Five Steps of Integrated Planning Fact Sheet

These are the five steps that managers should follow when going through an integrated planning process.

Step 1: Review Your Business Goals

First you need to have a clear understanding of where your organization is headed.

• Review the government’s and your department’s key priorities or emerging directions that could have an impact on your organization’s mandate.
• Review your organization’s business priorities, budget allocations and performance indicators.

Step 2: Scan the Environment

Identify the external and internal factors that could affect your organization’s capacity to meet its objectives.

External Factors

• Labour market trends
• Current and projected economic conditions
• Changes in legislation
• Technological advancements
• Cultural and social values

Internal Factors

• Workforce demographics (profile, trends, skills and competencies)
• Changes in policy, guidelines, program delivery and organizational structure
• Public-service wide initiatives, such as diversity and employment equity; official languages; training, learning and development; values and ethics; and workplace well-being

Step 3: Identify the Gaps

Based on steps 1 and 2, determine your organization’s current and future human resources needs.

• Identify possible skills shortages in specific occupational groups or potential need for new skills.
• Identify the possible need for succession planning and management.
• Ensure that you have met your obligations related to diversity and employment equity; official languages; training, learning and development; and values and ethics.

Step 4: Develop Your Plan

Based on steps 1 to 3, determine the major human resources priorities and the strategies that you will use to achieve the desired outcomes.

• Include human resources priorities and key planning issues in your organization’s Report on Plans and Priorities.
• Factor in budgetary considerations into your integrated plan.
• Communicate your integrated plan to all employees and stakeholders, and engage managers in its implementation.

Step 5: Measure Your Progress

The integrated plan is an evergreen document. Key to successful implementation is constantly measuring, monitoring and reporting on progress, and responding to changing circumstances.

• Ensure human resources performance measures are aligned with indicators in the Management Accountability Framework and the People component of the same Framework.
• Establish a process that allows for regular review, adjustments and communication of changes.