AI, AUTOMATION AND RELATED technologies are changing the way that people work today and altering the approach that organizations are taking to determine their future workforce needs.

“Traditional operational workforce planning is focused on filling headcount and managing short-term staffing needs, as well as on the ability to run the organization in the current environment,” Kevin Moss, managing director in Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Human Capital practice, said. But in a time of rapid technological change, economic uncertainty and evolving skill demands, organizations can no longer determine their future workforce needs based only on the way that work is done today.

“We’re seeing a shift from planning for a single predicted future to preparing for multiple futures with agility and real‑time adaptability,” Moss said. “There’s a longer‑term view to strategic workforce planning, but it’s just as much about looking at different aspects as it is about looking further ahead. Strategic workforce planning really broadens the scope of what is planned. It’s shifting from just a headcount and jobs to also looking at skills, work outcomes, organizational design, AI integration and financial performance, and connecting all of those things together…”