4 mindset shifts to approach strategic workforce planning more effectively

Support your operational growth with the right strategic workforce planning framework

Are you certain that your workforce strategy supports your company's growth projections?

Planning for a company's future workforce has never been easy. Yet, today’s unstable economic climate and the growing need for flexibility and efficiency have made it even more difficult for business leaders.

The good news is that by switching from a reactive to a proactive mindset, you can now better understand your company’s changing operational needs and improve your overall business performance.

By staying agile and regularly reevaluating your staffing needs in light of future demands, you will better be able to adjust your headcount plans accordingly to achieve the greatest level of growth at all times.

Download our newest infographic to learn the top 4 mindset shifts you should make when addressing strategic workforce planning in the modern era.

What is strategic workforce planning?

The term "strategic workforce planning" is used to describe the iterative process of planning for changes in a company's workforce to meet future goals. This business strategy involves ensuring a company has enough people on board with the right skill sets, in the right roles, and at the perfect time to meet its short- and long-term business objectives.

This is different from traditional people management practices that simply focus on short-term hiring and retention strategies. Instead, strategic workforce planning looks at the bigger picture and helps organizations prepare for future growth.

Business leaders who implement an effective workforce planning process understand what is required of all of their current employees and plan to hire with the strengths and weaknesses of their current workforce in mind.

Benefits of implementing a strategic workforce planning

In today’s competitive landscape, organizations are forced to adapt quickly to meet market demands. As a result, there are often critical skill gaps within companies that cannot be addressed without recruiting additional staff. 

To fill these gaps, organizations must develop a strategic workforce planning framework to identify potential talent shortages and plan accordingly. When done strategically, workforce planning enables all functions to take a collaborative approach toward operations.

Some of the benefits of strategic workforce planning include:

• Improved recruitment efforts
• Increased retention rates
• Reduced turnover costs
• Better customer experience
• Increased employee engagement 

In short, while strategic workforce planning may seem complex at first due to the level of cross-functional alignment required, the benefits far outweigh the effort needed. By properly preparing a company before any hiring activity, organizations may significantly increase their chances of success and enhance their entire operational performance.