Workforce Planning for NetApp: A Comprehensive Approach to Meeting Business Goals

This document outlines a comprehensive workforce plan for NetApp, a leading software company in Australia. The plan addresses key aspects of workforce planning, including data analysis, strategic development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. It also explores strategies for attracting, retaining, and developing a skilled and diverse workforce, while considering the impact of global trends and industry challenges. The plan incorporates best practices and relevant legislation to ensure compliance and effectiveness.

BSBHRM513
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Table of Contents
Skills and Knowledge Activity..............................................................................................................3
Major Activity.......................................................................................................................................8
Workforce Plan..................................................................................................................................8
Questions.............................................................................................................................................11
References...........................................................................................................................................20
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Skills and Knowledge Activity
Choose an organisation.
The organisation that has been chosen by the author in order to outline the skills required in
the TESCO. TESCO is a leading retail manufacturer in the industry of UK and has diverse
business in various parts of the world such as USA, Australia etc. In this activity, the business
industry of Australia has been considered.
Outline the skill requirements of the organisation.
The skill requirements of the company have been stated below as follows:
 Communication: It is required that the employees of the company have effective
verbal as well as nonverbal communication skills. These skills can help them to
express themselves in a clear and efficient manner.
 Teamwork: It is also required by TESCO that the employees of the company have
effective team leading and managing skills. This helps in early and successful
completion of the tasks.
 Analysis and investigation: As the background of the company are technical in
nature, it is required that the workers of the company are able to effectively identify
and analyse the issues such that not only these issues can be solved but smooth
working can be ensured (Sanghi, 2016).
Outline the relevant industrial relations.
The industrial relations can be identified as the entitlements and obligations that are related to
work and are set between the employers and the employees of the company. In the business
industry of Australia, the industrial relations are governed by the Fair Work Act 2009 and the
Queensland Industrial relations Act 2016. These acts administer the work relations for public,
private as well as for the local government sector. The relations that are included in the Fair
Work Commission have been stated below as follows:
 Minimum wages
 Awards and agreements
 Industrial relation
 Dispute resolution (Regan & Lee, 2015)
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On the other hand, the relations that have been included in the Queensland Industrial
Relations have been stated below as follows:
 Ending employment
 Employee awards and entitlements
 Flexible working arrangements
 Anti-discrimination and equal opportunity
 Apart from this, various other relations such as public holidays, retail trading hours
etc. are also included in this (Watson, 2017).
Demonstrate forecasting techniques for your chosen organisation.
In order to forecast the labour demand in the company, it has been identified that TESCO
uses qualitative and quantitative techniques for the same which enables the company to
identify the requirements of labour in specific areas. Apart from these techniques various
other techniques that the company uses have been stated below as follows:
 Trend Analysis: In this technique, the historical data of staffing is analysed in order
to make the predictions of the future. This helps in creating a relationship between
past and future needs of staffing.
 Ratio Analysis: Ratio Analysis is the technique used by companies which have a
historical staffing data of less than 5 years. Here the elements called casual factors are
analysed in order to forecast future needs.
 Supply forecasting: Techniques of supply forecasting helps I identification of the
candidates that are competent and are effectively able to fill the demands of the
company. Here the charts are made which is inclusive of a hierarchical diagram which
is inclusive of the information in reference to employee performance, education and
identification of how ready an employee is to move upward in position (Sing et. al.,
2016).
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Put down on paper an outline of a 5-minute oral presentation on the above.
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Major Activity
Workforce Plan
Overview
The workforce plan provided below has been developed taking into consideration the
workforce requirements of Net App which has been identified as one of the rapidly
developing software company in the business environment of Australia. This workforce plan
will effectively help the company in the identification and fulfil of the workforce needs.
Background:
It has been identified that the operations of a company are continuous in nature and it is
required by the company to align the needs and priorities with the workforce such that the
company is able to meet its organisational, legislative, service, production and regulatory
objectives and goals in an effective and efficient manner.
Workforce planning:
It has been identified that in the Human Resource department of the company, the workforce
planning is the most important process as it helps the company to identify the shortage o
talent in the company and fill it with competent personnel. The workforce planning in
NetApp is majorly based on the forecasting methods (Bruecker et. al., 2015).
