Workforce Planning

Deciding which tasks move

Start with the work, not the robot. Break each role into its tasks and look for those that are repetitive, physically demanding, ergonomically risky or hard to staff. Those are usually the strongest candidates for automation. Tasks that depend on judgement, customer contact or frequent change tend to stay with people. Talk to the people doing the work today; they know where time and effort are lost. The aim is rarely to replace a role outright. More often it is to change the mix of tasks, so people spend more time on work that needs them.

New roles in a mixed team

Robots create work as well as absorbing it. Teams typically need operators who supervise robots, handle exceptions and restart them; technicians who maintain them; and a coordinator who plans robot and human work together. Someone must own robot performance data and act on it. These roles are often filled by retraining existing staff, who already know the process. Plan the training, update job descriptions and pay structures where responsibilities grow, and give people a clear path into the new roles. Clarity here does more for adoption than any feature of the robot itself.

Planning shifts around robots

Robots work to their own rhythm. Battery charging, maintenance windows and software updates all affect when a robot is available, and those need to fit around your shifts. Decide whether robots will cover the same hours as people or extend into quieter periods, and what level of supervision each shift requires. Build in cover for exceptions, since someone must be on hand when a robot needs help. Review the plan after the first weeks of operation, because real availability often differs from the schedule on paper. Good shift planning makes a mixed team feel like one team.

Sources and further reading

• ISO 10015:2019 Guidelines for competence management and people development — International Organization for Standardization.
  Guidelines for managing competence and staff development, useful when building new robot roles.
• ISO 45003:2021 Psychological health and safety at work — International Organization for Standardization.
  Guidance on managing psychosocial risks at work, relevant when roles and workloads change.
• Council Directive 89/391/EEC on safety and health of workers at work — EUR-Lex, European Union.
  The EU framework directive on worker safety, including duties to inform, consult and train workers.

Common questions

Will robots replace our staff?

Robots typically take on specific tasks rather than whole roles. The larger change is often in how work is shared, supervised and scheduled.

Which tasks should we automate first?

Repetitive, physically demanding or hard-to-staff tasks are usually the strongest candidates. Involve the people who do the work today in choosing them.