Contents
Module overview 2
Document management 3
Version history 3
Glossary 4
Symbols 6
Implementation 7
Action planning 7
Approval process 7
Monitor, evaluate, and review and adjust 9
Monitor 9
Evaluate 10
Review and adjust 10

Module overview
This is one of eight modules in the Australian Public Service Workforce Planning Guide, designed to assist you with workforce planning in your agency or department. It can be read in isolation; however there are linkages to other modules, just as there are linkages between the elements of workforce planning.
This module provides guidance on how to implement the workforce plan you have pulled together from various components of workforce planning. This includes action planning and obtaining approval. This module also provides guidance for post-implementation of your workforce plan, including monitoring progress, evaluating strategies against desired outcomes, and reviewing and adjusting the plan to reflect necessary changes.
The structure of the modules as they relate to the workforce planning process is depicted in Figure 1. The module you’re reading is highlighted in purple.
Figure 1. Modules in the APS Workforce Planning Guide

Document management
Version history
VersionDate Author Description
1December 2011Australian Public Service Commission
First version

Glossary
CapabilityThe measure of an individual’s ability to achieve the tasks and objectives of their role through the application of skills, knowledge and attributes.
Employment typeWay in which a worker is employed—for example, ongoing, non-ongoing, non-ongoing intermittent, part time, full time, contractor, consultant.
OrganisationEntity for which your workforce plan applies to. It may refer to a department, agency, division, branch, section or unit.
SkillAn ability, acquired through deliberate, systematic and sustained effort, through training and/or experience, to perform tasks within a role that require specific cognitive, technical and/or interpersonal skills.
Trend informationBased on data from the past that helps you predict how your current workforce might change over time. Examples include recruitment, secondments, terminations, vacancies, length of service and leave.
Workforce capabilityWhat the workforce can do. It refers to the skills and knowledge of the workforce, including elements such as its ability to be innovative.
Workforce capability can be used to describe what is in existence, including latent capability (that is, capability not currently being used), what is predicted may be required in the future and any gap between the two.
Workforce capacityHow much the workforce can do. Refers to the ‘availability’ of the workforce to do work, for instance the absolute numbers of staff available with the necessary skill sets (including their level of the skills) and other elements such as levels of absenteeism (or presenteeism).
When used to describe the absolute numbers of staff, the element of employment type (for example, ongoing, non-ongoing, full-time, part-time) also needs to be considered.
The dimension of workforce capacity can be used to describe what is in existence, what may be required in the future and any gap between the two.
The other component of workforce capacity is the workforce’s ‘performance’, which includes elements such as staff engagement, motivation and discretionary effort.

Workforce management plan (immediate issues)Deals with immediate and specific workforce issues (such as restructure, conclusion of a significant project or a recruitment campaign for specific skills) and identifies actionable strategies for managing the workforce issues.
An organisation may have a number of workforce management plans if it’s dispersed across a number of geographic locations or business areas.
Workforce planDocument you produce to capture the key factors you’ve considered in developing the strategies and initiatives to mitigate your workforce risks. Throughout this guide, the term is used broadly to