A variety of definitions for workforce planning can be found; however, most cover essentially the same key issues. Below are some common terms that organizations may encounter during workforce planning. At Risk Occupations: Occupations where projections indicate the demand for the occupations will decline at a rate greater than normal attrition are potentially "at risk." These occupations will be reflected as surpluses when data from the demand and supply models are compared. Attrition: A reduction in numbers usually as a result of resignation, retirement, or death. Competencies: A set of behaviors that encompasses skills, knowledge, abilities, and personal attributes that, taken together, are critical to successful work accomplishment. Competencies may be defined organizationally or on an individual basis. Competency Assessment: The process of developing a set of competencies that is aligned with an organization's mission, vision, and strategic goals. The assessment is developed based on information collected by studying what top performers do in the defined job context. This may be gathered in a variety of ways including employee questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews with managers and employees. Contract Company Workers: Individuals who work for a contract company and, like temporary workers, are assigned to particular and various clients. Critical Skill Gaps: Gaps in those skills essential to the organization in order for it to carry out its mission and accomplish its strategic objectives. Whether a skill is critical or not is determined by its inherent significance to the organization, not by its external availability. Not all gaps from the comparison of demand and supply model data will be critical skill gaps. Demand Model: The organization's forecast of needed staff size and skill mix for the designated planning period (e.g., 3-5 years). May or may not be equal to the ideal organization from the staffing assessment. FTE: A full-time equivalent (FTE) is a calculation dividing the total number of paid hours in a quarter for all employees (part time, full time, and contractors hired to perform the work normally performed by employees) by the number of hours in the quarter. Although most quarters have 520 working hours, other quarters have 512 or 528 hours. The FTE calculation is based on the number of working hours in a quarter. This includes the number of Mondays through Fridays including holidays. For most quarters, there are 65 days (520 hours), although in some quarters there are 64 (512 hours) or 66 days (528 hours). Gap Analysis: The process of comparing information from the supply analysis and the demand analysis to identify the differences or "gaps." Gap analysis identifies situations in which the number of personnel or competencies in the current workforce will not meet future needs as well as situations in which current workforce personnel or competencies exceed the needs of the future. Gaps: The amount by which needs as expressed by the demand model exceed resources as expressed by the supply model. Independent Contractors: Individuals who have a contract directly with a state agency or institution of higher education. Individual Competencies: Individual competencies are those that each employee brings to his or her function. Individual and team competencies are critical components of organizational competencies. If the individual competencies in the workforce are not in accord with those needed by the organization, workforce planning will point out these gaps. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): The knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform a job. Knowledge is an understanding of facts or principles relating to a particular subject area; skill is the application of knowledge resulting from a development of basic abilities through formal training and practical experience; and ability is capacity in a general area that may be utilized to develop detailed, specific skills. Organizational Competencies: Identifying competencies on an organizational basis provides a means for pinpointing the most critical competencies for organizational success. These are an organization's core competencies. Staffing Assessment: The determination by the organization of model (ideal) staff size and skill mix needed to carry out its strategic objectives. Succession Planning: A process designed to ensure the continued effective performance of an organization by making provision for the development and replacement of key people over time. Succession planning is generally considered to be a strategy of workforce planning. Supply Model: The projection of current organizational population for designated planning period, assuming normal attrition and no other actions (i.e., hiring freeze or reductions in force). Surpluses: The amount by which resources as expressed by the supply model exceed needs as expressed by the demand model. Temporary Workers: Individuals who are employed by a private temporary company and are assigned, usually for a specified period of time, to particular clients. Workforce Planning: Workforce planning is looking at what an organization needs to accomplish in a given period of time; what knowledge, skills, and experience are required to get the job done; and how large and what type of workforce is required to provide that mix of skills, knowledge, and experience. It defines the activities necessary to have "the right people with the right skills in the right place at the right time". | 
