SWP - The Strategic Workforce Planning Podcast

We're back with AJ Herrmann from Cleveland Clinic and he's bought his SWP Leadership team along. SO incredibly lucky to have Cinnamon Dixon and Emily Monteleone join AJ for this insightful ant highly relevant discussion around a task based approach to strategic workforce planning. So much gold in this episode that it's worth playing on repeat for a day! Really interesting exploration of Faethm by Pearson and the rising importance of Workday in SWP. Can't wait to catch up with this...

Occasionally you meet people who are 10 steps ahead of the general population and think in ways most of us are unable to fathom. Mike Manning is one of those people. I was privileged to be involved in this enthralling discussion where Mike goes deep on all things AI and what it means for the future of work. Great chat with an even better person - thanks Mike!

Episode 43 of the SWP Podcast welcomes Sam Yeats from TeamForm. This is a very unique conversation that explores the' coal face' reality around how work is actually done vs how organisations are physically structured. The concept of planning around the delivery teams has huge relevance in the SWP world however is often overlooked in preference for 'roles', 'job families' and/or 'skills'. This intriguing conversation unpacks how the concept of 'team' can play an integral role...

Entertaining and insightful (as always) discussion with two of my great friends, Chris Hare and Alicia Roach on the topic of Dynamic Scenario Planning. Learn all about the relevance of DSP to SWP, how to utilise data to inform scenarios and where enterprise software enablement is headed. Also, grab a sneak peek at the pending product release from eQ8.

In today's ultra dynamic labor market, redefining your global talent strategy is imperative for organizational success. From remote work, to skills-based hiring, new trends are reshaping how businesses approach talent acquisition and management meaning organizations are redefining how work is done. In Episode 41 of SWP podcast, the Brandon Crouch, Global Business Line Manager, and Elena Magrini, Head of Global Research, of Lightcast, are joined by Simon Haines, Founder & CEO of Simply Get...

Episode 40 of the SWP Podcast welcomes Clare Moncrieff, Executive Advisor with Talent Neuron. This is a fascinating discussion where we explore the critical connectivity between labour market intelligence and SWP. It was also a wonderful look back at the SWP Conference - London event.Enjoy this engaging conversation with a true thought leader!

Episode 39 of SWP - The Strategic Workforce Panning Podcast welcomes Jonas Ottiger - Head of People Analytics and Workforce Planning at the International Committee for the Red Cross. Jonas is one of so many people analytics experts to emerge from Jordan Pettman's Nestle alumni, one wonders whether there was something special in the chocolate milk during and since that period. When you think of SWP and the challenges it can solve for, 'life and death' doesn't arise all that often.&...

Episode 38 of the SWP Podcast saw me sit down with tech entrepreneur Ali Nawab, founder and CEO of SWP platform Agentnoon. I really enjoyed this thought leadership conversation and am always inspired when I get to chat to successful business leaders with global customer bases like Ali. Looking forward to meeting the Agentnoon team in person in London!

Episode 37 of The SWP Podcast was a long time in the making yet well worth the wait! We were lucky to sit down with two inspirational thought leaders in Sadhana Bhide and Jonathan Finkelstein from Pearson Workforce Skills. As well as an in-depth look at all things learning, SWP and skilling the workforce of the future, what resonated most from a Pearson perspective was the strategic and value alignment to what we do at the Institute. Both the callouts specifically identified...

Episode 36 of the SWP podcast saw us sit down with two inspirational leaders from the Victorian Health Sector in Rebecca Meynell and Jennifer Dobell ahead of their key note session at SWP Conference - Melbourne. What a breath of fresh air this discussion was in terms of insight, entertainment and all out positivity. We loved hearing about the critical impacts SWP has at a regional level on Victoria's Health Sector and how it can be used effectively to impact the lives of so many.&...

Episode 35 of the SWP Podcast welcomes Ralf Buechsenschuss from Microsoft. Ralf is an incredibly intelligent and insightful people and analytics leader with a passion for leveraging data and insights to drive how organisations work. What I loved most about this episode is the exploration of the role organisatonal network analysis plays in strategic workforce planning. This is a critically underutilised tool in understanding how information flows, how culture can be influence...

Episode 34 of the SWP podcast welcomes Vincent Barat, Co-founder and CEO of SaaS platform Albert. I had the chance to catch up with Vincent ahead of SWP Conference to chat all things SWP, Technology and entrepreneurship in this highly entertaining and engaging discussion. Loved the thought leadership around SWP and the important role technology can play.

