Building Your Talent Pipeline - Strategic Workforce Planning

EDSI · Oct 01, 2025

Many organizations use strategic workforce planning as a tool to align their business strategy with their talent strategy.

They do this by first establishing their future business goals, then analyzing them to determine what kind of changes need to occur within their workforce overall. For example, if the business strategy dictates that in three years a new high-tech service line will be expanded, an expansion of internal skills in this technology will be required as well.

Plan Ahead

Does that mean hiring for these skills, training current employees, or utilizing consultants? There are many different options to consider when filling the skills gap. The key is to take the time to plan ahead and determine what kind of organization and skills you need to have in the future. Organizations who fail to do this often end up ‘spinning their wheels’ in a never-ending hamster cage!

According to research from Deloitte, while 92% of HR professionals say workforce planning is important, less than half (42%) feel their organization is effective at it — highlighting a significant gap between intention and execution. Strategic workforce planning, when done well, helps bridge this gap by ensuring workforce decisions are informed by data and future needs rather than reactive measures.

If your organization is able to plan ahead and determine your talent needs for the future, you will be much better positioned and able to begin the hiring or training process sooner. This is why strategic workforce planning represents the second of the 10 practical tools to building your talent pipeline.

Competitive Advantage

Additionally, a recent global report found that 85% of companies are increasing or continuing to invest in strategic workforce planning — demonstrating that leading employers see planning as a key competitive advantage in a rapidly changing talent market. By proactively identifying skills requirements and building strategic talent pipelines, these organizations reduce costly last-minute hires, mitigate talent shortages, and improve responsiveness to market shifts.

Prepare for the Future

Strategic workforce planning isn’t just about filling the seats you already have — it’s about forecasting where your organization needs to be, the capabilities it will require, and the actions needed to get there. This can include:

Upskilling and reskilling current employees to meet future demands rather than defaulting to external hires.
Scenario planning to anticipate multiple future states of work and prepare contingency plans.
Aligning workforce supply and demand by using analytics to identify where talent gaps are emerging and where redundancies may appear.

Success Strategies

Organizations that build this muscle are not only more agile but also more efficient. Strategic workforce planning reduces the risk of being understaffed for strategic initiatives or overstaffed in areas that no longer contribute to the organization’s core goals. A well-designed planning process ensures that talent strategies are not separate from business strategies — they are intrinsically linked.

In practice, this alignment leads to better financial outcomes, stronger employee engagement, and a more resilient talent pipeline that supports growth rather than merely reacting to short-term challenges.

Building Your Talent Pipeline - 10 Practical Tools - "Strategic Workforce Planning"

For more information on how to implement strategic workforce planning, learn more by watching this great video featuring EDSI's Managing Partner, Jim Bitterle!

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