Manage Workforce Planning

This report talks about various aspects of planning a workforce in the industry. This study takes the example of the construction industry of Australia and the company selected for the task is BGC Construction Group. The labour market in Australia is oversupplied with engineering workers. The governmental policies and other factors that are responsible for the labour market condition is discussed in this report. The report also stated the possible future situations in the BGC construction regarding the workforce and suggested recommendations to manage adverse situations and changes.

Running head: MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING
MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING
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MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING
Executive Summary
This report talks about various aspects of planning a workforce in the industry. This study
takes the example of the construction industry of Australia and the company selected for the
task is BGC Construction Group. This company works in both commercial and residential
constructions. The labour market in Australia is oversupplied with engineering workers. The
governmental policies and other factors that are responsible for the labour market condition is
discussed in this report. The report also stated the possible future situations in the BGC
construction regarding the workforce and suggested recommendations to manage adverse
situations and changes.

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MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Part A.............................................................................................................................3
Current Situation of the Construction Industry..........................................................3
Factors that could affect Supply of the Labours in the Construction Industry......3
Factors affecting the Labour Demands..................................................................5
Government initiatives affecting labour demand and supply................................5
Part B..............................................................................................................................6
Current Situation of the BGC Constructions.............................................................6
Organizational Requirements and Staff Diversity.................................................6
Workforce Plans and Organizational Strategy.......................................................7
Staff Turnover........................................................................................................7
Strategies for Finding Skilled labours....................................................................8
Contingency Options to Deal with Extreme Situations.........................................8
Future Situations......................................................................................................10
Changes in the Strategy........................................................................................10
Needs of the Workforce.......................................................................................11
The capacity of the Workforce to Meet Future Demands....................................11
Strategies to manage workforce issues................................................................11
Communicating the Options................................................................................11
Recommendations................................................................................................12
Conclusion....................................................................................................................12

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MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING
Bibliography.................................................................................................................14

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MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING
Introduction
The importance of labour market is undeniable in international and domestic market
dynamics. This is concerned with the demand and supply in the job markets. In this equation,
the employers provide the demands, and the employees provide supplies. The construction
industry of Australia is developing, and there are several supply and demand factors affecting
the industry. In this report, the labour market situation of BGC is discussed. BCG is
Australian Group of an industry that is interested in residential construction, production of
construction materials, Commercial Construction and other construction sectors. They started
their journey in the 1960s and have a total employee number of more than 3700.
Part A
Current Situation of the Construction Industry
Factors that could affect Supply of the Labours in the Construction Industry
The factors that impacts the labour markets of an industry are the wage rates,
government policies, unionization, research and development, career scope and safety
regulations.
 Wage rates in a country and industry influence the supply of labour. The industry
that has a reasonable or high minimum wage rate tends to attract more labours than
the low wage rate industries.
 Government policies affect the nature of demand and supply in industries. The tax
rates and wages of the industry are partially determined based on the trade and fare
rules of the governments. In the construction industry, the labour policies set by the
Australian government is quite strict, and the wage rates set by the government is also
low in some sectors.

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MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING
 Unionization influences the context of wage growth, labour safety and rights and
some other aspects. It is seen that the industry that has positive roles of the unions
have a balanced supply of the labours1. The construction industry is one of the sectors
that have multiple other segments in it. Therefore, the importance of unions is
massive in this industry of labour equations.
 Research and development is a major part of any industry that wants to flourish. The
construction industry in this country has developed much, and the technological
interventions are still impacting the scopes. The supply of skilled labours and the
nature of their efficiency is depended on research and development perspective
construction industry.
 Career Scope within an industry is a parameter for the workforce to choose a specific
sector. The construction industry requires skilled workers for its operations and has a
huge scope of career development.
 Safety regulations play an important role in the construction industry as the workers
have to work in a high-risk work environment all the time. The labours supply is,
therefore, influenced by how much safety a company could provide in given work
condition.
The construction industry of Australia has an oversupply of the labours. The increased
supply of labours in the construction industry is having a negative impact on the business
scenario. Almost 9% of the whole workforce is employed in the construction industry.
Factors affecting the Labour Demands
Factors that are affecting the demand of the labours in the construction industry are
related to the demand of the residential and other purposes constructions, technology,
1 Ertürk, Korkut. Economics of unlimited supply of labor and asymmetric power. No. 2015-01. Working Paper, 2015.

