MDA's Workforce Planning Service provides the basis for making effective human resources decisions and enables leaders to anticipate change rather than being surprised by events, as well as providing options for addressing present and anticipated workforce issues.  Workforce planning includes an analysis of the present workforce implications from the strategic business plan, an identification of competencies needed in the future compared to current workforce competencies and identified potential gaps and surpluses, the creation of plans for addressing gap areas, and an evaluation process. Workforce planning typically involves:

• A  systematic process that is integrated into the business planning cycle and other key human capital initiatives.
• Identifying the resources required to meet goals, which consists of determining the number and skills of needed employees and where and when they will be needed.
• Developing   the actions to meet these requirements, which involves identifying steps that must be taken to retain and attract the number and types of employees needed.

MDA’s workforce planning approach can be described as a forecasting and planning process that connects and directs talent management activities to ensure the organization has the right people in the right places at the right time and at the right price to execute its business strategy. Typically there are several steps in a workforce planning process as highlighted below: