From 0 to Big-P Productivity – Workforce Planning at S&P Global

When S&P Global's board demanded measurable productivity gains to combat inflation, talent scarcity and AI disruption, a two-person workforce planning team stepped up. In twelve months they built a minimum viable capacity and cost model, rolled out a three-horizon framework, deputised finance and HR partners and used GPT-powered simulations to consolidate 600 software roles – cutting $42 million in contractor spend and boosting revenue per employee. This presentation reveals the prompts, rhythms and analytics that made workforce planning a CFO-endorsed lever and gives you a 90-day starter kit to replicate the impact.

• Crafting business-first prompts and securing tri-sign-off to unlock funding.
• Building a minimum viable capacity and cost model with messy data.
• Applying the three-horizon framework to focus leadership questions.
• Operating model: core team plus deputised HR and finance captains.
• Using GPT-powered simulations for AI-driven org-design and skills strategy.
• Designing an impact scorecard CFOs trust and cite.

• Translate workforce planning outputs into revenue, margin and cost terms that win CFO support.
• Scope and deliver a minimum viable output in 90 days with limited analytic headcount.
• Apply the three-horizon model to prioritise and sequence leadership questions.
• Mobilise a deputy network and align analytics cycles with FP&A cadence.
• Pilot AI-driven role and skills simulations to demonstrate productivity gains.
• Publish a concise productivity scorecard that sustains executive focus.

Inflation, scarce digital talent and rapid AI disruption have put productivity on board agendas. CFOs now demand quarterly links between workforce capacity and revenue, margin and risk. At S&P Global this turned workforce planning from an HR exercise into a strategic imperative, with poor visibility on skills and contractor spend posing material commercial risk.