As Director of Sales for Infohrm, I have the opportunity to talk with many companies who have varying degrees of interest in Workforce Reporting, Planning and Analytics. One of the trends that I have noticed during this recent economy is that many of the companies who need good information the most are having the toughest time gathering support for new analytics and planning initiatives. Ironically, one of the reasons why companies can’t take a fresh look at reporting is that they are too busy doing things the old way or can’t show the value of good analytics because they don’t have good analytics. Lack of budget remains one of the major issues as well.
Well, with the New Year right around the corner, I thought I would post a head start on New Year’s resolutions with one of my favorite analogies from Covey’s “7 Habits”; Sharpen the Saw. Covey uses the story of a wood cutter with a looming deadline who starts sawing faster and faster but makes less and less progress. The answer, of course, is to stop, sharpen the saw, and then finish; sawing with a sharp blade will allow you to finish in a fraction of the time it would take with a dull blade; even factoring in the time it took to sharpen. In my opinion, his point is that sometimes the answer is counter-intuitive. Going on a crash diet, for example, signals a starvation response in the body triggering the storage of more fat in the adipose tissue. This idea is more of a life lesson, but I was fascinated at how well it applied to Workforce Planning and Analytics. Companies hardest hit by the recent economy are trying to reorganize their workforces to adapt. Surprisingly, they are doing so in a vacuum of solid workforce data.
The moral of the story? Take the time necessary upfront, to plan and determine how to work more efficiently — the true essence of Workforce Planning. OK, I will step down from my soapbox since I need to figure out what needs sharpening at my office and at home. Hmmm, maybe I should read Steven Covey’s, “7 Habits of highly effective people” again.