Episode 33 of the SWP podcast welcomes will three leading members from Deloitte’s Human Capital team in the US. I was joined by Kevin Moss, Managing Director - Human Capitan, Dhruv Patel, Senior Manager – Human Capital and Michael Morgan, Senior Manager – Human Capital. This was a fantastic discussion off the back of the team’s participation in SWP Conference – San Diego, covering topics including the hallmarks of effective SWP, relevant business problems SWP can be used to address, gre...

Episode 32 of the SWP podcast welcomes will Crandle, Co-founder and CEO of Horsefly Analytics. Will is privileged to lead an extraordinary team of professionals committed to revolutionising workforce strategies through data-driven insights. With over two decades of experience building and scaling technology platforms, Will has successfully helped shape and guide the Horsefly product into the amazing platform it is today. This was an authentic, engaging and entertaining discussion where Will s...

Episode 31 of the SWP podcast welcomes Vincent Lebunetel, Global Head of Skills Intelligence at Visier. Vincent is the Co-founder and former CEO of Boostrs. He previously led Corporate Innovation and the EMEA consulting division at CWT. Vincent is a board member and an investor in Tech’4’Team, TGI and Woobe and he also acted as an advisor to Welcome City Lab and Plug and Play and served as a mentor to startups competing at The New Sparks. This is a fantastic look at the shift from role based ...

Episode 30 of the SWP podcast welcomes Michael Cox, Head of People Analytics for Nestle – Europe. Michael led a revolutionary shift in SWP approach at Nestle which was underpinned by a fascinating change leadership initiative. Michael is an incredibly engaging and inspirational SWP leader who was a joy to have on the podcast. I’m really looking to hearing more about his and Nestle’s transformative journey at SWP Conference in London in November!

What can you say about this incredibly inspirational HR leader and wonderful SWP Advocate that hasn't already been said? As the sun sets on Jane's incredible CHCO career we look forward to seeing what her next chapter looks like. It was wonderful having her join SWP Conference - San Diego in person last month and our day 1 wrap up was an out and out highlight. I caught up with Jane in the lead up to both SWP Conference - San Diego and People Analytics World to celebrat...

Episode 28 of the SWP podcast welcomes Morgan Rossi, Global Director at LinkedIn. Morgan advises some of LinkedIn’s largest and most important clients on their talent acquisition, workforce planning, and employer branding strategies. Outside of her daily role Morgan serves as the ‘Women at LinkedIn’ external communications lead and is LinkedIn’s NYC employee charity liaison board member. This was a fascinating discussion ahead of what promises to be a brilliant session at SWP Conference...

Episode 27 of the SWP podcast welcomes Steve Brown Head of Talent Strategy & Workforce Planning at Electronic Arts, the world’s leading video gaming and interactive entertainment company. Throughout his career, Steve has worked across HR, Finance, and Operations on talent strategy, workforce planning, compensation program design & consulting, M&A, HRIS implementation, relocation, tax and immigration initiatives. Steve has lived and worked in Belgium, Austria, and Spain and has an ...

Episode 26 of the SWP podcast welcomes Ben Zwieg – Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Revelio Labs – a global leader in workforce intelligence. Ben is an Adjunct professor with both the NYU Stern School of business and Columbia Business School. Before joining Revelio, Ben spent three and a half years with IBM as a managing data scientist. Ben’s career history in the data science education and advisory space is incredibly impressive – he is a true captain of industry. This h...

Episode 25 of the SWP podcast welcomes Peter Louch - founder and chief executive of Vemo. Vemo brings to market a state-of-the-art workforce planning software and services offering that enables organizations to more proactively manage their business, align talent management and acquisition with what drives business success, and provide HR and Line professionals the strategic HR tool that integrates their approach to talent management and improves their effectiveness. Peter is a wo...

Episode 24 of the SWP podcast welcomes Jakob Ejlsted - Workforce Planning Specialist to the pod. Jakob has significant global experience across industries including Oil & Gas, Transport & Logistics, Management Consulting, and Industrial Chemicals. Fantastic discussion with Jakob which focused mainly around how we can better understand and utilise the contingent workforce for superior SWP outcomes.

