At a recent SUMS workshop, my colleague Emma Ogden and I explored strategic workforce planning with an engaged and engaging room full of HR professionals. The two of us have done a few sessions talking about the synergies between HR and Planning which draw on our experience of working together to implement workforce planning. We’ve both experienced how leaders and managers often find articulating their future plans and resourcing requirements easier than building a data-led workforce plan. However articulately leaders could set out their vision, they often floundered when asked to evidence it with data.
The increasing pace of digital transformation and the advent of AI has highlighted how often the HE sector struggles with data literacy and using data effectively. At the same time, analysts are often asked to ‘tell a story’ with data in order to present it effectively and this narrative approach really comes into its own when used to underpin strategic workforce planning.
So why and how does it work? Well, the short answer is that workforce planning is a people process and can usefully draw on two people-centric theories – narrative theory which explores how stories help people make sense of the world; and actor theory which views the world as a set of relationships.
Telling stories
In the storybook version of workforce planning, the broad parameters of the tale and key plot elements are set by the institutional strategy and a series of supply and demand factors which establish the need for a workforce and indicate the skills and level of expertise required. Within that, staff form the main characters both in terms of the narrative arc of the tale through their own career story and aspiration, and through how they interact with each other and contribute to the bigger story.
At this point when we’ve set the stage and established the cast and main elements of the plot, we can bring in data to animate the tale. Institutions have access to a wide range of internal data which can be used to think about the workforce, its size and attributes, how effective it is and whether it is performing as intended. There is also a wealth of external data available on local and national trends and some institutions have also invested in commercial benchmarking data. There is a lot of data which could be used but it needs to be used effectively and selectively.
This is where HR and Planning professionals can be most helpful in identifying the data required to illuminate the tale and work out where opportunities and risks lie. When using data for storytelling, The Three Bears provide excellent advice as the amount of data presented needs to be ‘just right’. While your workforce planning process may draw on extensive analysis and insight, when presenting the business case version, it needs to be enough to make the argument without swamping the reader. Thinking about how data can reinforce a clear narrative thread strengthens a workforce plan and makes a stronger argument, while too much data and a confused plot line make it hard to see the rationale for the business case and understand what’s required and why.
Presenting the workforce plan
It is worth considering the narrative when presenting the workforce plan. Leaders and decision-makers are often bombarded with an overwhelming amount of information, and the traditional lengthy business case risks losing their attention before getting to the heart of the matter. In this environment, crafting succinct narratives that capture the essence of your message can drive quicker, clearer, and more impactful decisions. At this stage, we advise less of War and Peace, and more of The Signalman (minus the ghosts).
Humans are hardwired to connect with stories. Weaving your narrative that illustrates your problem through data and shows how your solution leads to a positive outcome makes the message more engaging but also helps clarify the emotional and practical stakes of a decision.
Data-informed strategic workforce planning needn’t be a fairytale, but there is no magic wand which can make the difficult decisions any easier. However, thinking about strategic workforce planning as a data-led story offers a different way of thinking about your aspirations, your team and who you need to deliver your strategy.
Want to hear more?
At SUMS we are keen to support institutions in developing their story. If you’d like a conversation about the ideas raised here, please contact Emma Ogden or Rhiannon Birch. Emma and Rhiannon will be delivering sessions at the SUMS Annual Conference 2024. Register here today!
