The four forces your workforce strategy can’t ignore

Preparing your workers for reinvention requires understanding and harnessing the dynamics of specialisation, scarcity, rivalry and humanity.

Workforce
strategy

Business strategy
  • Specialisation

    The expertise we obtain and build to succeed

    How can we anticipate the roles we’ll need (and the roles being displaced)?

  • Rivalry

    The reasons employees choose us over competitors

    Are we winning now? How can we win as our requirements change with our strategy?

  • Humanity

    The good we do for our people—and the world

    Does our company purpose resonate with our people?

  • Scarcity

    The talent shortages and skills deficits that could harm our performance

    Where are we short on talent now? What skills will we need?

May 5, 2022

If you lead, manage or plan a workforce, you’ve got your hands full. You need to inspire and support your people right now—through geopolitical conflict, through the profound changes engendered by AI—even as you help them redefine the nature of their jobs and roles so they can thrive in a highly uncertain (and likely more automated) future. And only by getting the balance right can you create the kinds of sustained outcomes that will benefit the company, your workforce and even society.

A good place to start is grounding your thinking in a better understanding of the dynamics that your workforce strategy arises from, and depends on. Four underlying forces—specialisation, scarcity, rivalry and humanity—have been shaping workforces at key points throughout human history, and they’re highly relevant again today. Taken together, the forces offer a framework to help leaders understand the interplay among workforce strategy, business strategy, culture and technology. The resulting management conversations can help challenge you and your team to better understand the talent bets you’ve already placed but might not be aware of; better identify where your people do (and don’t) add unique value; and, above all, start anticipating tomorrow’s workforce challenges while better handling today’s.

Explore our full report, including case studies

Contact us

Bhushan Sethi

Bhushan Sethi

Strategy&, Principal, PwC United States

Tel: +1 (646) 471 2377

Nicole Wakefield

Nicole Wakefield

Financial Services Leader, South East Asia Consulting, PwC Singapore

Tel: +65 9235 5415

Peter Brown

Peter Brown

Global Workforce Leader, Partner, PwC United Kingdom

Tel: (+44) 7789 003712

We unite expertise and tech so you can outthink, outpace and outperform
See how
Follow us
Hide