Purpose:
It has been identified that NetApp is majorly dealing in the technical fields and requires
personnel with the strong technical background., the workforce planning can not only help
the company in effective identification of the workforce but also helps in ensuring smooth
and effective management in the company with effective achievement of organisational
goals.
Goals and Objectives:
The main goals and objective of workforce planning in the context of NetApp have been
stated below as follows:
 Identification of weak areas and effective fulfilment of the same.
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 To ensure recruitment of required and competent personnel.
 To ensure that organisational goals and objectives are achieved.
 To reduce the employee turnover ratio and ensure proper and effective development
of employees.
The strategic workforce planning process
In the strategic workforce planning process, the company uses a five-step process which
helps the company to fulfil the job requirements. These steps are:
 Ensuring the business plan is effective and recruitments are done in accordance with
the plan
 Identifying the requirements of the business and accordingly searching for the human
resource.
 Ensuring a rigorous hiring process in discussion with stakeholders such that only
competent personnel are hired (Cascio, 2018).
Data collection and analysis:
In order to collect the data about the workforce requirements of the company, the manager of
the company undertakes an internal and external scan of the workforce requirements such
that the job positions can be created and fulfilled. The technique of PESTLE and SWOT
analysis is used (Lewis, 2015).
Strategic Development:
In order to identify the key gaps in the data analysis and methods, the tool of critical
evaluation is used by the manager of the company. In this the manager analyses the key
expectation with the current performance of the strategy. Apart from this, to fulfil the gaps in
data analysis, the managers of company ensure effective placement of human resources.
Implementation:
The HR manager of the company would be the one responsible for the implementation of
strategies and to report the development of the project, the employees are required to report
either to the project manager or to the HR manager of the company (Cascio, 2018).
Project Governance:
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Usually provided as an organisational chart, all senior management and project managers are
displayed so key personnel can identify who they need to report to.
The project would be governed by the project manager of the company and also by the
stakeholders of the company. The implementation of strategies should be done by the HR of
company and progress o project is required to be reported to the key stakeholders.
Monitor and evaluation:
The evaluation of the work plan would be done in accordance with the organisational
objectives and goals. If the plan helps the company in effective achievement of goals, it will
be considered as successful and effective for the company. The monitoring would be done on
a continuing basis and the gaps would be effectively identified and fulfilled by the project
management team working in the NetApp (Boulmetis & Dutwin, 2014).
Implementation Policy:
The implementation of the policy would be done by the HR manager of the company in all
the levels of the management. The monitoring of implementation would be done by the
department heads of the respective areas of the company.
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Questions
1. Review current data on staff turnover and demographics.
It has been identified that the retention and development techniques used by company are
effective due to which the employee turnover ratio is very low. The demographics of the
company are comparatively young and the persons that have been appointed by the company
majorly lie between the age group of 22-37 years. The demographics are inclusive of both male
and female employees.
2. Assess factors that may affect workforce supply.
There are various factors in the internal and external environment f the company which may
have a significant impact on the workforce supply in NetApp. These factors have been stated
below as follows:
 Goodwill of the company in market
 The industrial trends in reference to labour relations
 The facilities and growth opportunities that are being provided by the company
 Relations of the company with the employees (Patrick et. al., 2016).
3. Establish the organisation’s requirements for a skilled and diverse workforce.
In order to have a skilled and diverse workforce, the NetApp has several requirements which
are required to be fulfilled in an effectively. These requirements have been stated below as
follows:
 Communication: It is required by the employees of the company to have effective and
efficient verbal and non-verbal communication skills which help them to convey the
information in a better manner.
 Leadership skills and teamwork: It has been identified that the employees that have
effective leadership and teamwork skills tend to drive the efforts of other employees
towards completion of the goals. This leadership and teamwork effectively help the
company to achieve the objectives.
 Awareness: As the working of the company is technical in nature which makes it
important for the company to ensure that the employees are updated with recent trends
and development in the industry which also helps in improvement of their performance
(Ozbilgin et. al., 2016).
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4. What objectives should you use to modify or to retain the workforce? Why choose
these objectives?
