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Horizon scanning is an integral part of workforce planning and when used as a business tool can really help inform both operational and more strategic planning
Horizon scanning is sometimes called an organisation’s antenna. It is a systematic approach to gathering, understanding and using ‘signals’ and emerging trends to test our current workforce planning assumptions and help us rehearse our strategic and operational response to different future realities.
This basic horizon scanning template can be adapted for anyone creating or developing a scanning approach to informing workforce planning activities.
Download: toolkit / touchpoint-five.docxThe Horizon Scanning Programme Team at the Cabinet Office, UK Government, published a handy toolkit and guide which can be adapted for anyone wanting to use a wide range of futures techniques to consider the shape of the workforce in the future. It covers, among other things, horizon scanning, scenario planning, visioning and driver analysis.
Centre for Workforce Intelligence, Future Demand for Skills report highlights interim findings from Horizon 2035, a key piece of work to help consider how a series of challenges and opportunities may combine in the future and impact the health, public health and social care workforce.
In 2012, Scotland’s Futures Forum used an interesting scanning approach to test scenarios on the changing nature of education.
This Future Risk and Opportunities Toolkit developed by the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (Iriss) provides a range of tools and methods to assist in the identifying and development of future risks and opportunities.
The SSSC produces workforce data, information and intelligence for employers and other stakeholders that supports the development of the sector. This intelligence, including workforce profiles and trends can support organisations in their workforce planning activity.
Planning for the future by the Scottish Social Services Council is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on a work at http://learn.sssc.uk.com.