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GOVERNANCE

Fig. 2 System Dynamics
example of a three phases
project requiring three job
roles workforce
nerates a manpower demand for job roles (quantified To address this issue,
by the previous models), a series of causal loop dia- companies have independently
grams are used to investigate the impact of changes
(fig.2). What if design modifications are introduced? “developed internal procedures
They generate an increase in designers’ demand (+), based on their sector, size and
with a consequent increase in the workforce gap and skills, obtaining heterogeneous
with ensuing possible shortages and phase comple-
tion delays. What if more efficient construction me- results
thods are introduced? What if unexpected errors are
found? This model must be coupled with one of the
previous quantitative ones to guarantee the highest business policies on the future personnel’s structure.
level of accuracy while embracing the dynamic nature Thus, the main goal of the WFC analysis is to provi-
of the projects. sion the available amount of staff with a certain skill
With regard to the data sources, numerically-wise, at a particular time [3]. A proper workforce supply
a company should make use of historical data evaluation must rely on a detailed and updated per-
from past projects, and of current data (expected sonnel profiles’ database, reporting each employee’s
information about the new projects and current main attributes such as age, grades, salary, experien-
projects’ workload) from the internal database. ce, skills/job role. Once the population is defined, the
Qualitatively-wise, organizations can capitalize on analysis must consider internal mobility (employees’
the internal staff’s experience (such as the one of a movements within the same department, among dif-
Project Engineer) and on surveys or questionnaires ferent departments, promotions, trainings, holidays,
filled out by either internal or external experts. An and illnesses), external mobility (resignations, retire-
organization should leverage the combination of ments, attritions) and recruits. At any time, the orga-
data-driven approaches and human expertise. nization should be able to communicate how many
With respect to the actors involved in the workforce hours per skill or job role are available.
demand evaluation process, the interviewed With respect to the operative calculation of the
workgroup suggested different owners of the process available manpower per skill or job role, the literature
steps. The current workforce demand, including presents the following five methods, that are suitable
the work backlogs, should be communicated by for project-oriented organizations.
the responsible of the project and reviewed by the
head of the department. The manpower demand 1. The Stock and Flow models (S&F) illustrate the
generated by future projects should be evaluated population distribution as stocks and movements
by the commercial department and the operative between stocks as flows [3]. In every period of time,
direction, and reviewed by the head of the department it is possible to determine the number of workers in
as well. This proposal might undergo modifications the stock and to monitor their movements into the
depending on the size and the sector of the company. stock (recruitments, promotions) and out the stock
(promotions to another stock and wastage). Since the
Workforce Capacity (WFC) project’s demand is in form of skill requirements [man-
hours per skill or job role], it might be convenient to
The workforce capacity evaluation is a prediction of interrogate the system about the number of employe-
the evolution of the available workforce, exploiting a es available per skill or job role. A solution could be to
“What-if” scenario to get insight into the influence of group the population by skill and experience. Figure

26 Impiantistica Italiana - Settembre-Ottobre 2022