Workforce demand forecaster tool: health human resources' recruitment crystal ball?

As the growing human resource (HR) shortage continues to affect healthcare organizations, new approaches are explored to shift traditionally reactive hiring practices into proactive gear. To help quantitative forecasting data drive recruitment planning, six Ontario healthcare organizations and one academic partner teamed up to investigate the applicability of an Excel-based forecasting tool, the Workforce Demand Forecaster developed by the Advisory Board Company (the Tool). The Tool is a data collection spreadsheet that stores historical HR data, consolidates multiple quantitative variables that impact future workforce needs (e.g., budgeted full-time equivalent (FTE/headcounts), turnover, transfers etc.), and enables oneto five-year forecasts to inform recruitment strategies.