WORKLOAD ANALYSIS
Workload analysis is viewed as a separate set of processes that
contribute to workforce planning. As such, this section provides general
information and basic steps when conducting workload analysis only.
WORKLOAD ANALYSIS
What is Workload Analysis?
Workload analysis is a descriptive baseline of the workload
requirements by discipline in an organizational unit. It provides leaders with a
process to assist with allocating resources, communicating priorities, and
identifying skills and training needed by employees to accomplish the workload.
Once an organization completes an accurate assessment of the
work and the staff required to complete the work, then management can discuss
longer-range resource priorities and staffing needs based on realistic resource
improvement goals and staffing requirements. Plans can be developed to allocate
funding to filling gaps, improve operating efficiencies, and improve technical
skills and competency.
Uses for WLA:
- Management decision making tool
- Analyze workload by activity, discipline needs, current location of
specialists, and where staff is needed to address emerging issues.
- Analyzing current work processes and discuss potential ways to improve
efficiency and effectiveness.
- Provide supporting data to tie the costs of program to social, economic, and
medical research benefits.
- Facilitate discussion and review of priorities associated with work
products.
- Project impacts of new or additional programs and mandates on current and
future workload and workforce.
- Provide data to tie workload and personnel needs to more comprehensive
resource assessments.
- Help managers determine how to reduce excessive or uneven workload.
- Assist in the development of training needs for employees.
- Provide human resource data when organizational changes are being
considered.
- Project what disciplines will be needed for the future workforce
- Assist in the development and evaluation of performance measurements.
- Provide supporting data in resource allocation decisions.
- Produce database of work process for future reference.
- Provide data for budget justifications
- Provide data for strategic planning decisions
How should it be conducted?
Workload analysis should be conducted in two parts. The first
major part is to determine both the total amount of work activities needed and
what will be accomplished within the next fiscal year in each organizational
unit. For each work activity, a measurement unit (number), the source of the
data to use (if applicable), and any additional considerations for clarity,
consistency, and accuracy.
The second major activity is to determine the amount of time
required to complete the work activities by discipline. For each work product, a
time analysis should be conducted. The time analysis consists of documenting the
time required by different disciplines to carry out tasks needed to accomplish
the work activity.
Basic WLA model is:
Time Data x Number of work activities next year = Total Time
Required
To determine staffing levels (FTE) required:
Total Time Required / 2080 hours = FTE Workforce Required.
Verification of data:
To check the reasonableness of the time study data, estimate the
progress of each activity for last year, then multiply the time study data. The
result should be the approximate workforce that existed last year.
Time study Data x Work activity for last year = Total Time
Required for last year
To determine workforce (FTE) required:
Total time required / 2080 hours = FTE Workforce required for
last year.
The reasonableness test of using last year’s accomplishments
to compute the number of staff that is required to complete the workload should
provide a basic check of the time study data. If the time study data is
reasonable, then the staff required to complete last year’s progress on each
activity should approximate last year’s workforce. If the time study numbers
are too high then the model will show that more staff was required than was
available to complete last year’s workload.
Identification of time by discipline:
Record the discipline skills/competencies necessary to
accomplish the work activity. The working title of the individual currently in
the position is not relevant to this process, but the skills/competencies needed
to complete the activity should be captured. For example, a microbiologist may
be a biologist by training. If the microbiologist acts as a biologist
accomplishing a work activity, then record that time in the biologist column of
the spreadsheet. Use the same methodology for all disciplines used in the
organization.
In completing the worksheet, it may be necessary to consider the
various employee titles of the organization, however, place the employees in the
most applicable category, depending upon the skills/competencies needed to
accomplish the work activity.
It is recognized that there may be variations in the amount of
time required for each work activity. A typical unit (type and/or size) must be
determined and all time identified as it relates to this typical unit.
Please pay attention to those tasks, steps, or components that
should be counted in other work activities. This will avoid duplication of time
between activities. Care should be exercised to prevent double counting.
In order to get a comprehensive accounting of total time
required to complete a work activity, it is important that all time, including
that of other employees, non-FTEs, volunteers, are included.
LIMITATIONS OF WLA
- It is only an estimate of the workload
- Estimates are only as good as the "estimators"
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EXAMPLE OF WORKSHEET TO ESTIMATE TIME
Work Product:
________________________________________________________________
Typical Size Unit: _____________________________________________________________
Describe typical unit and assumptions used:
Typical practices/activities:
Task
(Per Unit) |
Time
(Staff hours) |
| A. |
______ |
| - |
______ |
| - |
______ |
| - |
______ |
| - |
______ |
Other:
____________________________________________ |
______ |
| B. |
______ |
| - |
______ |
| - |
______ |
| - |
______ |
| - |
______ |
Other:
____________________________________________ |
______ |
|
TOTAL PLANNING TIME (Staff Hours/Unit) |
______ |
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EXAMPLE OF WORKLOAD ASSESSMENT – ACQUISITIONS
Assessing the current workload involves reviewing financial
analysis and analyzing the performance measures. This analysis will answer two
issues: (1) are you efficient compared to your operating costs; and (2) are you
performing within the realm of your goals and objectives. This information will
help managers understand their workforce needs by examining the work output
against the work inputs. It will also identify areas of improvement based on the
results from measuring the organization performance. This could include:
identifying additional FTE’s, delegating work, increasing work, increasing
efficiency among employees and/or setting new standards of performance.
