Getting the most out of your first workforce planning meeting

Getting the most out of your first workforce planning meeting

The first workforce planning meeting sets the foundation for everything that follows. Here’s how to make your first workforce planning meeting as productive as possible.

What to expect from the meeting

Your first workforce planning meeting isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about understanding the right questions to ask and beginning to map out your workforce strategy.

The Industry Workforce Advisor will want to understand your business context: what you manufacture, your current workforce composition, your business direction, and the workforce challenges you’re facing. From there, you’ll begin identifying priorities and developing a roadmap for your workforce planning journey.

This is a collaborative conversation, not an audit. The goal is to help you build a workforce strategy that aligns with your business needs and is realistic to implement.

Manufacturing Skills Queensland’s Industry Workforce Advisor Karen Knapton said the most productive first meetings happen when manufacturers have thought about their business direction beforehand.

“I can help manufacturers with the workforce planning process, but they know their business best. When they’ve given some thought to where they’re heading—whether that’s growth, maintaining current operations, or navigating change—we can have a much more focused conversation about what workforce capabilities they’ll need.”

Information to prepare in advance

 You don’t need a comprehensive workforce analysis before your first meeting, but having some basic information ready makes the conversation more productive.

• Current workforce overview: How many employees do you have? What are the key roles? Are there positions that are particularly critical to operations?
• Business direction: What are your plans for the next 1-3 years? Are you looking to grow, maintain, invest in new technology, or navigate other changes?
• Known challenges: What workforce issues are you already aware of? Upcoming retirements? Skills gaps? Recruitment difficulties? Retention concerns?
• Previous planning: Do you have existing business plans, strategic documents, or workforce information you’ve already gathered?

Having this information at hand—even in rough form—allows the conversation to move quickly from context-setting to strategy development.

Karen said even partial information is valuable for a first meeting.

“Manufacturers don’t need to have everything figured out before we meet. If they know they have three people retiring in the next two years but haven’t thought beyond that, that’s fine—that’s exactly what we’ll work through together. The key is bringing whatever information they do have so we can start from there.”

Trust the process

You won’t leave with a complete workforce plan after one meeting—workforce planning is a process, not an event. But you should leave with direction and momentum.

Karen said the goal of the first meeting is to make workforce planning feel manageable rather than overwhelming.

“I want manufacturers to walk out of that first meeting thinking ‘okay, I can do this.’ We break down what can feel like a huge task into practical steps. Once they see the pathway forward, most manufacturers are ready to get started,” Karen says.

After the first meeting

Workforce planning is iterative. Your first meeting begins the conversation, but the real work happens in the follow-through.

After your initial meeting, you might:

• Gather additional workforce data or business information
• Complete sections of the workforce planning workbook
• Begin documenting critical processes or knowledge
• Identify internal candidates for development
• Research recruitment or training options
• Come up with a list of questions, ideas or other workforce requirements

Your Industry Workforce Advisor remains available as you work through these steps, providing guidance, answering questions, and helping you refine your workforce strategy as it develops.

Your Workforce Advisor will also identify and connect you to any networks, resources and support that your business may need outside of workforce planning but will complement it.

Making the commitment

The decision to engage in workforce planning is the hardest step. Once you’ve made that commitment and scheduled that first meeting, you’re already on the path to building a more resilient, capable workforce.

Come prepared, come with questions, and come ready to think strategically about your most important business asset—your people.

Carve some time for yourself, to be able to consider and reflect on your business needs.

Ready to schedule your first workforce planning meeting? Manufacturing Skills Queensland’s Industry Workforce Advisor is here to help you get started.

The cost of waiting

Your experienced workers won’t be with you forever. The question is whether their knowledge and expertise will be.

Ready to develop practical succession strategies for your business? Manufacturing Skills Queensland’s Industry Workforce Advisor can help you identify priorities and build effective succession plans.

Connect with our Industry Workforce Advisor to schedule your first workforce planning meeting.

Book your first meeting

DID YOU KNOW: From now until November 2026, small manufacturers with less than 20 employees are able to access a $2,000 skills and workforce development subsidy. The subsidy can be used on HR services including developing HR guides, succession plans and more.

The Industry Workforce Advisor Program is supported and funded by the Queensland Government.