The 8Bs of SWP: An integrated approach to optimising your Human Capital

---

Introduction

We live in an ever-changing economic and technological environment, where the war for talent is raging and skills are becoming obsolete at a dizzying pace.

Well, I don’t think I’m telling you anything new by saying that.

To stand out from the crowd, your company must constantly adjust its human resources to remain competitive and rethink its talent management. Added to this are the new expectations of employees, forcing organisations to continually re-evaluate the management of their human capital.

Faced with these challenges, you’re probably asking yourself: “How can I ensure that my organisation is never caught short? How can I ensure that my organisation has the right human resources to achieve its strategic objectives?”

Rather than settling for conventional wisdom such as “we need to recruit the best talent as quickly as possible!”, I propose a more structured approach. This approach is based on Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP), an essential lever for anticipating skills needs and ensuring a lasting match between your talent and your corporate strategy.

Strategic Workforce Planning uses a number of strategies to bridge the gap between the skills available and those required in the medium and long term. Among these, the so-called ‘B’ strategies offer you several options: Buy (recruit), Build (train), Borrow (borrow), Bind (retain), Bounce (redeploy), Bot (automate), Bench (build up talent pools) and Break (rethink job design).

In this article, I propose to explore these different strategies in detail, their practical applications, their strategic implications and the criteria for choosing the best combination. You will discover how to activate the essential levers for optimising your human capital in a constantly changing environment.

But first, I’d like to take a step back to understand why we need to revisit these human capital management strategies …

Skills requirements have changed… and you already know it!

You’ve probably noticed that today’s job market is very different from yesterday’s. The skills that made all the difference just a few years ago are now almost obsolete. The skills that made the difference just a few years ago now seem almost obsolete.

But what has really changed? Let’s dive into this new reality and find out how to navigate it.

Digital skills: essential and yet so rare

Let’s face it, digital transformation is no longer an option – it’s become part of our daily lives.

Do your employees find it easy to juggle with digital tools, or are they struggling to adapt? The gap is often wider than you think.

And while some organisations are struggling with this reality, others are already turning it into a decisive competitive advantage. Where does your company stand in this race?

Beyond technical expertise: the emergence of soft skills

You’ve probably been in this situation before: a brilliant technical expert but unable to collaborate effectively or adapt to change.

Today, ‘soft-skills’ such as creativity, emotional intelligence, complex problem-solving and communication are no longer appreciable ‘extras’ – they have become essential.

In a world where machines can perform technical tasks, it is these deeply human skills that make all the difference.

Continuous learning: non-negotiable in your organisation?

Let’s be frank: how quickly do technical skills become obsolete in your sector? Six months? A year? Two years at most?

This dizzying acceleration makes continuous learning an absolute imperative. Are your employees equipped for this constant race to update their skills? Do you actively encourage them to do so?

Recruitment rethought: beyond perfect CVs

Do you still recognise this reflex? Do you still prefer prestigious qualifications and a flawless track record when recruiting?

But you know that ‘s no longer enough. The most successful companies have understood this: they are now looking for candidates who can adapt quickly, learn constantly and transfer their skills to changing contexts. Have your recruitment processes changed as a result?

It’s time to reinvent your approach

Faced with these upheavals, continuing to manage your talent as you did yesterday would be like navigating with an obsolete map. You can already feel it: it’s time to adopt a resolutely strategic and proactive approach.

This is precisely where Strategic Workforce Planning and the 8B strategies we are going to explore together come into their own.

What is Strategic Workforce Planning?

Before delving into the details of the 8B model, let’s define what Strategic Workforce Planning is.

It’s a continuous process that aligns HR strategy with overall business strategy, anticipating future talent and skills needs.

It’s a proactive approach that goes beyond simple recruitment to embrace a holistic view of human capital management.

If you’d like to find out more, read the article What is Strategic Workforce Planning?

SWP answers three fundamental questions:

• What skills will we need tomorrow?
• What resources do we have today?
• How can we close the gap between the two?

It is precisely to answer this third question that the 8B model was developed.

These complementary approaches provide organisations with a structured framework for responding with agility to skills needs, whether they are acquired on the market, developed internally, borrowed temporarily, or other innovative avenues explored.

