UK employers are facing ongoing staffing challenges, with new research indicating that many organisations do not have enough people to meet operational demands.
The study from SD Worx surveyed thousands of employers and employees across Europe, including 305 UK organisations and 1,000 UK workers. It found that 43.3% of UK employers say they do not have enough staff to get the work done.
This pressure comes at a time when businesses are balancing service delivery with cost control. As a result, workforce planning is becoming a central focus for organisations trying to manage workloads and maintain performance.
Nearly 60% of UK organisations, representing 59.7%, now consider workforce planning a critical or high priority. This reflects a shift from viewing workforce planning as an HR function to treating it as a key operational activity.
Workforce Planning and Skills Gaps
The research shows that workforce planning is no longer only about hiring more staff, but also about how work is structured and delivered. Around 30.4% of UK organisations say preparing for automation and AI is now a key driver of workforce planning, a figure higher than the European average of 26.1%.
Employers say the immediate priority remains ensuring that work can continue without disruption. More than half, representing 53.8%, cite maintaining adequate staffing levels and scheduling efficiency as the main reason workforce planning matters.
At the same time, 50.0% point to improving service continuity and customer experience, while 40.3% highlight the need to manage workforce costs. These competing pressures can have a direct effect on employee workloads and stress levels, particularly where teams are already stretched.
Employee data suggests that retention challenges may be adding to these pressures. Around 34% of UK employees say they are actively looking for a new role, indicating potential instability within the workforce.
Job security and fair pay are also important factors, with 14.4% of employees prioritising stability and 14.3% highlighting fair pay. These concerns underline the link between workforce planning and employee wellbeing, as organisations attempt to balance operational needs with employee expectations.
The research also indicates that many organisations are still transitioning towards more flexible, skills based workforce models. While some employers are moving in this direction, 54.9% of UK organisations continue to base workforce planning on a mix of job roles and skills rather than skills alone.
Training and Workforce Models
The findings suggest that employee capability is not always being fully utilised. Around 23.3% of UK employees say their talent is underused, while 64.2% report that they are eager to grow within their roles.
Despite this motivation, access to development opportunities remains limited for some workers. A total of 33.9% say they need additional training or learning opportunities, yet 48% report they do not have the time to pursue this development.
This highlights the need for organisations to create space for learning alongside managing workloads. Without this balance, employees may struggle to progress, which can affect engagement and long term retention.
Workforce planning is also evolving to include a broader mix of employment types. In the UK, 66.8% of organisations say their planning now includes freelancers, contractors and temporary staff, rather than treating them separately.
In addition, 59.1% of organisations report using scenario planning to anticipate future workforce needs and challenges. This approach allows businesses to respond more effectively to uncertainty while maintaining operational stability.
“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,” said Bruce Fecheyr-Lippens, Chief People Officer at SD Worx.
He added, “Hiring remains important, but it’s rarely the only answer. 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.”