Training Course: Strategic HR Management & Workforce Planning Workshop: Gap Analysis & 90-Day Roadmap Course

Introduction:

Strategic HR management and workforce planning is the discipline of linking people decisions to business strategy and forecasting the number, skills and cost of employees an organisation will need. This three-day workshop course is for senior HR leaders, HR business partners and workforce planning and HR analytics professionals, and its final deliverable is a completed workforce plan with a 90-day action plan. It is taught at an advanced, practitioner depth through case studies on realistic workforce data, using the seven rights model of workforce planning, a framework that defines what a well-balanced workforce must achieve.

Course Objectives:

• Distinguish strategic HRM from operational HR administration and align HR priorities with business strategy
• Define an HR operating model and critical role segments that reflect where the organisation creates value
• Compare qualitative and quantitative demand forecasting methods and select the right one for each workforce segment
• Interpret workforce gap analysis and scenario results using HR metrics such as attrition, cost per hire and time to productivity
• Justify build, buy, borrow or redeploy decisions against cost, urgency and knowledge-retention criteria
• Apply succession and talent pipeline mapping to produce a workforce plan with a 90-day action plan

Target Audience:

• HR leaders accountable for people strategy who must decide which workforce priorities the business plan funds first
• HR business partners supporting business unit heads who must judge whether a capability gap calls for hiring, development or redeployment
• Workforce planning professionals building demand and supply forecasts who must select the forecasting method and planning horizon for each segment
• Talent management professionals overseeing succession and pipelines who must decide which critical roles need ready-now successors
• HR analytics professionals producing workforce metrics who must choose which measures and scenario assumptions inform the plan

Course Outline:

Day 1: Aligning HR Strategy with Business Strategy and the HR Operating Model

• Strategic HRM vs Operational HR: Separating Long-Term Capability Choices from Daily Administration
• Business Strategy Translation Canvas: Converting Organisational Goals into People and Capability Requirements
• HR Operating Model Design: Positioning Business Partners, Centres of Expertise and Shared Services
• Seven Rights Model of Workforce Planning: Framing What the Plan Must Deliver
• Critical Role Segmentation: Identifying Pivotal Positions Using Strategic Value and Scarcity Ratings

Day 2: Analysing Workforce Demand, Supply and Gaps with Scenarios and HR Metrics

• Six-Stage Workforce Planning Methodology: Sequencing Data Collection, Forecasting, Gap Analysis and Action
• Qualitative vs Quantitative Demand Forecasting: Choosing Between Expert Judgement and Ratio Trend Models
• Internal Supply Analysis: Projecting Attrition, Retirement and Internal Mobility Across the Planning Horizon
• Workforce Gap Analysis Matrix: Quantifying Shortages, Surpluses and Skill Mismatches by Segment
• Scenario Planning with HR Metrics: Testing Headcount, Cost per Hire and Time-to-Productivity Assumptions

Day 3: Case Study Practice: Closing Gaps and Building the Workforce Plan

• Build vs Buy vs Borrow vs Redeploy: Scoring Gap-Closing Options on Cost and Urgency
• Succession and Talent Pipeline Mapping: Applying Critical Role Segmentation to Ready-Now Successor Depth
• Case Study Gap Closure Exercise: Applying Scenario Results to a Multi-Sector Workforce Dataset
• 90-Day Action Plan Template: Sequencing Owners, Milestones and Workforce KPIs for Implementation
• Workforce Plan Finalisation: Completing and Presenting the Integrated Workforce Plan and Action Plan

Skills You Will Gain:

• Strategic HR Alignment
• HR Operating Model Design
• Critical Role Segmentation
• Workforce Demand Forecasting
• Attrition and Supply Modelling
• Workforce Gap Analysis
• Scenario-Based Workforce Planning
• Succession Pipeline Mapping

Why Attend This Course:

• From annual headcount requests negotiated line by line to workforce decisions anchored in business strategy and critical roles
• From single-number forecasts to demand, supply and gap estimates tested against several scenarios
• From defaulting to external hiring to weighing build, buy, borrow and redeploy options on cost and urgency
• From scattered spreadsheets and intentions to a completed workforce plan with a 90-day action plan ready to present to leadership

Conclusion:

Strategic HR management and workforce planning turns business intent into a costed view of the people, skills and roles an organisation needs and how it will obtain them. The course makes three distinctions clear: strategic choices versus operational HR activity, qualitative versus quantitative forecasting, and building talent internally versus buying, borrowing or redeploying it. It suits HR leaders and HR, talent and analytics professionals who already run core HR processes and now need a short, applied route to a workforce plan they can defend and put into action.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

What should delegates know before the strategic HR management and workforce planning workshop?

Delegates should already work with core HR processes such as recruitment, performance and reward, and be comfortable reading headcount reports and spreadsheets. Bringing anonymised workforce figures helps, because the case exercises and the final workforce plan use demand, supply and attrition data.

How does the strategic HR management and workforce planning workshop differ from a longer strategic HR course?

This workshop concentrates on one applied outcome, a finished workforce plan, over three days. Longer strategic HR courses spread across wider themes such as leadership, culture and HR transformation, whereas this course moves directly from strategy alignment to forecasting, gap analysis and gap-closing decisions.

Why does strategic HR management and workforce planning use scenarios rather than a single forecast?

Scenarios are used because demand and supply depend on uncertain business assumptions. Testing several cases, such as faster growth or higher attrition, shows how far gaps could move and which build, buy, borrow or redeploy actions remain sensible across all of them.

What do delegates take back to work from the strategic HR management and workforce planning workshop?

Delegates take back a completed workforce plan covering critical role segments, demand and supply forecasts, a gap analysis and chosen gap-closing actions, together with a 90-day action plan naming owners, milestones and workforce KPIs, plus the templates used to build it.