Behind the scenes: Future-proofing your team and mastering strategic workforce planning

You’ll be covering strategic workforce planning, why is this such a key issue for HE now?   

Institutions are facing unprecedented challenges that demand a strategic approach to their workforce. With rapidly changing student demographics, evolving technological advancements, and increasing financial pressures, institutions must balance the need to reduce costs with the imperative to innovate and grow.

The competition for top talent, both in academic and administrative roles, has intensified. Institutions must strategically plan their workforce to ensure they attract, retain, and develop the right talent to meet future demands. This involves rethinking traditional staffing models, investing in upskilling and reskilling, and ensuring that the workforce aligns with the institution’s long-term goals.

As HE institutions navigate these complexities, effective strategic workforce planning becomes essential for sustaining academic excellence, driving growth, and ensuring financial stability. Our insight suggests workforce planning as an approach is immature within the sector, our session will help to build your expertise in this field.

How will your session address the conference theme “The ultimate balancing act: cutting costs, driving growth?

Strategic Workforce Planning is essentially about how higher institutions can optimise their workforce to achieve efficiency and expansion.

We’ll explore key strategies for aligning workforce capabilities with business goals, making sure that the right talent is in place to support growth while simultaneously identifying opportunities for cost savings through effective workforce management. This includes getting the most from data analytics to forecast workforce needs, identifying skills gaps, and putting flexible workforce models in place that can adapt to changing business environments.

Who will benefit the most from attending your session, and why?  

Ultimately, anyone involved in shaping the strategic direction of their institution’s workforce will find this session highly valuable, as it offers practical solutions for balancing cost efficiency with growth initiatives in today’s dynamic higher education landscape.

However, individuals who will benefit the most from attending our session are higher education leaders, HR professionals, and department heads. These stakeholders are directly responsible for aligning their institutions’ workforce strategies with broader organisational goals. 

See Emma in action

Excited about this session? SUMS Consulting members can register for free here.

Not a member? No problem! Non-members can register for a small fee here.