Introduction

The Governor’s Cabinet Action Plan identified “Better Government” as one of the strategic goals for state government.  A key component of this goal is having a skilled workforce ready and available to provide cost effective and efficient services to the citizens of Michigan.

Strategic Workforce Planning aids each state department with having “…the right people at the right place at the right time.”   In late 2004, increased access to retirement data allowed the State Personnel Director to initiate a study to determine projected retirements as well as other turnover data. 

The findings indicated possible turnover of half of the state workforce between 2005 and 2015:

• 27.2% of state employees were eligible to retire in 5 years
• 49% were eligible to retire in 10 years
• 52.8% were 45 years of age or older

The trends also showed with each passing year the numbers and impact of employee turnover would increase.  Clearly, a systematic means of preparing for and responding to possible turnover of this magnitude was needed.

Strategic Workforce Planning in state government is the process through which human resource planning is integrated with an organization’s strategic plan.  It is a planned approach for department management to identify necessary organization changes, positions to target for succession planning, training and development, recruitment, redeployment and knowledge transfer. 

Succession Planning is a component of strategic workforce planning and focuses on the process of identifying the key leadership positions within each department and developing employees within state government to assume these positions. Succession planning attempts to respond to attrition by ensuring that there are well-qualified employees to assume critical positions in the shortest possible time.

Business Case

Why is Strategic Workforce Planning needed?
The State of Michigan must continuously look for opportunities to realign, redefine and redesign government to better serve its citizens.  An organization’s success depends on having “the right people at the right place at the right time.”  Having 52.1 percent of the state workforce eligible to retire within 10 years has the potential to significantly impact the services provided by state government.  A systematic process of planning for the workforce of tomorrow is needed.    

Alternatively, a comprehensive analysis would also include an assessment of your organizational structure, program goals, competency profiles, leader attrition, etc. 

It is expected each department will approach the planning process in a way that meets their organizational needs based on their size, structure, programs and budget.  The key to success is for the Workforce Planning process to be a seamless extension of your overall department Strategic Plan. 

Executive Overview
The State Personnel Director and the Chief Deputy Director of the Civil Service Commission will meet with the department’s Strategic Leadership Team as an introduction to the strategic planning process.  The Leadership Team is provided a broad overview of the workforce demographics, turnover rates and information regarding workforce planning.

Strategic Leadership Team
The Leadership of each department owns the development and implementation of the Workforce Plan.  The Strategic Leadership Team develops the overall direction and provides guidance to the Department Development and Implementation Team.

Department Development & Implementation Team
The role of the Team is to develop and implement the Strategic Workforce Plan.  It is suggested that the department’s HR Director serve as the Team Leader.

Department Liaison
The Department Liaison is typically the HR Director, or other identified Leader from the management team, who will coordinate the department’s workforce analysis and plan development.  This Liaison will also be part of a statewide team utilizing the Human Resources Council to share best practices and have direct support from the Workforce Planning Specialist.

Department Partnership
The Civil Service Commission continues its partnership through the support services of the Workforce Planning Specialist and the Service Teams.  The services available include facilitation, training, recruitment, performance management, career planning, data analysis, organizational reviews, classification studies, redeployment options, etc.

The MI Strategic Workforce Planning Model is a guide for each department to use to connect their strategic plan, mission, vision and human resource needs for the future.