Workforce Planning in the APS (Part 5): WP in public health sector

There is plentiful evidence of workforce planning occurring in public health sector (Crettenden, McCarty, Fenech, Heywood, Taitz & Tudman, 2014; Schiffbauer, O’Brien, Timmons & Kiarie, 2008; Australian Health Workforce Advisory Committee and Australian Medical Workforce Advisory Committee, 2005, quoted in Curson et al, 2009, p. 114). Nonetheless, the United Kingdom’s Workforce Review Team has cast doubt about workforce planning effectiveness. The Team conducted a ‘rapid review’ of global literature to identify workforce planning best practice, and concluded that no health organisation could be held up as a best practice exemplar of all workforce planning aspects. Further, that the “workforce planning practice evidence-base would be informed by further evaluative and comparative studies” (2009, Curson et al, p. 117).   

The consideration of workforce planning in the public health sector is important because it raises the issue of context. Could it be that workforce planning is at least happening in the public health sector because of the nature of the work undertaken there (i.e. the delivery of health services to patients), the specialised professions that work in the system, and/or because of the connection between funding, patient numbers, and employees?

This investigation made me wonder about the context I was working in - just where had workforce planning come from? Why was workforce planning held to be so important, especially at this point in history? My literature review showed that there was scant (and I'm being generous here!) empirical evidence of its effectiveness in the public sector, so why was it being promoted? 

I was working in a large agency at the time, and consultants were brought in to undertake strategic workforce planning (the APSC defines 'strategic workforce planning' as having a 3-5 year time span. 'Operational working force planning', on the other hand, has a timeframe under 3 years). If we have elections in Australia every three years, and this means a new Government, or a revised existing Government, what does this policy change mean for our workforces? Could it be that our democratic parliamentary system is affecting workforce planning effectiveness? And what about the current push to become agile, nimble, mobile, innovative? Could it be that our linear and often lengthy workforce planning process are just not in-step/in-tune with the environment in which we work? 

Lots of questions, lots of thinking. 

Stay tune for the next part of the story - this time about the quantitive research methods course and how it influenced me