Tips for Rethinking Workforce Development Strategies

Louder for the people at the back 🎤 Many organisations today seem to have shifted from being institutions that develop great talent to those that primarily seek ready-made talent. This trend overlooks the immense value of individuals who, despite lacking experience, possess a great attitude, commitment, and a team-oriented mindset. These qualities often outweigh the drawbacks of hiring experienced individuals with a fixed and toxic mindset. The best organisations attract talent with their best years ahead of them, focusing on potential rather than past achievements. Let’s be clear this is more about mindset and willingness to learn and unlearn as apposed to age. To realise the incredible potential return, organisations must commit to creating an environment where continuous development is possible. This requires a multi-faceted approach: 1. Robust Training Programmes: Employers should invest in comprehensive training programmes that equip employees with the necessary skills for their roles. This includes on-the-job training, mentorship programmes, online courses, and workshops. 2. Redefining Hiring Criteria: Organisations should revise their hiring criteria to focus more on candidates’ potential and willingness to learn rather than solely on prior experience or formal qualifications. Behavioural interviews, aptitude tests, and probationary periods can help assess a candidate's ability to learn and adapt. 3. Partnerships with Educational Institutions: Companies can collaborate with educational institutions to design curricula that align with industry needs. Apprenticeship programmes, internships, and cooperative education can bridge the gap between academic learning and practical job skills. 4. Lifelong Learning Culture: Encouraging a culture of lifelong learning within organisations is crucial. Employers should provide ongoing education opportunities and support for professional development. This includes continuous skills assessment and access to resources for upskilling and reskilling. 5. Inclusive Recruitment Practices: Employers should implement inclusive recruitment practices that remove biases and barriers. Blind recruitment, diversity quotas, and targeted outreach programmes can help ensure that diverse candidates are given a fair chance. By implementing these measures, organisations can develop a workforce that is adaptable, innovative, and resilient, ensuring sustainable success and growth.

Rethinking Entry-Level Hiring: Focus on Potential, Not Just Experience (What your workforce really needs from you) Experience isn't born overnight. It doesn’t materialize from thin air. In today's market, leadership isn’t about demanding prior experience. It’s about nurturing future talent. Here’s how forward-thinking organizations are shifting their approach: 1️⃣ Recognize the Potential Gap Demanding years of experience for entry-level roles creates a barrier. ➜ Acknowledge the current hiring paradox. ➜ Understand the frustration of fresh graduates. ➜ Focus on the skills that can be developed. Open doors, don't build walls. 2️⃣ Value Attitude and Adaptability Years on a résumé don’t guarantee success. Mindset does. ➜ Prioritize a candidate’s willingness to learn. ➜ Look for adaptability in a changing market. ➜ See beyond the paper and into the person. Potential outshines past experience. 3️⃣ Invest in Mentorship and Training Every expert was once a beginner. Build the foundation. ➜ Provide structured mentorship programs. ➜ Offer continuous training and development. ➜ Create opportunities for hands-on learning. Growth is a two-way investment. 4️⃣ Foster an Inclusive Hiring Culture Opportunity shouldn’t be a privilege. It should be a standard. ➜ Break down traditional hiring biases. ➜ Value diverse backgrounds and perspectives. ➜ Create a level playing field for all candidates. Inclusion breeds innovation. 5️⃣ Prioritize Skill-Building Skills are the currency of the future. Invest wisely. ➜ Focus on transferable skills over specific experience. ➜ Identify core competencies and develop them. ➜ Create a culture of continuous learning. Skills grow with opportunity. 6️⃣ Focus on Long-Term Success Short-term experience vs. long-term growth. Choose wisely. ➜ Build a pipeline of future leaders. ➜ Invest in the longevity of your workforce. ➜ Cultivate talent for sustainable success. Future-proof your team. 7️⃣ Leadership is Investing, Not Just Expecting True leadership isn’t about demanding expertise. It’s about building it. ➜ Absorb the initial training burden. ➜ Offer guidance, not just requirements. ➜ Build an environment where potential thrives. Your team will remember the organization that invested in them. Guide them forward. Build their future. Because leadership isn’t about finding perfect candidates. It’s about creating them. Image credit: George Stern

