment partner covering the UAE and Gulf countries, can help you find the ideal permanent staff to lead your growth long-term. Whether you want temporary staffing to handle the rush at the end of a particular season or need someone full-time who can be your driver, TASC can help you with everything: the sourcing of qualified candidates, preparing their visa, candidates' pay, payroll, and other administrative tasks; and onboarding the employees in a smooth way.

We are not just the recruitment agency you go to when your HR is down. We are your partners and strategic advisors, and, therefore, we recommend that you contact our team at your earliest convenience to discuss your HR and staffing strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is temporary staffing versus permanent hiring?

Temporary staffing means that you will hire workers for a brief period of time or for one particular project. Generally, it is the agency like TASC that will look after this. Permanent hiring is for the employee to become part of the company in the long run and be on the regular payroll.

2. At what point should workforce planning be done?

Workforce requirements must usually be known in time for businesses to hire, and therefore workforce management should be part of the company's business planning process.

3. In what ways can a recruitment firm assist with a workforce plan?

Recruitment consultants are knowledgeable regarding the market. Based on the information they know about talent availability and salary trends, they can even predict how long it will take to secure a particular role. Thus, they can give you a reliable roadmap for your hiring activities, which would not go wrong.

4. Is workforce forecasting for large businesses only?

On the contrary, it is small and medium-sized companies that have the most to win from workforce forecasting since they have limited resources for the purchase of bad hires or employee turnover.

5. Can permanent hiring happen out of temporary staffing?

This is known as "temp-to-hire," and yes, it is possible! You can work with a temporary employee to assess their skills and how they will be a cultural fit during the job and then decide to hire them if you are satisfied that it is the right person for the post.