Building Your Talent Pipeline - Strategic Workforce Planning

Many organizations use strategic workforce planning as a tool to align their business strategy with their talent strategy.

They do this by first establishing their future business goals, then analyzing them to determine what kind of changes need to occur within their workforce overall. For example, if the business strategy dictates that in three years a new high-tech service line will be expanded, an expansion of internal skills in this technology will be required as well.

Does that mean hiring for these skills, training current employees, or utilizing consultants? There are many different options to consider when filling the skills gap. The key is to take the time to plan ahead and determine what kind of organization and skills you need to have in the future. Organizations who fail to do this often end up ‘spinning their wheels’ in a never-ending hamster cage!

If your organization is able to plan ahead and determine your talent needs for the future, you will be much better positioned and able to begin the hiring or training process sooner. This is why strategic workforce planning represents the second of the 10 practical tools to building your talent pipeline.