The GPEC approach, or how to anticipate and plan human resources for success

The GPEC approach is the magic process that ensures companies have the right talent at the right time. At the same time, it promotes the well-being of employees by taking into account their wishes in terms of career development.

So it would be a shame to do without it! Not to mention the fact that legislation sometimes imposes certain obligations in this area.

But what is Job and Skills Planning? What are its objectives? How can you put in place an effective GPEC plan ?

Here's how 💡.

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Definition of the GPEC approach

What is Gestion Prévisionnelle des Emplois et des Compétences?

The GPEC approach, for Gestion Prévisionnelle des Emplois et Compétences, refers to an activity that falls mainly within the remit of the HR department. It is used to manage a company's human resources proactively and prospectively, in order to respond quickly to its strategic requirements.

👉 To achieve this, the GPEC approach involves anticipating and planning talent requirements, aligning available skills with long-term objectives.

Basically, it's about making sure you have the right people, with the right qualifications, in the right numbers, to carry out a given mission.

For example, does your company want to make greater use of artificial intelligence to differentiate itself from its competitors? Thanks to GPEC, you can identify which employees need to be trained in these technologies, or determine whether recruitment is necessary.

💡 Please note: GPEC differs from GEPP, or Gestion des Emplois et des Parcours Professionnels. While these two concepts are closely linked, the latter focuses more than the former on the development and management of employees' careers within the organisation.

Example: diagram of the GPEC approach

Is the GPEC approach compulsory?

GPEC is a legal obligation for :

• organisations with more than 300 employees;
• Community-scale groups with at least one entity of 150 employees or more.

More specifically, the law requires them to negotiate on the management of jobs and career paths every 3 years.

☝️ These negotiations include the implementation of a GPEC process to meet the new challenges of the ecological transition and to put in place the necessary support measures.

GPEC objectives

Adopting a GPEC approach means meeting the company's needs in terms of the quantity and quality of its human resources.

It therefore has several objectives 🎯 :

• to promote the long-term viability and overall performance of the organisation, by enabling it to respond in a timely manner to market expectations and to compete effectively ;
• support change skilfully, by aligning skills and needs, and by anticipating change (rushing aggravates the phenomenon of resistance to change);
• optimising staffing levels, and therefore avoiding understaffing (which is detrimental to the smooth running of the business), as well as overstaffing (which is costly!);
• encourage the employability of human resources and employee development;
• retaining talent and thus reducing recruitment needs, especially at a time when finding the rare pearl is sometimes an obstacle course;
• identify training needs so as to develop plans tailored to both employees and the organisation;
• observe the age pyramid to determine, for example, the number of upcoming retirements;
• simplify internal mobility processes;
• encourage employee commitment and involvement in the life of the company;
• promote a positive, rewarding employer brand when recruiting.

What are the 4 stages of the GPEC?

Stage 1: Analyse the jobs and skills in place in the organisation

This first stage involves taking stock of the current situation. It involves assessing the know-how present in the company and categorising the jobs.

👉 We recommend that you map the main jobs. In this way, you document in detail the different positions as well as the associated tasks and skills.

To do this, use :

• job descriptions: these detail the responsibilities and skills expected of each position;
• the organisation chart: this provides an overview of the organisational structure. This is useful for identifying potential bridges between different jobs as part of internal mobility;
• individual and professional interview reports: these provide key information about employees' performance and aspirations.

Step 2: Anticipate the company's needs

Based on the information gathered in the first stage, it's time to forecast human resources requirements for the short, medium and long term. This should take account of the company's objectives.

☝️ In particular, this is the time to draw up your skills repository, in order to identify any gaps between requirements and the actual situation.

This work requires you to get in touch with management and the various department managers. By communicating with them, you can more easily determine what is needed in terms of future strategy.

But you need to do more than that, you need to be able to look at the big picture and see the trends specific to your market. Are they :

• technical innovations?
• changes in legislation?
• Changing consumer aspirations?

Finally, take into account the structural reality of your business. For example, drawing up an age pyramid is a good way of anticipating future retirements, and therefore preparing for the recruitment that will follow.

Step 3: Plan and implement an action plan

At this stage, draw up the action plan that will be used to close the gaps identified above.

It should include components such as :

• training for existing employees
• recruitment
• internal mobility
• the use of external experts or service providers
• setting up collaborations or partnerships, etc.

All that remains is to implement the plan, monitor it and adjust it as necessary.

Step 4: Evaluate your GPEC approach

Finally, it is vital to evaluate the success of your GPEC procedure and the ROI obtained. In this way, you can gauge its effectiveness in relation to the initial objectives, and identify potential adjustments.

To do this, all you need to do is look at the KPIs you have selected. For example

• the rate of reduction in skills gaps
• the talent retention rate
• the number of transfers ;
• the number of training courses;
• cost per skills gap closed, etc.

☝️ As well as looking at the figures, it's important to get in touch with the people who have the most to gain from this, i.e. employees and managers. Gathering their feedback is a good way of taking the temperature and seeing how the GPEC approach is perceived within the company.

The GPEC tools

GPEC is a highly specialised piece of work that needs to be carried out on an ongoing basis, because a company is always on the move! To avoid forgetting or spending too much time on it, we recommend that you equip yourself with a tool that simplifies and even automates your process.

But what type of software should you use 🤔?

HRIS software

The first thing that comes to mind is HRIS, these global suites of applications used to streamline all HR processes.

While these platforms include numerous modules (payroll, time management, recruitment, etc.), they very often include a brick dedicated to Forward-looking Jobs and Skills Management.

HCM tools

There are also HCM (Human Capital Management) tools, which centralise data on employees' life cycles and qualifications. They include functions dedicated to career management, recruitment and training. They also include dashboards and other reports, useful for assessing the effectiveness of action plans.

👉 This is the approach taken by Cegid Talentsoft, an HCM software package that helps organisations to attract and retain talent. Its GPEC module maps employees to identify gaps between the company's needs and actual skills. Cegid Talentsoft also handles the training and recruitment required to close these gaps. All this while taking into account employees' aspirations, with the aim of developing them while complying with strategic requirements.

GPEC approach: final tips for the road

To become a true GPEC pro, here are a few last smart tips to follow 💡 :

• Be patient and rigorous. Setting up a GPEC procedure takes time, and it's a long-term process!
  
  
• Get the active support of management. In this way, you strengthen its commitment to GPEC, and avoid withholding information that is harmful to your approach (you need to know what the company's future will be made of!).
  
  
• Include employees in the process too, to get greater buy-in and much more relevant feedback.
  
  
• Make the most of all your HR data. We're thinking in particular of data from annual interviews. Hence the importance of having software capable of centralising all this information!
  
  
• Be agile! In other words, constantly adapt to changes in your company and the market.
  
  
• Communicate the objectives and results of your Employment and Skills Planning in a transparent way. At all levels of the organisation.
  
  
• Keep up to date with trends and best practice in the field of GPEC. Why not subscribe to blogs, forums or specialised accounts on social networks?

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The GPEC approach: in a nutshell!

You now know what the general GPEC approach is and how to implement it in just four stages: analysing the existing situation, forecasting future needs, deploying an action plan and evaluating and then improving the procedure.

Seemingly simple steps, they nevertheless require a certain amount of rigour and hard work. That's why it's a good idea to use specialist software that can streamline much of the process.

In any case, whatever method you choose, don't overlook the GPEC. Over and above the company's obligations, it is a real way of engaging employees, writing with them a story that continues over time, to the benefit of your competitiveness and profitability.