In addition to being one of the 2008 NorthCoast 99 winners and requesting to be considered for this award, all finalists for the Workforce Planning Special Category Award must meet the following criteria before being considered for the award:

• They all have a formal workforce plan that includes:
  • Recruiting assessment
• Staffing needs assessment
• Business plan requirements
• Assessment of training and development needs
• Skills gap analysis
• Workforce composition assessment/demographics
• Action plan
• They all assess current aspects of the workforce, specifically:
• Employee tenure
• Employees with critical or specialized knowledge
• Skill sets and/or gaps
• Employee demographic profile
• They all analyze the following in terms of future workforce trends:
  • Anticipated shortage or surplus of staffing levels
• Expected future workforce changes
• Industry changes
• Types of jobs needed to meet organizational objectives
• New skills, knowledge, and abilities the workforce will need
• They all perform analysis on the costs of replacing workers
• They all analyze employment trend information related to:
  • Budget trends
• Employee turnover
• Hiring patterns

Winners are chosen based on the company that demonstrates the most unique and innovative practices aimed at attracting, retaining, and motivating top performers.

Workforce Planning Winner & Finalist Summaries

Workforce Planning Winner: The MetroHealth System

Unique to this company: The MetroHealth System focuses on performance management and leadership development initiatives to manage their talent. Essentials of Leadership Excellence, a 3.5 day developmental program for new leaders, provides a well-rounded foundation in leadership skills including identification of Personal Interaction Styles®, individual development planning, coaching, incorporating values and behaviors into everyday actions, and leading by example. The primary purpose is to develop foundational leadership skills for mid-level managers so that they are enabled to drive performance, motivate, and develop talented employees. A succession planning model that outlines four stages of this organization's succession planning and talent management process is also in place:

• Identify Talent: early identification of future leaders, success profiles, and rigorous recruiting and retention.
• Embed Expectations: individualized goals and expectations, results and values, driven from top-down
• Develop and Reward: stretch assignments, mentoring, networking, and differentiated rewards
• Drive Performance: annual review, 360 assessments, multiple calibration points, and direct feedback

MetroHealth has also developed a unique and holistic Performance Assessment that uniquely distinguishes between three groups of employees: Top Talent, Highly Valued, and Less Effective. The performance assessment synergizes past performance and future development and is comprised of several sections: evaluation summary, job requirements, individual employee, accomplishments & results, values & behaviors, employee strengths, employee development, unique skills and career interests. The most unique aspects of the assessment tool are that it addresses employees with unique skills that are critical to the organization and incorporates a blended assessment of results, behaviors, strengths, skills, developmental goals and career interests.

Workforce Planning Finalist: Shearer's Foods, Inc.

Unique to this company: Shearer's Foods, Inc. uses the Pareto Method for assessing staffing and employee development needs, including daily review of any non-conforming product and the root cause of the failure, analysis of failures to trend training needs, forecasting staffing needs based on budgeted volumes and anticipated growth, providing advanced technical training to enhance leadership and technical expertise within the organization, screening leadership potential in new hires and throughout its training process, developing new training methods, and cross-training several employees for skilled positions to address its need for additional skilled positions as the organization expands. Shearers also performs strategic workforce analysis on both a strategic and tactical level. Future staffing requirements are evaluated by position to determine what will be needed to support business objectives and headcount requirements are identified by position and estimated by how many positions are filled internally versus externally. Once external requirements are known, the organization establishes and executes a recruiting strategy and timeline to achieve its objectives. To add to their workforce planning efforts is a unique organizational review process that evaluates whether or not the organization structure supports business objectives and whether the right people are in the right positions. Shearers evaluates the relative strengths and developmental opportunities of each associate in their current (and projected future) role, and apply detailed development plans to each associate and department.

Workforce Planning Finalist: Intuit Real Estate Solutions

Unique to this company: Intuit Real Estate Solutions not only analyzes their workforce, but has created a three year strategy generated by assessing the external environment, competitors' strategies, current and needed technology, and the skill sets required for the organization's success. Intuit constantly gauges how it is performing relative to short and long term plans, how its employees and managers view their roles within the organization, and how they are performing relative to developmental and career planning goals. Using this analysis and strategy, the organization created a Talent Management Initiative and has focused its efforts primarily on talent mobility and development. Talent mobility has been achieved through a combination of employees successfully completing the internal job application process, promotions, realigning departments to create more efficiencies and career opportunities for employees, and attracting top talent. The major focus, however, is on talent development which is based on this Intuit's belief that 50% of a manager's time should be spent on developing their team's talent. This belief is supported by an online performance management tool to input ratings and run analytics, the "Fast Path" leadership development program for their organization's high-potential employees, a New Hire Leader Program, and "Leading at Intuit" designed to develop people managers to be both leaders and teachers who continually learn and teach others to learn. Additionally, Intuit has developed a career development plan, a careers website, workshops, and tools for managers and employees on the intranet site as a result of discussions with the employees on their career experiences within the organization. Finally, analytic, forecasting and planning processes that connect and direct talent management activities to execute business strategy are being developed as well.