Building Resilient Organizations: Workforce Planning in Volatile Times

In today’s past-faced world, betting on stability is betting on failure. With economic shifts, labor shortages, and supply chain hiccups frequently making headlines, operations leaders need to focus on building resilient organizations through flexible workforce strategies that keep business moving forward. Whether you’re a small-to-midsize company or a multi-national enterprise, future-proof your organization with agile teams and polices that adapt to keep performance strong and costs in check.  

Be ready for “what-ifs” with scenario-based planning  

To put it bluntly: A one-size-fits-all operations strategy won’t cut it. There are too many variables that can derail “business as usual.” Scenario-based planning helps account for how different situations — such as a volatile economy, sudden demand spikes, and workforce shortages — might yield different results; but perhaps more importantly, it challenges whether your organization is set up to adjust for them.  

Retention should be built into these “what if” scenarios. When employers already struggle to hire, losing talent during a disruption can create costly gaps. A 2024 ManpowerGroup survey found 75% of employers struggle to find qualified talent to fill open positions, with those in the health care and life sciences industries having the hardest time. In fields like construction, manufacturing, and other industrial sectors, an aging workforce and retirements are widening the skills (and knowledge) gap. According to Deloitte and the National Association of Manufacturers, the industry could see 1.9 million jobs go unfilled by 2033 if the skills gap isn’t addressed. 

Using workforce insights to oversee factors such as talent management, scheduling, forecasting trends and patterns, you can quickly gauge if, say, you have enough people for an anticipated demand and act as needed. Plus, self-service capabilities give employees access to adjust or shift their hours as necessary allowing for additional support. These scenario-based plans and solutions help companies adapt and seize opportunities amid times of disruption, giving them a competitive advantage.  

Build resilient organizations with a more flexible workforce  

As you work on strategies that allow for proactive versus reactive actions, think big picture. That means casting the net beyond full-time roles and looking at what opportunities lie within using part-time workers, contractors, or cross-trained employees, who could step in to fill demand as needed. Finding skilled workers in specific categories is among the top worries for leaders, with 59% either “very concerned” or “concerned,” about the organizational issue, according to a 2024-2025 report by HRO Today.  

Building a more flexible workforce can help establish a proactive approach to your organization’s operations strategy. However, it’s equally important to keep tabs on workforce insights to spot any behaviors consistent with burnout or costly factors such as compliance risks — both of which would put your employees at risk of leaving. And while turnover can cost organizations a lot across industries, a 2024 UKG Workforce Institute report found that within the manufacturing industry replacing a skilled frontline worker can cost between $10,000 and $40,000.