HR Strategy and Workforce Planning for Automotive
How many people, in which roles, by when — and what they will cost.
What this looks like in automotive
The parts of hr strategy and workforce planning that are specific to this sector, rather than general.
Planning Across Four Workforces
Where a model launch changes every headcount.
What this coversHide
Planning Across Four Workforces
Where a model launch changes every headcount.
What this coversHideAutomotive workforce planning is driven by product and volume cycles. A model launch, a capacity change or a new dealership each move headcount in different parts of the group at different times.
- Plant headcount against production volume and shift pattern
- Dealership staffing against sales targets and footfall
- Workshop capacity against service load and bay count
- Skill requirements ahead of technology change, including EV
- Contract and permanent mix decided deliberately per location
- Lead times for technical and specialist roles
- Succession for dealership and plant leadership
- Cost of the workforce plan against the business plan
Planning EV skill requirements ahead of the vehicles arriving is the one most groups defer, and the training lead time is longer than the product timeline allows.
The general method — what hr strategy and workforce planning covers, the questions it answers and what an engagement produces — is the same whatever the sector, and is set out on the hr strategy and workforce planning page. What is above is the part that differs for automotive.
Other HR topics for automotive
Where to start
Most engagements begin with a review of how this runs in your business today, then a written process and the sequence to implement it.