Most companies wait until they have an urgent problem before addressing workforce capability. But the ones building competitive advantage are investing in readiness before the gap becomes a crisis. Here are four areas where organizations need to focus: 𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼 Automation specialists, data scientists, and AI integration roles require new training pathways. Companies that build apprenticeship programs and internal development tracks get ahead of skills bottlenecks before they slow growth. 𝟮. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗔𝗜 It's not enough to deploy AI tools. Teams need to understand how to integrate AI into their workflows, manage AI-driven processes, and improve performance through human-AI collaboration. 𝟯. 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Skills assessments show what people can actually do, not just what their job titles suggest. Companies that map capabilities across their workforce can redeploy talent strategically and keep people engaged in roles where they can grow. 𝟰. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱 Whether it's technical training, role-specific development, or management skills, companies need structured programs that prepare people for the work that's coming, not just the work that exists today. The retirement wave is gathering speed. Skills-based hiring is becoming the norm. Growth isn't waiting. What's your approach to workforce readiness right now?

🎙️ "Workforce planning is evolving - and in some organizations, being reinvented - to become a key differentiator in a dynamic, artificial intelligence-powered world." Workforce planning needs to evolve because the old model - forecasting headcount and roles based on stable assumptions - no longer holds in a world shaped by rapid AI adoption, skills decay and unpredictable markets. In this environment, workforce planning must anchor the future of work by aligning human, machine and organisational capacity in real time, rather than treating it as a static exercise. In their article for Deloitte, 'Reinventing workforce planning for an AI-powered, uncertain world', Susan Cantrell, Russell Klosk (智能虎), Zac Shaw, Kevin Moss, Christopher Tomke, and Michael Griffiths identify five key shifts to achieve this: 1️⃣ From planning for a single future to planning for multiple futures: 🔎 Build agility by modelling a range of scenarios, embedding resilience and alternative talent paths. 2️⃣ From planning based on jobs to planning based on work: 🔎 Move from fixed roles to tasks, skills and outcomes, including human-machine blends. 3️⃣ From visible capability to unlocking hidden capability and capacity: 🔎 Identify undervalued talent, non-traditional roles and internal mobility, as well as human-machine hybrids. 4️⃣ From static, manual planning to autonomous, dynamic planning: 🔎 Leverage real-time data and AI agents to monitor workforce signals, trigger interventions and continuously adjust. 5️⃣ From silos to synergies (horizontal and vertical): 🔎 Embed workforce planning across business units and levels, democratise data and involve people closest to the work in decision-making. These shifts reposition workforce planning from a support function into a strategic capability - enabling organisations to adapt faster, deploy talent smarter and harness human-machine potential for both business and human outcomes. 🔗 The article is featured in the November edition of the Data Driven HR Monthly, which you can access here: https://lnkd.in/ekVuREn8 🔗

🛑 Stop Filling Roles. Start Building a Workforce. Traditional workforce planning is broken. It’s reactive. Transactional. And painfully slow in a world where business moves fast and skills expire faster. As I shared on a recent Human Capital Institute webinar, along with Karen Guzicki, Binderya Enkhbold, and Terri Gallagher, the organizations that will thrive in the future aren’t just hiring — they’re designing their workforce with intention. To do this, I recommend using a Build, Buy, Borrow, Bridge model for workforce planning: 🔹 Build – Upskill and reskill existing talent 🔹 Buy – Hire externally for niche expertise or leadership gaps 🔹 Borrow – Use freelancers, contractors, or gig workers for agility 🔹 Bridge – Enable lateral moves or project-based work to develop internal capacity This framework isn’t about headcount. It’s about capability. And it’s not about reacting to attrition — it’s about enabling movement and growth. Here’s the shift in approach that I believe HR must lead: * Stop waiting for a requisition. Start modeling what your workforce should look like. Now. * Shift the focus from "How fast can we hire?" to "How effectively can we build the capability we need for the future?" * Make workforce planning a continuous, strategic process, not a once-a-year activity. ❇️ HR, you're not a business partner anymore. You're workforce architects. If you'd like to listen to the HCI webcast - Future-Proofing Talent Pipelines: Redefining Succession Planning in a Dynamic Workforce - I'll share a link in the comments below. Also, if you want to contribute to a timely study on how orgs are shifting their workforce strategies, Kyle Lagunas and Erika O. at Aptitude Research are currently fielding a survey. I’ll drop the link to participate in the survey in the comments as well.

