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 WORKFORCE
PLANNING
TOOLKIT

Lydia Cillie-Schmidt
Workforce Planning Toolkit Covers.indd 1 11/9/11 11:07:12 AM
WORKFORCE
PLANNING
TOOLKIT
By
Lydia Cillie-Schmidt

2012
Copyright © Knowres Publishing and Lydia Cillie-Schmidt

All reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the contents of this book do not, directly or
indirectly, infringe any existing copyright of any third person and, further, that all quotations or
extracts taken from any other publication or work have been appropriately acknowledged and
referenced. The publisher, editors and printers take no responsibility for any copyright infringement
committed by an author of this work.

Copyright subsists in this work. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means
without the written consent of the publisher or the authors.

While the publisher, editors and printers have taken all reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of
the contents of this work, they take no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by any person
as a result of that person relying on the information contained in this work.

First published in 2012

ISBN: 978-1-86922-179-9

Published by Knowres Publishing (Pty) Ltd

P O Box 3954
Randburg
2125
Republic of South Africa

Tel: (+27 11) 706 6009

Fax: (+27 11) 706 1127
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.kr.co.za

Printed and bound: Replika Press Pvt Ltd, Haryana, India

Typesetting, layout and design: Cia Joubert, [email protected]
Cover design: Sean Sequeira, idDigital, [email protected]
Editing and proofreading: Adrienne Pretorius, [email protected]
Project management: Cia Joubert, [email protected]
 CONTENTS

About the Author____________________________________________________ v

Section 1: Introduction to Workforce Planning____________________________1

Introduction ________________________________________________________2
What is Workforce Planning?___________________________________________2
Why is Workforce Planning a focus area?_________________________________3
The benefits of Workforce Planning______________________________________9
The barriers to Workforce Planning_____________________________________10
Critical success factors_______________________________________________11
The Workforce Planning roadmap______________________________________12
Conclusion _______________________________________________________21

Section 2: About the toolkit___________________________________________23

Introduction _______________________________________________________24
How the toolkit works________________________________________________24

Section 3: Tools for use during Phase 1 – Ensuring Organisational Readiness___27

Tool 1: Determine the drivers for Workforce Planning______________________29
Tool 2: Clarify the rationale for the Workforce Planning initiative______________33
Tool 3: Bring to the surface all Workforce Planning-related processes in the
organisation____________________________________________________37
Tool 4: Readiness assessment audit_____________________________________41
Tool 5: Assess the effectiveness of the current Workforce Planning process_____45
Tool 6: Alignment of Workforce Planning with the strategic planning process____55
Tool 7: The differences and similarities between Strategic Workforce Planning
and Operational Workforce Planning________________________________61
Tool 8: Clarify roles and responsibilities of all involved in Workforce Planning____65
Tool 9: Sample Workforce Planning Policy________________________________75
Tool 10: Stakeholder engagement planning format_________________________83
Tool 11: Determine scarce skills ________________________________________87
Tool 12: Identify critical roles and functions as part of scoping the Workforce
Planning initiative_______________________________________________95

Section 4: Tools for use during Phase 2 – Creating context_________________101

Tool 13: Conversation guide to determine organisation or unit’s strategic
direction______________________________________________________103

–i–
Workforce Planning Toolkit

Tool 14: Summary of methods to identify external factors that may impact on
the organisation and the workforce________________________________107
Tool 15: Potential external factors to consider____________________________113
Tool 16: Sources that could be used to gather information about the external
environment__________________________________________________121
Tool 17: Criteria to determine the relevance of information________________ 125
Tool 18: Translating strategic direction and internal/external factors into
workforce requirements________________________________________ 129

Section 5: Tools for use during Phase 3 – Understanding current internal and
external workforce_____________________________________________135
Tool 19: Typical data that could be analysed regarding the internal and external
workforce_____________________________________________________137
Tool 20: Analysing the external labour market___________________________141
Tool 21: Typical process for doing a skills audit___________________________145
Tool 22: Identifying potential sources of employees_______________________149
Tool 23: Prioritising the required competencies__________________________157
Tool 24: Replacement risk assessment__________________________________161
Tool 25: Analysing the contingent workforce_____________________________167
Tool 26: Analysing workload drivers____________________________________175
Tool 27: Consolidation of information gathered on the internal and external
workforce_____________________________________________________185

Section 6: Tools for use during Phase 4 – Futuring________________________193

Tool 28: Forecasting future work requirements___________________________195
Tool 29: Forecasting techniques_______________________________________203
Tool 30: Scenario-building template and process_________________________211
Tool 31: Example of scenario building and selection_______________________217
Tool 32: Example of a quantitative forecasting model______________________227

Section 7: Tools for use during Phase 5 – Gap analysis____________________231

Tool 33: Gap analysis criteria_________________________________________233
Tool 34: Gap prioritisation___________________________________________237
Tool 35: Techniques to identify reasons for workforce gaps_________________241

Section 8: Tools for use during Phase 6 – Developing and implementing strategies
to address workforce gaps_______________________________________253
Tool 36: Broad strategies that could be followed to address strategic workforce
gaps ________________________________________________________255

– ii –
 Contents

Tool 37: Strategy selection ___________________________________________261

Tool 38: Workforce action plan _______________________________________267
Tool 39: Case for change: Business case_________________________________277

Section 9: Tools for use during Phase 7 – Monitoring and evaluation_________283

Tool 40: Monitoring and evaluation planning____________________________285

Section 10: Putting it all together_____________________________________291

Tool 41: Putting it all together: analysing and planning for a critical talent
segment ______________________________________________________293
Tool 42: Workforce Plan format_______________________________________305

Bibliography ______________________________________________________315

– iii –
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lydia Cillie-Schmidt is an independent consultant and owner of “The Talent Hub”,

the focus areas of which are the design and implementation of talent management
processes and systems, including acquisition, deployment, development and
engagement. These processes are supported by leadership development
programmes, assessment centres, psychometric assessments, the design and
presentation of training programmes, coaching, mentoring, management of
learnerships/internships, performance management, and succession development.

Lydia has more than 27 years’ experience as an industrial psychologist and leader,
working as a permanent employee for major corporate companies in South Africa.
She worked at Vodacom for 11 years and for the last seven years of her tenure
was the Head of Human Resources Development, taking responsibility for the
total function and implementation of the company’s Human Capital Development
strategy. Before this, she worked at organisations such as the Department of Posts
and Telecommunications, Sasol and the SABC. In all these roles she was involved
in the development and implementation of various talent management strategies.

As an independent consultant, Lydia gained further experience in organisation

design, including business process mapping and role profiling, as well as workforce
planning. She is also a registered Industrial Psychologist and has completed a
doctorate in Industrial Psychology, focusing on the use of narrative technique in
management development.

Lydia can be contacted at [email protected].

–v–
 SECTION 1:
INTRODUCTION
TO WORKFORCE PLANNING

–1–
Workforce Planning Toolkit

Introduction
“In an increasingly fluid world, the ability to respond to fluctuations in the market,
customer needs, the workforce, technology, as well as geo-political and social shifts,
is key to organisational success” (Meyer, 2011).

Organisations are again realising the importance of being proactive and flexible in
an effort to deal with a constantly changing environment – there is a strong need to
make the unpredictable more predictable. An important mechanism to ensure that
the organisation is prepared for the future is a robust strategic planning process.
Closely linked to this process are the efforts from the organisation to ensure that
the right workforce is in place to implement the strategy. This has led to the current
situation, where workforce planning has become the most critical Human Resources
function (Aruspex, 2010).

Although there is ample information available about workforce planning on the

Internet, as well as in several publications, Angela Baron of the Chartered Institute
of Personnel and Development (CIPD) stated in a press release on 7 June 2010
that “[w]orkforce planning provides the basis for better decision-making to meet
the future needs of the business in terms of its people resource. While some
organisations have these processes in place, for many there is still a ’knowing–
doing’ gap when it comes to workforce planning. This is a shame, as it presents
an important opportunity for HR to ‘raise the bar’ and ensure they are involved in
strategic-level planning” (CIPD, 2010). We all seem to know “what” to do when it
comes to workforce planning, but not exactly “how”. The aim of this toolkit is to
give you a few ideas on the “how”.

1. What is Workforce Planning?

Workforce planning is defined in various ways and in its simplest form is viewed
as having the right people with the right skills in place when the organisation
needs them (Gerber, Nel & Van Dyk, 1993). For the purposes of this toolkit, the
following definition will be used: “Workforce planning is about determining and
shaping the capacity and capability of the workforce that is needed to achieve
an organisation’s goal and direction” (State Government of Victoria, 2006). This
definition encapsulates the idea that workforce planning is about:

• Identifying and predicting the organisation’s workforce requirements to

meet the organisation’s goals and strategic direction (present- and future
focused, using past trends, current reality, and future scenarios)

–2–
 Section 1: Introduction to Workforce Planning

• Determining the number as well as the quality and timing of the workforce
needed to achieve organisational goals

• Taking action to ensure that the workforce is shaped to meet the

requirements for organisational success. (Cillie-Schmidt, 2010)

Comprehensive workforce planning entails two focus areas:

• Short-term, tactical workforce planning, and

• Long-term, strategic workforce planning.

Most organisations do short-term operational Operational Workforce Planning

when they do annual headcount planning and budgeting, but very few are
engaged in Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP). Strategic Workforce Planning
is a more qualitative process, where the human resource implications of
organisational strategy are considered and potential human resource gaps are
then proactively addressed.

2. Why is Workforce Planning a focus area?

There are many internal and external forces that are prompting organisations
today to prioritise workforce planning high on their strategic agendas. The
following factors give us an idea of some of the driving forces for implementing
effective workforce planning.