The 8B model: A strategic toolbox for talent management

Faced with the challenges outlined above, companies need to adopt a multi-dimensional and agile approach to managing their human capital.

The 8B model is a comprehensive toolkit for effectively orchestrating your HR strategy in a constantly changing environment.

Each “B” represents a specific approach that you can activate in isolation or in combination, depending on your strategic needs and your particular context.

Let’s take a closer look at the different strategies behind these 8Bs!

1. Buy (Recruit)

This is the strategy used by most companies … even when other strategies might be more appropriate: find the missing skills outside the organisation.

The principle is to acquire external talent to quickly fill critical gaps or meet specific needs not available within your organisation.

Example of application: Your company is launching a new product line requiring cutting-edge expertise in sustainable development that you don’t have in-house. After analysis, you decide to recruit a recognised expert in this field to rapidly structure your strategy and accelerate your positioning in this market.

What are the advantages of this strategy?

• Immediate acquisition of specialised and operational skills
• Bringing in new ideas, different methodologies and external perspectives
• Potential for significant transformation and acceleration of strategic projects
• Access to specialist professional networks that can enrich your ecosystem
• Signalling ambition and attractiveness to other potential talent

When should you use it? This approach is essential when there is an urgent need for specific skills, when entering a new market, to fill a critical skills gap, or when you want to bring about a major cultural change in the organisation.

But beware of the pitfalls: external recruitment is not the miracle solution some people think it is. The acquisition costs can be considerable (on average 15% to 25% of annual salary , depending on the study), not to mention the integration time needed before the new talent is fully operational. Without a solid onboarding strategy, you run the risk of quickly losing your precious recruit, turning your investment into a dead loss.

A practical tip: To make your “Buy” strategy more effective, set up a “reverse recruitment” system. Instead of focusing solely on what the candidate can offer you, clearly demonstrate what your organisation can offer them in terms of professional development. For example, present a personalised 3-year career plan at the final interview, including specific training and strategic projects.

As you can see, the “Buy” strategy is a powerful one, but it needs to be used with discretion. In certain situations, training your internal talent (Build) could prove much more relevant and profitable in the long term.

That’s exactly what we’re going to explore in the next section.

2. Build (Form)

This is another strategy used by most companies: developing internal skills through ongoing training, coaching or mentoring to anticipate and meet future skills needs.

The (small) problem is that training plans are generally not really in line with the company’s strategy. We train for the sake of training, thinking that skills problems will miraculously be solved.

Example of application: Imagine that your company is anticipating a transition to artificial intelligence in the next two years. Rather than looking outside for prohibitively expensive AI experts, you could identify employees with data analysis skills and invest in training them to develop this new expertise in-house.

What are the advantages of this strategy?

• Increases employee commitment and motivation
• Preserves and enriches the corporate culture
• Is generally less costly than external recruitment in the long term
• Adds value to the business knowledge already acquired, creating a unique synergy
• Creates a positive signal for all teams about career development opportunities

When should you use it? This strategy is particularly relevant when you have time to develop skills (6 to 18 months), when the necessary foundations already exist internally, and when retaining talent is a strategic issue for your organisation.

But there are limits: Training your staff takes time – a resource that is sometimes in short supply in today’s fast-paced environment. And don’t underestimate the risk of seeing your freshly-trained talent leave for the competition if you don’t simultaneously think about your retention strategy (the “Bind” strategy we’ll talk about later).

A practical tip: To maximise the effectiveness of your “Build” strategy, make sure that skills development is anchored in day-to-day practice. Isolated theoretical training courses have a very low retention rate after a few months. Instead, favour approaches that combine training, immediate practice and regular feedback.

The “Build” strategy offers an excellent return on investment when it is well orchestrated, but it is not always the most appropriate approach for very specific and urgent needs.

That’s why we’re now going to explore the ‘Borrow’ strategy, which could be an interesting alternative in certain situations.

3. Borrow

The principle is simple: use temporary workers, consultants, freelancers or external partners for fixed-term projects or one-off needs for expertise.

