Phase 1

Strategy and Planning

By Redaktion techport.ai, HR-Beratung · Last updated on 21 August 2026

Most HR departments plan for headcount, not skills. They know how many positions need to be filled next year, but not which competencies the company will lack in three years' time. And they rarely know what their own work contributes to the business result, because no one measures it.

This area concerns the decisions made before the first job interview: Which skills does the company need, how does HR organise itself, which systems and AI should support the work, and what does the workplace you promise people look like?

Typical Problems

Workforce planning is a budget list. It is created in autumn, applies until spring, and includes no scenarios.
HR Business Partners are strategists on the organisational chart but administrators in daily operations.
Every department has purchased its own tools. No one has a list, no one knows the contracts.
The employer brand promises things that the first day at work disproves.
Job titles have evolved historically. Equivalent work is named three different ways in three areas and paid three different ways.
There is no succession for the company's five key positions, and the incumbents are all over 58.

What we do in this area

We help you build workforce planning that starts with skills, not positions. We clarify how your HR function should operate and which systems it needs for this. And we ensure that strategy, job architecture, and succession planning are aligned, because each of these topics only works partially without the others.

Topics in this field

Employee Experience and Employer BrandShaping Employee Experience instead of leaving it to chance: Moments that matter, journey design across the lifecycle, measurement and the connection to Employer Branding.Job Architecture and Job DescriptionsWithout job architecture, there is no pay transparency, no skills management, and no fair career paths. How job families, levels, and job descriptions are created and maintained.Priority topicAI in HR with GovernanceProperly introducing AI in HR work: evaluating use cases, understanding high-risk classification under the AI Act, deadlines since the Digital Omnibus 2026, clarifying co-determination and data protection.Succession Planning and Critical RolesSuccession planning in four steps: identify critical roles, build a successor pool, implement development plans, review annually. With a focus on age structure and knowledge loss.HR Operating ModelBusiness Partner, Shared Services, Self-Service: Which HR operating model suits your company, why the three-pillar model often fails, and how to create a target vision that works in daily operations.Priority topicStrategic Workforce PlanningStrategic Workforce Planning for SMEs: Plan skills instead of positions, calculate scenarios, factor in demographics and the shortage of skilled labour. Approach, benefits and figures.Demonstrating the Value Contribution of HRWhy HR loses budget discussions and how an HR scorecard with a few, clearly defined key performance indicators makes its contribution to the corporate strategy visible.

Frequently asked questions

At what company size does strategic workforce planning become worthwhile?

As soon as you have positions where recruitment takes longer than six months, or skills that only one person in the company possesses. This is the case for many companies with 150 employees or more, and earlier in technical sectors.

Do we need the strategy first, or the system first?

First, the decision on what questions the system should answer. A planning tool without a defined set of questions delivers dashboards that no one opens. System selection comes afterwards and then proceeds much faster.

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