Rethinking Workforce Planning: Beyond Build, Buy & Borrow For decades, the Build–Buy–Borrow model has been the cornerstone of workforce planning—and for many organizations, it’s still a solid starting point: ·      Build: Grow your own talent through training and development ·      Buy: Hire employees with ready-made skills ·      Borrow: Leverage contractors or outsourcing partners But the world of work has transformed. AI is reshaping tasks, new partnership models are emerging, and the talent ecosystem is broader than ever. Relying on only the traditional three B’s means you may be missing strategic opportunities. It’s not about discarding what works—it’s about expanding our thinking to match the reality of how work gets done today. Introducing the New 4 B’s of Modern Capability Planning 1. Bridge Instead of filling every skills gap immediately, use temporary solutions—like job rotations, project-based assignments, or extended contractor engagements—to buy time and make more informed long-term decisions. 2. Bot Up to 41% of the average worker’s time goes to low-value tasks. Before posting a new role, ask: Should we automate this instead? Sometimes the smartest “hire” is no hire at all. 3. Blend Design roles that combine human expertise with digital enablement. Think AI-supported customer service reps, analysts using intelligent dashboards, or HR teams leveraging automation to focus on high-value, human-centric work. 4. Boost Instead of adding headcount, increase capacity by tapping into underutilized talent pools. This includes: ·      Adjacent or transferable skills already in your workforce ·      Hidden or underrepresented talent: caregivers, veterans, the formerly incarcerated, people without degrees, people with disabilities, and more The future of workforce planning isn’t about choosing between Build, Buy, or Borrow—it’s about asking better questions and leveraging a broader spectrum of possibilities. Action Step During your next workforce planning discussion, challenge yourself (and your team) to identify at least one opportunity to Bridge, Bot, Blend, or Boost before defaulting to a new “Buy.” You can dive deeper into these ideas in our blog: https://lnkd.in/ea5vMQ5v Here’s an insightful new article from Deloitte that dives deeper into this shift: https://lnkd.in/etsdz3hw #WorkforcePlanning #FutureofWork #TalentAcquisition #HRStrategy #DEI  

I’ve seen one challenge keep popping up during benefits renewal cycles: when we tailor a package to “the average employee,” we often miss large portions of the workforce whose needs are evolving fast. As we prepare for the 2026 renewal window, one of the smartest moves an organization can make is to design intentionally for workforce diversity — demographic, generational, remote/hybrid, caregiving status, and geography. The next‐gen workforce (Millennials/Gen Z) values flexibility and wellness perks differently from longer-tenured employees. In 2026, many employers plan to expand personalized health coverage, wellness stipends, remote-work support, and caregiving assistance. At the same time, benefit costs are projected to rise 8–10% for medical + Rx alone. Combine rising costs with shifting expectations, and it’s clear: it’s time to get strategic about segmentation, choice, and communication. When I work with healthcare practices, three levers consistently deliver. First: segment your workforce — by life stage, location, and work model. Second: offer flexibility, not just more of the same. Think benefits credits where employees choose between telemedicine + mental health, expanded dental/vision, or voluntary plans that matter to them. Third: communicate smartly. Great packages often stumble because employees don’t understand the value. A tailored “roadmap” helps every group see what’s in it for them. Remote and hybrid employees are another key group to consider. They may live in different states with unique mandates or carrier networks, and their sense of value shifts (“I don’t go to the office, so what’s in it for me?”). Addressing that experience upfront helps retain distributed talent. Cost containment doesn’t have to mean cuts. Structure benefits around true needs — wellness for younger staff, chronic care for those who need it, caregiver support for mid-career employees — instead of “everyone gets the same.” As you plan your 2026 renewal, ask: Who is our workforce today? What are their distinct needs and life stages? How can we control costs and boost perceived value? At Stitch, we help practices apply this strategic lens — from data-driven segmentation and custom benefit mixes to compliance and vendor negotiations — so you can offer benefits that truly resonate across your team. If you’d like to explore how to build a tailored benefits strategy for 2026, I’d be happy to connect.