2.1 Demographic changes

According to Guthridge, Komm and Lawson (2008), birth rates are falling
in the developed world and there is a rising rate of retirement. At the
same time the emerging markets are producing a surplus of young talent;
in fact, they graduate more than twice as many university-educated
professionals as the developed world does. Although many organisations
have been eyeing this source of talent enthusiastically, this source of talent
poses its own set of challenges. For example, candidates for engineering
and general-management positions exhibit wide variations in suitability
because of issues such as poor English skills and uncertain quality of
educational qualifications. (Guthridge et al, 2008).

Another important demographic phenomenon that makes the need for

creative Workforce Planning somewhat challenging for organisations is the
variety of generations working in organisations right now. Generational
theory generalises the influence of similar experiences and significant

–3–
Workforce Planning Toolkit

events on the generation of young people who were growing up at the

time. Based on the various influences and subsequent characteristics,
generational theorists have identified four generations in the workplace
today: the Silent Generation (born 1930–1949); the Baby Boomers (born
1950–1969); Generation X (born 1970–1989); and Generation Y, or the
Millennials (born 1990–2005). Different theorists in different countries
may differ on the exact timeframes, so this is only a rough guide based on
South African data.

“HR professionals say that the workers from Generation Y demand more
flexibility, meaningful jobs, professional freedom, higher rewards, and a
better work–life balance than older employees do. People in this group
see their professional careers as a series of two- to three-year chapters
and will readily switch jobs, so organisations face the risk of high attrition
if their expectations aren’t met. Generation Y is therefore perceived as
substantially harder to manage than its predecessors” (Guthridge et al,
2008).

Gender representation is an important demographic change that

influences Workforce Planning. In 2010, for the first time, there are more
women in the workforce than men in the United States of America (Benko
& Anderson, 2010). In South Africa there is a concerted effort to increase
female representation in formal employment.

2.2 Globalisation

Globalisation is a strong driver of the need for Workforce Planning.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (2010) predicts that the growing importance
of emerging markets will create a significant shift in mobility patterns,
as skilled employees from emerging markets increasingly operate across
their home continent and beyond, creating greater diversity in the global
talent pool. Mobility strategies will need to become more sophisticated
and complex as organisations meet growing deployment demands.
(PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2010).

To succeed in countries such as Brazil, Chile, India, and Africa, organisations

must have employees who are willing and able to work abroad. They
also require talented local people, with an international mind-set, who
understand local ways of doing business and local consumers. It is not
always possible to find employees meeting these criteria (Guthridge et al,
2008).

–4–
 Section 1: Introduction to Workforce Planning

Globalisation and the mobility of employees within this context necessitate

the proactive planning of what type of employees and how many of them
will be needed across the globe so that organisations develop the ability to
move people proactively, strategically and transparently from all levels and
functions and from role to role, as business and personal needs dictate.

2.3 Knowledge economy

Guthridge et al (2008) argue that knowledge workers form the fastest-

growing talent pool in most organisations and pose certain challenges as a
result of their particular demands and characteristics. Knowledge workers
are different because they create up to three times more profit than other
employees do.

Yet the performance of knowledge-intensive organisations within the same

industry varies significantly, which suggests that some of them struggle to
extract value from this newly enlarged type of workforce. What’s more,
the technology supporting its work has created faster and better ways to
share information, and that further drives the demand for such workers
and their potential impact (Guthridge et al, 2008).

Bersin (2010) argues further that organisations that have thrived have
two things in common – they are very good at what they do, and they
are organisations of experts. According to him, there is a drive for “deep
specialisation” – building programmes that encourage and enable
everyone in your company to become better at what they do. This type
of deep specialisation comes from knowledge, skills and attributes, and is
a combination of deep levels of expertise and a broad and deep range of
experience (Bersin, 2010).

Building these knowledge masters for the future requires thorough analysis
and planning.

2.4 The leadership gap

According to Bersin (2009), the leadership gap in organisations has

actually become wider – driven largely by organisations’ tendency to
lay off older, more senior workers. Bersin found a tremendous “reverse
dumbbell” effect in leadership development. There is a distinct lack of
leadership development in the executive ranks (almost one out of five
organisations offers no coaching and development for executives at all)
and also a tremendous lack of confidence in first-line leaders. This will

–5–
Workforce Planning Toolkit

force organisations to invest more in leadership development, with a focus

on these two areas.

Workforce Planning helps you to identify the size of the gap in your
organisation and then institute the relevant plans to address the situation.

2.5 Technology

“Technology has moved ahead at light speed. Recessions always seem to

be good times for new tools – and this one has given us integrated talent
management suites, social networking, informal learning systems and a
new generation of HR management systems solutions. SaaS (Software as a
Service) is now a standard new approach for HR software and we will see
this continue” (Bersin, 2009).

The availability of sophisticated data management techniques and an

abundance of workforce data facilitates effective Workforce Planning.

2.6 Skills shortages and inadequate education levels

In South Africa and the rest of the world the need for specialised and new
types of skills are increasing. Most South African organisations cite skills
shortages as the main reason for doing Workforce Planning. Low education
levels and poor Matric results in the South African context lead to a small
pool of talent, despite the large number of unemployed people.

Another challenge in South Africa is the shortage of professional and

managerial skills and the imbalances in terms of race and gender at these
levels (Meyer, 2005). Workforce Planning is instrumental in planning how
to deal with these shortages.

2.7 Economic trends

The Corporate Leadership Council (2010b) identified the following trends

with regard to the global economy:

• Global economic contraction

Between 2010 and 2014, global growth was forecast to average just
above 4%, in comparison with growth of 5% prior to the economic
crisis.

• Rising unemployment

Unemployment was expected to peak at over 8% of the labour force

–6–
 Section 1: Introduction to Workforce Planning

in advanced economies. The unemployment rate in South Africa is

expected to increase to more than 26% during 2010.

• Shaky consumer sentiment

Consumers were expected to maintain a conservative outlook with

regard to the economy and would not increase personal spending
significantly.

An uncertain economic scenario requires organisations to stay agile and

be able to move quickly, decisively and effectively in anticipating, initiating
and taking advantage of change (Meyer, 2010). Workforce Planning again
assists in facilitating this flexibility.

2.8 Employee engagement and performance

The Corporate Leadership Council (2010b) reported a few interesting

research findings with regard to employee engagement and performance:

• The number of highly disengaged employees had increased from

1 : 10 to over 1 : 5 employees since the first half of 2007.

• The decline in employee engagement is decreasing overall productivity

by 3–5%. While intent to stay is steadily increasing since 2007, and the
number of employees exhibiting high levels of discretionary effort has
increased in 2011, it is still to recover to the high levels experienced in
2007 before the economic downturn (Corporate Leadership Council,
2011).

• Disengaged employees were 24% less likely to quit in 2008 than in

2006 and in nearly 27% of cases in 2009.

• The disengaged were 45% less likely to quit in 2010 than in 2006.

• One out of four high-potential employees planned on quitting in the

next 12 months.

• Only 10% of senior executives reported high discretionary effort in the

first three months of 2010 compared to 29% in the second half of 2006.

Engagement is strategically important for organisations, as numerous

studies have proved its impact on the bottom-line and sustainability.
Workforce Planning therefore analyses this component as an important
aspect in the process.

–7–
Workforce Planning Toolkit

2.9 The virtual workplace

Tucker, Kao and Verma (2005) describe the virtual workplace as a major
influence on creating the need for better talent management. According
to these authors, the definition of co-worker and the meaning of being
“at work” are being completely redefined as workers across the globe
connect via the latest communications technologies. Across the world
and across industries, workers are being “freed” from their desks and
“relieved” of their traditional nine-to-five schedules.

Tucker et al are of the opinion that virtual co-working and the virtual
workspace are creating an “always on” workforce that sees no limits to
jobs. Many workers are simply afraid to slow down, afraid to disconnect
from work at all for fear of losing job security in an increasingly competitive
global labour market. Unfortunately, the consequences of an “always
on” workforce can be dire – “lousy employees: tired, depressed, mistake
prone, resentful, and eventually burned out” (Tucker et al, 2005).

In order to deal with this dynamic effectively, organisations need to plan

employment cycles and ensure business continuity at all times.

2.10 Organisation design trends

The introduction of the e-economy, virtual work, and transparent

knowledge-sharing across organisational boundaries has also impacted
the structured hierarchical type of organisations of the past. There is
a move to a more flexible, “lattice-like” organisation design (Benko &
Anderson, 2010). In this new organisation design, Workforce Planning is
crucial to ensure the required flexibility.

“Together all these factors are creating workforces and workplaces that
are diverse and very different to the past. This brings enormous, new
challenges in managing a radically different workplace and workforce. Our
approaches and models that worked in the past do not work any more.
Different approaches are needed. Organisations need a roadmap for HR
management in a talent market unlike any seen before so that employees
can really become a source of sustainable competitive advantage for the
organisation” (Guthridge, Komm and Lawson et al, 2008). Workforce
Planning in this context is critical to ensure that the right number of
employees, with the right skills, are available to deal with the changing
organisation priorities.

–8–
 Section 1: Introduction to Workforce Planning

3. The benefits of Workforce Planning

Workforce Planning has several benefits, and when building the business case
for Workforce Planning, organisations should highlight the unique benefits
that they see for their organisations. The State Government of Victoria (2006)
describes the benefits of Workforce Planning as follows:

• It allows organisations to respond quickly and more strategically to change,

as the organisation and managers can recognise emerging challenges in
the market, workforce and business.

• It improves efficiency, effectiveness and productivity as employees possess

the right skills and are a good fit for the job.

• It facilitates strategic staffing and planning for future workforce

requirements as the organisation can identify staffing needs in a timely
manner, monitor attrition, and ensure that replacements are available to
fill key vacancies.

• It strengthens the organisation’s capability to support the achievement of

business outputs now and in the future.

• It encourages an understanding of the organisation’s workforce profile; HR

strategies and policies are therefore aligned with maximising the capacity
of the existing workforce and shaping the desired workforce.

