-50%
Solution
- Competitive Labour Market
A competitive labour market is one where many employers are competing for access to a limited supply of workers with differing skills as evidenced by EconomicsOnline (2020). In such a market, workers have greater choice about who they work for and employers must offer competitive wages and benefits to attract and retain quality employees. Both parties have leverage in their negotiations.
SAP strategicallly positions itself as the employer of choice in the competitive tech marketplace through its strong employer branding and organisational image.
As an employer of choice, SAP cultivates an identity as an innovative, high-growth company where employees are given opportunities to learn, grow, and advance their careers (Aldawood, 2023).
SAP’s employer branding plays a key role through dedicated efforts to tell a consistent story online and offline. It demonstrates through various channels why working at SAP is rewarding and meaningful. This helps attract top talent passionate about technology.
SAP also focuses on enhancing its organisational image as a stable, successful industry leader. It portrays an environment where employees feel respected, supported, and able to do their best work (Lievens & Slaughter, 2016). By strategically emphasising these aspects of employer brand and organisational image, SAP gains an edge over competitors in attracting and retaining skilled professionals in a competitive tech landscape.
As a member of the People Practice team at Sun Energy, we must position the company as an employer of choice to meet our resourcing needs. With the global transition to sustainable energy, Sun Energy aims to become more competitive by moving into areas like solar and wind power. To attract professionals with the skills for this new business focus, we should promote Sun Energy’s employer brand.
- Dynamic Labour Market Trends
Tight and Loose Labour Markets
A tight labour market occurs when available jobs outnumber job seekers. Competition for workers is intense as employers must work harder to fill vacancies. This gives job candidates leverage to negotiate higher pay, better benefits, and working conditions (CIPD 2022). In contrast, a loose labour market exists when there are more job seekers than openings as evidenced by Bates (2021). Finding a job is difficult as multiple candidates vie for few opportunities. Employers have the upper hand and can be more selective. They face less pressure to increase compensation in a loose market with an oversupply of available workers.
Changing labour market conditions in the UK with two examples are:
Legal Factor- Brexit
The UK labour market is experiencing significant shifts that are impacting resourcing decisions. One major change is the UK’s exit from the European Union, known as Brexit. Leaving the EU single market has made it more difficult for UK employers to recruit EU workers, who formerly filled many job vacancies cheaply (Spital, 2023). With fewer EU applicants, companies now struggle to hire for roles like farm labor, construction jobs, and hospitality positions.
Social Factor
Another factor is the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted the economy and long-term working patterns in the UK as evidenced by ONS (2021). During lockdowns, vast numbers of workers were furloughed or lost their jobs. As restrictions eased, many chose not to return to former roles or industries. This created imbalances as some sectors faced staffing shortages while unemployment remained high in other areas.
These changing conditions have forced employers to rethink traditional resourcing models. Facing candidate shortages, companies must offer higher wages, flexible schedules, remote work options, and training programs to attract and retain talent (CIPD, 2022a). In Sun Energy, rather than relying on overseas or temporary labor, the focus has shifted to investing in the domestic workforce through apprenticeships and career development.
- Future Skill Needs
Role of Government
The UK government has an important role to play in anticipating and preparing for future skill needs. It must work closely with UK businesses to understand how skills demands may change due to factors like emerging technologies. Through large-scale surveys of employers and labour market analysis, the government can forecast growth areas and skill shortages. Once gaps are identified, the government provides funding for universities and colleges to develop new courses addressing these fields as evidenced by GOV.UK (2023).Reskilling initiatives like the National Skills Fund aim to upskill the current workforce. Subsidies through schemes like the Apprenticeship Levy make training more accessible for employers.
Roles of employers
Employers play a key role in identifying future skill needs and helping to develop the workforce with the right skills. They are well positioned to understand how their business and industry may evolve to better forecast emerging skill requirements. Employers can collaborate with educators through advisory boards and work placements to help shape curricula and training programs that match these needs (Faragher, 2022). Many actively sponsor upskilling and reskilling courses either independently or in partnership with education institutions. On-the-job training is also provided to equip current employees with new competencies. Collaboration between employers, educators, and government is vital to anticipating and providing skills for a competitive future workforce (OECD, 2011).
