5 Steps to Creating a Staffing Strategy for the New Year
As 2020 wraps up, it’s safe to say that we are all looking forward to a fresh start in 2021. As part of this transition to the new year, many organizations will begin developing a strategic staffing plan or checklist. December is the perfect time to formulate a plan, and January is a great time to ramp up your staffing efforts.
In this article, we will cover what’s featured in a staffing checklist. If you are interested in getting connected with premier talent in the technology sector, we can help. Learn more.
What’s a Staffing Checklist?
A staffing checklist is essentially a strategic guide an organization utilizes to identify and address their personnel needs. The Human Resources (HR) department is typically in charge of this initiative. Before your Human Resources (HR) department can create a staffing checklist for your business, they need to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and concerns facing each department within the organization. They may also consider consulting a staffing services agency to help them address their staffing needs. This is especially common for filling specialized positions, such as job openings in technology.
Here are five steps to creating an effective staffing strategy for the new year.
1) Begin with Your Objectives
Millions of people around the world make New Year’s resolutions. Similarly, your organization can set clear goals for the upcoming year. Every company has different milestones they want to reach. Some companies are focused on increasing their profit margin. Others aim to update their technology infrastructure or increase customer satisfaction. Regardless of your objectives for next year, the key is to clearly define these goals and make sure that all stakeholders are on board. After you determine your goals, you must consider how your existing staff relates to these goals.
2) Identify Staffing Needs
To reach your objectives, you will need to assess your existing team and look for gaps between your current staff and future needs. As part of this process, you can perform the following tasks:
- Evaluate the skillset of the existing employees
- Assess the training needs of existing employees
- Forecast which workers may retire in the next year
During this process, you may realize that you need more employees to address your business needs. In other cases, it may not be about the number of employees you need to fill the gap, but more about finding employees with specialized skills. Regardless, the goal of this step is to determine where you need to shore up gaps on the existing staff with external talent and where you can potentially utilize the existing talent you have more productively.
3) Review the Market
The third part of creating a staffing solution strategy is to assess the labor market for your staffing needs. There are certain external and internal factors to consider when determining the market outlook. For example, for external factors, organizations must consider if there is a shortage of qualified candidates for the positions they need to fill. They should also think about what competitors are paying their employees for similar positions. Internally, organizations must consider why their organization has openings (layoffs, promotions, retirement) and if employees are leaving for better positions. Lastly, when assessing the market, organizations should assess whether their brand is considered attractive to potential candidates.
4) Determine the Staffing Budget
Besides assessing companywide goals, skills gaps, and the market, another key area to address is determining the staffing budget. This process starts with having a firm grasp of your labor costs for the next year. Remember, labor costs go beyond just the employees’ base salary and include overtime costs, bonuses, benefits, and other additional expenses. Organizations also need to consider how payroll will factor into the projected future budget and whether they will be utilizing alternate staffing solutions (contractors, consultants, part-time employees) to fill some of their staffing needs.
5) Put the Plan in Motion
Once you have performed all the above tasks, you can take action and begin to fill staffing roles. Start with the positions that need to be filled immediately. Then begin to coordinate when you will need to fill less urgent positions. When you put this plan in motion, consider how long it will take to advertise, interview, hire, and onboard candidates for each position. Depending on your industry, this timeframe can vary greatly from 15 to 20 days or several months.
Partner with Resourcing HQ
Evaluating your existing talent, determining where you need to address skills gaps, and procuring new talent can be a complicated and challenging process for every type of business. When hiring talent in a specialized field like technology, this can only increase these challenges. If you’re looking to speed up the process and land the most talented candidates, consider partnering with a premier staffing agency.
At Resourcing HQ, we place the best technology and administrative professionals with clients seeking advanced talent. Contact us today!