Making Workforce Planning Work in the NT Public Sector

Tips:Workforce engagement• Remember employeesexiting today may beinterested in re-enteringthe workforce tomorrow.Keep the door open for‘regrettable’ turnoveremployees.• Remember those exiting andincoming represent diversecharacteristics. Some maylike to return under differentworking arrangements- if they are regarded asregrettable turnover thenkeep the door open to them.• Workforce profiling, analysisand reporting should notEvery employee and/or volunteer, regardless of theiridentify the individual.working arrangements, should be aware of and engagedWork groups with less thanin the workforce planning process. Inform them that you20 employees are bestare embarking on workforce planning so that you cangrouped with other workoffer workforce development strategies that are directlygroups to protect employeerelevant to them and that will assist them to manage theiridentification.current and projected workload. Ask your employeeswhat their working life intentions are – within your agency,in the NT Public Sector, and in the broader labour market.Ask them what attracted them to work in your agency and what would makethem leave. Ask them why they think others come and go? Engagement of theworkforce in a real rather than tokenistic way will strengthen your workforcedevelopment strategies.Employees in mission critical job groups are very important to your workforceplanning. It may be that you need to undertake a workforce profile of theseworkers to strengthen your workforce planning data.Workforce profileWorkforce profiling involves the use of a survey to gather quantitative(numbers) and qualitative (comment) workforce data. The profile should bede-identified (i.e. you do not need to know the name of the employee, justthe data relevant to their job group). Generally, the workforce profile gatherssome general information such as that listed on page 34. Some of this datamay already be gathered through staff satisfaction and staff climate surveys.33