Example of application: For the launch of a new strategic e-commerce platform, you call on a specialist agency and freelance developers to supplement the skills of your in-house team during the six months of intensive development, while organising a gradual transfer of skills.

What are the advantages of this strategy?

• Maximum flexibility and rapid adaptation to market developments
• Access to cutting-edge expertise with no long-term financial commitment
• Ability to adapt to seasonal or cyclical fluctuations in activity
• Potential transfer of knowledge and methodologies to in-house teams
• Test new skills before investing in permanent recruitment

When should you use it? This strategy is ideal for fixed-term projects, seasonal peaks in activity, exploring new technologies without any certainty about their sustainability in your business model, or when you need very specific expertise that is used on an ad hoc basis.

A wordof caution: Excessive reliance on external resources can create a risky dependency and damage team cohesion. Not to mention that the high daily costs, although temporary, can quickly add up if your governance is not solid.

A strategic perspective: The ‘Borrow’ strategy is particularly relevant in our knowledge-based economy, where expertise is constantly specialising. A number of companies have adopted a hybrid model combining permanent teams and specialist external talent, creating a dynamic ecosystem of skills around their core business.

Practical tip: To make the most of this strategy, systematically structure the transfer of knowledge in your contracts with external service providers. Include documentation phases, sharing sessions and periods of close collaboration with your in-house teams. In this way, you can turn every euro invested into lasting intellectual capital for your organisation.

While the “Borrow” strategy offers unparalleled flexibility, it must be part of a broader approach to your human capital. That’s why the “Bind” strategy that we will explore next is often its natural complement for maintaining the balance between flexibility and organisational stability.

4. Bind

You might wonder why focusing on employee loyalty could help your company manage its skills. However, if your employees aren’t 100% committed, they won’t use their full potential and so … you’ll suffer a loss of performance that can be reflected in a loss of earnings. Worse still … your key employees may decide to leave your organisation!

Creating lasting links with key employees by aligning their personal aspirations with the organisation’s strategy is therefore a lever you can control.

Example of application: After an in-depth analysis, you identify that 20% of your employees generate 80% of the innovation in your company. You put in place a personalised programme combining incentive pay, flexibility and customised development paths for these critical talents, whose loss would be particularly damaging.

What are the advantages of this strategy?

• Preservation of the company’s intellectual capital and organisational memory
• Significant reduction in the costs associated with turnover (recruitment, onboarding, loss of productivity)
• Continuity of strategic projects and maintenance of key customer relationships
• Reinforced culture of excellence and employer appeal
• Stability of teams, encouraging collaborative innovation

When should you use it? This strategy should be deployed as a priority for high value-added roles, knowledge holders who are critical or difficult to replace, or in sectors where competition for talent is particularly fierce.

Beware of common pitfalls: Don’t fall into the trap of uniform loyalty programmes that ignore individual motivations. According to a Gallup study, 70% of engagement factors are linked to direct management rather than company policies. Investing in expensive programmes without training your managers in the art of building team loyalty is like building a house without foundations. What’s more, beware of the perverse effect of elitist programmes, which can create a feeling of inequity among those who don’t benefit from them.

An inescapable economic reality: The cost of replacing a qualified employee is estimated at between 50% and 200% of their annual salary. This figure climbs even higher for management profiles or technical experts. In a context where 2 out of 3 French people are planning to change jobs in 2023, the “Bind” strategy is no longer an option but an economic necessity.

A practical tip: Use “stay” interviews rather than waiting for exit interviews. These proactive discussions with your key talent, conducted in an informal and caring setting, will enable you to identify potential frustrations before they become reasons for leaving. Remember that employees don’t leave companies, they leave situations they find unsatisfactory or managers with whom they don’t flourish.

While building loyalty is essential, it sometimes needs to be accompanied by a reflection on internal mobility. That’s why the ‘Bounce’ strategy we’ll be exploring next offers a complementary way of optimising the allocation of your talent within the organisation.

5. Bounce (Redeploy)

The aim of this approach is to facilitate the mobility of employees who are stagnating or no longer meeting performance expectations, by redirecting them to internal roles that are better suited to their skills or guiding them towards a positive exit.

It is essential to explore all options, including those leading outside the company. Leaving an organisation is no longer seen as a failure, but rather as an opportunity.

