OL 655: Final Project Guidelines and Rubric
Overview The final assessment for this course is the creation of a Human Resources Workforce Plan on a company of your choice (approved by your instructor). The
current state of the chosen organization’s workforce will be examined, and plans to meet organizational goals will be detailed. The workforce plan will describe
the process that a human resource manager must take in order to achieve the desired results, supported by scholarly research. The final artifact will be a
document worthy of presentation to future employers as a methodical approach in identifying and resolving talent development and workforce planning
discrepancies. The proposed workforce plan should cover talent development and workforce planning as they relate to the organizational goals of projected
growth and projected reductions, as well as current staffing level. The “big picture” view is to determine, from an HR standpoint, where the company wants to
go, assess where they are currently, and design a plan to get from where they are to where they want to be. The project is divided into three milestones and
one final submission, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These
milestones will be submitted in Modules Three, Five, and Seven. The final submission will occur in Module Nine.
Outcomes This assignment will assess your mastery with respect to the following course outcomes:
• Analyze gaps in employee competencies utilizing job descriptions, job analysis, and organizational needs to ensure the human resources strategy is
integrated with the business strategy
• Forecast workforce needs for growth and reductions based on organizational strategic goals and objectives
• Evaluate talent development strategies for alignment with employee and organizational goals
• Assess employee development needs for the extent to which they are integrated in organizational training and development programs
Evaluate succession planning for its relationship to organizational sustainability
• Relate an organization’s human resources opportunities and challenges to the advancement of the vision and mission of the organization
Prompt and Guidelines Your Human Resources Workforce Plan should address the following question: In order to guide a company to meet its strategic initiatives, what considerations
must a human resources professional contemplate in the proposal of human resource solutions? Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
Introduction: Introduce your audience to the purpose and scope of your chosen company.
I. Give an overview of your company, including the type of company (profit/non-profit, public/private), years in existence, products/services offered, and
strategic goals and objectives.
Current State: An assessment of the current state of a company’s workforce is often used as starting place for desired changes. Specifically, address the
questions below.
I. Competency Gaps
a. What is the current state of the workforce of your company?
b. Based on the company’s strategic goals, are there gaps in the competencies of the current workforce? Explain how you identified these gaps (or
lack of gaps).
c. Does the company systematically identify competency (or skill) gaps for workforce planning and development purposes? If so, explain their
current process, including the types of data used for analysis. If not, provide a framework for identifying gaps in the current workforce.
d. What is the current human resources strategy for your company? Is it integrated with the company’s business strategy?
II. Strategies
a. What is the strategic talent development strategy for your organization? Is it apparent to employees? b.
Does this strategy align with employee goals? Discuss.
c. Does the strategy align with organizational goals? Discuss.
III. Training
a. Identify the training and employee development needs at your company.
b. Are these needs currently integrated in a training and development program? Explain.
Recommendations: An important part of a workforce plan is the recommendations, based on valid evidence. These recommendations should support a
company’s strategic goals, leading the company in its desired direction.
I. Forecast – In order to alleviate gaps in the current workforce to future needs, forecast and provide recommendations based on alignment with
organizational goals for company: a. Growth
b. Reduction
II. Succession Planning – As part of a company workforce plan, individual employees’ training and talent development must be considered. For your chosen
company, address the following:
a. Evaluate succession planning for its relationship to organizational sustainability. If the company does not utilize succession planning, give reasons for the omission of such a feature.
b. What recommendations would you make to this company in regards to succession planning? Explain your rationale.
Conclusion: Provide concluding thoughts on the use of the following to advance the company’s organizational mission and vision:
a. Human resource opportunities
b. Human resource challenges
Milestones Milestone One: Human Resources Workforce Plan Introduction
In task 3-2, you will submit Human Resources Workforce Plan Milestone One: Introduction. The introduction should include the purpose and scope of your
chosen company, including an overview of your company. The overview should include the type of company (profit/non-profit, public/private), the number of
years in existence, the products/services offered, and the company’s strategic goals and objectives. This milestone is graded with the Milestone One: Human
Resources Workforce Plan Introduction Rubric.
Milestone Two: Human Resources Workforce Plan Current State
In task 5-2, you will submit Human Resources Workforce Plan Milestone Two: Current State, in which you will analyze the current state of the workforce of the
company you chose for your final project. Your analysis of the current state of the workforce should include an evaluation of competency gaps, strategies, and
training. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two: Human Resources Workforce Plan Current State Rubric.
Milestone Three: Human Resources Workforce Plan Recommendations
In task 7-2, you will submit Human Resources Workforce Plan Milestone Three: Recommendations, in which you will discuss your recommendations for the
company you chose to analyze for your final project. Your recommendations should support the company’s strategic goals and include forecasting and
succession planning. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Three: Human Resources Workforce Plan Recommendations Rubric.
Final Submission: Human Resources Workforce Plan
In task 9-2, you will submit the final product of your Human Resources Workforce Plan. The final product should be a complete, polished artifact adhering to the
instructions set forth within the Prompt and Guidelines section. It should also reflect changes based on the incorporation of feedback. This milestone will be
graded using the Final Product Rubric (below).
Deliverable Milestones
Milestone Deliverables Module
Due
Grading
1 Human Resources Workforce Plan
Introduction
Three Graded separately; Milestone One: Human Resources Workforce Plan
Introduction Rubric
2 Human Resources Workforce Plan
Current State
Five Graded separately; Milestone Two: Human Resources Workforce Plan
Current State Rubric
3 Human Resources Workforce Plan
Recommendations
Seven Graded separately; Milestone Three: Human Resources Workforce
Plan Recommendations Rubric
Final Product: Human Resources
Workforce Plan
Nine Graded separately; Final Product Rubric
Final Product Rubric Requirements of Submission: The Human Resources Workforce Plan should be a 10-12 page document (not including the cover page or reference page), double
spaced, written in APA format, Times New Roman 12 point font. The inclusion of a minimum of seven scholarly resources is required to support your work. A
cover page and a reference page should be included.
Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (90%) Needs Improvement (70%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Introduction Meets “Proficient” criteria and submission provides additional substantial details
An overview of the chosen
company is given, including the
company’s strategic goals and
objectives
An overview of the chosen
company is given, but does not
include the company’s strategic
goals and objectives
An overview of the company is
not given
5
Current State: Competency Gaps
(Current State)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
analysis is supported by specific
examples
Detailed analysis of the current
state of the workforce is presented
Current state of the company’s
workforce is analyzed, but is
lacking detail
Current state of the company’s workforce is not analyzed
4
Current State: Competency Gaps
(Current Workforce)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
analysis is supported by specific examples
Gaps (or lack thereof) in current
employee competencies are
identified, along with the
method used to draw that
conclusion
Gaps (or lack thereof) in current
employee competencies are
identified, but the method used
to draw that conclusion are not
discussed
Gaps (or lack thereof) in current
employee competencies are not
identified
4
Current State: Competency Gaps
(Identification)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and detail is insightful and
substantiated by scholarly
research
Analyzes the company’s
systematic approach (or lack of
an approach) for identifying
competency or skills gaps and
relates them to workforce planning and development
Analyzes the company’s
systematic approach (or lack of
an approach) for identifying
competency or skills gaps, but
does not relate them to
workforce planning and development
Does not analyze the company’s
systematic approach for
identifying competency or skills
gaps
4
Current State: Competency Gaps
(Strategy)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and analysis is multidimensional
Current human resources
strategy is analyzed for its
integration with the company’s
business strategy
Current human resources
strategy is identified, but the
relationship with the company’s Business strategy is not
sufficiently analyzed
Current human resources
strategy is not discussed or the
company’s business strategy is
not considered
4
Current State: Strategies
(Talent Development)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and detail is insightful and
substantiated by scholarly
research
Provides in depth details on the
strategic development strategy of the chosen organization
Makes generalizations about
the strategic development
strategy of the chosen
organization
Does not provide details on the
company’s strategic development strategy
5
Current State: Strategies
(Employee Goals)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and detail is insightful and
substantiated by scholarly
research
Evaluates the current strategic
development strategy for its alignment with employee goals
Provides detail on the strategic
development strategy of the
chosen organization and
employee goals, but does not
identify a specific relationship
Does not discuss the company’s
strategic development strategy
in association with employee
goals
5
Current State: Strategies
(Organizational Goals)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and detail is insightful and
substantiated by scholarly
research
Evaluates the current strategic
development strategy for its
alignment with organizational
goals
Provides detail on the strategic
development strategy of the
chosen organization and
organizational goals, but does not identify a specific
relationship
Does not discuss the company’s
strategic development strategy in association with organizational goals
5
Current State: Training (Needs)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
the needs are exceptionally well
defined
Identifies the training and
employee development needs
of the chosen company
Identifies the training and
employee development needs
of the chosen company, but does so in an unclear manner
Does not identify the training
and employee development
needs of the chosen company
7
Current State: Training
(Integrated)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
analysis is supported by specific examples
Determines if employee
development needs are
appropriately integrated in the
company’s training and development program
Provides a general discussion of
the integration of employee
training and development
needs in the company’s training and development program
Does not discuss integration of employee training and development needs
7
Recommendations: Forecast (Growth)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
recommendations are
supported by valid evidence
Workforce needs are forecasted
based on organizational strategic goals in relation to
company growth and
recommendations are given to alleviate gaps
Workforce needs are forecasted
based on organizational strategic goals in relation to
company growth, but no recommendations are given
Workforce needs are not forecasted for growth
7
Recommendations: Forecast
(Reduction)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
recommendations are
supported by valid evidence
Workforce needs are forecasted
based on organizational
strategic goals in relation to a
company reduction and
recommendations are given to alleviate gaps)
Workforce needs are forecasted
based on organizational
strategic goals in relation to a
company reduction, but no recommendations are given
Workforce needs are not forecasted for reduction
7
Recommendations: Succession Planning
(Evaluation)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
analysis is supported by scholarly research
Evaluates succession planning
as it relates to the company’s workforce development plan
Evaluates succession planning,
but does not address its
connection with the workforce
development plan
Does not evaluate succession
planning
7
Recommendations: Succession Planning
(Rationale)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
recommendations are
supported by valid evidence,
example, or research
Recommendations are given for
succession planning, along with their justification
Recommendations are given for
succession planning, but are not
justified
Recommendations are not given for succession planning
7
Conclusion (Opportunities)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
cites relevant sources to
support concluding thoughts
Provides closing remarks
concerning the utilization of
human resource opportunities
to support the company’s
mission and vision
Provides closing remarks
concerning human resource
opportunities, but does not
adequately relate those
opportunities to the mission or
vision
Does not provide closing
remarks on human resources opportunities
7
Conclusion (Challenges)
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
cites relevant sources to support concluding thoughts
Provides closing remarks
concerning the human resource
challenges that could be used to
support the company’s mission and vision
Provides closing remarks on
human resource challenges, but
does not adequately address
how they are related to the
mission or vision
Does not provide closing
remarks on human resources challenges
7
Articulation of
Response
Submission is free of errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and
organization and is presented in
a professional and easy to read
format
Submission has no major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
Submission has major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that negatively impact
readability and articulation of main ideas
Submission has critical errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that prevent understanding of
ideas
8
Total 100%