• It assists with the identification and management of people with the

knowledge critical for effective and efficient business operations, and the
organisation’s management of knowledge and maintenance of corporate
memory.

• It provides a mechanism for monitoring costs and directly linking

expenditure of personnel against business outputs and outcomes.

There are several more benefits to Strategic Workforce Planning, and no HR

function can risk neglecting this function as an important part of organisation
strategy as well as the foundation of HR strategy. “It is clear that workforce
analytics and planning are entering a new era of business impact – more than
ever, practitioners are focused on identifying opportunities to use data for
managing risks, equipping business leaders with the insights they need to take
critical decisions, and creating a culture of analytics in HR” (https://informimpact.
com/events/conferences/details/2010_Inform_Conference-NA).

–9–
Workforce Planning Toolkit

4. The barriers to Workforce Planning

Organisations seem to face common barriers to implementing Workforce
Planning effectively, as the same issues crop up repeatedly during discussions
at workshops. Some of the barriers that are commonly listed are:

• Lack of integration with strategic planning

• Lack of buy-in from the senior team

• Lack of understanding of what exactly Workforce Planning entails

• Inconsistent processes

• No defined methodology and absence of structured procedures

• The Human Resources function having to drive the process, with line
managers not taking accountability

• Inability to translate organisation strategy into workforce requirements

• A focus on the analysis phase, gathering too much information, and not
knowing how to translate the information into actionable items

• Lack of supporting technology

• Questions about the integrity of the workforce data available in the

organisation

• Knowing what to do, but lacking the skill to implement Workforce Planning
practically

• A shortage of resources to implement the process in terms of people, time

and budget

• Organisations functioning in crisis mode with no idea of how to elevate

their way of doing in order to become more proactive

• Lack of a proper business case for Workforce Planning, resulting in

Workforce Planning not being prioritised as important and overall lack of
buy-in.

There are many more barriers to effective Workforce Planning and it is

important to highlight the specific barriers for your organisation and what you
intend to do about them in your initial business case for Workforce Planning.

– 10 –
 Section 1: Introduction to Workforce Planning

5. Critical success factors

Workforce Planning initiatives have a better chance of succeeding if the
following conditions are in place in your organisation:

• Workforce Planning is integrated with strategic planning. Lombardi and

Bourke (2010) recommend that to achieve best-in-class performance,
organisations must formalise workforce planning efforts and create a
mindset of “no business plan without a talent plan”. They base this on
the finding that 71% of the best-in-class organisations in their survey
integrated a Workforce Planning strategy with the organisation’s strategic
planning process.

• A rigorous but flexible strategic planning process exists. It is very difficult to

do Workforce Planning if the organisation has no strategic vision or definite
plans for the future involving all aspects of the organisation.

• Leaders must be willing to engage in some divergent, “big-picture” thinking

and be willing to step away from the day-to-day concerns to create a future
vision.

• Workforce Planning is a collaborative effort, with the Human Resources

function and line managers creating Workforce Plans together, with
executive level buy-in and support.

• Workforce Planning is driven and championed by senior management.

Lombardi and Bourke (2010) found that 86% of best-in-class organisations
had executive level buy-in for Workforce Planning efforts and that 28% of
best-in-class organisations held the CEO or Board of Directors primarily
accountable for Workforce Planning.

• Workforce Plans are regularly reviewed. Lombardi and Bourke (2010)

found that 55% of best-in-class organisations reviewed the results and
related decisions of Workforce Planning at least quarterly, while only 20%
of average organisations and 10% of the laggards do so.

• The Human Resources function has extensive knowledge and skill in

facilitating the implementation of the process.

As with the barriers, you have to identify the unique critical success factors
for your organisation to ensure that workforce planning will be implemented
successfully and include them in your business case so that they will receive the
necessary attention.

– 11 –
Workforce Planning Toolkit

6. The Workforce Planning roadmap

The roadmap for workforce planning consists of the phases depicted in the
figure below:

Phase 1:
Ensure readiness

Phase 7:
Phase 2:
Monitor and
Create context
evaluate

Generic
Workforce
Planning Cycle
Phase 6: Phase 3:
Develop and Understand current
implement internal and
workforce strategies external workforce

Phase 5: Phase 4:
Gap analysis Futuring

Transversal work streams: Project management and change management

Figure 1: Workforce Planning roadmap

6.1 Phase 1: Ensuring organisational readiness

The aim of this phase is to ensure that the organisation is ready to embark
on an effective Workforce Planning process and is especially important in
organisations where Workforce Planning has not been done before. The
first step during this phase is to determine the reason that the organisation
would like to embark on a Workforce Planning initiative, as the rationale
for the initiative is a fundamental starting point for building the business
case. In organisations where there is already some activity around
Workforce Planning, it is important to assess the effectiveness of the
current Workforce Planning process and identify areas for improvement
(Cillie-Schmidt, 2010).

– 12 –
 Section 1: Introduction to Workforce Planning

During this phase you have to create the necessary infrastructure across
the organisation to support the Workforce Planning process, such as
access to relevant data, having the right skills to support the process, and
clarifying Workforce Planning roles and responsibilities.

A crucial aspect of ensuring the readiness for Workforce Planning is

deciding the scope of the Workforce Planning process.

6.2 Phase 2: Creating context

“Context is the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or

event. A critical step in Strategic Workforce Planning is to understand the
context in which the organisation operates: the things that are going on
inside and outside the organisation that affect the organisation’s future.
The effectiveness of the planning depends on the appropriateness and
validity of the information that is used” (Chapman, 2007).

During this phase it is important to get a comprehensive picture of the

organisation’s desired future and the internal and external factors that
could impact on that future.

6.3 Phase 3: Understanding current internal and external workforce

This phase entails getting a comprehensive picture of what the internal

workforce currently look like in terms of various metrics, for example,
age, turnover, retirement eligibility, and so on, in order to identify
the composition, characteristics and supply of current labour for the
organisation, as well as the types of jobs and competencies available
internally.

A detailed picture of the external workforce is also obtained. It is necessary

to analyse the internal workforce to understand the potential future and
current labour supply issues and conditions and to build this into Workforce
Planning strategies (State Government of Victoria, 2006).

6.4 Phase 4: Futuring

Futuring goes further than forecasting and entails the consideration of

various possible future states. Cornish (2004) defines futuring as “the act,
art, or science of identifying and evaluating possible future events”. Sobrero
(2004) views futuring as critical for effective anticipatory decision-making,
continual yet timely improvements, and strategic plans that frame valued
programmes. The term “Futuring” is used by the Human Capital Institute

– 13 –
Workforce Planning Toolkit

(2010) as well as Chapman (2007) to describe the future workforce that

the organisation wants to target. During this phase, various qualitative and
quantitative methods are used to get a future view.

6.5 Phase 5: Gap analysis

Although the word “gap” often has a negative connotation, it may also
represent an opportunity during the Workforce Planning process. This is
because the “gap” may represent an already existing problem, but could
also denote a potential problem that may be prevented if action is taken
timeously. The difference between the desired future state and the current
state represents the gap. It is necessary to prioritise the gaps in terms of
their importance and impact on the achievement of the organisation’s
strategy. Once the gaps have been prioritised, it is necessary to determine
the root causes in order to assist in identifying the most suitable strategies
to address the gap.

6.6 Phase 6: Developing and implementing strategies to address

workforce gaps

The next phase of the Workforce Planning process involves the

development of strategies and action plans to address the prioritised gaps
and their causes. At the most basic level, these strategies could involve
any of a broad range of available people practices, for example, recruiting,
development, retrenchment, retention, engagement, reward, recognition,
and many others.

6.7 Phase 7: Monitoring and evaluation

Although it is mentioned last, monitoring and evaluation should be built

into the Workforce Planning process from the start. As such, it is similar to
the transversal work streams of project- and change management in that it
spans all the phases. Monitoring entails the review of the implementation
plan and strategies, and evaluation entails the analysis of the impact that
the implementation of the Workforce Plan has had on the organisation
(Cillie-Schmidt, 2010).

6.8 Transversal work streams

Transversal work streams span all the phases mentioned and should be
considered and planned for throughout the process. Change management
ensures the effective management of change and the impact on

– 14 –
 Section 1: Introduction to Workforce Planning

stakeholders through communication, training, consultation, targeted

focus groups, and so on (DPSA, 2008). Project management entails the
effective management of the workforce planning implementation process
and includes ensuring delivery of all outputs and deliverables, managing
effort, getting approvals, reporting and achievement of deadlines (DPSA,
2008).

6.9 Summary of the steps in the roadmap

The following table was designed based on a combination of inputs from

the following sources:

State Government of Victoria (2006), Corporate Leadership Council

(2009d), and Chapman (2007).

