How AI Agents Are Transforming Strategic Workforce Planning

AI-powered digital workers, including AI agents, are rapidly transforming traditional workforce planning approaches. Organizations must now shift their strategies to accommodate both human and digital workers, focusing on skill acquisition rather than role filling. This evolution has significant implications for HR leaders and business stakeholders.

The Shift to Strategic Workforce Planning

Traditional workforce planning methods are becoming obsolete. A more effective approach is strategic workforce planning, which identifies critical tasks, required skills, and optimal sources—human or digital—to meet organizational goals. Some companies are adopting total workforce planning, incorporating broader market data and trends.

Strategic workforce planning aligns workforce capabilities with strategic objectives, requiring collaboration across finance, HR, and operations. This method minimizes attrition, optimizes staffing, and improves resource allocation, reportedly saving organizations an average of 10% of their annual labor budget.

AI Agents in Action

• Healthcare: AI agents manage staff certifications and make real-time staffing decisions based on patient needs, reducing managerial burdens and improving care delivery.
• Project Management: AI enhances forecasting and resource allocation, preventing talent loss and maximizing efficiency.

Build, Buy, Borrow, or Bot?

Organizations must decide how to acquire needed skills:

1. Buy: Hire external talent for hard-to-develop skills.
2. Build: Upskill current employees to foster loyalty and engagement.
3. Borrow: Use contractors for short-term needs.
4. Bot: Leverage digital labor, including AI agents, for autonomous or collaborative tasks.

Total Workforce Planning

Traditional workforce planning relied on internal data, but total workforce planning incorporates external market insights. AI agents analyze scenarios, recommend job redesigns, and identify industry trends affecting talent availability.

Key Factors in Strategic Staffing Decisions

1. Budget: Assess cost-effectiveness of AI automation vs. hiring/training.
2. Timing: Determine if skills are needed immediately or can be developed over time.
3. Labor Market: Use contract workers or AI agents in high-demand, low-supply industries to avoid burnout.

Implementing Effective Workforce Planning

1. Match Technology to Maturity: Ensure clean job architecture, robust data, and a skills-based ecosystem.
2. Anticipate AI-Driven Changes: Collaborate with finance and operations to align workforce changes with growth objectives.
3. Leadership Alignment: Secure buy-in to ensure workforce decisions support strategic goals.

Why KPMG?

KPMG helps organizations implement advanced workforce planning strategies using proprietary AI tools and workforce insights models. Their approach ensures alignment between workforce, operating models, and technological maturity.

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Insights and Resources

• Optimize Your Workforce with AI: Discover how AI can boost productivity and improve employee experiences.
• Create AI Value Across Your Workforce: Explore AI's role in enhancing job satisfaction and innovation.
• AI Agents Shaping Talent Strategy: Learn three strategies for transitioning to a hybrid human-digital workforce.

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Conclusion

Total workforce planning is essential in today's dynamic business environment, with AI serving as both a disruptor and a critical tool. Organizations must align with stakeholders across finance, HR, and operations to ensure workforce decisions support strategic objectives and growth imperatives.