Who knows, these employees could return with new skills acquired elsewhere, enriching the company with their diverse experiences!

Example of practical application: Faced with increasing digitalisation, you anticipate a gradual decline in the need for certain traditional sales functions. Rather than waiting for an inevitable obsolescence, you are creating a “bridge” retraining programme enabling your sales staff to develop skills in digital marketing or success management, thereby creating a gateway to future professions within the organisation.

What are the advantages of this strategy?

• Proactive anticipation of necessary career transitions
• Opportunity for individuals to rediscover motivation and meaning
• Freeing up positions for talent better aligned with current needs
• Prevent situations of suffering or conflict
• Making the most of experience gained in other contexts

When should you use it? This strategy is particularly well-suited to sectors undergoing profound change, to professions threatened with obsolescence, or when you want to enrich certain functions with cross-disciplinary skills from other professional backgrounds. It is also relevant when employees are stagnating despite support measures, when an individual’s skills are clearly better suited to another role, or when remaining in the current position is generating frustration for both the individual and the organisation.

Pitfalls to avoid: Poorly managed redeployment can quickly turn into a simple ‘sacking’ or revolving door policy. Internal reassignments can fail when they are perceived as disguised sanctions rather than opportunities. Also avoid the ‘Peter shuffle’ trap – moving a problem from one department to another without resolving the root causes of poor performance.

An often neglected strategic dimension: In a context where restructuring has become commonplace, a well-executed ‘Bounce’ strategy can become a real competitive advantage. Organisations that actively practise internal mobility have a higher retention rate than their competitors and a much greater ability to adapt to market changes. It is also a significant source of savings, as the cost of internal redeployment is generally lower than that of external recruitment.

A practical tip: Set up regular career check-ups, as distinct from performance reviews. These dedicated forums allow you to explore, without taboo, the signs of a growing mismatch between an employee and his or her current position, before the situation deteriorates. Remember that a well-supported departure is better than a disengaged presence – both for the individual and for the organisation. As one experienced HR manager once said, “The worst thing is not to lose talent, but to keep someone who has lost their motivation.”

The “Bounce” strategy is part of a dynamic vision of career paths. But in some cases, the best solution lies neither in recruitment, nor in training, nor in human redeployment. This is where the ‘Bot’ strategy comes in, which we will now explore.

6. Bot (Automate)

Increasingly adopted, this approach involves integrating advanced technologies such as AI and automation to replace or augment certain human tasks. This approach optimises operational efficiency and value creation by freeing employees from repetitive tasks, allowing them to concentrate on strategic and creative activities.

In addition, these technologies offer advanced analytical capabilities, enabling more informed decision-making and opening up new opportunities.

Example of application: Your customer service department is overwhelmed by repetitive requests that monopolise staff and prevent them from dealing with complex cases with high added value. After analysis, you implement an AI chatbot that handles 70% of routine queries, enabling your advisers to concentrate on interactions requiring empathy, expertise and personalisation.

What are the benefits of this strategy?

• Scalability of operations without proportional growth in headcount
• Significant reduction in repetitive, tedious and low value-added tasks
• Measurable improvement in process accuracy, consistency and compliance
• Release of human potential for creative, relational and strategic activities
• Increase customer and employee satisfaction by eliminating operational friction

When should you use it? This approach is particularly relevant for high-volume standardised processes, massive data analysis, tasks involving health risks for employees, or activities where humans alone cannot achieve the required precision or speed.

Challenges to anticipate: Poorly thought-out automation can become a financial sinkhole with limited spin-offs. Don’t forget that AI and robotisation require solid governance and in-depth thinking about the user experience, whether it’s your customers or your employees. The risk of resistance to change also needs to be taken seriously – nobody likes to be replaced by a machine, even for tedious tasks.

A silent but profound revolution: According to a study by the World Economic Forum, 83 million jobs could be at risk worldwide by 2027 as a result of automation, big data and economic pressures. But the same study points out that 97 million new roles should emerge at the man-machine interface. So it’s not so much a question of replacing humans as redefining their place and added value in the organisation.

