Final answer:
Workforce planning is the process of identifying employee requirements for an organization to meet its goals, emphasizing retention and optimal hiring. It involves job analysis and the identification of KSAOs necessary for roles, which is supported by I-O psychology.
Step-by-step explanation:
The act of identifying the numbers and types of employees an organization will require to meet its objectives is termed as workforce planning or employee forecasting. This process is crucial as it specializes and focuses on the retention of employees and hiring practices, aiming to optimize hirings and minimize firings in relation to the organization's size. Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology plays a significant role in this area by focusing on job analysis to accurately describe tasks and identify the necessary worker characteristics for job matching.
The effective matching of employees to their roles aligns skills, knowledge, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) with the job specifications, ultimately leading to improved engagement, performance, and retention. I-O psychologists help organizations navigate this complex process, contributing to the development of job descriptions and analyzing the efficacy of organizational training programs. Moreover, understanding the organizational chart and setting specific goals during the first year on the job can significantly impact an employee's success and the overall efficiency of the workforce planning.