Episode 23 of the SWP podcast welcomes AJ Herrmann from Cleveland Clinic. AJ is the Executive Director Strategic Workforce Planning at Cleveland Clinic and, across his career, has worked with organisations including BCG, Nestle, Homeland Security, NBC and the Central Intelligence Agency . This long-awaited episode (for us) delivers everything we hoped and more. AJ is a phenomenal advocate of our profession and we go deep on all things task and role design, war for talent, gl...

Episode 22 of the SWP podcast welcomes Antony Ebelle-ebanda, Digital Surgery Integration Lead & Talent Insights at Johnson & Johnson to the Pod. Antony is an experienced SWP leader who has worked across organisations including Johnson & Johnson, Allianz, Barclay’s and Deutsche bank (to name but a few). Fantastic chat with Antony which explored the potential homes of SWP within the org structure then highlighted the importance of not only considering SWP an enterprise capabil...

Episode 21 of the SWP podcast welcomes Gergo Safar, Strategic Workforce Manager at BT to the Pod. Gergo is an experienced SWP leader who has worked across organisations including BT, Unilever, McKinsey and Vodafone and countries including Hungary, Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Italy and the UK. This was such an important discussion to have with so many new themes raised including the opportunity to utilise the concept of risk far more frequently across SWP methodologies and th...

Episode 20 of the SWP podcast welcomes David Edwards of Visier. Like many of us, David’s introduction to SWP happened through working on a large-scale workforce reduction project. David has a strong background in resource management and strategic workforce planning in the banking and financial servises sector across Royal Bank of Scotland and Natwest Group ahead of joining Visier as the director of product management in mid 2022. Currently the Advisory Services Director, Dav...

Episode 19 of the SWP podcast welcomes one of our very own – Jen Allen. A member of The Institute's GSCC, Jen is the Workforce Planning and Design Manager at Police Scotland. With a recent career history spanning health and police, Jen has deep insight into the challenges faced by governments of the world across critical workforce segments. Jen’s insights into stakeholder related challenges when developing a strategic workforce plans serve as an important reminder that SWP i...

Episode 18 of the SWP podcast welcomes Emanuele Poletti, Group Workforce Planning and Analytics Manager at Campari. Emanuele found Strategic Workforce Planning originally through his time at GE where he spent a number of years as an analytics specialist, organisation and staffing. Through his time at both Sky and Generali, Emanuele has transitioned his focus from data and analytics into strategic workforce planning, a craft he now plies at Campari in Milan. The nature of SWP for an orga...

Episode 17 of the SWP podcast welcomes Gill Aggus from, Jaguar Land Rover. Originally an economist, Gill found Strategic Workforce Planning following numerous roles working across the JLR business which has helped arm her with deep insights into the challenges faced the JLR leaders. Developing a job architecture is a critical part of any SWP process and Gill’s presentation at The Institute’s Global Launch event provided valuable information around how this can be done. Sadly I wasn’t able to ...

Episode 16 of the SWP podcast welcomes Matt Higgs from Babcock International Group to share his refreshing insights around practical and executable strategic workforce planning. For us, one of the light bulb moments was Matt’s quote ‘the plan we develop today, is seldom what actually gets implemented’. Our fascinating conversation was a staunch reminder that SWP is not intended to be a precise tool, we won’t always get it right but we’ll understand the associated risks and have co...

Episode 15 of the SWP podcast welcomes Suzie Custerson – Director of Strategic Workforce Planning and Talent Acquisition at Seek. When the recipe starts with business and strategy related study and early career work and branches out into HR, the combination is the perfect tonic for a strategic workforce planner. I loved my conversation with Suzie which provides a unique look at an organisation who as Suzie puts it ‘owns the platform’. Interestingly, the unique position Seek finds themse...

Episode 14 of the SWP podcast welcomes Rob Major – Director – Workforce Planning at Raytheon Technologies. Rob graduated his masters with a qualification in executive coaching having developed a passion for connecting psychology with business. Having developed an interest in people analytics, Rob secured a role with World Vision which propelled his career in workforce planning and analytics. Rob’s role with Raytheon Technologies sees him supporting workforce planning across multiple bus...

Episode 13 of the SWP podcast welcomes Justin Strharsky founder and director of Unearthed Solutions and Humyn.ai. Justin’s early career included time in Silicon Valley at Sun Microsytems then spending a decade fostering start-ups and innovation hubs before founding Unearthed Solutions, an organisation who connects mining and resources companies with innovators to deliver a unique way of supplementing workforce demand. Humyn.ai was born out of Unearthed along the way and focuses on...

