Research from European HR and payroll services provider SD Worx has found two in five UK employers say they don’t have enough staff to get the work done. The study surveyed 5,936 HR decision-makers and 16,500 employees across 16 European countries, including 305 UK employers and 1,000 UK employees. The latest findings show 43.3 per cent of UK employers say their teams are faced with a shortage of workers to get the job done.
As employers face pressure to maintain services and control costs, workforce planning has become a top priority for UK businesses. Nearly 60 per cent (59.7 per cent) of UK organisations now consider workforce planning a critical or high priority, marking its transition from an HR ‘nice to have’ to an operational necessity.
And it’s not just a hiring challenge. As organisations look to redesign how work gets done, nearly a third (30.4 per cent) of UK organisations cite preparing for automation and AI as a driver for workforce planning, higher than the European average (26.1 per cent).
When asked why workforce planning matters now, UK organisations most commonly point to the basics of keeping work moving, with 53.8 per cent citing ensuring adequate staffing levels and scheduling efficiency. But the pressure is not only about filling shifts, it’s also about performance and budgets. Half (50.0 per cent) cite improving service continuity and customer experience, while 40.3 per cent cite optimising workforce costs.
The employee findings suggest the resourcing challenge may be reinforced by retention pressures. 34 per cent of UK employees say they are looking for jobs with another organisation. Meanwhile, 14.4 per cent cite job security and stability and 14.3 per cent cite fair pay as additional priorities, highlighting the importance of workforce planning that supports both workforce stability and engagement.
Although many employers discuss becoming ‘skills-based organisations’, most UK businesses are still transitioning. According to the research, 54.9 per cent of UK organisations base workforce planning on both job roles and skills, not skills alone, indicating many still use a job-title approach.
This matters, because the employee data suggests capability is being missed, and motivation is there to do more. While 23.3 per cent of UK employees feel their talent is underused, 64.2 per cent are eager to grow, highlighting the need for better skills mapping and internal mobility to match people to roles based on capability.
However, the data reveals that skills development is also under strain. 33.9 per cent of UK employees say they require additional training or learning opportunities, but 48 per cent don’t feel they have the time, underlining why workforce planning needs to do more than forecast demand and also create the space for learning and progression.
The findings also reveal that workforce planning is broadening beyond permanent headcount as organisations adapt to changing workforce models and uncertainty. In the UK, 66.8 per cent say workforce planning includes freelancers, contractors and temporary staff, rather than treating them separately. Around 60 per cent (59.1 per cent) also say their organisation uses scenario planning to anticipate future workforce needs and challenges.
Bruce Fecheyr-Lippens, Chief People Officer at SD Worx, commented: “Workforce planning has become a practical response to a very real operational problem: many employers simply don’t have enough people in the right place at the right time to keep work moving.
“Hiring remains important, but it’s rarely the only answer,” he says. “Organisations also need a clear view of capacity, critical skills and costs, and they need to plan across permanent teams and contingent workers as one workforce. When HR, operations and finance work from the same data and regularly test different scenarios, workforce planning becomes an action plan for protecting service delivery and productivity, not a spreadsheet exercise.”