Table 1: Summary of the steps in the Workforce Planning roadmap

Steps Activities Objective

PHASE 1: ENSURING ORGANISATIONAL READINESS

Step 1: Assess Step 1.1: Determine Ensure clarity around the reasons why the
the current state rationale for Workforce organisation wants to focus on Workforce
of Workforce Planning initiative in Planning
Planning organisation

Step 1.2: Bring to the Ensure clarity around current workforce

surface all Workforce planning related activities with the aim of
Planning-related processes creating one common workforce planning
at the organisation framework for identifying and responding to
strategic talent needs

Step 1.3: Conduct an Identify the extent to which current workforce

assessment of current planning activities enable line leaders and HR
Workforce Planning to gain insights into strategic talent gaps that
effectiveness and readiness impact the organisation’s ability to execute
on its strategic plan and the readiness of the
organisation to engage in workforce planning

Step 2: Build Step 2.1: Build business Outline the business-focused costs and
business case case benefits of strategic workforce planning to
obtain buy-in and participation from key
stakeholders e.g. functional and line leaders

Step 3: Create Step 3.1: Align strategic Integrate the strategic planning and strategic
supporting Workforce Planning workforce planning processes to ensure that
infrastructure process with strategic workforce planning not only reacts to but also
planning process informs strategic needs and priorities

– 15 –
Workforce Planning Toolkit

Steps Activities Objective

Step 3: Create Step 3.2: Clarify the Ensure the organisation is both identifying and
supporting relationship between responding to ongoing staffing needs as well as
infrastructure strategic Workforce longer-term strategic talent gaps
(continued) Planning and staff planning

Step 3.3: Create HR Provide access to the necessary data and

infrastructure to support ensure HR staff expertise regarding the
Strategic Workforce workforce planning process and establish
Planning workforce planning team (if relevant)

Step 3.4: Engage Workforce Engage line leaders, functional leaders, and
Planning stakeholders HR leaders who are critical to diagnosing
and responding to strategic talent gaps, and
outline workforce planning objectives and
responsibilities

Step 3.5: Determine the Determining the drivers for the organisation’s
scope of the Strategic decision to do Strategic Workforce Planning
Workforce Planning will provide insight into the types of activities
initiative that would work best and the people to
involve. It will also help to identify which jobs
or areas of the workforce will be analysed and
assist with the allocation of resources

PHASE 2: CREATING CONTEXT

Step 1: Step 1.1: Review the To develop a good understanding of the

Review the organisation’s future future mission, vision, business plans, goals
organisation’s direction and capabilities of the organisation, and the
future direction implications these may have on the workforce

Step 2: Review Step 2.1: Review external The external environment needs to be scanned
external factors factors that may impact on to identify any factors and trends that may
that may the organisation and the impact on the organisation’s direction and its
impact on the workforce workforce. The identified factors and their
organisation and impact on the organisation and the workforce
the workforce can then be considered and addressed within
the workforce plan and human resources
interventions

Step 2.2: Summarise the It is important to avoid “analysis paralysis” and

relevant external factors in focus only on those elements from the external
terms of their impact on environment that will impact significantly on
the demand and supply of the selected talent segments, organisation
the workforce strategy, or workforce in general

– 16 –
 Section 1: Introduction to Workforce Planning

Steps Activities Objective

Step 3: Step 3.1: Translate the Determine the implications of the

Explore the strategy and the priority organisation’s strategy, as well as the external
impact of the external factors into factors on the workforce
organisation’s workforce requirements
future direction
and the external
factors on the
workforce

PHASE 3: UNDERSTANDING THE CURRENT INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL WORKFORCE

Step 1: Analyse Step 1.1: Analyse internal Analysing the internal labour force will enable
internal workforce characteristics an organisation to identify:
workforce and profiles
characteristics • The composition, characteristics
and profiles and supply of current labour for the
organisation (from internal and external
sources), and

• The type of jobs and skills available

internally

Step 2: Analyse Step 2.1: Analyse external Analysing the external workforce and labour
external workforce characteristics market data enables an organisation to
workforce and profiles understand the potential future and current
characteristics labour supply issues and conditions, and to
and profiles build these into workforce planning strategies

Step 3: Step 3.1: Document all To create a record of the data gathered for
Consolidate the information gathered analysis purposes
information during previous steps and
from Phases 2 interpret the results
and 3 Step 3.2: Document all the To provide an interpretation of the data
major findings as a list of
factors that need attention

Step 3.3: Map the items on To determine the risks associated with each
a risk matrix factor

Step 3.4: Decide what to To prioritise each factor according to risks

address as indicated on the
risk matrix

– 17 –
Workforce Planning Toolkit

Steps Activities Objective

Step 3: Step 3.5: Consider the time Considering the time horizon helps with
Consolidate horizon when plotting risks further prioritisation
information Step 3.6: Use the highest Feeds into the scenario planning process
from Phases impact factors for scenario
2 and 3 planning in Phase 4: Step
(continued) 4.2

PHASE 4: FUTURING

Step 1: Step 1.1: Understand Forecasting future work requirements involves

Understand future work requirements identifying the type of work that will need to
future work be performed to meet future organisational
requirements goals, as well as how it will be performed

Step 2: Step 2.1: Identify future Identify what competencies employees

Identify future competencies and will need to carry out the work. The set
competencies organisation capabilities of competencies that describes the ideal
and organisation workforce of the future is then captured within
capabilities the future workforce profile

Step 3: Develop Step 3.1: Decide on the The models allow the exploration of the
forecasting forecasting models and relationship between different human resource
models information that will be issues and how variations in one component
used will have an effect on the workforce under
review

Step 3.2: Implement a This allows the organisation to understand the

quantitative forecasting future towards which it is currently heading –
model(s) to project internal its “No Change Future State” – by forecasting.
and external supply and The aim is to forecast internal and external
demand supply and demand of critical skills, talent
segments, and capabilities. The organisation
is building a representation of what the future
will look like if current practices continue.
It may well create the “burning platform”
required to place Strategic Workforce Planning
on the strategic agenda; and second, it
provides the benchmark or control group
for measuring and comparing the impact of
any actions you take to achieve your future
workforce goals

– 18 –
 Section 1: Introduction to Workforce Planning

Steps Activities Objective

Step 4: Interpret Step 4.1: Develop In order to make forecasting more realistic, a
quantitative forecasting assumptions range of assumptions concerning the future
forecasting can be developed and incorporated into
data, develop different scenarios
forecasting Step 4.2: Build scenarios Each scenario depicts a different future state
assumptions, and helps the organisation predict and envision
and do scenario future changes and what impact they will have
building on the workforce

Depending on the size and complexity of the

scenario, they can be used to propose possible
intervention strategies such as policy changes
or increases/decreases in staffing levels and
finances

Step 5: Define Step 5.1: Select the The targeted future is the future workforce
the desired scenario that will be the that your actions are going to be directed
future state – ideal state with regard towards, and you describe it in the same way
the targeted to the workforce for the as you described your current state – with a
future organisation mix of quantitative and qualitative descriptors,
and with consideration of the needs of the
employees as well as of the employer. Once a
targeted future is identified, the organisation
can define the gaps between its no change
future state and its targeted future, which
allows for focused, effective action planning

PHASE 5: GAP ANALYSIS

Step 1: Identify Step 1.1: Assess Diagnose organisational gaps and shortcomings
and analyse organisational risks/gaps to with potential negative impact on strategy
gaps (e.g. strategy execution execution
differences Step 1.2: Communicate Ensure that business leaders are aware of
between supply talent and capability gaps/ labour market and organisational gaps that
and demand) risks to business leaders to might impact the organisation’s ability to
inform decisions execute on strategy

Step 2: Prioritise Step 2.1: Prioritise areas Having identified the existence and nature
areas for action, for action, based on of the gaps or surpluses, they need to be
based on the the assessment of risk prioritised according to those that are most
assessment of associated with the gap critical to the organisation and the delivery of
risk associated future goals
with the gap

– 19 –
Workforce Planning Toolkit

Steps Activities Objective

Step 3: Step 3.1: Understand the Understanding the reason for the gap will
Understand the reason for the gap assist with identifying potential directions for
reason for the action
gap

PHASE 6: DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES

Step 1: Identify Step 1.1: Identify potential To identify the areas requiring management
potential directions for action. action to bridge the gap
directions for
action

Step 2: Select Step 2.1: Select the best To prioritise and select the best strategies to
and formulate strategies to address address strategic workforce gaps
workforce critical gaps
strategies Step 2.2: Formulate and To create a workforce action plan that focuses
design the strategies on the 3–5 strategies most effective at closing
strategic talent gaps

Step 3: Establish Step 3.1: Establish the case To create the sense of urgency required
the case for for change to get support and co-operation from key
change stakeholders within the organisation

Step 4: Establish Step 4.1: Establish success Success criteria are objective measures used
success criteria criteria to assess how well the project’s objectives
have been achieved (in terms of outputs and
educational outcomes), and how well the
project itself has run. The success or otherwise
of planned actions or strategies implemented
can only really be assessed if success and
evaluation criteria are set up prior to the
implementation

Step 5: Design Step 5.1: Design action/ To create a workforce action plan that focuses
action/project project plan on the 3-5 strategies most effective at closing
plan strategic talent gaps

Step 6: Step 6.1: Involve relevant To ensure all relevant stakeholders (both HR,
Implement the stakeholders to ensure other functions, and line stakeholders) who are
action/project successful execution critical to executing on the workforce action
plan plan understand their role and responsibilities
in executing on the plan

Step 6.2: Project To ensure the effective implementation of the

management workforce plan

– 20 –
 Section 1: Introduction to Workforce Planning

Steps Activities Objective

Step 7: Change Step 7.1: Change To ensure the optimal implementation of the
management management to support workforce plan and related changes
to support implementation of plan
implementation
of plan

Step 8: Align Step 8.1: Align strategies to To ensure that the culture and values assist
strategies to organisational values and with achieving a number of important
organisational culture workforce planning objectives, e.g. attraction,
values and recruitment, development, and retention
culture

PHASE 7: MONITORING AND EVALUATIONE

Step 1: Monitor Step 1.1: Assess and To track progress against workforce action
communicate progress planning objectives and address shortfalls

Step 1.2: Revisit workforce To ensure that the workforce action plan is
action plan always aligned with strategic priorities and
gaps

Step 2: Evaluate Step 2.1: Evaluate the To determine the impact of the strategies on
impact of the workforce the organisation
plan

7. Conclusion
Workforce Planning has become an integral part of organisation strategy
and provides the Human Resources function with an excellent opportunity
to show how we can add value to the business as we facilitate the effective
implementation of this crucial process.

– 21 –
 SECTION 2:
ABOUT THE TOOLKIT

– 23 –
Workforce Planning Toolkit

Introduction
This Toolkit contains 42 tools in eight sections categorised according to the seven
main phases in the Workforce Planning roadmap, plus a final section where
everything is put together. The tools are based on practical experience by Workforce
Planning practitioners, supported by the inputs of researchers and academics.