Contact us

Rudolf Krickl

Rudolf Krickl

Senior Partner, PwC Austria

Patrick Boone

Patrick Boone

Partner, PwC Belgium

Bojidar Neytchev

Partner, PwC Bulgaria

Sergio Fischer

Sergio Fischer

Lead Partner, PwC Bolivia

Tel: 591-3-3444311

Marco Castro

Marco Castro

Partner/President, PwC Brasil

Tel: +55 (11) 97140 7738

Prince Rahming

Prince Rahming

Territory Leader, PwC Bahamas

Tel: +1 (242) 302 5301

Nicolas Marcoux

Nicolas Marcoux

CEO and Senior Partner, PwC Canada

Tel: +1 416 687-8263

Frazer Lindsay

Frazer Lindsay

CEO, PwC in the Caribbean

Jean-Jacques Mukula

Jean-Jacques Mukula

Partner

Gustav Baldinger

Gustav Baldinger

CEO, PwC Switzerland

Renzo Corona

Renzo Corona

Territory Senior Partner, PwC Chile

Tel: (56) 2 2940 0064

Patricia Pedhom Nono

Patricia Pedhom Nono

Partner in Charge

Tel: +237 690 70 75 22

Carlos Mario Lafaurie

Carlos Mario Lafaurie

Partner, PwC Colombia

Tel: +57 1 6340555 404/ 327

Jiří Moser

Jiří Moser

Country Managing Partner and CEE Advisory leader, PwC Czech Republic

Tel: +420 251 152 048

Lars Baungaard

Lars Baungaard

Senior Partner, PwC Denmark

Ago Vilu

Ago Vilu

Managing Partner, PwC in Ukraine

Maged  EzzEldeen

Maged EzzEldeen

Country Senior Partner – Deals Leader, PwC Egypt

Tel: +20 122 3421 386

Gonzalo Sanchez

Gonzalo Sanchez

Partner, PwC Spain

Patrice Morot

Patrice Morot

Partner, PwC France

Tel: + 33 156578168

Vish Ashiagbor

Vish Ashiagbor

Country Senior Partner, PwC Ghana

Tel: +233 (0) 302 761500

Barry Pillans

Barry Pillans

Partner, PwC Gibraltar

Marios Psaltis

Marios Psaltis

Partner, PwC Greece

Hrvoje Jelic

Hrvoje Jelic

Partner, PwC Croatia

Tamás  Lőcsei

Tamás Lőcsei

Partner, PwC Hungary

Tel: +36 1 461 9358

Nick Halsall

Nick Halsall

Partner, Advisory Leader, PwC Isle of Man

Tel: +44 (0) 1624 689680

Andrea Toselli

Andrea Toselli

Partner | Assurance Leader, PwC Italy

Nick Vermeulen

Nick Vermeulen

Territory Senior Partner, PwC Channel Islands

Tel: +44 7781 111526

Hoonsoo Yoon

Hoonsoo Yoon

Chief Executive Officer, PwC South Korea

Tel: +82 2 709 0201

Loreta Peci

Loreta Peci

Managing Director, PwC Kosovo

Tel: +355 4 2242 254

Graeme Sunley

Graeme Sunley

Territory Leader, PwC Cayman Islands

Azamat Konratbayev

Azamat Konratbayev

Managing Partner, PwC Eurasia Assurance Leader, PwC Kazakhstan

Tel: +7 727 330 3200

Andre Rohayem

Middle East Insurance Leader, PwC Lebanon

Tel: +961 1 200 577

Nerijus Nedzinskas

Nerijus Nedzinskas

Partner, PwC Lithuania

Tel: +370 5 239 2350

François Mousel

Managing Partner, PwC Luxembourg

Tel: +352 49 48 48 2182

Michał Mastalerz

Michał Mastalerz

Country Managing Partner, PwC Poland

Biljana Bogovac

Biljana Bogovac

Partner, PwC Serbia

Miroslav Marchev

Partner, PwC Macedonia

Anthony Leung Shing

Partner, PwC Mauritius

Tel: +230 404 5071

Clive Mukondiwa

Clive Mukondiwa

Partner

Tel: +31 (0)65 154 18 97

Pisit Thangtanagul

Pisit Thangtanagul

Mekong Territory Senior Partner and CEO for PwC Thailand, PwC Thailand

Tel: +66 (0) 2844 1000

João Veiga

João Veiga

Country Senior Partner, PwC Mozambique

Chantell Husselmann

Chantell Husselmann

Country Senior Partner, PwC Namibia

Tel: +264 61 284 1327

Petra Justenhoven

Petra Justenhoven

Senior Partner and Chair, PwC Netherlands

Leif Arne Jensen

Leif Arne Jensen

CEO | Territory Senior Partner, PwC Norway

Tel: +47 952 60 102

Rick M. Danao

Rick M. Danao

Vice Chairman and Assurance Partner, PwC Philippines

Tel: +63 (2) 459 3065

António Brochado Correia

António Brochado Correia

Territory Senior Partner, PwC Portugal

Tel: +351 213 599 405

Dinu Bumbăcea

Dinu Bumbăcea

Partner, Advisory Leader, PwC Romania

Bernice Kimacia

Bernice Kimacia

Partner, PwC Rwanda

Tel: +250 252 5882 03/04/05/06

Sofia Götmar-Blomstedt

Sofia Götmar-Blomstedt

CEO, PwC Sweden

Tel: 0709-29 28 82

Martin Gallovič

Martin Gallovič

Country Managing Partner, PwC Slovakia

Tel: +421 259 350 111

Jamshid Juraev

Jamshid Juraev

Sr. Manager, PwC Turkmenistan

Tel: +998 71 120 6101

Cenk Ulu

Cenk Ulu

Territory Senior Partner, PwC Türkiye

Tel: +90 212 326 6967

Brian Hackett

Brian Hackett

Territory Leader, PwC Trinidad and Tobago

Joseph Chou

Joseph Chou

Chairman and CEO, PwC Taiwan

Tel: +886 2 27296666, x26693

Zainab Msimbe

Zainab Msimbe

Country Senior Partner, PwC Tanzania

Tel: +255 (0) 22 219 2000

Marco Amitrano

Marco Amitrano

Alliance Senior Partner, PwC UK and Middle East, PwC United Kingdom

Miguel Urus

Miguel Urus

Socio a cargo, PwC Argentina

Tel: (54 11) 4850-4660

Abdulkhamid Muminov

Managing Partner, PwC Uzbekistan

Tel: +998 78 120 61 01

Luis Freites

Partner, PwC Venezuela

Mai  Viet Hung Tran

Mai Viet Hung Tran

General Director, PwC Vietnam

Tel: +84 28 3823 0796

Shirley Machaba

Shirley Machaba

Regional Senior Partner, PwC South Market Area, PwC South Africa

Tel: +27 (0) 11 797 5851

Andrew Chibuye

Andrew Chibuye

Country Senior Partner, PwC Zambia

Tel: +260 (0) 211 334 000

Hani Ashkar

Hani Ashkar

Middle East Senior Partner, PwC Middle East

Masataka Kubota

Masataka Kubota

Partner, PwC Japan

Sanjeev Krishan

Chairman, PwC India

Adam Krasoń

Adam Krasoń

Country Managing Partner of PwC in Poland, PwC Central and Eastern Europe

Ljósbrá Baldursdóttir

Ljósbrá Baldursdóttir

CEO and TSP, PwC Iceland

Santiago Mignone

Santiago Mignone

Partner, PwC Argentina

Uthman Mayanja

Uthman Mayanja

Country Senior Partner, PwC Uganda

Michał Mastalerz

Michał Mastalerz

Country Managing Partner, PwC Poland

Lassaad Borji

Territory Managing Partner, PwC Tunisie, PwC Tunisia

Sinforiano Ngomi Elomba

Senior Manager

Paul Griggs

Paul Griggs

Senior Partner, PwC US, PwC US

Matthew Wetmore

Matthew Wetmore

EUMI Industry Leader, PwC Canada

Tel: +1 403 509 7483