The COVID-19 pandemic might have seen many organisations caught flat-footed and unprepared to face the challenges at first, but many have since adapted, either by adopting digital measures, changing of mindsets, creating contingency plans, or a combination of those. Either way, it seems like most can agree that future-proofing is the way forward.

This is where Strategic Workforce Planning comes in, where organisations plan ahead for things like demographic changes, talent management, cost reduction and flexibility, and of course, pandemics, among many other factors.

There are many approaches to workforce planning, but all rely on the same key things – setting the direction that you want your organisation to go, analysing your current workforce and what it needs to bring you to the direction that you want, and developing the action plan. From there, organisations can look into their recruitment practices and hiring decisions, which can help them to future-proof their workforce.

For example, if you have an ageing workforce, you might want to consider hiring younger employees so they can be onboarded before older employees retire, ensuring the smooth running of your organisation.

It also means that recruiters and hiring managers now have a bigger role than ever. Because of the number of candidates that they speak to on a daily basis, they hold a great deal of information vital to shaping future workforce planning, from what candidates are looking for, to how to engage a candidate throughout the recruitment process. This information, fully utilised, provides organisations with insights into things like candidates’ preference on working arrangements for example, which in turn will help organisations determine the strategy they should take moving forward. Most importantly, it ensures that organisations have the right person for the job when the moment comes.