Strategic Headcount Planning with Workday Adaptive Planning | Ep. 6

Unknown Speaker

All right, welcome everybody to FP&A Done Right! I'm Ethan, and with me is Emma. Hey Emma, ready to dig into one of the most fundamental, but honestly, trickiest parts of finance?

Emma

Absolutely, Ethan! Headcount and workforce planning sounds simple, but, I mean, once you get into it, it gets complicated fast. It's not just about counting people—it's about aligning your talent with your company's goals, thinking about skill sets, roles, and even where your teams are located.

Unknown Speaker

Yeah, and Revelwood's seen this across the board, right? Doesn't matter if you're a tiny startup or a global giant, everyone struggles with workforce planning. It's a universal pain point. And the thing is, if you don't get it right, it can really mess with your long-term growth.

Emma

Exactly. And it's gotta be strategic. Like, you can't just say, "We need 10 more people." You have to know what roles, what skills, and where those people need to be. I always think about that global medical technology company Revelwood worked with. They had teams everywhere—Europe, Asia, Latin America, you name it.

Unknown Speaker

Oh yeah, that one! Their operations were so spread out, and their personnel costs had to be allocated by department, by region, and even adjusted every quarter based on global assumptions. It was wild. Revelwood built them a custom personnel model in Workday Adaptive Planning so they could track exactly when new hires were joining, across all those regions.

Emma

And that made a huge difference for them, right? Suddenly, their FP&A team and senior management could actually forecast their personnel needs in sync with their growth strategy. The senior manager there even said it was saving them a ton of time and gave a shout out to the Revelwood team for being such a great match from start to finish.

Unknown Speaker

Yeah, and I think that's the key—making sure your workforce planning is totally tied into your strategy, not just a number on a spreadsheet. Otherwise, you end up with the wrong people in the wrong places, or you miss out on growth opportunities.

Emma

So, let's talk about how companies are actually solving these problems. Integrations and automation are huge. When you connect your HR systems—like HiBob or UKG Pro—with your FP&A tools, especially something like Workday Adaptive Planning, you get real-time, organization-wide visibility. No more manual data entry, no more spreadsheet nightmares.

Unknown Speaker

Yeah, and that blockchain SaaS company is a perfect example. They needed a live personnel model, so Revelwood integrated HiBob with Workday Adaptive Planning. Suddenly, all their HR data was flowing straight into their planning model, automatically. No more exporting, no more copy-paste errors, just up-to-date info for everyone.

Emma

And that means the FP&A team can react way faster to changes. If someone joins, leaves, or gets promoted, it's all right there. Actually, one client told me what really set Revelwood apart was that the same consulting team stayed on the project from start to finish. That consistency made the whole integration process way less stressful for them.

Unknown Speaker

That's a big deal. I mean, with so many moving parts, having the same people who know your business stick with you the whole way? That's rare. And it really helps when you're dealing with complex integrations—less stuff falls through the cracks.

Emma

Totally. And the automation piece isn't just about saving time, it's about accuracy. When your data is always current, you can trust your numbers and make better decisions. It's a game changer for finance teams.

Unknown Speaker

Now, let's shift gears a bit and talk about service organizations—like healthcare. For them, analyzing non-billable time is critical. If you can't see where your resources are going, you can't improve. Revelwood worked with a multi-site healthcare provider that specializes in ABA therapy, and their big pain point was tracking non-billable hours.

Emma

Right, and with the integration between Workday Adaptive Planning and UKG Pro, they could generate reports with conditional formatting. So, if someone logged over 250 hours of non-billable time in a payroll period, it popped right out. They could spot issues instantly and update the model easily for things like promotions or departures.

Unknown Speaker

And that transparency changed the whole conversation between HR and finance. Instead of arguing over numbers, they could actually talk about how to use their workforce better. The finance manager said it helped them have way more effective discussions about resource utilization.

Emma

That's the power of having integrated, transparent data. It turns workforce planning into a proactive, strategic activity instead of just a reactive chore. And honestly, it makes cross-team collaboration so much smoother. Everyone's working from the same playbook.

Unknown Speaker

Exactly. And that's what it's all about—using the right tools and strategies to make headcount planning a driver of growth, not just a checkbox. All right, Emma, I think that's a good place to wrap up for today. Any final thoughts?

Emma

Just that if you're listening and struggling with headcount planning, you're not alone. There are real solutions out there, and taking a more strategic, integrated approach can make a huge difference. Thanks for joining us, Ethan!