Workforce planning template: 4 examples and best practices

Workforce planning is the engine that keeps many organizations running effectively. Without a clear approach to align business objectives with actual personnel needs, even the most well-intentioned HR teams risk falling behind on growth opportunities and everyday operations. If you’re an HR leader looking for a template to create or refine your overall workforce planning strategy, you’ve landed in the right place.

Why does HR workforce planning matter so much? In short, it helps you forecast your headcount needs, anticipate retirements, manage skill gaps, and make sure you’re maximizing available resources. 

This article dives into workforce planning examples, best practices, and tools that can help you get a handle on staffing plan objectives, workforce management demands, succession planning considerations, and much more. By the end, you’ll see how planning templates can transform the way you plan and allocate budgets, organize development plans, and assess the skills of your employees.

Most importantly, we’ll show you how a well-structured workforce planning template can help you create workforce management processes that are strategic, data-driven, and easy to optimize over time. We’ll cover the vital components, plus offer some free resources so you can hit the ground running. Let’s dive in.

What is workforce planning? 

Before you begin analyzing staffing plan requirements or drafting a development plan, it helps to clarify what workforce planning actually entails. 

Workforce planning is the strategic process of making sure your organization has the right staff (in terms of headcount, skills, and experience) to meet current and future goals. It involves analyzing your existing employees, identifying skill gaps, anticipating succession planning needs, and developing planning strategies that enable you to align personnel resources with organizational priorities.

A robust workforce planning process uses forecasting techniques to predict upcoming hiring needs, retirements, and development plan requirements. It also ensures you can make adjustments quickly when market changes or shifts in roles occur. Typically, you’ll do this in collaboration with stakeholders from different departments to stay informed on business objectives and potential salary constraints.

The 5 R’s of workforce planning

When thinking about workforce plans, remember these 5 R’s that underpin workforce management (WFM) success:

• Right size: Determine the headcount your organization needs to meet its objectives without over- or under-staffing.
• Right shape: Make sure you have the correct distribution of roles and functions across the organization to remain strategic and effective.
• Right skills: Identify skill gaps and prioritize skills development or hiring to fill them.
• Right site: Decide where your employees should be located, whether that’s onsite, remote, or in satellite offices, to optimize costs and productivity.
• Right spend: Keep salary budgets in check while maintaining a competitive edge to support retention and recruitment.

3 benefits of workforce planning 

Workforce planning isn’t just about predicting headcounts or drafting development plans. It’s also a powerful way to keep your organization moving forward. Below are three key benefits that analyzing your workforce can bring:

1. Support employee development 

A thorough workforce planning approach pinpoints skill gaps and paves the way for personalized development plans. Whether you’re mapping out career ladder milestones for leadership roles or creating a development plan template for your employees, this proactive process ensures that employees can grow in line with organizational objectives.

2. Enhance risk management 

Predicting headcount changes (like retirements or expansions) through forecasting can help you avoid risks like resource shortages. With a clear staffing plan, you can see where the organization might face shortages in roles or skills and make adjustments in advance. Then, you can avoid overcorrections, like knee-jerk hiring sprees that might not be strategic for the long term.

3. Promote diversity and equity in the workplace 

When you incorporate diversity targets into your workforce planning, you align broader organizational values with actual hiring processes. A good workforce plan highlights gaps in representation and helps you develop fair, data-backed strategies to bring fresh perspectives into your organization.

The importance of workforce planning templates: 4 benefits

A workforce planning template guides you through collecting data, analyzing spreadsheets, and shaping development plan decisions. Here are four ways a planning template can level up your workforce management.

1. Improved decision-making 

A clear workforce planning template simplifies complex decisions about headcount, skills, and salary allocations. By using forecasting data, you can remain informed about future needs and craft better staffing and recruitment strategies.

2. Resource optimization 

Proper workforce planning involves analyzing current headcount distribution, skills, and development plans so you can optimize resource usage across the entire organization. This step often involves gap analysis and succession planning considerations to keep everyone aligned with future goals.

3. Training opportunities identification 

A workforce planning template helps you pinpoint where skill gaps exist so you can create development plans and training sessions around them. This supports employee growth, boosts retention, and helps your organization remain competitive.

4. Data-driven insights

Collecting data provides the evidence you need to make a strong business case to stakeholders—whether it’s about adding headcount or pivoting your workforce planning strategy. Having data on hand promotes well-informed decision-making, and using a template for workforce planning encourages your HR team to collect and organize data that will likely come in handy later.

