Our sector faces significant workforce challenges. However, this crisis presents a prime opportunity for transformation. To navigate these issues and secure a sustainable future, Executive Leaders and HR professionals must develop strategic workforce plans using diverse data sources and methodologies. This presentation explores how to create an effective workforce plan by leveraging strategic planning, workforce analytics and employee feedback data.

Many organisations understandably get stuck in a cycle of reactively applying tactical workforce solutions, addressing immediate issues like unexpected turnover and rostering challenges. However, the lack of proactive strategic planning limits the success and sustainability of these efforts.

Strategic workforce planning involves forecasting future needs, assessing current capabilities, and developing strategies to bridge gaps. By aligning workforce initiatives with organisational goals, leaders can ensure their workforce is prepared to meet both current and future demands.

Workforce analytics provide critical insights into trends, productivity, and performance, enabling informed decisions that enhance workforce management. Understanding the Employee Experience (EX) is key to developing targeted initiatives that improve staff attraction, engagement and retention, and ultimately deliver exceptional quality care.

In an environment flooded with data (and overwhelm), knowing how to use data effectively is crucial. We will share trends and common recommendations that emerge from workforce plans for providers in aged and community care across Australia, and delve into how EX Data, from well-designed feedback surveys, combined with AI technologies, is vital to enhancing workforce planning.
We explore how to turn data overload and overwhelm into impactful action, leading to less trial-and-error ideas and more measurable improvement on staff engagement and retention.

By harnessing the power of EX data at key stages of the employee life cycle, providers can transform how they address workforce challenges. Insights at these stages provide a crucial full picture:
-Engagement Surveys highlight areas of strong employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction
-Onboarding Surveys inform new employees’ needs and reduce “quick quitting”
-Pulse surveys provide in-the-moment feedback on current issues and staff needs
-Exit Interviews identify turnover causes and improvement opportunities.

This evidence-based data driven approach to workforce planning helps identify trends, predict challenges, and ensure alignment with broader organisational goals, to make well informed, proactive strategic decisions.

As the aged care sector embraces the “Age of Excellence”, it’s essential we have best practice workforce planning to enhance the stability and performance of our workforce, positioning providers, and our sector as a whole, as agile, forward-thinking Employers of Choice.