Episode 12 of the SWP podcast welcomes Oksana Jawabreh. Oksana is an experienced SWP Leader and passionate advocate who has worked across organisations including Westpac, EY, Deloitte and Woolworths. Oksana brings a wealth of experience and perspective having spent years consulting to the government on major transformations and reform projects prior to her time in the fin services space. Such a great conversation with an incredibly intelligent and engaging person. Pers...

Episode 11 of the SWP podcast welcomes Kath Hume, founder and director of Workforce Transformations. Kath has a long history building strategic workforce planning capability from the inside with NSW Health and is an incredible SWP advocate. Kath’s insights and thinking about the workforce of the future are highly innovative and have led to the development of her own podcast, The Reimagined Workforce. Kath’s background combines teaching, economics and HR, the latter two of wh...

Episode 10 of the SWP podcast welcomes James McKay, Head of Workforce Strategy and Strategic Workforce Planning and Sravan Rajupalem, Senior Data Scientist from ANZ. Really insightful and engaging conversation with James and Sravan. James found Strategic Workforce Planning through a large restructure a number of years back which is fairly common for professionals in our space however something we’re seeing less and less of these days. Sravan has a combined Chemical Engineering and Actua...

Episode 9 of the SWP podcast welcomes Jess Murphy, Head of Workforce Strategy and Future Workforce Design at Bupa. Wonderful discussion with Jess who found SWP through a traditional HR career pathway. What strikes me most about Jess is her relentless focus on capability and the critical role understanding enterprise capabilities plays in the SWP process. One of the absolute hidden gems in this episode is most certainly the approach towards existing HR strategies and capabili...

Episode 7 of the SWP podcast welcomes Adam Gibson, Director and Strategic Workforce Planning Leader at EY and author of the recognised go-to text for SWP, Agile Workforce Planning. We’ve been dying to pick Adam’s brain on the critical role capability plays in the strategic workforce planning process and the ensuing conversation didn’t disappoint. You just get the sense that had there not been adjacent calendar appointments, this conversation could have gone for hours. A wonderful ...

Episode 6 of the SWP podcast welcomes Commander Peter Chapman from the Royal Australian Navy to take an insightful look at how career pathways in SWP emerge. The journey of the contemporary strategic workforce planning professional is seldom a consistent one. In this deep-dive, we look at the many and varied backgrounds and pathways into the SWP space as well as look at how different capabilities are required across a successful SWP project team. We loved the thought-provocation a...

Episode 5 of the SWP podcast welcomes Philip De Nerve from Talent on Demand insight into the back story of ‘Oxygen’, Talent On Demand’s Strategic Workforce Planning Software tool. The fascinating back story into Philip’s journey into Strategic Workforce Planning along with how Oxygen evolved over time led to the tale of Wipro and how the CEO re-focused parts of the workforce (skilled in declining technologies) on internal projects rather than face redundancy. Philip’s perspectives on ho...

Episode 4 of the SWP podcast welcomes Vanessa Pietrobon from the Roche Pharmaceuticals to provide a critical look at how SWP can, and should, involve a customised approach and methodology across different organisations. The notion that ‘one size’ does not ‘fit all’ is prevalent right throughout this thought-provoking discussion as numerous themes around data and analytics capability, where SWP should and often does live organisationally, and the critical role SWP plays with Learning and Devel...

Episode 3 of the SWP podcast welcomes James Bryce from the Kantar to take an insightful look at the critical intersection of Finance and HR through workforce planning. James’ journey started out as many workforce planning journeys do in the throws of large-scale workforce downsizing and as is always interesting, we were intrigued to learn James originally studied Geology as an undergraduate course. Our look at the emerging and critical relationship between Strategic Workforce Plan...

Episode 2 of the SWP Podcast sees world renowned SWP software entrepreneurs Chris Hare and Alicia Roach join The Workforce Planning Institute for an in-depth look at key organisational challenges around SWP ownership as we attempt to answer the age-old question, if not in HR, where does SWP belong in today’s organisation? We also take a look back at how it all got started for our esteemed guests whilst taking a sneak peek at ‘Trends with benefits’ Chris and Alicia’s upcoming presentatio...

Join Nick Kennedy as he explores the wonderful world of Strategic Workforce Planning by chatting with a series of guests set to speak at the upcoming SWP conference series.