Case study of manpower planning for clerical operations

This paper presents a case study of short term manpower planning in an agency which processed contract clerical work. The problem originated when the agency was presented with an unexpectedly large batch of work and a backlog quickly developed. Management took the obvious action of increasing staff numbers but this had little effect on the throughput of work. The situation deteriorated and a rapid response was requried from management. This meant that only models that were readily accessible for use by management could be considered. A decision support approach was adopted and a spreadsheet based model developed. This was effectively a time based simulation of the situation, but it gave management the flexibility to evaluate alternative solutions, unaided. The model proved to be a highly successful tool. It demonstrated that simply increasing temporary staff or working overtime were insufficient to remove the backlog of work within a year. This encouraged management to search for alternative solutions.