Envisioning the UN Workforce of the Future
In partnership with the UN Department of Management Strategy, Policy, and Compliance (DMSPC), the UN Futures Lab/Global Hub designed and facilitated a strategic foresight workshop at UN Headquarters in New York as part of a four-day global conference on strategic workforce planning (SWP). This workshop brought together practitioners from 25+ UN organizations and implementing partners to envision the “UN workforce of the future” and advance workforce transformation across the system. Participants identified pathways for building a future-ready workforce, strengthened their foresight capabilities, and developed strategies to align human resources policies with long-term goals, fostering workforce transformation, and adaptability. Participants:
- Identified the impact of key drivers of change within a 10-year horizon and assessed their implications for talent management.
- Developed a vision for strategic workforce planning, emphasizing a unified “One UN” workforce supported by shared practices and an integrated operating landscape.
- Introduced generative AI as a focus area, addressing its potential applications in workforce planning and discussing the responsible integration of AI into practices.
Why it matters
As the UN navigates an era of rapid change and uncertainty, strategic foresight provides essential tools for workforce transformation. This workshop empowered participants to anticipate future challenges, align talent management strategies with organizational needs, and launch a process of internal reflection on how to build a resilient, inclusive workforce that can meet the demands of tomorrow.
