Workforce planning has moved from an HR administrative function to a board-level strategic priority. SD Worx’s survey of 5,936 HR decision-makers and 16,500 employees across 16 European countries, including Ireland, published on 19 March 2026, finds that 43.3% of UK employers say their teams lack sufficient staff to get the work done. Nearly 60% now classify workforce planning as a critical or high priority, marking its transition from a people management tool to an essential operational imperative.

The data presents a genuine opportunity for hr leadership in Ireland and the UK. Staffing shortages and skills gaps are systemic challenges that reward deliberate planning. Three priorities emerge: redesigning capacity models to include contingent workers, closing the internal skills visibility gap, and building scenario planning into the rhythm of HR and operations.

The drivers of urgency extend beyond headcount. UK employers most commonly cite adequate staffing (53.8%), improving service continuity and employee experience (50.0%), and optimising workforce costs (40.3%). Nearly a third cite AI and automation as a driver, above the European average of 26.1%. Bruce Fecheyr-Lippens, Chief People Officer at SD Worx, was direct: when HR, operations and finance work from the same data and test different scenarios, workforce planning becomes an action plan for protecting productivity, not a spreadsheet exercise.

The internal capability gap is equally significant. Some 23.3% of UK employees feel their talent is underused, while 64.2% are eager to grow. Yet 33.9% say they need additional training and 48% do not have time for it. This is a clear talent management opportunity: organisations with a structured approach to skills mapping and internal mobility can reduce resourcing gaps without increasing headcount.

For Irish HR leaders, the findings are directly relevant. Ireland was included in the SD Worx survey, and the operating environment mirrors the UK closely: persistent shortages in technology, life sciences, and financial services, a competitive labour market, and growing expectations around workplace culture and flexibility. Some 66.8% of organisations now incorporate contingent workers into workforce plans rather than managing them separately.

Three actions will allow HR leaders to build on these findings. First, integrate contingent workforce planning with permanent headcount planning, building one unified view of capacity. Second, invest in skills mapping to close the 30.8% gap of organisations that cannot identify the skills they will need in the next two to three years. Third, create protected learning time as a workforce planning output, treating development capacity as seriously as operational capacity.

SD Worx’s research gives Irish HR leaders a precise and timely picture of a challenge that rewards proactive design. Organisations that treat workforce planning as a live, integrated practice will sustain performance, retain talent, and adapt as demands on their people continue to evolve.