Strategic Workforce Planning: David Edwards
About this episode
David Edwards discusses the importance and practicality of strategic workforce planning in organizations.
Strategic workforce planning is back, and not in a nostalgic “this trend is back around” kind of way. It is back because the old staffing model, react late, hire fast, hope the market delivers, is failing more often than it works. The biggest misunderstanding is still the same one: strategic workforce planning is not long-term headcount forecasting. It is not a spreadsheet exercise dressed up with better visuals. It is a business discipline that exists for one reason, to stop leaders from committing to strategies the workforce cannot deliver. In this episode of Workplace Stories, David Edwards, author of The Strategic Workforce Planning Handbook , lays out a definition of SWP that is refreshingly usable. Strategic workforce planning is workforce planning for the strategic things in the organization, not an attempt to plan the entire workforce. That single shift makes SWP more approachable, more realistic, and far more effective. If you have not listened yet, this is one of those episodes worth hearing end-to-end. The conversation is practical, occasionally blunt, and full of the kind of “this is what actually happens inside companies” detail that most workforce planning content…
More episodes of Workplace Stories by RedThread Research
- How McKinsey Is Rewiring L&D for the AI Age: Heather Stefanski
- Challenges and Solutions for Supporting Frontline Teams: JD Dillon
- Designing Future Narratives in a Changing Workplace: Lisa Kay Solomon and Jeffrey Rogers
- How Workplace Culture Shapes Business Success: Ron Storn
- A Culture of Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Jenna Filipkowski
- Authentic AI Adoption and Cultural Impact: Dessalen Wood
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Workplace Stories by RedThread Research podcast page.