4 key components of a workforce planning template 

Every good planning template for workforce planning shares a few essential parts. Below are four components you shouldn’t overlook when building out your WFM strategy.

1. Current workforce analysis 

Start by analyzing existing headcounts, skills, and roles across the organization. Look for skill gaps, patterns in salary expenses, and any pressing development plan demands. This snapshot sets the stage for forecasting future changes.

2. Future workforce needs 

Use forecasting methods to estimate headcount expansions, departmental shifts, or retirements. Think about how your organization might evolve over the next few years and align these expectations with future goals and organizational objectives.

3. Gap analysis 

A gap analysis helps you identify the discrepancies between your current and desired workforce planning state. This includes skill gaps, succession planning shortfalls, and potential headcount imbalances. Often, an effective gap analysis template will highlight immediate and long-term areas that need adjustments.

4. Action plan

No matter how detailed your workforce planning template is, it must culminate in an action plan. Detail the steps you’ll take—such as training, recruitment, or development plans—to bridge identified skill gaps and meet your organization’s objectives. This is where you set benchmarks, define timelines, and assign roles.

Workforce planning templates: 4 examples 

Below are four workforce planning templates you can adopt or adapt for your organization. Each template includes sections for headcount data, skills inventories, development plan tracking, and more. Feel free to set them up as Excel templates or in other formats that suit your organizational needs.

Example 1: Strategic workforce planning template 

Purpose: Provide a strategic framework for analyzing current and future headcount, skills, and staffing plan requirements while staying aligned with organizational objectives.

1. Executive summary

• Brief overview of objectives, organizational context, and desired future goals
• Inform key stakeholders about the broader strategy

2. Current state analysis

• Headcount distribution by department, salary range, and roles
• Skills inventory highlighting existing skill gaps
• Overview of active development plans and staffing trends

3. Gap analysis

• Gap analysis template to pinpoint discrepancies between current and desired states
• Identify required training, development plan, or hiring processes needed

4. Forecasting future state

• Forecast expansions, retirements, market changes, and technology shifts
• Provide data-driven headcount projections that align with future goals and strategy

5. Action plans & benchmarks

• Outline specific steps to address skill gaps, recruitment needs, and salary adjustments
• Define measurable KPIs to track progress
• Detail succession planning and potential internal moves

6. Budget & timeline

• Allocate salary resources and track where you need adjustments
• Set clear deadlines for achieving each objective.

Example 2: Workforce development plan template 

Purpose: Focus primarily on skills development, employee growth, and structured development plans to enhance retention and organizational effectiveness.

1. Introduction & goals

• State the purpose of the workforce development initiative
• Align these goals with overall organizational objectives

2. Current skill inventory

• Break down existing skills among your employees via spreadsheets
• Identify skill gaps that hinder performance or growth

3. Development needs & strategy

• Outline training programs, e-learning modules, or mentorships to optimize skill development
• Incorporate timelines for each training segment and define how you’ll measure progress

4. Career path mapping

• Indicate potential succession planning paths for critical roles
• Show how development plans lead to promotion or additional responsibilities

5. Budget & resource allocation

• Detail salary considerations for training days, external courses, or certifications
• Provide an Excel template for budgeting and tracking costs

6. Monitoring & adjustments

• Define checklists for regular evaluations
• Set review dates to make adjustments as your organization evolves

Example 3: Workforce transition plan template 

Purpose: Assist organizations facing significant changes (for example, mergers, acquisitions, or restructuring) in forecasting new headcount requirements, identifying new roles, and making sure skills remain up to par.

1. Overview of transition

• Summarize the organizational change, objectives, and timeline
• Inform stakeholders about the high-level strategy for the transition

2. Current workforce snapshot

• Present a spreadsheets view of existing headcount, salary outlays, and job roles
• Highlight skill gaps or development plans in progress

3. Desired future state

• Forecast the necessary headcounts for the new structure
• Outline potential realignment of staff and departmental roles

4. Gap analysis & risk assessment

• Use a gap analysis template to identify immediate and long-term skill gaps
• Evaluate risk areas such as retirements, retention, and possible hiring hurdles

5. Action plan

• Lay out concrete steps for reorganizing teams, modifying salary structures, and updating development plans
• Address any adjustments in succession planning for key positions

6. Communication & milestones

• Provide a checklist of communication tasks to keep employees and stakeholders informed
• Specify key dates and metrics to track progress

Example 4: Gap analysis template with workforce planning features

Purpose: Combine forecasting insights with an in-depth gap analysis to reveal exactly where your organization stands today versus where it needs to be, focusing on headcount, skills, and development plans.

