Workforce planning in the APS (Part 3) - The discourse around WP

However, a review of the literature indicated that workforce planning is a discursive practice shaped by historical forces.

For example, in 2001 the ANAO wrote that “Workforce planning, human resource (HR) planning, strategic human resource planning, even manpower planning–the phrases are often used interchangeably–is a continuous process of shaping the workforce to ensure that it is capable of delivering organisational objectives now and in the future” (ANAO, p. 1). Setting aside the definition of workforce planning for a moment, it is important to investigate terminology, as it is not as benign as the ANAO would suggest:

• manpower planning is terminology that appears to have germinated in the United States of America (USA) during World War II, when the Manpower Commission required businesses to report on staffing levels and requirements to ensure that the war effort was not compromised by shortfalls (Cappelli, 2009). The term was then in common use until the 1970s and 80s, when feminist theory and the appearance of more women in the paid workforce meant raised consciousness about the use of gendered language (Ehrlich, 2004).
• human resource planning came from the USA in the 1980s, and reflected a view that employees are a tangible resources or commodities that could be understood and planned for (Van Riper, 2007). 
• strategic human resource planning is a term that emerged from the USA in the late 1990s in an endeavour to integrate human resource management into business strategy and planning as a way of adding value and “gaining a seat at the table” (Ulrich, 1997; Jacobson, Sowa & Lambright, 2013; House of Commons Health Committee, cited in Curson et al, 2009; Cotton, 2007, cited in Colley & Price, 2010).
• human capital planning is a term that reflects an understanding that human beings are “assets to be valued and strategically managed to maximise their usefulness” (Wright, Coff & Moliterno, 2014, p. 42).
• workforce shaping is a term echoed in the ANAO’s 2001 definition, and is “a conscious effort to use human resource management tools to change the characteristics of the workforce in a purposeful way” (RAND, quoted by Trice & Bertelli, 2011, pp. 19-20).
• capability planning is terminology commonly used in the context of defence and security (De Spiegeleire, 2011; Bui, Barlow & Abass, 2009). De Spiegeleire argues that the term has risen in defence planning since 2000, replacing what was formerly known as operational planning. Whereas operational planning is mission specific and examines a small number of contingencies, capability planning is more strategic and looks at the appropriate capabilities to fulfil a particular goal in the shortest time period with minimal cost and at an acceptable level of risk (Bui et al, 2009). The focus of capability planning is resources such as people and materiel (i.e. machinery and facilities), and, more recently, aspects such as doctrine, training and leadership (De Spiegeleire, 2011, p. 21).