In order to retain the workforce the objectives of the company would be to ensure the
achievement of organisation objectives along with the satisfaction of the employees. for this
purpose, the company will make sure that the employees are being praised and recognised for
the performance. Apart from this, the company will also provide some financial and non-
financial benefits to the employees to ensure their motivation and participation in the
organisational activities
5. There has been a recent level of high turnover. Develop a tool that can be used to
assist in identifying the cause of the turnover. Make a recommendation on how to
minimise the possible reason for the turnover and how you can minimise it.
In order to determine a high level of turnover, the technique of data analysis would be used by
the management of the company. The Turnover Ratio would be used for this. This will be done
by dividing the number of employees left in one month by the number of employees that are
active currently. Company has decided to develop a form which will be fulfilled by the
employee stating the reason for their resign. This will help in identification of the issue.
6. Define how you would reach your objectives to retain required skilled labour.
In order to retain a required amount of the skilled labour, the technique of employee motivation
and appraisal would be used by the company. This will help the company to ensure the
indulgence of employees in the organisational activities (Brown & Koettl, 2015).
7. What is diversity? Why should it be implemented in your workplace?
What diversity legislation should you be aware of? Complete a sample diversity plan
with your answer in consideration.
Diversity in the workplace can be identified as the environment which is inclusive of various
employees of different sex, race, ethnicity, religion, personality and cognitive style. Diversity in
the workplace helps the company in increasing adaptability; get a variety of viewpoints on the
topic, helps in broadening of the service range and also helps company to maintain better
goodwill in the market (Al-Jenaibi, 2017).
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Image: Diversity plan of NetApp
Image source: By Author
8. Define strategies to source skilled labour in your chosen field.
In order to source the skilled labour for the purpose of filling the job roles, the company will
make use of the external and internal sourcing methods/ the internal sourcing will be done by
the collaborative efforts of the marketing and the HR department of the company.
9. Who are the stakeholders and how should objectives be communicated to them?
The stakeholders of the company are the investors of company, the employees, and the
customers. In order to communicate the objectives to them the company will be using the
technique of making available the financial statements to the stakeholders which will be
inclusive of the key goals and objectives of the company.
10. How will you obtain agreement for objectives and established targets? Draw a flow
chart suggesting the organisational process.
In order to obtain the agreement for the objectives and the established targets of the company,
the HR of company will make sure that the employees o company are aware of the same and
are willing to work in order to attain those targets. It is essential for the employees of the
company to link their personal goals with the organisational goals of the company.
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Prepare
Assess
PlanImplement
Evaluate
and
improve

Image: Organisational process of Net App
Image source: Odhq.net. (2018)
11. What contingency plans should we make? Why?
Contingency plan for the workforce planning is an essential step in ensuring the smooth
working of the company. The contingency plans for the company should be made because it
helps the company to ensure its working even if an employee leaves. The contingency plan for
the same should be to develop the employees of a company such that they are able to work in
various fields and are able to fulfil extra job requirements needed.
12. Using a flow chart, design a procedure to action objectives for training, re-deployment
and redundancy.
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Image: Action Objectives Process in NetApp
Image Source: By Author
13. Draw up a plan in which management can assist staff cope with change. Your
organisation’s owner believes that there will be a lot of growth. Draw up the plan
outline to reflect that growth.
In the change management plan, there are various steps that should be considered by the
company in order to manage the change in the organisation. The steps in the change
management plan have been stated below as follows:
 Step 1: Create the urgency for the change
 Step 2: Form a powerful team to implement the change in the organisation.
 Step 3: Develop the plan and conceptualise the vision for the change
 Step 4: Communicate the plan to the stakeholders of the company
 Step 5: Create short-term goals and milestones and check if they are being achieved
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Action objectives
Training
To ensure proper and
smooth working of the
employees.
To ensure that the
personal as well as
professional development
of the employees is
ensured.
Re-deployment
This will be done to fill
other areas of the
company in case there is
shortage of workforce
Redundancy
Training of employees is
provided in various fields
and in case of
redundancy, th
employees will be shifted
to other departments on
a temporary basis.

 Step 6: Give the power to the employees to suggest changes in the plan to increase
efficiency
 Step 7: Identify the suggestions and analyse them to further enhance the plan.
 Step 8: Implement the changes in the corporate culture and the environment of the
company (Gollenia, 2016)
14. Develop a strategy to help assist in meeting the workforce diversity goals of the
organisation.