1. Current vs. desired state table

• Tables with side-by-side comparisons of existing headcount, roles, and skill sets versus what’s needed for future goals
• Incorporate the WFM perspective to see whether your staffing plan is adequate

2. Skill gaps & solutions

• List each skill gap identified
• Propose targeted development plans, training sessions, or hiring approaches

3. Succession planning needs

• Identify critical roles lacking a strong pipeline
• Suggest development plan pathways or external recruitment strategies

4. Forecasting adjustments

• Detail how forecast data changes your organization’s outlook on budgeting, salary ranges, and role expansions
• Highlight any adjustments needed for immediate or long-term success

5. Action steps & timelines

• Outline steps for closing gaps, from quick fixes (e.g., short workshops) to longer-term solutions (e.g., advanced certifications)
• Assign responsibility to specific team members and define how you’ll measure progress

6. Monitoring & feedback

• Establish checklists for regular follow-ups
• Schedule reviews to ensure each gap is being addressed effectively

How to use a workforce planning template: 4 tips

Even the best templates or other workforce planning tools aren’t magic bullets. Below are four steps you can take to make sure your planning templates truly optimize your WFM process.

1. Create a unified version for your team 

Start by consolidating all spreadsheets and checklists into a single, unified template. This way, everyone is working off the same data, from salary numbers to headcount forecasts, and your organization stays aligned on overall workforce planning objectives.

2. Establish benchmarks for success 

Set clear targets for progress, such as reducing certain skill gaps by a set percentage or meeting hiring deadlines for specific roles. Benchmarks keep teams focused and let you track whether your staffing plan is meeting organizational objectives.

3. Collaborate across departments to ensure alignment

Involve multiple stakeholders in the workforce planning process, from finance to operations. Doing so helps everyone stay informed on the bigger picture and fosters a strategic mindset. By working together, you can spot recruitment pitfalls and evaluate development plan opportunities before they become urgent.

4. Regularly review and customize the workforce plan template if needed 

Just as organizational needs evolve, your workforce planning template should too. Schedule periodic reviews to assess how your WFM needs—and the tools you use—reflect the real-world work landscape, and determine if any adjustments are required. Keeping your template current helps ensure you never lose sight of your future goals or skills requirements.

Rippling: take the guesswork out of workforce planning

Rippling is the easiest way to share, track, and stick to your headcount plan—it’s a single source of truth for workforce planning for your entire organization.

With Rippling, you can create, share, and consolidate your teams’ plans into a single interface where you can review who has headcount available and when they can hire. View open roles, new hires, and costs—plus, control which employees see which details with role-based permissions. Approved hires with in-band compensation are approved automatically. Off-plan hires or out-of-band salaries get flagged so you can approve special cases or block them to keep your plan on track.

Stick to the plan by granting permissions and approvals as needed, with instant visibility into changes in your hiring plan throughout the year. No more confusion around who has headcount for what. In Rippling, managers can see exactly what they’re approved for and how their hiring aligns to your headcount plan.

Rippling is the only workforce planning software you need to analyze your current workforce, plan for future needs, and create actionable strategies—all in one platform.

Workforce planning template FAQs

Are workforce planning templates customizable?

Absolutely. A workforce planning template is meant to be tweaked based on your organization’s culture, staffing plan, and objectives. From gap analysis template layouts to columns for salary progression, you can fine-tune virtually any component to fit your needs.

How often should a workforce plan be updated?

Most organizations revisit their workforce planning data at least quarterly, especially if there are significant headcount changes or shifting future goals. Regular updates allow for timely adjustments in development plans, recruitment, and overall staffing.

What tools or software can assist with workforce planning?

A broad range of workforce planning tools exist—from free Excel templates to advanced HRIS platforms like Rippling. The key is finding the right combination of tools that meet your strategic workforce management needs.

Can small businesses benefit from workforce planning templates?

Yes. Small businesses often have limited headcount and tighter budgets, so workforce planning becomes even more critical. A well-structured planning template helps small teams identify skill gaps, manage development plans, align on headcount and salary budget planning, and stay ahead of market demands as they grow.

This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of February 6, 2025.

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.