Jesse Jacoby
How to Align Talent Strategies with Business Objectives for Sustained Success
Over the past few years, many companies have made difficult decisions to trim costs, reduce headcount, and restructure operations in response to economic volatility, shifting customer demand, and margin pressure. While these moves were often necessary for near-term survival, they have left organizations leaner—but not always stronger.
As markets stabilize and growth ambitions return to the forefront, the question isn’t just how to rebuild—but how to rebuild better. This is where strategic workforce planning becomes essential: not as a tactical headcount exercise, but as a forward-looking capability that aligns talent with the business’s long-term strategy.
From Retrenchment to Reinvention
Post-restructuring, it’s tempting to quickly refill roles and rebuild teams based on the previous operating model. But doing so misses the opportunity to reshape the workforce in line with where the business is headed—not where it’s been.
A more strategic approach involves:
Reassessing critical capabilities: Which skills and roles are now most vital to future growth? Where are the biggest gaps?
Rebalancing the talent portfolio: What’s the right mix of full-time employees, contingent workers, and automation? Where can AI and digital tools augment human performance?
Redefining the org structure: Are legacy hierarchies slowing decision-making? Can flatter, more agile team structures unlock speed and innovation?
The companies that approach workforce rebuilding as a reinvention—not a restoration—will be best positioned to outperform competitors in the next growth cycle.
Real-World Example: SAP’s AI-Driven Transformation
In 2024, SAP initiated a $2.2 billion restructuring plan to pivot towards artificial intelligence. Instead of traditional layoffs, the company offered voluntary redundancies and retraining opportunities to approximately 8,000 employees. This approach aimed to align the workforce with emerging AI-driven business needs while maintaining overall headcount, showcasing a strategic reinvention rather than mere restoration.
Planning for What’s Next, Not What Was
Strategic workforce planning must be tightly linked to business strategy. Yet in many organizations, these remain disconnected conversations: the CFO plans growth targets, while HR scrambles to backfill vacancies. Instead, leading companies are bringing Finance, HR, and Business Unit leaders together to jointly answer questions like:
Where are we investing for growth, and what talent do we need to win?
What future skills will we require—and how will we build, buy, or borrow them?
What are the demographic and labor market trends that could impact our pipeline?
How can we make our workforce more resilient in the face of uncertainty?
By integrating business, financial, and talent data, companies can model different future scenarios and proactively shape their workforce rather than reacting to gaps after they emerge.
Real-World Example: Moderna’s Integration of Tech and HR
Moderna merged its technology and human resources departments to form a unified function led by the Chief People and Digital Technology Officer. This integration aimed to redesign teams based on tasks best suited for humans versus those that could be automated, leveraging AI tools developed in partnership with OpenAI. The move exemplifies proactive alignment of workforce planning with evolving business strategies.
A Modern Workforce Needs a Modern Mindset
The next-generation workforce will look fundamentally different. Employees expect more flexibility, purpose, and growth opportunity. Digital transformation is accelerating role changes. And Gen Z brings new expectations around culture and transparency.
To compete for top talent, companies need to rethink their employee value proposition (EVP) and embrace agile workforce strategies that allow them to scale quickly, adapt fast, and retain high performers. This includes:
Investing in upskilling and reskilling to close future skill gaps
Leveraging data and analytics to guide hiring and promotion decisions
Creating internal talent marketplaces to move people to priority areas
Building cultures of inclusion, adaptability, and learning
Real-World Example: Dell’s AI-Focused Restructuring
Dell Technologies underwent significant changes, including layoffs and a shift towards AI-centric operations. The company streamlined management layers and established a new AI-focused division, reflecting a strategic pivot to modernize its workforce and align with future technological trends.
Aligning Talent with Strategy: The Ultimate Growth Lever
Ultimately, rebuilding stronger means shifting workforce planning from a reactive, HR-owned process to a strategic, enterprise-wide discipline. When talent strategy is explicitly aligned with business goals—from digital transformation to market expansion—it becomes a powerful enabler of growth.
In today’s environment, where competitive advantage is increasingly talent-driven, the companies that succeed won’t be those that simply hire faster—but those that plan smarter. Leaders must ask: Do we have the right people, in the right roles, with the right skills, at the right time? If not, now is the moment to act.
Because growth is coming. The only question is whether your workforce is ready for it.
