Do you really need Strategic Workforce Planning?

Choosing the right workforce planning approach for your organisation

Workforce planning isn’t one-size-fits-all. While Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) helps organisations plan for the long term, Tactical and Operational Workforce Planning address more immediate and mid-term needs. Understanding when to apply each approach is critical to workforce resilience, cost efficiency, and business success. Which planning approach is right for you?

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Navigating short-term challenges that impact the capability, capacity, and cost of your workforce can feel overwhelming, and often dominates decision-making discussions in many of the organisations we support. In the UK, particularly, regulatory and economic constraints are placing mounting pressure on hiring at the right cost. Combined with shifting employee expectations, especially from emerging talent, and increasing geopolitical uncertainty, maintaining a workforce that can meet immediate business goals can become an all-consuming effort.

Yet focusing only on the short term puts organisations at risk of missing the bigger picture. Those aiming for sustainable, cost-effective growth must take a more strategic view. Strategic workforce planning enables organisations to look beyond today’s gaps, anticipating the skills and capabilities required to deliver on long-term goals. It’s not just about filling roles, it’s about building a workforce that is purpose-fit and future-ready, at the right cost.

Strategic, Tactical, or Operational Workforce Planning – which one does your organisation need?

Many organisations turn to Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) as a catch-all solution for their workforce needs. But is it always the right approach?

In reality, businesses often face more immediate and evolving workforce challenges that require a different strategy—Tactical or Operational Workforce Planning. Understanding when to focus on long-term workforce strategy and when to act swiftly to address pressing needs is critical to building a resilient and effective workforce.

Workforce planning approaches

• Tactical Workforce Planning (TWP): reacting to immediate needs
  If your organisation needs a fast response to workforce challenges, such as distributing resources most effectively or eliminating duplication/ gaps in delivery of work, Tactical Workforce Planning is the best fit. Typically applied over a 3 to 9-month period, TWP helps businesses optimise cost, capability, and capacity of the existing workforce to meet short-term demand spikes.
• Operational Workforce Planning (OWP): preparing for change
  For organisations anticipating changes in business conditions over the next 1-2 years, Operational Workforce Planning is key. OWP focuses on forecasting workforce needs, identifying skill gaps, and maintaining an optimal workforce profile. Whilst this takes place in the context of near term, predictable future environment, it supports flexibility should conditions change in the future.
• Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP): future-proofing the workforce
  If your goal is to proactively shape your workforce over the next 3 to 5+ years, SWP is the way forward. It involves modelling workforce trends, aligning strategy with potential market shift scenarios, and identifying the impact on future skills gaps and surplus. SWP is essential for organisations looking to build a long-term competitive advantage through targeted investment in the optimum talent strategy. Download our guide on delivering a Strategic Workforce Plan here.

Choosing the right approach

Below are the features of each Workforce Planning type to help you choose the right workforce plan.

Need help defining your workforce planning strategy? Contact our experts