42 Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofi t Organizations
support to maintain the system, the ability to customize the system for
different information, the time required to implement the system, and the
amount of training required for users to become profi cient.
When forecasting the availability of human resources, agencies need
to consider both the internal and external supply of qualifi ed candidates.
The internal supply of candidates is infl uenced by training and devel-
opment and by transfer, promotion, and retirement policies. Assessing
incumbent staff competencies is crucial. An assessment of employees ’
competency levels will provide information for determining the number
of those available for and capable of fulfi lling future functional require-
ments. It will also provide salient information as to what recruitment,
training, and other strategies need to be deployed to address workforce
gaps and surpluses.
A succession analysis should be prepared that forecasts the supply
of people for certain positions. Succession plans should be used to identify
potential personnel changes, select backup candidates, and keep track of
attrition. The external supply of candidates is also infl uenced by a variety
of factors, including developments in technology, the actions of competing
employers, geographical location, and government regulations.
SHRM attempts to match the available supply of labor with the forecast
demand in the light of the organization ’ s strategic plan. A gap analysis is
the process of comparing the workforce demand forecast with the workforce
supply projection. The expected result is the identifi cation of gaps and
surpluses in staffi ng levels and competencies needed to carry out future
functional requirements. A gap occurs when the projected supply is less
than the forecast demand. It indicates a future shortage of needed employees.
Strategies such as recruitment, training, and succession planning will need
to be developed and implemented.
The Community Association for Rehabilitation, a Palo Alto, California,
charity that helps people with disabilities, spent one year developing a
plan that includes how to manage operations in an emergency, as well
as policies on how to search for a new leader when its executive director
retires (Hall, 2006a, 2006b). Another nonprofi t, Bethel New Life, a reli-
gious group that provides low - cost housing and other services in Chicago,
developed a two - year succession plan that addressed practices that the
agency needed to revise. It also surveyed staff and board members to
determine what skills and attributes their new leader should have, hired
a consultant to help the search, and appointed a committee of board
members to work with the new executive director for the fi rst six months
on the job (Hall, 2006b).