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Start Strategic Personnel Planning

07 juli 2022

Strategic Personnel Planning at Argos

Where do we as Argos want to be in 3 years and what trends and economic developments are coming our way that we can anticipate? And what impact does this have on our services? What will our workforce look like in 3 years' time as a result of, for example, the arrival and departure of new employees, ageing and the growth of Argos? All kinds of questions that we ask ourselves more and more since we started Strategic Personnel Planning (SPP) at the beginning of this year.

What is Strategic Workforce Planning?

You see a change taking place in recruiting, selecting and retaining staff at more and more large organisations. By implementing Strategic Personnel Planning, we look at who and what an organisation needs to achieve the set objectives. Is everyone ready for the future plans of our organisation? Is this not the case? What is needed to prepare our current employees for the steps that are yet to come and to ensure that we as an organisation are prepared for the future.

Over the past few years, Argos has grown rapidly in various areas. This growth has called for further professionalisation of the organisation in terms of knowledge and skills, but also in the way we operate. Mandy Graaf, HR Manager at Argos, therefore initiated Strategic Personnel Planning at the beginning of this year to, for instance, identify bottlenecks for now, but above all the bottlenecks that we will have to deal with in the coming years in view of our ambitions. “By looking at our organisation in this way, our management can properly indicate to employees what awaits them in the coming period, what it means for their position and what opportunities this offers for further development”, says Mandy.

Last January, Mandy presented the action plan for SPP to management. “The board, the MT and our manager have all responded very positively to the plan presented and support for SPP is very clear. By making it transparent and practical for everyone, the added value is also clearly visible. It is THE right tool for Argos at the moment. With a very tight labour market and new generations entering the labour market, it is very important to distinguish yourself as an organisation. It is no longer just about working. The employees have ambitions and want to develop themselves, both personally and within their current position. In addition, our organisation also has certain goals and ambitions. All of this has to fit together."

With Strategic Personnel Planning, we as an organisation can prevent or solve bottlenecks in terms of staffing and deployment. This makes us more agile as the workforce can adapt faster and better to developments that occur. Furthermore, we have less unexploited talent because the talents and ambitions of our employees are better matched with the needs of the organisation. In short, it helps us to ensure that the right people are in the right place in a more future-oriented way. But with Strategic Personnel Planning, some parts of our organisation are also going to run differently from what our people might be used to. “At Argos, we go out of our way every day to provide our customers with the necessary packaging and protective materials. This way of working has brought our organisation to where we are today. However, as we grow, so do the challenges. With Strategic Personnel Planning we are challenged to look further ahead and to investigate what we need to achieve the set goals together. This allows us to better anticipate certain situations".

Also Frans van Alphen</a >, director of Argos Packaging & Protection is very satisfied with the steps taken by HR. “We are preparing for the future. Ensure that we further develop our employees in terms of knowledge and skills so that we are all ready for what our customers will ask of us in the future. We also challenge our employees to further develop themselves and pursue their ambitions.”

Would you like to spar with our HR specialist Mandy about implementing Strategic Personnel Planning or are you curious about her experiences so far? Great! Mandy is happy to share her knowledge. Contact her at LinkedIn or m.graaf@argos.nu.