A practical tip: Start small, but think big. Identify a non-critical process that is sufficiently visible to quickly demonstrate the added value of automation. Involve your employees from the design phase onwards – they are the real process experts and will be the first users of these technologies. Above all, communicate your vision clearly: automation must be seen as a tool for increasing human capacity, not as a threat to jobs.

While the “Bot” strategy invites us to rethink human work in the face of technological capabilities, the “Bench” strategy reminds us of the importance of preparing for the future by building up strategic reserves of talent.

This is what we will explore in the next section.

7. Bench (Building talent pools)

This strategy makes it possible to build up pools of in-house talent with critical skills that can be mobilised quickly when needed. These pools of strategic skills provide both a reserve capacity and the flexibility to redeploy employees to key projects.

Example of application: Your company operates in sectors where projects can arise quickly and require the immediate mobilisation of cybersecurity experts. Rather than relying solely on the external market, you intentionally maintain an excess capacity of 15% of these rare profiles, who work on secondary projects when they are not mobilised for critical interventions.

What are the advantages of this strategy?

• Immediate responsiveness to business opportunities or crises
• Reduced dependency on external recruitment in a tight market
• Maintain and develop rare strategic skills
• Create rewarding versatility for the employees concerned
• Reduce the organisational stress associated with peaks in activity

When should you use it? This approach is particularly suitable for critical skills that are used on a recurring but irregular basis, in sectors with intense business cycles, or for rare expertise that is difficult to access on the external market at the right time.

The challenges: The “Bench” strategy involves striking a delicate balance between reserve capacity and cost optimisation. Keeping unoccupied talent on a full-time basis can quickly become an expensive luxury. There is also a real risk of skills becoming obsolete in under-utilised experts, as well as the gradual demotivation of these talents if they are not sufficiently stimulated.

Practical advice: To avoid the trap of the “demotivating bench”, structure your “Bench” strategy around continuous improvement, internal R&D or skills transfer projects. Organise a system of regular rotation between critical projects and secondary assignments to maintain commitment and expertise. Clearly communicate the strategic value of this approach to the employees concerned – no one likes to feel that they have “too much” or are simply “on hold”.

Having explored how to build up talent pools, let’s turn to the ‘Break’ strategy, which invites us to fundamentally rethink the way work is organised rather than simply adjusting existing resources.

8. Break (Rethinking job design)

We don’t always think about it, but the evolution of professions can also involve rethinking historical roles. Fragmenting, recombining or radically transforming existing jobs can optimise the use of skills and organisational efficiency, becoming a strategic lever for the company.

Example of application: You find that your highly qualified engineers spend 40% of their time on administrative tasks that could be carried out by other profiles. You decide to “break down” these traditional roles to create, on the one hand, pure engineering positions with higher added value and, on the other hand, engineering support positions requiring fewer technical qualifications but valuing other skills.

What are the advantages of this strategy?

• Optimising the use of scarce and expensive skills
• Creation of new career paths and development opportunities
• Tailor roles more closely to individual aspirations
• Improved productivity and commitment
• Increased capacity to integrate diverse and atypical profiles

When should you use it? This approach is particularly relevant during major reorganisations, when faced with shortages of specific skills, to optimise costs, or to adapt the organisation to new market realities and technological developments.

Risks to anticipate: Deconstructing traditional roles can generate resistance and anxiety. Don’t underestimate the human and cultural aspects of this type of change. Also be careful not to unintentionally create positions that are “devalued” or perceived as such. Excessive fragmentation can also lead to a loss of overall vision and ownership, where everyone becomes responsible for one part but nobody feels responsible for the whole.

A practical tip: Don’t give in to the temptation of purely theoretical job redesign. Involve the current incumbents of the roles you wish to transform – they are the ones who know best the realities on the ground and the invisible interdependencies. Test your new concepts on a small scale before generalising. And above all, communicate transparently about the objectives you are pursuing, emphasising the development of skills rather than just the search for economic efficiency.

The ‘Break’ strategy reminds us that sometimes the solution lies not in adapting people to jobs, but in adapting jobs to people and to strategic needs.

Building an integrated strategy: the art of combining the 8Bs

The effectiveness of Strategic Workforce Planning does not come from the application of a single strategy, but from the judicious combination of several approaches forming a coherent whole tailored to the specific needs of your organisation.

