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Where Have All The Workers Gone? Exploring Public Sector Workforce Planning
Author(s) -
Colley Linda,
Price Robin
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
australian journal of public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-8500
pISSN - 0313-6647
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8500.2010.00676.x
Subject(s) - workforce , workforce planning , agency (philosophy) , business , public sector , service delivery framework , human resources , economic shortage , public relations , public service , service (business) , economic growth , marketing , economics , political science , management , government (linguistics) , sociology , social science , linguistics , philosophy , economy
Governments undertake extensive planning of many services and functions, but tend to neglect planning of public service workforces. Disruptions to public service delivery, such as shortages of nurses and doctors, have rejuvenated interest in workforce planning, but many organisations struggle to do it effectively. This historical study examines the capacity of central personnel agencies to predict workforce risks and support workforce planning, using a study of the Queensland public service. It identifies lack of workforce data as a barrier to effective workforce planning, as a result of factors such as changes in the direction of the central personnel agency, lack of appreciation for the value of comprehensive central workforce data, and limited agency human resource (HR) skills or capacity.