“Success Through Human
Resources: From Strategy to Action”
the Department’s strategic plan for human resources management shares Interior’s
vision, values and guiding principles in managing the Department’s human resources as
expected by the American People. The Department requires a dedicated, knowledgeable, and
motivated workforce to carry out the mission entrusted to “provide access to our
nation’s natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to
tribes.”To ensure we can meet our
mission objectives, we must have trained, knowledgeable workers.
What is Workforce Planning at DOI?
In the
simplest terms workforce planning is getting “the right number of people with the
right competencies in the right jobs at the right time.”This shorthand definition covers a comprehensive
process that provides managers with a framework for making staffing decisions based on an
organization’s mission, strategic plan, budgetary resources, and a set of desired
workforce competencies.
Over the
next ten years, a large percentage of the Department’s permanent civilian employees
will be eligible for either voluntary or early retirement.Workforce planning will allow bureaus to project, at least statistically,
retirement rates, make plans for replacing lost competencies and corporate knowledge, and
ensure organizations have the human resources it needs to accomplish its mission.
Guide to Workforce Planning in the U.S. Department of the Interior
The
Department must Plan for Future Workforce Needs to ensure critical skills are
maintained in the Department long before individuals leave.“Right People, Right Place, Right Time: A Guide to Workforce Planning in the U.S.
Department of the Interior” (html
version, Adobe Acrobat PDF version not currently available)
sets out the Department’s guidelines for workforce planning – the linkages, key
participants, and outcomes of the workforce planning process.
The
"Workforce Planning Instruction
Manual" (html
version, Adobe Acrobat PDF version)
provides information & processes that can be
applied to ensure a systematic approach to workforce planning. It
defines fundamental steps to develop & implement workforce plans as well
as identifies tools available to assist managers and leaders in the overall
process.
The DOI
Workforce Planning Model contained in these guides will help bureaus establish their own
workforce planning processes.
The model
consists of the following five phases:
Phase 1: Strategic Direction Setting
- Organizing and mobilizing strategic
partners
- Setting vision/mission
values/objectives
- Reviewing organizational structure and
conducting business process reengineering
- Measuring organization performance
- Positioning HR to be a strategic
partner
Phase 2: Supply, Demand &
Discrepancies
- Analyzing demographics, workforce
trends, workforce projections, workforce diversity, educational pipeline>
- Conducting competency assessments
- Comparing workforce needs against
available skills
Phase 3:Develop Action Plan
- Designing a workforce plan to address
skills gaps
- Setting specific goals and developing a
HR infrastructure
Phase 4:Implement Action Plan
- Communicating the workforce plan
- Gaining an organizational buy-in
- Conducting organizational assessments
- Conducting recruitment, hiring and
placement
- Conducting succession planning
- Restructuring where necessary
- Implementing retention strategies
Phase 5: Monitor, Evaluate, Revise Plan
- Assessing successes and failures
- Making adjustments to the plan
- Addressing new workforce and
organizational issues
Because DOI
is not a monolithic organization, but one made up of individual bureaus and offices with
vary missions, this model for workforce planning can be adapted to differing organizations
and help us ensure we have the “Right People with the Right Skills at the Right
Time.”
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