Six Steps Methodology to Integrated Workforce Planning

Step 4 - Understanding Workforce Availability

Are you considering your healthcare workforce plans? The Six Steps Methodology to Integrated Workforce Planning can help.

Step 4 of the methodology, developed by Skills for Health – Workforce Projects Team, describes the existing workforce in the areas under consideration, its existing skills and deployment, and assessing any problem areas arising from its age profile or turnover.

Users creating a workforce plan will also need to forecast what turnover, vacancies and recruitment patterns they anticipate, and what may impact on this even without service change, for example the Working Time Directive. They also need to consider the initiatives for retention, retraining, recruitment and redeployment, and how these can be realistically developed.

Workforce Projects Team have developed a range of resources and tools to help users and work alongside Step 4. These include the Workforce Supply Tool, the Service Reconfiguration Tool and the WTD Rota Database.