Strategic workforce planning model

Abstract

Systems, devices, and methods are provided for workforce planning models. Technologies are described to manage human capital decisions. Decision making models and related tools are described that support the development and implementation of workforce strategies, programs and policies. In one model, resources may be allocated to specific practices (policies, programs, initiatives, organizational culture) used to attract and retain valued employees. Resources may be increased or decreased until the optimal allocation of resources is found that is most likely to enable the achievement of specific goals (e.g., attraction, retention, readiness, and representation).

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of workforce planning for an organization, the method comprising:
 identifying a plurality of employee attributes;   associating selected attributes of the plurality of employee attributes with each employee of a plurality of employees of the organization;   identifying a plurality of practices of the organization;   associating each of the plurality of practices with one or more impact factors, wherein each respective impact factor represents an impact of the respective practice on employees based on their associated attributes; and   calculating a plurality of retention probabilities, wherein each retention probability represents a probability that one or more of the plurality of employees will remain employed during a time period at the organization based on the impact factors associated with respective employees.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 simulating a workforce composition for the organization utilizing the plurality of retention probabilities for a plurality of time periods.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 optimizing selection of a subset of the plurality of practices for the organization based at least in part on the calculated retention probabilities.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 identifying for the time period a plurality of job descriptions, wherein each job description includes at least one job requirement; and   assigning each employee to a respective job description from the plurality of job descriptions.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 identifying for the time period at least one of the plurality of job descriptions that is not assigned at least one respective employee; and   identifying a promotion for at least one of the employees to the at least one not assigned jobs based on at least one attribute associated with the employee.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 identifying for the time period a recruitment channel to provide at least one potential employee for at least one job description that is not assigned to at least one respective employee; and   determining the at least one potential employee to fill the at least one job description that is not assigned to at least one respective employee.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining a change in at least one of the retention probabilities based on a change in at least one of the practices of the organization.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the plurality of practices of the organization comprises identifying at least a current practice or a potential practice of the organization. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein associating selected attributes of the plurality of employee attributes for each employee of a plurality of employees of the organization comprises associating selected attributes with a current employee or a potential employee. 
     
     
         10 . A system for workforce planning for an organization, the system comprising:
 one or more storage mediums;   an employee attribute module communicatively coupled with at least one of the one or more storage mediums and configured to:
 identify a plurality of employee attributes; and 
 associate selected attributes of the plurality of employee attributes with each employee of a plurality of employees of the organization; 
   an employer practices module communicatively coupled with at least one of the one or more storage mediums and configured to:
 identify a plurality of practices of the organization; and 
 associate each of the plurality of practices with one or more impact factors, wherein each respective impact factor represents an impact of the respective practice on employees based on their associated attributes; and 
   a retention probability module communicatively coupled with at least one of the one or more storage mediums and configured to:
 calculate a plurality of retention probabilities, wherein each retention probability represents a probability that one or more of the plurality of employees will remain employed during a time period at the organization based on the impact factors associated with respective employees. 
   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a simulation module communicatively coupled with at least one of the one or more storage mediums and configured to simulate a workforce composition for the organization utilizing the plurality of retention probabilities for a plurality of time periods.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 an optimization module communicatively coupled with at least one of the one or more storage mediums and configured to optimize selection of a subset of the plurality of practices for the organization based at least in part on the calculated retention probabilities.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a workforce requirement module communicatively coupled with at least one of the one or more storage mediums and configured to:
 identify for the time period a plurality of job descriptions, wherein each job description includes at least one job requirement; and 
 assign each employee to a respective job description from the plurality of job descriptions. 
   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a promotion module communicatively coupled with at least one of the one or more storage mediums and configured to:
 identify for the time period at least one of the plurality of job descriptions that is not assigned at least one respective employee; and 
 identify a promotion for at least one of the employees to the at least one not assigned jobs based on at least one attribute associated with the employee. 
   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a recruitment module communicatively coupled with at least one of the one or more storage mediums and configured to:
 identify for the time period a recruitment channel to provide at least one potential employee for at least one job description that is not assigned to at least one respective employee; and 
 determine the at least one potential employee to fill the at least one job description that is not assigned to at least one respective employee. 
   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the employer practices module configured to identify the plurality of practices of the organization comprises identifying at least a current practice or a potential practice of the organization. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the employee attributes module configured to associate a subset of the plurality of employee attributes with an employee of the organization comprises associating a subset of the plurality of employee attributes with a current employee or a potential employee. 
     
     
         18 . A machine-readable storage medium comprising executable instructions for modeling a workforce of an organization, the executable instructions comprising code for:
 identifying a plurality of employee attributes;   associating selected attributes of the plurality of employee attributes with each employee of a plurality of employees of the organization;   identifying a plurality of practices of the organization;   associating each of the plurality of practices with one or more impact factors, wherein each respective impact factor represents an impact of the respective practice on employees based on their associated attributes; and   calculating a plurality of retention probabilities, wherein each retention probability represents a probability that one or more of the plurality of employees will remain employed during a time period at the organization based on the impact factors associated with respective employees.   
     
     
         19 . The machine-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the executable instructions further comprise code for:
 simulating a workforce composition for the organization utilizing the plurality of retention probabilities for a plurality of time periods.   
     
     
         20 . The machine-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the executable instructions further comprise code for:
 optimizing selection of a subset of the plurality of practices for the organization based at least in part on the calculated retention probabilities.