Department of Human Resource Management

Workforce Planning

Workforce Planning is a systematic approach to:

Identifying future work requirements;
Understanding how changing work requirements impact workforce needs and;
Implementing actions to fill gaps between present and future workforce needs.

Successful workforce planning ensures that the Commonwealth of Virginia is prepared to acquire, develop, and maintain an agile and productive workforce to successfully provide needed services to the citizens of Virginia.

Reports and Resources

Why Is Workforce Planning Important

Reduces gaps in knowledge and skills that impact service delivery.
Strengthens continuity of operations.
Fosters logical, data-driven workforce management practices.
Improves career development, enrichment, and advancement opportunities.

Workforce planning ensures that the Commonwealth of Virginia sustains the delivery of critical services for the citizens of Virginia.

Employees and Managers

Why Is Workforce Planning Important for Employees and Managers?

Workforce Planning is a methodology in which the Commonwealth of Virginia focuses on the need to acquire, develop, and maintain an agile and productive workforce to meet future workforce needs.

Employees and Managers both have important roles in Workforce Planning to meet individual and Commonwealth of Virginia workforce interests.

Employee Role in Workforce Planning

Initiate discussions with your supervisor or manager about your career development goals.
Identify your career development needs and opportunities.
Seek opportunities for career growth and development and share these with your supervisor or manager.

Manager Role in Workforce Planning

Initiate regular discussions with your employees about their career development goals.
Provide value-added development feedback to your employees.
Support your employees’ career growth and development needs and interests.
Identify changing work needs and support employee development to meet those changing needs.
"Reinvent” positions for the future as the nature of work changes.

Career Development Discussion Framework For Managers and Employees

What do you want?

Establish what the employee wants to achieve with their career.

What is happening currently?

Establish the employee’s understanding of their current role and skills.

What are the gaps and challenges?

Identify what is missing or is in the way.

What could you do?

Generate multiple options for closing the gap from goal to reality.

What will you do?

Identify achievable steps to move from reality to goal.

Career Development Opportunities

Training – classroom, online, on-the-job, apprenticeships

Special assignments and projects

Temporary assignments

Coaching

Human Resources

What is the role of Human Resources in Workforce Planning?

Human Resources plays a significant role in Workforce Planning efforts across agencies:

Engage Agency Leaders in the important work of Workforce Planning including the development of Agency Succession Plans.
Facilitate the activities of Workforce Planning including understanding and interpreting internal and external workforce metrics, comparing the work and workforce needs of tomorrow to the present, identifying the gaps, and supporting the creation and implementation of a plan to close those gaps.

In 2017, § 2.2-1209.C of the Code of Virginia was amended to require that all Executive Branch Agencies include key workforce planning issues in the annual strategic planning process. Agencies are required to develop succession plans for key personnel, executive positions, and employees nearing retirement.

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