𝐈𝐟 𝐋𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐭, 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞 This image doesn’t represent a moral failure. It represents a governance failure. Meta Platforms laying off roughly 1,000 employees as part of its latest AI pivot is not just a workforce headline. It’s a visible example of something playing out across many organizations. Most layoffs today are not driven by sudden market shocks. They are the delayed correction of strategic and capability bets that didn’t deliver. Despite the dominant AI narrative, less than 1% of recent layoffs are linked to realized AI productivity gains. Organizations are not cutting because technology suddenly replaced people. They are reacting to misjudged investments, premature scaling, and workforce bets that were not sufficiently stress-tested upfront. Layoffs, in this sense, are rarely the root problem. They are the lagging indicator. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐎 — 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 — 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥. Strategic CHROs have long participated in investment discussions. What has changed is the frequency and impact of error. Strategy cycles are shorter, pivots are more frequent, and when workforce bets are misaligned, the consequences surface faster and at much greater scale — financially, culturally, and reputationally. In today’s capital-constrained, AI-accelerated enterprises, what used to be good practice has become non-negotiable. A strategic CHRO cannot sit downstream of investment decisions. Workforce implications are not something to manage after capital is committed — they are part of the investment decision itself. This isn’t about slowing decisions down. It’s about improving decision quality. When organizations invest, they are also making implicit people decisions: which capabilities they are betting on, how quickly the organization can absorb change, and how reversible those bets are if strategy shifts. The CHRO’s value is in making those assumptions explicit before they harden. One final blind spot: many organizations still define workforce too narrowly. If workforce planning only means permanent, full-time employees, flexibility disappears. Strategic workforce planning now requires a multi-modal workforce — permanent talent, contract expertise, project-based teams, and skills deployed when and where they create value. Seen clearly, layoffs are not a sign of decisive leadership. They are a signal of how early — or how late — the organization confronted the real implications of its strategy. For strategic CHROs, this moment doesn’t start on the right side of the image. It starts much earlier — on the left — when investment decisions are being shaped. The real question is no longer: Can we manage reductions well? It is: How early are we shaping the decisions that make reductions necessary in the first place? #CHRO #StrategicWorkforcePlanning

𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐭 We’re not facing a hiring freeze. We’re facing a thinking freeze. Too many companies are stuck in the loop of: Headcount is down, so let’s backfill it. Yet, that loop ignores the larger truth AI and automation aren’t just tools. They’re system-level unlocks. This isn’t about firing people. It’s about not defaulting to hire when the need might already be solvable by the technology and talent you already have. 🔹𝐍𝐨𝐭 “𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞” -𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤. 🔹𝐍𝐨𝐭 “𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞” -𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 🔹𝐍𝐨𝐭 “𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞” -𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬. We’re not on the right path if we keep solving future problems with past structures. Ask yourself: What’s the actual goal? Is it to fill seats, or to drive throughput, margin, and performance? If you’re trying to preserve your edge, your domain expertise, customer relationships, and ability to adapt. Hiring into old patterns, becomes a risk, not a strategy. The critical shift is this: 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞. 🔹Rewire how you think about roles. 🔹Rewire how work gets done. 🔹Rewire how you create value with what you already have. The companies winning now? They’re not scaling by volume. They’re scaling by velocity. They’re using AI and automation to remove friction and free up their existing workforce to do the work that actually matters. They’re reducing the need for new roles and not the people already delivering outcomes. Over 19 million U.S. jobs are at high risk of automation. That includes white-collar knowledge work, operations, and tech. So the next job opening on your spreadsheet? Don’t treat it like a vacancy. Treat it like a decision point. Can this be solved through automation, augmentation, or GenAI? If yes, then that’s not a job to fill. That’s a system, process, or workflow to build. 🔹This is how you protect your people. 🔹This is how you scale your capabilities. 🔹This is how you move faster with what you already have. #genai #AI #mindsetchange #hr #humanresources #new #hire Forbes Technology Council Gartner Peer Experiences InsightJam.com PEX Network Theia Institute VOCAL Council IgniteGTM IA FORUM 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲: The views within any of my posts, or newsletters are not those of my employer or the employers of any contributing experts. 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 👍 this? feel free to reshare, repost, and join the conversation!