The 8B model reveals its true value when its various components are deployed in a complementary way. These strategies do not operate in a vacuum – rather, they form a network of interdependent solutions which, when intelligently articulated, reinforce each other to create a more significant impact.

A systemic rather than sequential approach

The most successful organisations do not simply apply these strategies one after the other, but deploy them simultaneously as part of a holistic vision of human capital. They shape a unique strategic mix, calibrated according to their organisational maturity, the specificities of their business sector and their short- and long-term strategic objectives.

Integrate the 8Bs into your human capital strategy

Here is a step-by-step guide to help you put the 8B model into practice:

Step 1: Strategic analysis

Start with an in-depth analysis of your business strategy. What are your 3-5 year objectives? What new capabilities will you need to develop? Which markets do you intend to penetrate? This analysis will enable you to identify future skills requirements.

In practice: Organise collaborative workshops involving senior management, business line managers and HR to translate the strategic vision into concrete skills requirements. Use methods such as “backcasting”, where you start from your future objectives to determine the skills needed to achieve them.

Step 2: Mapping current skills

Carry out a detailed audit of your existing human capital. Don’t limit yourself to officially recognised technical skills, but also explore your employees’ hidden talents, personal passions and developing skills.

In practice: Combine several sources of information: appraisal interviews, self-declarations, observations by managers, cross-functional projects. Create a “dynamic skills inventory” that is continuously enriched rather than a static snapshot taken once a year.

Stage 3: Gap analysis

Identify the gaps between your future needs and your current resources. Quantify these gaps in terms of volume (how many people), quality (what specific skills) and timing (when will these needs become critical).

In practice: Use visualisation tools such as heat maps to quickly identify critical areas. Prioritise gaps according to their impact on the company’s performance, not just their size.

Step 4: Targeted application of the 8Bs

For each gap identified, determine which combination of the 8Bs will be most effective, taking into account factors such as :

• The urgency of the need
• The availability of talent on the market
• Your investment capacity
• Your corporate culture
• Your appetite for risk

In practice: Create a decision matrix that cross-references the skills gaps identified with the various 8B strategies. For each combination, assess the potential effectiveness (from 1 to 5), the cost, the implementation time and the associated risks. This matrix will help you visualise the optimal options.

Step 5: Implementation and monitoring

Implement your action plan by defining clear performance indicators. Monitor these indicators regularly and don’t hesitate to adjust your approach according to the results and changes in your environment.

In practice: Draw up a balanced scorecard including leading indicators (which predict future results) and lagging indicators (which measure past results). For example:

• Leading indicators: rate of engagement in training programmes, number of internal applications for key positions, etc.
• Lagging indicators: average time to fill critical positions, retention rate of key talent

Stage 6: Iteration and continuous improvement

Strategic Workforce Planning is not a one-off exercise but an ongoing process. Plan regular reviews of your 8B strategy to adapt it to changes in your internal and external environment.

In practice: Organise quarterly reviews of your SWP strategy with representatives from HR, operations and management. Analyse successes and failures to continually refine your approach.

Conclusion: The 8Bs as a strategic compass

In a world where human capital simultaneously represents the main competitive advantage and the main cost item for most organisations, the 8B model offers a strategic compass for navigating the complexity of talent-related decisions.

Far from being a simple collection of HR tactics, this model provides a framework for strategic thinking that enables human capital management to be truly aligned with the organisation’s business ambitions. It introduces flexibility and nuance that go well beyond the traditional binary approach of ‘recruit or train’.

By integrating the 8Bs into your Strategic Workforce Planning, you’re not just reacting to trends in the talent market – you’re actively creating the organisation of tomorrow, capable of adapting, innovating and thriving in an ever-changing environment.

The question is no longer whether you should adopt this approach, but how much it will cost you if you don’t in a world where skills have become the new currency of the global economy.

Faq

Sources

• Location Strategy: Building Resilience in Volatile Markets
• The 6 Bs of talent management: How to protect your competitive edge
• Build, Buy, Borrow and Bridge – A New Way of Channeling Your Hiring

---