Roles of Trade Unions
The GMB union plays an active role in anticipating and addressing future skills needs in the UK. Through local branches and membership surveys, GMB consults with its large and diverse group of workers to understand changing requirements within industries like energy, transport, and logistics. Representatives bring this skills intelligence to advisory boards advising the government (GMB National Policy Guide 2023). GMB lobbies for increased funding of sector-specific reskilling programs and works with further education partners to design tailored curricula. GMB also negotiates training agreements with employers that facilitate on-site skills upgrading for roles involving new technologies.
2.1 analysis of the impact of Effective Workforce Planning
CIPD (2023) defines Workforce planning as the process of evaluating an organisation’s future staffing needs and ensuring measures are in place to meet those needs.
The impact of effective workforce planning
Effective workforce planning can help organisations like Sun Energy strategically forecast demand for labour and determine optimal sourcing strategies. By closely analysing market trends and changes in its industry, Sun Energy can project skills and headcount needs as it expands into more sustainable energies. Workforce planning allows the company to anticipate gaps between current and future requirements and put proactive measures in place as evidenced by Valamis (2022).
For example, Sun Energy likely needs staff with expertise in areas like renewable technology, green project management, and hydrogen energy. Through workforce planning, it can determine whether these skills already exist in-house or if external hiring is required. Planning can also identify training programs needed to upskill the current workforce. Forecasting the demand of labours also helps the talent acquisition team strategically recruit promptly as evidenced by LinkedIn (2024). With competition for green talent intensifying, workforce planning further enables Sun Energy to evaluate competitive compensation and benefits needed to attract and retain key staff.
If Sun Energy failed to conduct workforce forecasting and planning, it would face major challenges in effectively transitioning its operations. Without accurately projecting skills and labour demand needs, critical roles may go unfilled as talent gaps are not identified in time. There would be reactive recruitment without strategic sourcing, insufficient training of current employees, and higher turnover as compensation is not benchmarked against competitors.
2.2 Workforce Planning Techniques
Promotion and demotion rates
Promotion and demotion rates provide vital insights for effective workforce planning. According to Jay (2023), high promotion rates indicate internal talent development and succession planning, ensuring a pipeline of skilled employees for key positions. Conversely, frequent demotions may suggest skill gaps or poor job fit, prompting training or reallocation of resources. Analysing these rates aids in identifying trends, forecasting future staffing needs, and implementing targeted strategies to retain top talent.
Promotion and demotion rates offer valuable insights into talent development and job alignment for effective workforce planning. However, overreliance on promotion rates may lead to overlooking external talent or creating feelings of resentment among employees passed over for advancement.
Employee turnover rates
Employee turnover rates serve as crucial indicators for workforce planning. High turnover may signal issues like dissatisfaction, poor management, or inadequate compensation, prompting the need for retention strategies and talent development programs (NetSuite.com, 2024). Conversely, low turnover suggests stability but could also indicate a lack of innovation or growth. Analyzing turnover rates helps forecast staffing needs, identify areas for improvement in employee engagement, and implement measures to attract and retain top talent, enhancing organisational resilience and performance.
Benefits and Drawbacks
High turnover may indicate problems with retention and morale, while low turnover can suggest stability but potential complacency. However, turnover data alone may not reveal underlying causes, requiring additional analysis to implement targeted retention strategies and foster a resilient workforce.
Critical incident analysis techniques
Critical incident analysis techniques aid in workforce planning by identifying pivotal events or situations that impact performance and productivity as evidenced by Serrat (2017). By analysing these incidents, organisations can pinpoint strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement within their workforce. This approach helps in developing targeted training programs, improving employee management strategies, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and development. However, reliance solely on critical incidents may overlook systemic issues or fail to capture broader trends, necessitating a comprehensive approach to workforce planning.
Benefits and Drawbacks
Aid in targeted improvements and strategic planning. They highlight specific instances for intervention and development. However, focusing solely on critical incidents might overlook underlying systemic issues and fail to capture long-term trends, necessitating a balanced approach to workforce planning.
Judgment- These are some commonly used workforce planning techniques. While each provides useful insights, they also have limitations if used in isolation. Promotion and turnover rates can overlook contextual factors, while incident analysis may miss broader trends. The effectiveness of these techniques would be enhanced by using multiple approaches together to obtain a more holistic and systemic view of the workforce for comprehensive planning.
2.3 Explanation of Appraisals
Succession Planning
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