PART 1
Cost Effectiveness
This part of the document focuses on analyzing the financial
aspects of specific functions. Below, the Acquisitions field is used only as an
example of how to submit adequate data for analyzing your operations cost
effectiveness and resource utilization.
DATA COLLECTION
Questions
- List all applicable expenses for overhead, FTE’s etc.:
For example: In Acquisitions, this would apply to both Central
Procurement and any Service Center in order to demonstrate consistency in the
charges. To compare the efficiency, service, and cost effectiveness of these
services, please include all costs associate with your fee for processing
procurement orders, such as: Rent charges, Utility charges, Training,
Equipment, policy, protest administration and FTEs total cost.
- Are you allotted an appropriated budget?
- What percentage of your appropriated budget covers overhead?
- Do you charge a Fee-for-Service? What is the Fee?
- What percentage of each overhead charge is included in the "Fee"
- Does this "Fee" include all employees in the 1100 series or only
actual employees processing contracts?
- Name the services that you provide (in general). Which of these services
are included in the fee?
- What types of contracts do you process and how long does it take to
process each?
- Is the fee standard for all contract types?
- What is the level of difficulty of each type of contract? For example:
Contract Type A – 30 days to process; Contract Type B – 10 days to
process; Contract Type C – 9 days to process
- For the contract types above, what grade level of specialist processes
each?
- How many actions (each type) were processed this fiscal year? Last fiscal
year?
- How many actions do you process monthly?
- What were the dollar amounts of each contract type?
MEASURING:
In order to measure your work output and inputs, you need to
establish units of measure. The following assists in determining what units to
use for measuring.
To Quantify:
- How many contracts processed?
- Per type of contract
- Dollar amount for each type
Unit of Measure:
Contracts completed per type
Analyzing the output (actions processed):
- How many contracts submitted?
- How many processed?
- How many customers (ICD’s, internal, etc)?
Analyzing the input (resources)
- How many FTE processing contracts?
- How many FTE in series but are not processing contracts?
For example: To process contracts, the following are units of
measure:
- Number of customers
- Type of contracts processed (What kind?)
- Pre-established timeframes
- How many specialists worked on a particular contract?
- Level of difficulty for contract
Note: The above data, collected and analyzed, will answer the
following questions: Is the amount of output (contracts processed) sufficient to
the fees charged and resources used?
PERFORMANCE GOALS:
This part of the document focuses on analyzing whether you are
meeting your performance goals. Question 1 through 7 will determine whether you
are meeting your goals:
Questions
- What are your performance goals per contract? Per action?
- How many actions do you process per week?
- Do you track the number of actions processed?
- If yes, how do you track actions processed, such as by type?
- How much do you anticipate collecting each year from fee? How much do you
actually collect?
- Is there a Gap in expected revenue?
- How do you address the Gap?
PART 2
Analyzing the data from Part 1 and using the formulas below, you
can measure your efficiency level.
Measuring Efficiency:
Units of Measures:
Outputs
- Contracts Processed (unit of measure)
Input (use a unit for the resources) used that is the most
meaningful)
- FTE’s
- Staff hours
- Square feet
- Hours of use
- Dollars
For input, include all resources (FTE) used in producing an
output (processing contracts) by using cost in terms of dollars. For example:
Give the total cost per FTE.
To measure levels of efficiency, use the formula below:
To determine Unit Cost:
Use dollars as input; Work completed as output
Formula to use to determine unit costs:
Unit Cost = Costs (Resources Used) / Output Quantity
To determine Productivity Ratios: (Expressed as "output per
units of input")
Use resource quantity as input; work units completed as output
Formula to use to determine productivity rate:
Output / Resource Quantity used = Productivity Rate
Example: Contracts processed per month divided by the number of
contract specialist
To determine Productivity Indices: (Expressed as a measure of
the change over time of the quantity of products or services produced (output to
the quantity or cost of resources used in production (Input).
Formula to use to determine productivity indices:
Change in output / change in input = Productivity index
(contracts processed decreased) / (number of specialist changed)
OR
Index of output / Index of Input = Productivity index
To determine Operating Costs to Transaction Dollar (A unique
productivity ratio, usually expressed as a percentage)
- Use dollars as inputs; dollars as output; output dollars are a proxy
indicator of work done.
