UCOP Human Resources
Workforce Planning Overview
Since 2017, the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) has been undergoing an organizational optimization effort. Its objective is to determine how the Office of the President can best carry out its complex functions and services and support the future of the University. As part of this effort, UCOP is developing and implementing a workforce plan strategy and framework to ensure processes and procedures align with staff skills, knowledge, and abilities to meet the University’s current and future needs.The Workforce Plan findings based on the supply, demand and gap analysis and division interviews performed as part of the development of UCOP’s Workforce Plan highlight a workforce that is staffed appropriately in most departments while some departments fight to keep up with the demands and workload. Since 2011 year, UCOP has maintained a flat to a minimal increase in headcount and runs the organization as a lean operation providing client satisfaction while working within the resources that are available. UCOP is focusing on efficiencies in a “do more with less” environment while continuing to provide excellent service to our campus communities as demonstrated by the 10 Campus Study report. The UCOP Workforce Plan is another step towards understanding where we need to optimize or address gaps to continue to meet the needs of the UC community and successfully plan for the future.
This report represents five phases of the workforce plan based on the CalHR workforce plan model:
Phase 1: Setting the Strategic Direction (January 2017-February 2018)Phase 2: Gather and Analyze Workforce Data (March 2018-February 2019)
Phase 3: Develop the Workforce Strategies and Plan (March 2019-October 2019)
Phase 4: Implementation of Strategies (August 2019-December 2022)
Phase 5: Monitor, Evaluate and Revise the Workforce Plan (December 2019-2022)
Phase 1: Setting the Strategic Direction (January 2017-February 2018)
Phase 1 set the foundation and outlined the strategic direction for the workforce plan through a best practices analysis, current workforce analysis (including environmental factors and a snapshot of workforce demographics) and the establishing of a Workforce Plan project team. Stakeholder engagement was conducted and a five-phase model was created as a framework for developing UCOP’s Workforce Plan. The Phase 1 effort culminated with a presentation to the UC Regents in March 2018 and a five-phase model approach.Phase 2: Gather and Analyze Workforce Data (March 2018-February 2019)
The Workforce Plan report continued to evolve throughout Phase 2 leveraging the workforce plan five-phase framework. Building off the strategic direction established in Phase 1, Phase 2 focused on further data gathering and deeper workforce analysis.Workforce analysis is the foundation of any workforce plan and involves three distinct steps:
(1) Supply Analysis: was undertaken and leveraged demographic and environmental impact data collected in Phase 1 to evaluate current resources which is foundational for identifying future needs and informing strategy. As part of the overall workforce analysis, the workgroup’s findings were evaluated against selected, comparable workforce planning best practices. The team looked at higher education, general industry and the State of California.
(2) Demand Analysis: was undertaken to assess immediate and upcoming needs. The workgroup conducted interviews with division leaders. Short-term and long-term resource needs by job function were identified. Core competencies and skills to perform the jobs were captured.
(3) Gap Analysis: the workgroup compared the supply analysis data against the demand analysis data to project unmet needs or surpluses and identify associated risk factors. The workforce analysis focused on four competency areas: (1) Job Mastery, (2) Collaboration and Communication, (3) Customer/Client Services, and (4) People Management. The analysis also identified five high-risk profiles: (1) Financial Analysis, (2) Institutional Research, (3) Project Policy Analyst, (4) Applications Programming, (5) Systems and Infrastructure Administration. These high-risk profiles formed the basis for the workforce strategy and implementation plans developed in Phases 3 and 4.
Phase 3: Develop the Workforce Strategies and Plan (March 2019-October 2019)
The workforce planning process is an ongoing organization-wide commitment to ensuring the right people are in the right roles doing the right things and requires ownership at every level. The data and analysis gathered in Phases 1 and 2 along with outcomes from the OP Restructuring Effort and the University of California 10 Campus Study formed the basis for the workforce planning strategy. Based on the analysis findings, the workforce planning team focused on five areas: (1) Talent Acquisition, (2) Knowledge Sharing, (3) Employee Development, (4) Retention and (5) Talent Assessment and Succession.
The strategic goals and objectives for the aforementioned five areas of focus outlined in the Workforce Plan address how to close the gaps identified in Phase 2 and provides actionable ways for successfully achieving the objectives.
UCOP’s Human Resources team will continue the strategic management and assessment of the workforce plan to ensure each division’s objectives align to meet the needs of the organization’s overall goals. The strategies may evolve as the organization’s needs changes and course corrections will be addressed.
Phase 4: Implementation of Strategies (August 2019-December 2022)
UCOP Human Resources team has now completed Phase 4 in developing the workforce implementation plans based on the Phase 3 strategies for the identified focus areas. As part of the year one implementation, the team developed a 90-Day Action plan to validate the workforce plan strategies. The team is currently wrapping up Year 1 Implementation plans to be completed by June 2020. (NOTE: Due to impacts of COVID-19, some of the planned deliverables may be delayed.) As part of the overall implementation, a communication and change management plan was developed in close partnership with division leadership to manage, control, and communicate changes as they are executed.
- 90-Day Action Plan (August 2019-December 2019). The 90-day action plan was designed to begin the testing of implementation strategies within 2019 and begin to affirm the workforce plan strategies. The 90-day plan includes tasks foundational to the longer term implementation strategy over the next three years and addresses activities in five areas of focus that spans the employee lifecycle: Talent Acquisition (recruitment), Employee Development, Knowledge Share, Retention and Talent Assessment, and Succession. The 90-Day Action plan was completed in December 2019 and metrics and milestones were documented.
- Year 1 Implementation Strategy (August 2019-June 2020). The Year 1 Implementation which includes the 90-Day Action period builds on the implementation of the 90-Day deliverables. Year one will include stronger measurements of the workforce plan strategies based on a longer window of time to evaluate and analyze metrics.
- Long Term Implementation Strategy (June 2020- December 2022). Phase 4 includes implementation plans for the next three years and continues execution on the same five areas of focus as the 90-day and Year 1 implementation strategies.
Phase 5: Monitor, Evaluate and Revise the Workforce Plan (December 2019-2022)
Phase 5 outlines the organization’s approach for monitoring and evaluating the workforce plan strategies over the next three years. The workforce plan team launched Phase 5, Monitor, Evaluate and Revise the Workforce Plan in December 2019 as the final phase with the 90-day Action plan. The workforce planning team has identified metrics to begin evaluating the strategies and implementation plan. Because a workforce plan should be fluid to address the changing needs of the organization, the documented strategies for evaluation may require updating.
UCOP will assess the workforce plan annually and research industry standards for continued alignment with best practices while engaging with divisional leaders to ensure the strategies and implementation activities continue to align with the organization’s goals and needs. These materials are foundational to the implementation of strategic objectives and key to the ongoing long-term success of the workforce plan.
Current Progress
As of December 2022, we have completed Phase 5 and will be working on a three year strategy for WFP 2.0 (2023-2025).
Contact
For any questions, please contact us at ucop-workforce-planning@ucop.edu