Strategic workforce planning in the Irish public sector

Across the Irish public sector, we are seeing an increasing motivation for organisations to modernise the way they are approaching their workforce plan. Internal drivers include recruitment, retention and talent development. External drivers include changing user needs, the impact of technology on service delivery, regulations and health and public safety requirements. 

At KPMG, our Irish and Australian consulting firms have been working closely together over the last year to establish global thought leadership and applied best practice in the area of strategic workforce planning. In this article, Conor McCarthy and Tania Kuklina from our Irish People and Change team (together with Paul Bayly Jones and Meaghan D’Arcy from our Australian firm) seek to examine some of this best practice in the context of the Irish public service.

Prepare for evolving ways of working

When COVID-19 hit, agencies and organisations had to rethink digital transformation as they shifted to virtual service delivery overnight. Shifting business and operating models, and the digital technologies that support them, create new roles and ways of working that demand new skills and capabilities. Some of the more proactive approaches involve:

• Undertaking strategic workforce planning across multiyear time horizons 
• Exploring new ways to compete for talent (buy, build, borrow, bot) 
• Starting your strategic workforce plan with a compelling employee value proposition.

Plan your digital workforce

Identify the digital capabilities employees will need in the future:

• Digital technologists: experience and knowledge of cloud, artificial intelligence (Al), and automation, as well as blockchain, robotic process automation, digital design and data visualisation 
• Digital thinkers: those who can use data, interpret real-time analytics and navigate fast-changing technology 
• Digital leaders: strong leadership qualities to motivate and develop these employees.

Invest in different ways to develop skills

• Formal career development programs, including coaching and mentoring
• Developing skills in house through on-the-job experience, trial and error and participation in inter-department projects
• Scenario-based active learning such as rotational learning programs
• Refining skills ontologies to better manage skills, their relatedness and transferability between roles.

Change the way you recruit for digital talent

• Develop partnerships with schools, colleges, trade programs, universities and professional associations that focus on emerging technologies
• Offer internship programs in digital roles
• Tap into other geographic markets
• Make the recruitment process easier and more attractive to millennial and generation Z employees.

Compete for digital talent with a compelling employee value proposition

• Promote innovation and digitalisation efforts
• Align employee and customer experiences with easy-to-use technology and streamlined processes
• Highlight development and career opportunities, and deliver on that promise
• Promote unique benefits such as work/life balance, pensions and health insurance.

As technology continues to advance, digital journeys must constantly evolve and upskilling efforts must be constant. Invest in and build for the future now.

Challenge tradition

• Public sector organisations traditionally delay their digital journeys — now is the time to challenge that tradition
• Reskilling and upskilling must be constant as digital journeys constantly evolve
• Assess skills and identify capabilities your employees will need in the future
• Make learning a priority
• Create a diverse, equitable workforce with a range of skills for success
• Align the employee and customer experience and invest in both.

Breaking down the numbers in Ireland’s public sector

Source: Institute of Public Administration, Public Sector Trends 2022; Randstad Workforce Insights 2023