The 6 B’s of strategic workforce planning are a framework organizations can use to address workforce gaps and prepare for future talent needs. The six approaches are Build, Buy, Borrow, Bind, Bounce, and Boost.
Together, they give organizations different options for developing, acquiring, retaining, or changing their workforce instead of relying only on recruitment. The appropriate combination depends on the organization’s skills gaps, business strategy, workforce supply, and future requirements.
1. Build
Build means developing the skills and capabilities of existing employees. Instead of looking outside the organization, businesses invest in their current workforce through training, coaching, mentoring, job rotations, reskilling, and other development opportunities.
Building talent can be particularly useful when employees have the potential to develop the capabilities required for future roles. It can also support career development and internal mobility.
Building talent can be particularly useful when employees have the potential to develop the capabilities required for future roles. It can also support career development and internal mobility, especially when managers are equipped to hold structured career conversations through programmes such as the Clutterbuck Career Coaching workshop.
2. Buy
Buy means recruiting talent from outside the organization. This approach can help organizations obtain skills, experience, or expertise that are not currently available internally.
External recruitment may be useful when an organization needs specialized capabilities quickly or when developing existing employees would take longer than the business can accommodate.
However, hiring should be considered alongside other workforce options rather than automatically being the first response to every skills gap.
3. Borrow
Borrow means accessing talent or expertise from outside the organization without necessarily employing those individuals permanently. This may involve consultants, contractors, outsourcing providers, temporary workers, or other external partners.
Borrowing can provide flexibility when an organization needs specific expertise for a project, a short-term workforce gap, or a period of increased demand.
It can also give organizations access to specialist knowledge without creating a permanent position.
4. Bind
Bind focuses on retaining employees who are important to the organization’s current and future workforce needs. This involves understanding which roles and capabilities are critical and taking steps to keep valuable employees engaged.
Retention strategies can include career development, recognition, meaningful work, leadership opportunities, learning opportunities, and appropriate rewards.
The goal is to reduce the risk of losing critical skills and experience that may be difficult to replace.
5. Bounce
Bounce refers to moving employees out of roles or out of the organization when their capabilities or performance no longer meet the organization’s requirements.
This can involve performance management, redeployment, restructuring, or redundancy, depending on the circumstances. Some workforce planning approaches also consider whether employees with outdated skills can be reskilled or moved into roles that are more relevant to future business needs before considering exit.
The focus is on aligning the workforce with changing organizational requirements.
6. Boost
Boost focuses on increasing the contribution and capability of existing employees. This can include accelerating development, supporting high performers, increasing responsibilities, or helping employees progress into more advanced roles.
Boosting can help organizations make better use of existing talent while strengthening their internal talent pipeline. It may also support succession planning by preparing employees for future responsibilities.
How the 6 B’s Work Together
The 6 B’s are not intended to be used individually. Organizations can combine different approaches depending on the workforce gap they are trying to address.
For example, an organization facing a shortage of digital skills might Build those skills through employee development, Buy specialized expertise through recruitment, and Borrow external specialists for immediate project requirements. At the same time, it may Bind critical employees who already have valuable digital capabilities.
This creates a more flexible approach to workforce planning than relying entirely on hiring.
Why Are the 6 B’s Important?
The 6 B’s help organizations think more broadly about how to close workforce gaps. Workforce planning is not simply about determining how many people to hire. It also involves deciding whether capabilities should be developed internally, obtained externally, accessed temporarily, retained, redeployed, or strengthened.
By considering multiple options, organizations can connect workforce decisions more closely with business strategy and changing capability requirements. The 6 B’s can therefore serve as a practical framework for turning workforce planning analysis into specific talent actions.
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