Case Study
Critical Role Identification, Succession Planning and Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP)
The Question?
Why did a major Asian conglomerate in one of their fast-growing entities involved in copper smelting and refining, select Advanced Workforce Strategies (AWS) for identifying Critical Roles and developing a Strategic Workforce Plan?
The Business Scenario
This entity was a major processor and manufacturer of copper in an increasingly high demand industry because of the transition to ‘all things electric’. The company was about to embark on a major investment and upgrade to double its current copper production facilities, plus downstream processing to secure its supply chain.
Note. This entity employs around 5,000 staff, and has a high degree of Uniqueness, meaning that it needs to train and develop people from within. The external market is very limited in terms of the supply of experienced and available talent.
The Company wanted to identify the Critical Roles in their organisation and undertake development of a Strategic Workforce Planning to ensure the capability of their current and future workforce needs. Following a global search, Advanced Workforce Strategies was selected to assist.
Why Advanced Workforce Strategies (AWS)?
AWS has developed the Skills Segmentation Questionnaire (SSQ) and role mapping tool, based on Lepak and Snell’s workforce segmentation model – the most prominent conceptual model in the theory of HRM architecture.
Amongst other things, the SSQ is able to identify and map Critical and Ultra-Critical Roles – separating opinion and politics from objectivity. The availability of this unique tool was a significant factor in their selection decision-making.
The developer of the SSQ is Colin Beames, a former civil engineer and now business psychologist, with a deep understanding of human capital and HR analytics. He is regarded as a global expert in these fields.
Our Mission
- There were 45 Ultra-critical and 76 Critical roles identified from the SSQ analysis, together with another 40 Specialist roles Note. Specialist roles have a high level of unique skills that require a longer time on-the -job to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge, but these roles are of lower value. They do not require succession planning as such – only coverage or backup.
- Future talent needs were quantified by workforce segment, taking into account projected turnover, retirements, new roles with the proposed expansion, etc.
- An assessment was then made of key talent risk, including the availability and readiness from within
- A significant finding was that the existing organisation structure was able to accommodate the proposed expansion by increasing spans of control, without having to add additional layers to the organisation (i.e., hierarchy), thus preserving organisational agility Note. Hierarchy is the enemy of agility!
- Existing talent development pipelines and programs were ramped up to meet the estimated demand
- Strategies were adopted to minimise the time required on-the-job to acquire the necessary practical skills and knowledge for various roles (i.e., to minimise uniqueness), and fast-track development from within
Note. Because of confidentiality requirements and the sensitive nature of some of the findings, further specific details about the company and key findings cannot be disclosed.
For Further Information
Please go to the AWS website and contact Colin Beames to discuss how AWS can assist in meeting your organisation’s needs.