The tools are designed to assist anyone involved in Workforce Planning with:

• Becoming familiar with the various steps and concepts involved in Workforce
Planning

• Providing a starting point for designing the organisation’s own tools and
processes

• A basis for facilitating interaction about Workforce Planning in the organisation

as the tools could be used as frameworks for discussion.

You can select and adapt any of the tools provided to meet your specific requirements.
The toolkit is not comprehensive and you might have to add to it based on your own
experience and circumstances.

How the Toolkit works

The tools provided in the Toolkit are divided into the following categories:

• Section 3: Phase 1: Ensuring organisational readiness

• Section 4: Phase 2: Creating context

• Section 5: Phase 3: Understanding the current internal and external workforce

• Section 6: Phase 4: Futuring

• Section 7: Phase 5: Gap analysis

• Section 8: Phase 6: Developing and implementing strategies to address the

workforce gaps

• Section 9: Phase 7: Monitoring and evaluation

• Section 10: Putting it all together

Each section of the Toolkit deals with the main aspects and steps that should be
considered and followed when implementing Workforce Planning. Each tool is
explained according to the following headings:

– 24 –
 Section 2: About the Toolkit

• An introduction to the tool and where it fits into the total process

• The aim of the tool

• A description of what the tool entails, and how and when to use it

• Links to other tools

• The tool itself

• Specific references.

The tools are printed on A4 pages for easy reading, printing and copying.

All the tools can be downloaded from Knowledge Resources, website at www.
knowres.co.za. You may customise and adapt the tools to suit your circumstances.
Copyright still exists.

– 25 –
 SECTION 3:
TOOLS FOR USE DURING PHASE 1 –
ENSURING ORGANISATIONAL READINESS

Tool 1: Determine the drivers for Workforce Planning

Tool 2: Clarify the rationale for the Workforce Planning initiative
Tool 3: Bring to the surface all Workforce Planning-related processes in the
organisation
Tool 4: Readiness assessment audit
Tool 5: Assess the effectiveness of the current Workforce Planning process
Tool 6: Alignment of Workforce Planning with the strategic planning process
Tool 7: The differences and similarities between Strategic Workforce Planning
and Operational Workforce Planning
Tool 8: Clarify roles and responsibilities of all involved in Workforce Planning
Tool 9: Sample Workforce Planning Policy
Tool 10: Stakeholder engagement planning format
Tool 11: Determine scarce skills
Tool 12: Identify critical roles and functions as part of scoping the Workforce
Planning initiative

– 27 –
 Tool 1

Determine the drivers for Workforce Planning

1.1 Introduction
In creating readiness in your organisation for embarking on Workforce
Planning, it is necessary to identify the main drivers for Workforce Planning
in your organisation. Identifying these drivers will enable you to formulate the
rationale for the Workforce Planning effort – a crucial start to the whole process.
It will also assist you in creating the business case for Workforce Planning and
communicating the purpose of the initiative as part of the change management
process.

1.2 The aim of Tool 1

Tool 1 will assist you in confirming the aspects driving the need to embark on
Workforce Planning in your organisation.

1.3 Description of Tool 1

What is it? How to use it When to use it

A questionnaire consisting • Review each statement in This is used before you

of statements reflecting the questionnaire embark on the Workforce
potential drivers for Planning effort, as part of
• For each statement, rate
Workforce Planning with creating readiness in the
the extent to which you
a rating scale for each organisation. The tool can
believe this item is a driver
statement be used to create awareness
for Workforce Planning
for the need to do Workforce
in your organisation by
Planning, and all relevant
indicating how strongly
stakeholders can be asked to
you agree (5) or disagree
participate and complete the
(1) with the statement
tool
• Add up the total in each
category

• Highlight the two

categories of drivers with
the highest scores

• Highlight the five most

important individual
drivers

– 29 –
Workforce Planning Toolkit

1.4 Links to other tools

• Tool 2: Clarify the rationale for the Workforce Planning initiative

1.5 Tool 1: Determine the drivers for Workforce Planning

Circle the number indicating the extent to which you agree or disagree that each
statement acts as a driver for Workforce Planning in your organisation.

Driver Strongly Strongly

disagree agree

A. Organisation strategy

1 The organisation’s strategic focus is changing 1 2 3 4 5

2 The organisation has added some new business 1 2 3 4 5

objectives to its portfolio

3 The organisation is expanding/contracting 1 2 3 4 5

4 The organisation is experiencing (or will experience) a 1 2 3 4 5

change in its markets or customer base

5 The organisation is embarking on major capital 1 2 3 4 5

expenditure/projects

6 The organisation is changing its production/service 1 2 3 4 5

technology

7 The organisation is experiencing increased competition 1 2 3 4 5

8 The organisation is embarking (would like to embark) 1 2 3 4 5

on productivity/quality/innovation improvements

9 The organisation structure is changing 1 2 3 4 5

10 The organisation is planning a merger/acquisition 1 2 3 4 5

11 There is a need to shift the organisational culture 1 2 3 4 5

12 The organisation is planning global growth 1 2 3 4 5

B. The external environment

13 Current/new legislative requirements 1 2 3 4 5

14 New technology 1 2 3 4 5

15 The economic climate 1 2 3 4 5

16 Economic uncertainty necessitates a longer-term 1 2 3 4 5

approach

17 The growth of alternative business models 1 2 3 4 5

18 Globalisation 1 2 3 4 5

19 Social responsibility requirements 1 2 3 4 5

– 30 –
 Tool 1: Determine the Drivers for Workforce Planning

Driver Strongly Strongly

disagree agree

20 The pressure to reduce the organisation’s carbon 1 2 3 4 5

footprint and function “green”

21 Requirements for Black Economic Empowerment 1 2 3 4 5

22 Unemployment 1 2 3 4 5

C. External labour market

23 Dealing with Generation Y in the workplace 1 2 3 4 5

24 Increased competition for talent 1 2 3 4 5

25 Widespread skills shortages 1 2 3 4 5

26 Young, inexperienced and under-skilled population 1 2 3 4 5

27 Scarcity of specialist skills 1 2 3 4 5

28 The leadership gap left by retiring Baby Boomers 1 2 3 4 5

29 The growth of the virtual workforce 1 2 3 4 5

30 The need for more flexible work arrangements 1 2 3 4 5

32 The rise of the knowledge worker 1 2 3 4 5

D. Internal workforce issues

33 The need to be able to move employees quickly as the 1 2 3 4 5

business dictates

34 The need for transparency from both the organisation 1 2 3 4 5

and employees

35 Employees’ need for clear career paths 1 2 3 4 5

36 Employees’ need for internal mobility 1 2 3 4 5

37 The lack of “ready now” replacements for critical/core 1 2 3 4 5

positions

38 The workforce profile does not meet legislative/ 1 2 3 4 5

Employment Equity requirements

39 Inability to attract/retain critical/core staff 1 2 3 4 5

40 Lack of competence in certain areas of the organisation 1 2 3 4 5

41 A large part of the organisation is disengaged 1 2 3 4 5

42 Several vacancies in key areas 1 2 3 4 5

43 High staff turnover 1 2 3 4 5

44 The size and impact of the contingent workforce is 1 2 3 4 5

unknown

– 31 –
Workforce Planning Toolkit

Driver Strongly Strongly

disagree agree

E. Human resources function

45 Difficulty in determining how many employees are 1 2 3 4 5

needed now and in the future

46 Inability to address strategic talent gaps 1 2 3 4 5

47 Information about the workforce is not readily available 1 2 3 4 5

or does not have data integrity

48 Talent efforts in the organisation take place in an 1 2 3 4 5

isolated manner

49 Long recruitment cycles 1 2 3 4 5

50 HR strategy is not aligned to company strategy 1 2 3 4 5

Add up the totals for each category and transfer them to this table:

Category Total Maximum % (Total divided

possible by maximum
possible x 100)

A. Organisation strategy 60

B. External environment 50

C. External labour market 45

D. Internal workforce issues 60

E. Human resources function 30

List the two areas that act as the biggest drivers for Workforce Planning in your
organisation:

List the five individual items that according to you act as the biggest drivers for
Workforce Planning in your organisation:

– 32 –
 Tool 2

Clarify the rationale for the Workforce Planning initiative

“The indispensable first step to getting the things you
want out of life is this: decide what you want.” (Ben Stein)

2.1 Introduction
Clarifying the rationale for the Workforce Planning initiative/continuous
process is an important aspect of change management as it helps others to
see the need for change and creates a sense of urgency regarding the issue.
Kotter and Ratgeber (2005) explained eight important steps in any process of
successful change, namely:

• Create a sense of urgency.

• Pull together the guiding team.

• Develop the change vision and strategy.

• Communicate for understanding and buy-in.

• Empower others to act.

• Produce short-term wins.

• Don’t let up.

• Create a new culture.

If the rationale for Workforce Planning is not agreed on upfront by all

stakeholders, it will be difficult to make the change later and you may also have
difficulty in developing the change vision and strategy.

2.2 The aim of Tool 2

Tool 2 aims to assist you in clarifying and stating the rationale for the Workforce
Planning initiative/continuous process in your organisation.

– 33 –
Workforce Planning Toolkit

2.3 Description of Tool 2

What is it? How to use it When to use it

A framework of questions • Involve all the This is used before you em-
which helps to clarify the stakeholders in this bark on the Workforce Plan-
rationale for the Workforce activity ning effort, as part of creating
Planning effort in the • Review the organisation’s readiness in the organisation.
organisation strategic plan and The tool can be used to frame
objectives the business case, as well as
• Review each question the case for change
in the template against
the background of
organisational strategy
• As a team, formulate
the rationale statement
at the end of all the
questions

2.4 Links to other tools

• Tool 1: Determine the drivers for Workforce Planning

2.5 Tool 2: Clarify the rationale for the Workforce Planning initiative
Aspects to consider Answers

What are the main people

implications of your organisation’s
strategy over the next five years?
List five to ten implications.

