STRATEGIC HUMAN CAPITAL PLANNING

Strategic human capital planning is one of the essential components to form sustainable organizations. Following are useful and steps for implementation within companies.

Human capital can be defined as the unique set of expertise, skills and knowledge that are contained within the workforce of a company. 

This model is used to analyze the most important elements of human capital planning, which lead to the development of an integrated action for managing its present and future. 

The model is use to analyze these types of topics:

• Available human capital.

• Demographic developments of the current workforce.

• Scenario development for anticipating changes in the organization, market and labour market.

Using the human capital roadmap allows companies to be flexible and scale their requirements to meet future challenges.

¿How and when can we use this model?

When organizations require more control over their human capital as their primary source of competitive advantage, the human capital roadmap provides the different elements for analysis. Companies aiming to optimize the allocation of human capital and increase flexibility may use the model to define HR scenarios for an uncertain future. HC roadmap allows organizations to operate in a lean way in a stable labour market, while organizations in a dynamic environment are able to organize their workforce in such a way that it is prepared for changes that might occur in this dynamic environment.

“It is not the strongest species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one that best responds to the change”. Charles Darwin

The model comprises two main phases and various steps in each phase:

Phase 1: Analysis the map (four steps).

1.                 Define current and future organization profile.

2.                 Define current human capital capability and human capital capacity

3.                 Analyze sector and labour market developments

4.                 Develop human capital scenarios

1	The current organizational profile is created by assessing the factors that affect human capital, namely; leadership skills, business strategy, organizational structure, company culture, work processes and systems. The future organizational profile can be created by additionally taking into account the strategic business agenda and market developments. Together, the current and future organizational profiles make up the organizational profile map.
2	Defining the relative capacity of the current workforce to produce quantifiable results requires an understanding of the differences between jobs and the function of those jobs. This job differentiation is based on the strategic value of a job and its uniqueness. Differentiation based on jobs is definitely not the same as differentiation based on employees! This step results in the creating of a human capital DNA map.
3	The labour market is an important determinant in human capital development. It allows an organization to attract and retain human capital, or restricts it. The demands of human capital are achieved by analyzing the relevant market or sector. Relevant parameters for human capital scenarios can be determined by means of this analysis.
4	Input data for human capital scenarios are based on the results of steps 1, 2 and 3: analysis of organizational profile, labour market and sector developments. The implications of different scenarios on human capital are determined by taking into account the demographic changes of the current workforce.

Phase 2: Action (the road):

5.           Perform gap analysis

Gap analysis enables an organization to assess the difference between its present position and its desired position in the market. This gap is defined using all data gathered during stage one concerning the capacity and capability of the workforce, and gives an insight into current and future human capital needs.

6.           Identify key issues

Both the gap analysis and the analyses of the organizational profile, sector and labour market generate key issues for the organization as the transformation of business, the development of competencies and the culture of the organization.

7.           Develop human capital action plan

To transform key issues to actions, we use the levers of dynamic workforce management:

A.           Labour market

B.           Organization and processes

C.          Qualifications; and formation

We think Job differentiation allows the HR plan can be customized according to the needs of each category. Note that the most valuable result of the model lies not in the analysis per se, but because it provides a creative and contingent way of thinking about human capital and aligning it with business. The first step in the model relies on the strategic HRM model that is explained into the next article. As an introduction we can say that strategic HRM model offers a structured approach towards developing a human resource strategy and corresponding action plan. The premise of the model is that strategic human capital planning is a top-down process leading to tangible, measurable, and supported results. This model should be considered part of the organizational architecture, and a central element of  the company sustainability strategy.