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MANAGE WORKFORCE PLANNING
Elasticity of product demand, changes in prices and wage rates. The construction industry of
Australia had rapid growth, and the demand for the labours was high. The oversupply and the
stagnant position of the industry have reduced the demand of the labours in construction.
Some of the government policies have helped to reach the oversupply position of the labour
market.
Government initiatives affecting labour demand and supply
The recent policy of the Australian government regarding Skilled Migration has
affected the labour market of the country and the industry. The migration program has
resulted in the oversupply of engineering labours in construction. The resources boom of
2004 and 2010, created a huge demand for the engineering labours in the Australian market.
The government took the decision of increasing the number of highly efficient engineering
workforce to maintain the supply and demand balance in the market2. This policy of the
government is influencing the demand side of the construction industry as it has remarkably
got down in recent years because of saturation.
Part B
Current Situation of the BGC Constructions
Organizational Requirements and Staff Diversity
The staff diversity of the company BGC construction is built in a way that addresses
the current needs of the organization3. Three important variables of staff diversity in the
company are age, culture and ethnicity and gender.
Age
2 Hawthorne, Lesleyanne. "Labour market outcomes for migrant professionals: Canada and Australia compared."
Available at SSRN 2808943 (2016).
3 Cascio, Wayne F. Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill, 2015.

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BGC has a workforce that has the employees of various age groups, from recent
graduate young people to middle and old aged people. This diversity is the staffs helped the
company to meet the requirements on the base of their experience, work enthusiasm and
attributes.
Ethnicity
This company has a diverse workforce with respect to its ethnicity. Ethnical diversity
does not compromise the work efficiency in any way4. Rather, the diverse ethnical workforce
is useful in promoting a positive work environment in BGC construction. Also, the people of
different ethnicity could cater to the demands of the client who may belong to different ethnic
culture as well.
Gender
BGC has been recruiting more women workers in their organizations. This shows the
changes in workplace traditions in construction industries.
Workforce Plans and Organizational Strategy
BGC construction is known for its departmental flexibility and time-restricted
deliveries. The company gives special importance to timely production in commercial and
residential constructions. The management structure of this company is decentralized. This
gives the supervisors freedom to take decision according to the situation and on the spot5.
This organization has recruited skilled employees so that the production time could be
minimized and maintained. The company recalls its resources for specific work from other
services of this company whenever needed. This is a smart aspect of staff management as
4 Rawat, Preeti S., and Prema Basergekar. "Managing Workplace Diversity: Performance of Minority Employees."
Indian Journal of Industrial Relations 51, no. 3 (2016).
5 Borland, Jeff, and Michael Coelli. "Labour market inequality in Australia." Economic Record 92, no. 299 (2016):
517-547.

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they could access their internal professionals every time and do not have to depend on the
unknown people.
Staff Turnover
Staff turnover in the construction industry of Australia is quite low. The statistics
show that this industry has about 8% of turnover in 2018. The staff turnover of BGC is about
6.9% in the year 2018. This amount of turnover for a reputed multidimensional company is
not high. The company has the highest turnover in its managerial staffs6.
BGC has an intact strategy to retain the employees. There is some shortage in the
supervisors and managerial staff posts. This issue could be addressed if the company takes
measure to solve the on-site issues and challenges faced by the managers.
Strategies for Finding Skilled labours
Finding skilled labours in external markets is a big challenge for any company. This
challenge could be met if a company sets its strategies for recruitment carefully.
 The company has to set a clear target for job roles and might put the job
description in the company profile. The transparency in the job requirements
would help the company to find appropriate candidates7.
 Advertising for the posts in social media and other places like LinkedIn.
 Shortlisting the most relevant candidates through CV reading and interview.
 Other than that, the company could also take help from the recruitment
agencies, partnerships and school or college compassing to get access to a
skilled workforce8.
6 "BGC Construction". 2019. Bgcconstruction.Com. http://www.bgcconstruction.com/.
7 Morgenthau, Justin J., William G. Eppler Jr, and William D. Hollingsworth. "System and interfaces for managing
workplace events." U.S. Patent Application 15/419,794, filed September 21, 2017.
8 Ingrassia, Raimondo. "Labor Market Imbalances and Personnel Recruitment." American Journal of Industrial
and Business Management 9, no. 06 (2019): 1376.

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Contingency Options to Deal with Extreme Situations
Contingency planning is an integral part of the risk management aspect of a company.
In the construction industry, there could be some extreme situation that the company need to
assess beforehand. The first step in contingency planning is to understand the risks and their
possible triggers or causes. There should be a clear mention of what an employee needs to do
in a specific situation and who is needed to be informed at the time.
Situation Person in charge of the
management
Options available
loss of a large number of
retiring personnel in a short
period of time
Team manager  The manager needs
to assess the
retirement-related
issues regularly
 They should inform
the higher authority
so that they could
start the recruitment
process as needed
Placing workers in a remote
location
Operations and logistics
department
 Arranging for
transport options
could be done.
 If necessary
employing local
skilled staffs to
manage the situation.