Classify these implications into Organisation design Number of Competencies

employees (Capability)
the following categories: (Capacity)
• Organisation structure
needed to execute the
strategy (organisation
design)
• Number (capacity) of
employees needed to
execute the strategy
• Competencies (capability)
needed to execute the
strategy

– 34 –
 Tool 2: Clarify the rationale for the Workforce Planning initiative

List the main implications with Main implication How we are ready right
now to deal with it
which you are ready right now to
deal and how you will deal with
them

List the main implications with Implication Short-term Medium- Long-term

strategy term strategy
which you cannot deal right now, needed strategy needed
and where you will have to put needed
strategies in place to be able to
deal with them

To what extent do the drivers for

Workforce Planning that you have
identified in Tool 1 impact on the
main people implications of your
organisation’s strategy?

Define the main problem(s) that

you would like to address through
the Workforce Planning process

– 35 –
Workforce Planning Toolkit

What three things do you hope

to achieve by implementing
Workforce Planning in your
organisation?

Now use the information above to describe the rationale of your Workforce Planning
effort:

For example: We will implement Workforce Planning to ensure that we have the right number of
competent Telecommunications Engineers available to maintain our number one market position
in the converged business solutions market over the next five years

OR

We are implementing Workforce Planning to ensure that we determine the critical and core
workforce segments that will help us to sustain our strategy and then implement workforce strat-
egies to attract, develop and retain those segments.

– 36 –
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The king had invented a dangerous game of throwing gold to the

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were three killed and many wounded. The king fell ill with grief, gold
rained no more, but food was still given away and petitions received.

The Beggars Court was a large quadrangle paved with slabs of alabaster
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"Down! down! down! the king comes! The god comes!" the runners
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"Rejoice, Akhnaton, Joy of the Sun!"

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"Defend us, save us, have mercy, O Lord!" they called to him, like the
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step of the stairs, where there was a heap of them already, and passed on.

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for entering the passage leading to the king's tabernacle. Mahu, the chief of
the guards, watched over everything.

Suddenly there was a disturbance. A petitioner tried to get through the

little door. The soldiers crossed their swords in front of him but he went
straight ahead, stretching his arm towards the king and screaming as though
he were being cut to pieces:

"Defend, save, have mercy, Joy of the Sun!"

Not daring to kill a man before the king, the soldiers lifted their swords
and the man, flattening himself on the ground and wriggling like an eel,
crept between them and began crawling up the stairs. Mahu rushed at him
and seized him by the collar, but the man wriggled out and went on
screaming and crawling towards the king.

Mahu made a sign to the lancers of the bodyguard who stood two in a
row, along the stairs. They closed their ranks and lowered their spears. But
the man crawled on.

At the same moment a frenzied scream was heard:

"Let him through! Let him through!"

The squealing, breathless scream like that of a woman in hysterics or of

a child in a fit was so strange that Dio did not recognize the king's voice.
With a distorted face he jumped up and stamped with both feet, as the little
girls had done when they played blind man's buff to the sound of the
threshing song. And the ringing cry went on:

"Let him through! Let him through!"

Mahu made another sign to the lancers and they lifted their spears,
making way. The man crawled between them and advanced almost as far as
the top landing where the king's tabernacle stood. He raised his head and
Dio recognised the long red curls, the red goat's beard, the prominent ears,
hooked nose, thick lips and burning eyes of Issachar, son of Hamuel.

The king was quiet now and, bending forward, looked straight into
Issachar's eyes intently and, as it were, greedily, just as Issachar looked at
him.

"Your servant has a secret message for you, sire!" Issachar whispered.

"Speak, I listen."

"No, for you, for you alone."

"Leave us alone," the king said to the dignitaries who stood on the
landing.
 All withdrew except Dio who hid behind the corner of the tabernacle.

Some three or four steps separated Issachar from the king. "I know who
you are! I know!" he said, crawling up and looking straight into the king's
eyes, with the same intent, eager look. "Sun's joy, Sun's Only Son,
Akhnaton Uaenra, Son of the living God!"

Suddenly he jumped up and drew a knife from his belt. But before he
had time to raise it Dio darted forward and seized him by the hand. He
pushed her so that she fell on her knees but jumped up again, not letting go
of his hand, and screening the king with her body. An unendurably burning
chill pierced her shoulder. She heard shouts, saw people running and fell on
the ground with the last thought: 'he will kill him!'

IX

aradise gardens of Maru-Aton—the Precincts of the Sun

—were situated south of the city, where the rocks of the
hilly desert were close to the river.

The sweet breath of the north wind could be felt even

on the hottest days under the shade of the evergreen
palms and cedars laden with the fragrance of incense. Each tree was planted
in a hole dug in the sand, filled with the Nile black earth and surrounded by
a ridge of bricks to prevent water running away.

Everywhere there were flower-beds, ponds, islands, bridges, arbours,

chapels, summer houses of light transparent lattice-work magnificently
painted and gilded like jewel boxes.

The king often came here to rest from the noise of the city in the
stillness of paradise.
 Dio spent three months here recovering from her wound. Issachar hit
her with the knife just above her left breast. It was a dangerous wound: had
the knife gone in deeper it would have touched the heart. During the first
few days she suffered from fever and delirium.

She fancied she was lying on the funeral pyre as then, in the island of
Crete after killing the god Bull; the sacrificial knife pierced her heart; the
flames burnt her but through their heat she felt a heavenly freshness: Merira
was the flame and Tammuzadad—the freshness.

Or she saw a fiery red goat grazing on the green meadows of paradise;
the grass turned coal-black at his touch and red sparks flitted about it; and
again—Tamu was the green grass and Merira—the sparks.

Or it was a rich old Sidonian merchant unfolding before her among the
booths of the Knossos harbour magnificent stuff, red shot with green;
winking slyly he praised his goods: "a true robe of Baal! A mine of silver
per cubit is my last price." And, once more, the red shade was Merira, the
green—Tammuzadad.

Or, the real Merira was taking her into the holy of holies of Aton's
temple, as he really had done, three days before Issachar's attack on the
king; she did not want to go in, knowing that no one but the king and the
high priest were supposed to do so, but Merira reassured her, saying, "Yes,
with me you may!" And, taking her by the hand, he led her in. In the dim
light of sanctuary lamps the bas-relief of the Sphinx seemed a pale
phantom: a lion's body and legs, human arms and head and an inexpressibly
strange, fine, birdlike face—old, ancient, eternal. "If a man had suffered for
a thousand years in hell and then came to earth again, he would have a face
like that," Merira whispered in her ear. "Who is he?" she tried to recognize
him and could not; and then, suddenly, she knew him and woke up with a
cry of unearthly horror: 'Akhnaton'!

The king's physician, Pentu, treated her so cleverly that she was soon
better. But the unwearying care of the queen did her more good perhaps
than any medicine. The queen nursed Dio as though she had been her own
daughter; she never left her, spent sleepless nights beside her though she
herself was far from well: she had a cough and every evening there was an
ominous red flush in her cheeks.

Each time that Dio saw the wan, beautiful face bending over her, the
face of one who had also received a mortal wound, she felt like bursting
into tears.

She learned from the queen what happened in the Beggars Court after
Issachar had struck her and she fell down senseless.

"God has saved the king by a miracle!" everyone said. The assassin had
raised his knife to strike him when some dreadful vision appeared before
him; the knife dropped out of his hand and he fell at the king's feet. The
king, thinking that Dio was killed, bent over her and embraced her with a
cry so terrible that only then they understood how much he loved her. He
would not leave her, but at last Pentu, the physician, assured him that Dio
was alive and he got up, covered with her blood.

"You are now related by blood both to him and to me," the queen said,
smiling through tears.

Some of the bodyguards rushed at Issachar, intending to kill him on the

spot, but the others saved him at the orders of Mahu and Ramose; only
these two had kept their presence of mind amidst the general confusion and
remembered that, before putting the criminal to death, they ought to find
out from him whether he had any accomplices. Issachar was taken to the
prison and cross-examined, but he said very little; he did not give anyone
away and only confessed that when he raised the knife to strike the king he
had a vision. He would not say what the vision was and only muttered to
himself something in the Jewish language about their King-Messiah and
repeated senseless words "they shall look on Him whom they pierced." But
he would not explain who was pierced and then grew silent altogether.

Torture was forbidden by royal decree in the holy province of Aton, yet
considering the importance of the occasion they had recourse to it all the
same. But neither antelope lashes nor hippopotamus scourges could untie
Issachar's tongue. Mahu and Ramose had to give him up at last.
 On that same night he was taken ill with something like brain fever—or
pretended to be. Fearing that the criminal might die before the execution
Ramose hastened to ask the king for a death penalty had been abolished in
Aton's province. And when Ramose suggested that the criminal should be
moved to some other province and executed there, the king smiled and said,
shrugging his shoulders: "there is no deceiving God, my friend! This man
wanted to kill me here—and here he must be judged."—"Not judged, but
pardoned," Ramose understood and was indignant; he decided to put
Issachar to death secretly by the hands of the gaolers. But he did not
succeed in this either: the old gaolers were replaced by the new who had
received strict orders to preserve the prisoner's life.

Issachar soon recovered from his real, or pretended, illness. The king
who had had an epileptic fit after Issachar's attack on him and was still far
from well, visited the prisoner and had a long peaceful talk almost alone
with him: the guards stood at a distance; and a few days later it appeared
that the prisoner had escaped.

The three elder princesses, Maki, Rita and Ankhi, helped the queen to
nurse Dio; it was from them she heard of the city rumour about the king
having himself helped Issachar to escape; it was said that the man had not
gone far but was hiding somewhere in the town waiting, perhaps, for a new
opportunity to take the king's life.