In order to meet the diversity goals of the company, the strategy that should be undertaken by
the company should be in recruiting the employees from various backgrounds. This can be
done by the method of external sourcing. This can also be done by the method of ensuring
international recruits.
15. Draw up a basic succession planning procedure using previous research as a way to
planning the succession.
Succession planning can be identified as the procedure in which the new competent personnel
of the company replace the old leaders. The procedure of succession planning is stated below as
follows:
1. Identification of the positions available
2. Identification of various competencies of the current workforce of the company
3. Analysing various succession management strategies and implementation of the best
4. Document the succession management plan
5. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the plan (Denker et. al., 2015).
16. What program/s would you recommend the employer of choice to offer based on the
current profession your organisation is working in?
The programme that would be recommended to the company in order to effectively manage
and plan the workforce would be the Management Information System. This would not only
help in effective and efficient management but will also help to analyse the employment trends.
17. Review exit interview and refine for future workforce demand changes.
The exit interview of the company is qualitative in nature and is required to be quantitative too.
The company should prepare a form that should be fulfilled by the employees of the company
such that the main reason for the employee to leave the company can be effectively identified.
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18. What may be areas of possible difficulty in your profession? Outline strategies in how
to overcome these problems from the external market.
The difficulty in this profession can be majorly faced with the technological development and
technological disruption which have the potential to disrupt the current practices in the
industry. In order to cope up with the same, the company is required to be updated about these
developments and implement them in the organisational practices if possible to gain a
competitive advantage in the market (Beer et. al., 2016).
19. What effects will labour trends have on demand for labour in your industry? How
would you refine your procedures to take into account these changes? Why?
The labour trends can have major positive and negative impacts on the trends of the industry. If
the labour of the industry are on high demand and are not easily available, this can imply huge
financial implication on the company and if the labour is readily and easily available, the
company can save huge costs on the recruitment process. Also if the labour is easily available,
the company have various options to choose from. In order to cope up with these changes, the
company should work on the method of effective and efficient employee retention (Fincher,
2014).
20. What is the organisation’s organisational climate and how can you gauge employer
satisfaction. Design an example of the tool you recommend.
The organisational climate in the company has been identified to be positive and the company
has also ensured the maintenance of cultural diversity which has majorly helped the company
in ensuring an enhanced goodwill in the market. In order to ensure the satisfaction the toll of
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giving the employees with financial and non-financial benefits should be considered.
Image: Benefit offered by NetApp
Image source: By Author
21. Recommend changes in light of the global trends or incidents that will have or do have
an impact on Australia.
The global trends and factors that may have a concerning and huge impact on the Australian
business industry is the BREXIT, the Gulf War and the Economic Depression in the Middle
East and the West.
22. Are there any policies that you should consider? Why? What impact will they have?
Various policies are required to be considered in the workforce planning.
In the business industry of Australia, the industrial relations are governed by the Fair Work
Act 2009 and the Queensland Industrial relations Act 2016. These acts administer the work
relations for public, private as well as for the local government sector. The relations that are
included in the Fair Work Commission have been stated below as follows:
 Minimum wages
 Awards and agreements
 Industrial relation
 Dispute resolution (Regan & Lee, 2015)
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Employee
Satisfaction
Benefits
Monetary Non-
Monetary

On the other hand the relations that have been included in the Queensland Industrial
Relations have been stated below as follows:
 Ending employment
 Employee awards and entitlements
 Flexible working arrangements
 Anti-discrimination and equal opportunity
 Apart from this, various other relations such as public holidays, retail trading hours
etc. are also included in this (Watson, 2017).
If the company will follow these rules and regulation, not only the company will be able to
avoid the intervention of the government but will also ensure maximum satisfaction of the
employees.
23. Draw up at least one tool that is a measure of the effectiveness of change processes
against agreed objectives. What is the purpose of using environmental scanning in the
development of your plan? What skills should in include in the gap analysis?
The tool that is used by the company to measure the effectiveness of change management
process is critical evaluation and monitoring. This helps the company to identify the current
position in reference to the actual expectations. The environmental planning in the development
of the plan helps the manager to develop and implement the plan in accordance with the
external and internal environment of the business which further enhances the impact of the plan
in a positive manner. In the gap analysis, there are various skills required with the manager
such as problem-solving skills, critical analysis skills and technical skills respectively.
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References
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