Formula to use to analyze operating costs to transaction dollars
Operating cost (FTE costs) / Transaction Dollars = Efficiency
Rate (how much does it cost per contract)
Examples:
- Operating costs as percent of sales
- Operating costs as percent of benefit payments
- Operating costs as percent of taxes collected
To Determine Resource Utilization (show the usage rate of a
given resource. This would be used for critical resources)
Formula to use to determine if resources are utilized
efficiently
Amount used / total available = usage rate
Example: Two out of 10 contract specialist worked on a project.
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APPENDIX F
COMPETENCY/SKILLS ASSESSMENT
GENERAL CONCEPT
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COMPETENCY/SKILLS ASSESSMENT
This type of analysis is viewed as a separate set of processes
that contribute to a quality workforce plan. Because we focused strictly on
workforce planning processes and not separate, but related processes such as
competency analysis, we have included this section to provide a basic
understanding.
COMPETENCY ANALYSIS
What are competencies?
Competencies are a set of behaviors that encompass skills,
knowledge, abilities, and personal attributes that, taken together, are critical
to successful work accomplishment. Competencies may be defined organizationally
or on an individual basis. Identifying competencies on an organizational basis
provides a means for pinpointing the most critical competencies for
organizational success. These are an organization’s core competencies.
Individual competencies are those that each employee brings to
his or her function. Individual and team competencies are critical components of
organizational competencies. If the individual competencies in the workforce are
not in accord with those needed by the organization, workforce planning will
point out these gaps.
What is a competency model?
A competency model is a map to display a set of competencies
that are aligned with an organization’s mission, vision, and strategic goals.
The competency model is future-oriented, describing an ideal workforce. The
competencies that make up the model serve as a basis for employee management,
since they play a key role in decisions on recruiting, employee development,
personal development, and performance management.
A competency model helps bridge the gap between where an
organization is now and where they want to be in the future. This occurs in two
ways. First, the competency model serves as a guide for management in making
decisions, since it is based on the competencies that support the mission,
vision, and goals of the organization. Second, the competency model serves as a
map to guide employees toward achieving the mission of their organization and
their functional area. This provides management and staff with a common
understanding of the set of competencies and behaviors that are important to the
organization. A well-developed and documented competency model will serve as the
basis for organization training and development activities as well as the means
for identifying competencies to be sought in new recruits.
How are competencies identified?
Competencies are developed based on information collected by
studying what top performers do in the defined job context. Competencies focus
on the attributes that separate the high performers from the rest of the
workforce. Information can be gathered in a variety of ways, including employee
questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews with managers and employees.
Two key elements in identifying competencies are:
- Workforce skill analysis is a process that describes the skills required
for today’s work. Conducting workforce skill analysis requires the leaders
of an organization to anticipate how the nature of the organization’s work
will change, and then to identify future human resource requirements. (This
process spans the supply and demand analysis aspects of workforce planning.)
- Job Analysis, which collects information describing successful job
performance. Job analysis focuses on tasks, responsibilities, knowledge and
skill requirements as well as other criteria that contribute to successful
job performance. Information obtained from employees in this process is used
to identify competencies.
Workforce planners can use competency analysis as a method of
analyzing workforce gaps. Competency analysis is a process that identifies the
current competency levels of the workforce, as well as the competencies required
by the jobs of the future. As a part of competency analysis, planners can
distribute a questionnaire (individually, by groups, or via e-mail) to employees
at large or in positions that are subject to significant change in order to
collect skills and education data and to assess their qualifications.
The competency analysis will help planners to determine if it is
possible to retrain these employees so that they may develop the competencies
that the organization will require in the future. Timing and presentation of
such a questionnaire is critical.
Steps for Conducting Competency Analysis:
- Identify the job competencies that will be required for future positions
in the organization.
A competency matrix can be used as a tool for
identifying the competencies that are or will be required for specific
positions. This step will probably have been conducted during the strategic
planning and preliminary data gathering step in the workforce planning
processes.
- Determine whether current employees possess the competencies that will be
required by the identified positions.
This is the data that will
probably be missing or available only in anecdotal methods or based on
assumptions related to current series and grade. A skill assessment tool can
be used to measure individual employee competencies.
- Analyze the difference (if any) between current employee competencies and
future organizational needs
.
The results of the competency analysis will help identify
potential retraining needs that employees in certain "excess" or
"surplus" positions may require in order to transition into other
positions within the organization. Employees may also want to know the results
of the analysis for their own career development purposes. This may be helpful
for retention if well-qualified current staff believe there are growth and
learning opportunities for them within the organization.
If the organization determines that current employees will not
have the ability to attain the competencies that will be required in the future,
workforce planners will then need to identify the most appropriate recruitment
strategies for filling the skill gap.
Competency Matrix
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