Workforce Planning Governance Policy

Scope

This policy governs all workforce planning activities across the organization. It applies to:

1. Full-time employees – Permanent staff engaged on standard employment contracts.
2. Interns – Temporary or project-based trainees engaged for learning and short-term contributions.
3. Contract-based staff – Individuals engaged for fixed-term projects or specialized assignments under a contractual agreement.

The scope of this policy extends to:

• All departments and business units, regardless of size, location, or function.
• All new role requests, replacement hiring, and role modifications initiated within the organization.
• Budget-linked headcount planning, ensuring every position is cost-validated prior to approval.

Workforce planning shall be conducted on a yearly basis in alignment with the organization’s strategic and financial planning cycle. Additionally, quarterly reviews will be undertaken to incorporate:

• Adjustments for attrition and turnover,
• Workforce changes due to new or restructured projects,
• Critical business pivots or emergent requirements.

Exception Handling:

No hiring, role creation, or workforce adjustment may occur outside of this approved cycle, unless explicitly sanctioned by Leadership under exceptional circumstances. Such cases must follow the Role Creation/Change Approval SOP.

Ownership & Responsibilities

Effective workforce planning requires clear accountability across functions. The following roles hold specific responsibilities under this policy:

Human Resources (HR Department)

• Acts as the custodian of this policy and ensures compliance.
• Consolidates annual and quarterly headcount requests from all departments.
• Validates alignment of role requests with the Role/Level Architecture and succession planning framework.
• Maintains approved documentation, including the Headcount Plan Sheet, Workforce Budget Sheet, and Succession Matrix.
• Facilitates periodic workforce audits and presents variance reports to Leadership.

Department Heads / Hiring Managers

• Initiate requests for new roles, replacement hires, or structural changes.
• Provide detailed justifications, role outcomes, and budget alignment while submitting requests.
• Ensure role requirements are consistent with approved job families and organizational priorities.
• Participate in quarterly reviews to validate changes in team composition.

Finance Team

• Reviews financial impact of all proposed headcount additions.
• Validates alignment with the organization’s budget and cost-control measures.
• Provides confirmation before final approval is granted.
• Maintains visibility on salary projections, workforce cost ratios, and variance reports.

Leadership / Executive Team

• Holds the final approval authority for all headcount requests.
• Ensures that workforce expansion aligns with long-term strategy and business objectives.
• Reviews HR and Finance reports on approved vs. actual headcount.
• Approves exceptions outside of the standard planning cycle under extraordinary circumstances.

Planning Cycle

The organization shall adopt a structured workforce planning cycle to ensure that all headcount decisions are aligned with business strategy, financial capacity, and governance requirements.

Annual Workforce Planning

• All departments are required to prepare and submit workforce plans once every financial year.
• These plans must include projected new roles, replacement needs, and expected timelines, aligned with the approved job families and organizational strategy.
• HR is responsible for consolidating these requests, Finance for validating cost impact, and Leadership for granting final approval.
• No department may independently create or fill roles outside the approved annual workforce plan.

Quarterly Reviews

• In addition to annual planning, HR will conduct quarterly workforce reviews to maintain agility and
  responsiveness.
• Adjustments during these reviews may include changes due to attrition, new projects, restructuring, or skill gaps.
• Any changes must be validated by HR, reviewed by Finance for budget impact, and approved by
  Leadership.

Mid-Year or Emergency Requests

• Any headcount request outside of the annual or quarterly cycles must be treated as an exception.
• Such requests require written justification, cost validation, and explicit Leadership approval, in line with the Role Creation/Change Approval SOP.

Governance and Compliance

• HR shall maintain records of all approved vs. actual filled roles.
• Semi-annual workforce audits will be conducted to verify compliance with this policy.
• Any deviations or unapproved hiring will be escalated to Leadership for corrective action.

Role Request & Approval Process

Initiation of Requests

• All role requests, whether for new positions or replacements, must be formally initiated by the respective Department Head.
• Each request must be submitted in the format prescribed by HR (e.g., Headcount Plan Sheet) and must specify role purpose, expected outcomes, and justification.
• Requests without complete justification or required documentation will not be processed.

Validation

• HR is responsible for validating each request against the approved Role/Level Architecture and ensuring alignment with organizational priorities.
• Requests that do not meet established role definitions or overlap with existing positions shall be returned for revision or rejected.
• HR must complete validation within 10 business days of receiving the request.

Budget Confirmation

• Finance must review all validated requests to confirm cost feasibility and alignment with the approved Workforce Budget Sheet.
• No role shall be created or filled without financial confirmation.
• Finance must provide feedback within 10 business days of receiving the validated request.

Final Approval

• The Executive Leadership Team holds the sole authority to grant final approval for all workforce additions or changes.
• Approvals must be documented, with records maintained by HR for audit and compliance purposes.
• Leadership decisions shall be communicated within 5 business days of Finance’s confirmation.

Exception Handling

• Any headcount request outside the annual or quarterly planning cycle must follow the exception pathway outlined in Section 4.3.
• Such requests will not be actioned unless supported with a written business case and sanctioned by Leadership.

Record-Keeping & Transparency

• HR shall maintain a comprehensive log of all role requests, including approvals, rejections, and pending cases.
• All records must be stored in the Workforce Budget Sheet and Succession Matrix for tracking, audit, and governance purposes.
• A quarterly summary report on role requests and approvals must be submitted to Leadership.

Governance & Compliance

Policy Adherence

• All departments and business units are required to comply with this policy without exception.
• No hiring, role creation, or role modification may occur outside the approved planning and approval framework.
• Any deviation will be treated as a policy violation and escalated to Leadership.

Monitoring & Audit

• HR will conduct semi-annual workforce audits to verify:
  • Alignment of filled roles with the approved workforce plan,
  • Accuracy of records maintained in the Workforce Budget Sheet and Succession Matrix,
  • Any deviations or unapproved role additions.
• Audit findings will be documented and shared with Finance and Leadership for corrective action.

Record Management

• HR shall ensure all documentation related to workforce planning is maintained in a secure, auditable format (digital or physical).
• Records must be retained for a minimum of five years or as per statutory requirements, whichever is longer.

Escalation & Exceptions

• In case of non-compliance, HR must escalate the matter to Leadership for resolution.
• Exception approvals, when gr

Continuous Improvement

• This policy shall be reviewed annually by HR in consultation with Finance and Leadership to ensure
  continued relevance.
• Updates may be made to reflect changes in organizational structure, financial planning, or statutory requirements.