"The king has now shamed the faces of all his faithful servants because
he loves those who hate him and hates those who love him!" Ramose cried
when he heard of Issachar's escape, and he recalled the words of old
Amenhotep the Wise, the tutor and namesake of the king's father: "if you
want to please the gods, sire, and to cleanse Egypt from corruption, drive
away all the Jews!"

"The darling Hippopotamus is right," Ankhi concluded—she called

Ramose 'hippopotamus' because of his being so stout—and suddenly she
clenched her fists and stamped almost crying with anger. "Shame, shame
upon all of us that the vile Jew has been spared!"

Dio made no answer, but the thought flashed through her mind "we are
related by blood now, but blood, both his own and other people's is like
water to him!" And though she immediately felt ashamed of this thought a
trace of it remained in her mind.

The king often came to Maru-Aton, but the queen seldom allowed him
to see Dio, especially during the first, difficult days: she knew he was not
clever with the sick. His conversations with Dio were strangely trivial.

"Why is it I keep talking of trifles?" he wondered one day, left alone

with her. "Is it that I am growing stupid? You know, Dio, sometimes I am
awfully stupid, ridiculously so. It must be because of my illness...."

He paused and then added, with the childishly timid, apologetic smile
that always wrung her heart: "The worst of it is that I sometimes make the
most sacred things foolish and ridiculous: like a thief stealing and
desecrating that which is holy...."

"Why do you talk like this?" Dio cried, indignantly.

"There, forgive me, I won't.... What is it I was going to say? Oh, yes,
about Issachar. It wasn't out of foolishness I pardoned him. He is a very
good man...."

The queen came in and the conversation dropped. Dio was glad: her
heart was throbbing as though Issachar's knife had once more been thrust
into the wound.

By the month of Paonzu, March-April, she was almost well though still
weak.

The first time she went into the garden she was surprised to see that the
hot summer came straight after the winter: there was no trace of spring.

Strange longing came upon her during those hot days of delusive
southern spring. "He who drinks water out of the Nile forgets his native
land," the Egyptians said. She fancied she, too, had forgotten it. What was
this longing then? "It's nothing," she tried to comfort herself, "it's simply
foolishness, the result of illness, as with the king. It will pass off." But it did
not.

In the gardens of Maru-Aton by the big pond opposite the women's

quarters where Dio lived, a rare tree, hardly ever seen in Egypt, was planted
—a silver birch, graceful and slender, like a girl of thirteen. It had been
brought as a present to Princess Makitatona from Thracia, the land of
Midnight. The princess was very fond of it; she looked after it herself,
watered it and kept the ground around it well dug, covering it with fresh
Nile black earth.

Dio, too, grew fond of the birch tree. Every day she watched its buds
swell and sticky, greenish yellow leaves, crumpled like the face of a new-
born baby, open out; she kissed them and, sniffing them with her eyes
closed, fancied that every moment she would hear the call of the cuckoo
and smell the melting snow and lilies of the valley as in her native woods at
home on Mount Ida—smell the real spring of her own native land.

When flocks of cranes flew northwards, with their melancholy call, she
stretched out her arms to them: would that she, too, were flying with them!
Looking at the ever blue, lifeless sky she longed for the living clouds she
knew so well. Putting her ear to a shell, she eagerly listened to its roar, that
was like the roar of sea waves; she dreamt of the sea in her sleep and wept.
One day she sniffed a new sponge Zenra had just bought and almost cried in
reality.

She had a Cretan amethyst, a present from her mother, with a fine
design upon it: bare willows in a flooded meadow all bent to one side by the
wind, a tumble-down old fence with poles sticking out, the ripple of autumn
rain on the water: everything dull and wretched and yet she would have
given her very soul to see it all again. But she knew she would never see it,
she would never go home—she would not want to herself. Was this,
perhaps, why she longed for it so? Thus the radiant shades in paradise may
be longing for this gloomy earth.
 One early morning she sat by Maki's birch tree, listening to the wailing
of the shepherd's pipe in the hills above Maru-Aton. She knew both the
song and the singer: the song was about the dead god Tammuz and the
singer was Engur, son of Nurdahan, a Babylonian shepherd, an old servant
of Tammuzadad, brought by her to Egypt from the island of Crete.

The sounds of the pipe fell sadly and monotonously, sound after sound
like tear after tear.
"The wail is raised for Tammuz far away,
The mother-goat and the kid are slain,
The mother-sheep and the lamb are slain,
The wail is raised for the beloved Son."

Dio listened and it seemed to her that in this song the whole creation
was weeping for the Son who is to come, but still tarries "how long, how
long, O Lord?"

Nothing stirred and complete stillness reigned everywhere; only the air,
in spite of the early hour, was simmering with heat over the sandy paths of
the garden and flowing in streams like molten glass.

Suddenly a fan-like leaf at the top of a palm moved as though coming to

life, then another and a third. There was a gust of wind, hot as from an
oven; the sand on the paths rose up like smoke; the light grew dim; the sky
turned dark and yellowish in an extraordinary, incredible way: it might be
the end of the world; the whole garden rustled and groaned in the sudden
whirlwind. It was dark as night.

Dio ran home. The wind almost knocked her off her feet, burned her
face, blinded her with sand. Her breath failed her, her temples throbbed, her
legs gave way under her. It was not twenty paces to the house but she felt
she would fall exhausted before she got there.

"Make haste, make haste, dear!" Zenra shouted to her from the steps;
seizing Dio by the hand she dragged her into the entry, and with difficulty
shutting the door in the tearing wind, bolted it fast.
 "What is it, nurse?" Dio asked.

"Sheheb, a plague of Set," the old woman answered in a whisper,

putting the palms of both hands to her forehead as in prayer.

Sheheb, the south-east wind, blows from the Arabian desert. Fiery
clouds of sand, thrown up by the whirlwind, fall slanting upon the ground
with the noise of hail. The sun turns crimson, then dark like an ember. At
midday lamps have to be lit. Neither men nor animals can breathe in the
black stuffy darkness; plants perish. The whirlwind never lasts more than an
hour; if it lasted longer everything would be burned up as with fire.

In the fiery darkness of the Sheheb Dio lay on her couch like one dead.
The wind howled outside and the whole house shook as though it would
fall. Someone seemed to be knocking and throwing handfuls of sand at the
closed shutters, the flame of the lamp flickered in the wind that penetrated
through the walls.

The door opened suddenly and someone came in.

"Zenra, is it you?" Dio called.

There was no answer. Somebody approached the couch. Dio recognized

Tammuzadad and was not frightened or surprised, she seemed to have
expected him. He bent over her and smiled; no, it was not Tamu, but
Merira. She looked closely and % again it was Tamu and then Merira again;
first it was one then another; they interchanged and merged into one another
like the two colours of a shot material. He bent down still lower, looked into
her eyes as though asking a question. She knew that if she answered 'no'
with her eyes only he would go away; but she closed her eyes without
speaking. He lay down beside her and embraced her. She lay like one dead.

When he had gone away she thought "I will go and hang myself." But
she went on lying quite still. She may have dropped asleep and by the time
she woke up the Sheheb was over, the sky was clear and the flame of the
lamp looked pale. Zenra came in and Dio understood that it had been
delirium.
 After the Sheheb the weather freshened. The sweet breath of the north
wind could be felt in the shade of the evergreen palms and cedars fragrant
like a censer of incense. Only at times a smell of carrion came from the
direction of Sheol and then Dio thought of her Sheheb nightmare. It was the
last attack of her illness. The wound healed so completely that the only
trace left of it was a pale pink scar on the dark skin, and Dio was quite well.

The king had once given her a beautiful scroll of papyrus, yellowish like
old ivory, smoothed to perfection with wild boar's tooth, fine, strong,
imperishable.

Papyrus was expensive and only used for the most important records;
everything else was written on clay or wooden tablets, flat white stones or
fragments of broken earthenware.

Dio had been wondering for some time what would be good enough to
write on this scroll; at last she thought of something.

All the king's teaching was given by word of mouth; he never wrote
down anything himself and did not allow others to do so. "To write," he
used to say, "is to kill the word."

"It will all be lost, it will vanish like a footprint on the sand," Dio often
thought sorrowfully, and at last she decided: "I will write down on the
papyrus the king's teaching; I will not disobey him: no one living now shall
see the scroll; but when I have finished writing I will bury it in the ground;
perhaps in ages to come men will discover it and read it."

She carried out her plan.

In secret from all she worked night after night, sitting on the floor in
front of a low desk with a sloping board for the papyrus, tracing upon it,
with the sharpened end of a reed, close columns of hieroglyphics,
abbreviated into shorthand, and covering each column with cedar varnish
which made the writing indelible.
 Words of wisdom of King Akhnaton Uaenra Neferheperura—Sun's
joy, Sun's beautiful essence, Sun's only Son—heard and written down by
Dio, daughter of Aridoel, a Cretan, priestess of the Great Mother.

The King says:

"Aton, the face of god, the disc of the sun, is the visible image of the
invisible God. To reveal to men the hidden one is everything.

"My grandfather, Prince Tutmose, was hunting once in the desert of

the Pyramids; he was tired, lay down and dropped asleep at the foot of
the great Sphinx which, in those days, was buried in the sands. The
Sphinx appeared to him in a dream and said "I am your father, Aton; I
will make you king if you dig me out of the sands." The prince did so,
and I am doing so, too: I dig the living God out of the dead sands—dead
hearts."

The King says:

"There are three substances in God: Zatut—Rays, Neferu—Beauty,

—Merita—Love; the Disc of the Sun, Light and Warmth; Father, Son,
Mother."

"The symbol of Aton, the disc of the sun with three rays like hands,
stretched downwards is clear to all men—to the wise and to the
children."