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Health epidemic HRM  If there is a
contagious health
issue, the source of
the problem needs to
be marked.
 If needed, the
workplace should be
evacuated, and
arrangements should
be made for the
alternative
workplace.
Table: contingency options for some extreme situations
(Source: created by the author)
Future Situations
Changes in the Strategy
BGC need to change some of its operational strategies to get better hold in its
workforce. The organizations place their focus on time and costs. Timely delivery of the
productions of the company gives it a competitive edge is the booming industry of
constructions9. Another thing that this company should take into account is the technological
advancements in the industry.
The changes that the company need to consider are based on the labour recruitments.
There is an oversupply of the engineering labours and staffs in the construction industry.
9 Agénor, Pierre-Richard, and King Yoong Lim. "Unemployment, growth and welfare effects of labor market
reforms." Journal of Macroeconomics 58 (2018): 19-38.

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BGC need to identify their needs and demands and try to recruit more skilled professionals.
Technological knowledge should be important criteria for the modification of the workforce.
Other than only concentrating on time, the company should implement more technological
interventions in its operations.
Needs of the Workforce
This organization might need to employ 50 managers and 100 supervisors for their
operations in the next two years. There is no need to recruit more on-site labours. The
company could also recruit some IT professional for their online advertisements and other
technical supports.
The capacity of the Workforce to Meet Future Demands
BGC has more than 3500 employees employed in different sections. As the company
works in both residential and commercial constructions, the scope of this business is huge.
The company is able to satisfy its consumers with their timely deliveries of projects. To judge
from this context, this company is working quite efficiently. But the enhancing demands in
the construction industry could pass some challenge to the company if they do not enhance
their productions. In that scenario, there might be some need for recruiting more skilled
workforce and achieve higher targets.
Strategies to manage workforce issues
The labour oversupply in the civil and other engineering industries has impacted the
BGC workforce as well. The company need to have a refined recruitment process so that it
could appoint the most efficient workers. The HRM should post an advertisement for their
posts of managers and supervisors. The workforces should be trained to adapt to the changes
in the company, like working with new machinery and technology.

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Communicating the Options
The workers in the site of construction should have constant contact with the
managers and authorities. The on-site communication could be done through announcements
or personal interactions. While the other changes could be communicated to the employees
through meetings, training, email and social media postings10.
Recommendations
 The company should apply more technological tools and communicative
interventions in their operations.
 To gain a competitive advantage in the market, the company could think of
implementing green construction in its works. This will enhance their CSR
impact and reputation.
 Training of the workforce to work in an integrated way in changed conditions
is most needed.
 Communication, the reason and context of changes to the employees, is
another important thing that the company should take care of.
 Using new and improved tools for construction is recommended. This will not
only reduce the work time; at the same time, it would increase production and
workers safety at the same time.
Conclusion
The workforce in any organization plays a central role in production and reputation.
The construction industry in Australia is continuously growing, and it is evolving rapidly.
The demand of the consumers is changing, which is casting an impact on the nature of
workforce management in the industry. This could be concluded from the above discussion
10 Agénor, Pierre-Richard, and King Yoong Lim. "Unemployment, growth and welfare effects of labor market
reforms." Journal of Macroeconomics 58 (2018): 19-38.

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that BGC needs to change some of its operational methods to get more profits. The company
could gain an advantage if it updates its functions using recent technological methods and
tools. Green construction is a new concept which is quite famous in the industry. BGC could
perform better if it manages to overcome the challenges of labour markets in this industry.

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Bibliography
"BGC Construction". 2019. Bgcconstruction.Com. http://www.bgcconstruction.com/.
Agénor, Pierre-Richard, and King Yoong Lim. "Unemployment, growth and welfare
effects of labor market reforms." Journal of Macroeconomics 58 (2018): 19-38.
Borland, Jeff, and Michael Coelli. "Labour market inequality in Australia." Economic
Record 92, no. 299 (2016): 517-547.
Cascio, Wayne F. Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill, 2015.
Ertürk, Korkut. Economics of unlimited supply of labor and asymmetric power. No. 2015-
01. Working Paper, 2015.
Hawthorne, Lesleyanne. "Labour market outcomes for migrant professionals: Canada and
Australia compared." Available at SSRN 2808943 (2016).
Ingrassia, Raimondo. "Labor Market Imbalances and Personnel Recruitment." American
Journal of Industrial and Business Management 9, no. 06 (2019): 1376.
Morgenthau, Justin J., William G. Eppler Jr, and William D. Hollingsworth. "System and
interfaces for managing workplace events." U.S. Patent Application 15/419,794, filed
September 21, 2017.
Rawat, Preeti S., and Prema Basergekar. "Managing Workplace Diversity: Performance
of Minority Employees." Indian Journal of Industrial Relations 51, no. 3 (2016).