"The remedy from death is not ointments for the dead, balsam, salt,
resin or saltpetre, but mercy and love. Have mercy upon one another, O
people, have mercy upon one another and you shall never see death!"

The King said to the malefactor who attempted his life, Issachar the
Israelite: "your God sacrifices all to Himself and mine sacrifices Himself
for all."

The King says:

"The way they break granite in the quarries of Egypt is this: they
make a hole in the stone, drive a wooden wedge into it, moisten it with
water and the wood, as it swells out, breaks the stone. I, too, am such a
wedge."

"The Egyptians have an image of Osiris-Set, god-devil, with two

heads on one body, as it were, twins grown together. I want to cut them
in two."
 "The deadness of Egypt is the perfect equilibrium of the scales. I
want to disturb it."

"How little I have done! I have lifted the coffin-lid over Egypt and I
know, when I am gone, the lid will be shut down again. But the signal
has been given to future ages!"

"When I was about eight I saw one day the soldiers piling up before
the King, my father, the cut-off hands of enemies killed in battle, and I
fainted with the smell of corruption. When I think of war I always recall
this smell."

"On the wall of the Charuk palace, near Thebes, where I spent my
childhood, there was a mural painting of a naval battle between the
Cretans and the Egyptians; the enemies' ships were going down, the men
drowning and the Egyptians were stretching out to them poles, sticks,
oars, saving their enemies. I remember someone laughed looking at the
painting: 'One wouldn't find such fools anywhere except in Egypt!' I did
not know what to answer and perhaps I do not know now, but I am glad
to be living in the land of such fools!"

"The greatest of the kings of Egypt, Amenemhet, had it written on

his tomb:

In my reign men lived in peace and mercy

Arrows and swords lay idle in my reign."

"The god rejoices when he goes into battle and sees blood" is said in
the inscription of King Tutmose the Third, the Conqueror, to the god
Amon. Amon is the god of war, Aton the god of peace. One must choose
between them. I have chosen."

"There will be war so long as there are many peoples and many gods;
but when there is one God and one mankind, there will be peace."

"We Egyptians despise the Jews, but maybe they know more about
the Son than we do: we say about Him 'He was' and they say He is to
come.'"

The king said to me alone and told me not to repeat it to anyone:

 "I am the joy of the Sun, Akhnaton? No, not joy as yet, but sorrow;
not the light, but the shadow of the sun that is to rise—the Son!"

Dio wrote down many other words of the king in her scroll and she
finished with the hymn to Aton:

The Song of King Akhnaton Uaenra Neferheperura to Aton, the

living and only God.

If my scroll is ever found by you, men of the ages to come, pray for
me in gratitude for having preserved this song for you, the sweetest of all
the songs of the Lord, that at the everlasting supper I may eat bread with
my beloved King Akhnaton, the messenger of the rising sun—the Son.

Glorious is thy rising in the east

Lord and giver of life, Aton!
When thou risest in the sky
Thou fillest the earth with thy beauty.
Thy rays embrace all created things,
Thou hast carried them all away captive.
Thou bindest them by thy love.
Thou art far but thy rays are on earth,
Thou art on high, thy footprints are the day.
When thou settest in the west
Men lie in the darkness like the dead.
Their heads are wrapped up, their nostrils stopped
Stolen are all their things that are under their heads
While they know it not.
Lions come forth from their dens,
Serpents creep from out their holes:
The Creator has gone to rest and the world is dumb.

Thou risest and bright is the earth

Thou sendest forth thy rays and the darkness flees.
Men rise, bathe their limbs, take their clothing,
Their arms are uplifted in prayer.

And in all the world they do their work.

All cattle graze in pastures green,
All plants are growing in the fields,
The birds are flying over their nests,
And lift their wings like hands in prayer.
Lambs leap and dance upon their feet,
All winged things fly gaily round.
They all live in thy life, O Lord!

The boats sail up and down the river,

Every highway is open because thou hast dawned.
The fish in the river leap up before thee
And thy rays are in the midst of the great sea.

Thou createst the man-child in woman,

And makest the seed in man,
Givest life to the child in its mother's womb,
Soothing it that it may not weep
Ere its own mother can soothe it.

When the chicken cries in the egg-shell,

Thou givest it breath to preserve it alive
And the strength to break the shell.
It comes forth from the egg and staggers,
But with its voice it calls to thee.
How manifold are thy works, O Lord!
They are hidden from us, Thou only God whose power no
other possesses!
Thou didst create the earth according to thy desire,
While thou wast alone in eternity,
Thou didst create man and the beasts of the field,
All the creatures that are upon the earth,
And fly with their wings on high.
 Thou didst create Syria, Nubia and Egypt,
Setting every man in his place.
Giving him all that he needs,
His measure of food and his measure of days.
Their tongues are diverse in speech,
Their forms are diverse and their skins,
For Thou, divider, hast divided the peoples.

Thou makest the Nile in the nether world

To fill with goods thy people here;
Thou hast set a Nile up in the sky,
That its waters may fall down in floods,
Giving drink to wild beasts on the hills,
And refreshing the fields and the meadows.
How excellent are thy works, O Lord!
The Nile in heaven is for the strangers,
And the Nile from the nether world is for Egypt.

Thou feedest each plant as thine own child,

Thou makest the seasons for all thy creatures:
The winter to bring them coolness
And the summer to bring them heat.

Thou didst create the distant heavens

In order to behold all that Thou didst make.
Thou comest, thou goest, thou comest back
And Greatest out of thyself, the Only One,
Thousands upon thousands of forms:
Cities, towns and villages
On highways and on rivers.
All eyes see thy eternal sun.
When thou hast risen they live, when thou settest they die,
When thou didst establish the earth
Thou didst reveal thy will to me,
Thy Son, Akhnaton, who lives for ever and proceeds from thee,
And to thy beloved daughter,
 Nefertiti, the delight of the Sun's delights.
Who flourishes for ever and ever.
Thou, Father, art in my heart
And there's no other that knows thee,
Only I know thee, thy son,
Akhnaton Uaenra,
Joy of the Sun, Sun's only son!"

When she had finished writing, Dio put the scroll inside an earthenware
vessel, sealed it with a leaden seal with the sun disc of Aton and, as soon as
it was dark, took a spade and went to Maki's birch tree by the big pond in
the garden.

The fiery whirlwind of Sheheb had withered the tree, the blackened
leaves were rolled up into little tubes, but the roots were alive. Maki dug it
out to move it to a new hole with fresh earth in it, but she probably had not
had time to finish her work before night: the tree lay near the hole.

Dio dug the hole deeper, put the earthenware pot into it, covered it with
earth and levelled it.

A white rose was blooming close by in a flowerbed by the pond. In the

stillness of the April night glowworms flitted about like sparks. One of
them burrowed its way into the rose, and the flower seemed to have a heart
of fire.

Dio went up to it, kissed it and thought:

"If some day men read my writing, they will connect Akhnaton with
Dio. I shall be in him as this flame is in the flower."

X
 he whip cracked, the horses dashed forward, the feathers
on their manes swayed, snowflakes of foam dropped off
their bridles, and the chariot flew like a whirlwind. The air
whistled in the ears; the lion's tail fixed to the king's belt at
the back and the crimson ribbons of his robe fluttered in
the wind. The king was driving; Dio stood behind him.

They passed the palm groves and the fields of ripe, yellow corn, taller
than the height of man; the Nile glittered for the last time in the distance
and the menacing silence of the endless desert, now dark brown, now
sparkling like glass, enveloped them.

As she looked through her lashes at the shining snake-like sandy roads,
flattened by heavy traffic, Dio recalled the thin layer of ice over the thawing
snow sparkling in the sun on Mount Dicte. The dazzling air was
shimmering with the heat. A vulture hung motionless in the dark blue sky.
At times the shadow of a passing cloud ran over the ground and, still
quicker, an antelope galloped past; suddenly it would stop and, stretching
out its neck, sniff the air and then run on, light as the wind.

The sun was setting when the wayfarers saw on a high rock of the
Arabian hills a boundary-stone of the province of Aton.

The images of King Akhnaton and Queen Nefertiti, cut out in the rock
at a height where only the wind, the sun and the eagles could reach them,
were half-covered, as though buried alive, by the waves of drifting sands.
The only way to reach the bas-reliefs was to descend by a rope down a
perpendicular rock; and evidently this was what some enemy of Aton's faith
had done, for the images were broken and defiled.

The king stepped out of the chariot. The long black shadow cast by his
figure upon the white sand seemed to stretch to the ends of the earth.

There was a clatter of hoofs. The high-priest, Merira, and the chief of
the guards, Mahu, drove up.

"If I could only find the scoundrels, I would kill them on the spot!"
Mahu cried indignantly, when he saw the desecrated images.
 "Come, come, my friend," said the king, with a smile. "The sands will
bury them anyway—there will be nothing left."

Mahu went to make arrangements for the night: the king wished to sleep
in the desert.

Close by there was a mountain gorge, dark and narrow like a coffin,
where tombs had been cut in the rock for the princesses. Hard by an old fig-
tree made an unfading patch of green against the dead sand, and a
sweetbrier flowered, fragrant with the scent of honey and roses: the secret
water of an underground spring kept them fresh.

The king, accompanied by Dio and Merira, went down into the gorge to
see the tombs.

When they had finished they walked up the slope of the hill by a narrow
jackals' path, talking.

"Is the decree concerning the gods ready, Merira?" the king asked.

Dio understood that he meant the decree prohibiting the worship of all
the old gods.

"It is ready," Merira answered, "but do think before you proclaim it,
sire."

"Think of what?"

"Of not losing your kingdom."

The king looked at him intently, without speaking, and then asked
again:

"And what ought I to do, my friend, not to lose my kingdom?"

"I have told you many times, Uaenra: be merciful to yourself and
others."

"To myself and others? Can one do both?"

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