Strategic workforce planning software for employers in Europe and the UK

Strategic workforce planning software plans the people your business plan needs

This kind of software starts from the people you have and works out the people your business plan will need. It lets you build and compare scenarios of that future workforce. Tools that only plan next year's hires and what they cost fall outside this category. Our main guide to strategic workforce planning software explains the kinds of product and how to choose.

In Europe and the UK, law and data location narrow the shortlist

If you employ people in Europe or the UK, the law and where your data sits come before features. Each legal duty falls on you as the employer, so picking a different seller does not remove it. A seller's home country does not tell you where it keeps your data, or whose law governs your contract.

4PLAN HR and Neobrain keep your data in Germany or France

Where a cell says Ask, get the answer in writing before you sign.

4PLAN HR starts with 2 to 3 months of consultant-led setup

Software4You, the company behind 4PLAN HR, runs the first 2 to 3 months of setup with its consultants. After that, you can change formulas, permissions and roles without IT help. Westfalen Weser Netz, with about 1,100 employees, uses 4PLAN HR for strategic workforce planning.

Neobrain's Talent Planner sits on a skills platform, with support in four languages

Talent Planner is the workforce planning part of Neobrain's platform. The platform also has skills, opportunities and performance tools. Talent Planner builds scenarios of your future workforce from your HR data. It uses Neobrain's predictive models. Neobrain offers two setups, a 3 to 4 week Fast Track and a Tailored Track in five steps.

Neobrain's support team answers in French, English, German and Spanish, which helps if your HR teams work in several languages.

Crunchr plans on its analytics data, and Orgvue plans with consultants

Crunchr's planning tool runs on the same data as its people analytics, with wizards that guide your forecast. Its smallest named customer is Medical Center Leeuwarden, a Dutch hospital with 3,000 employees. On request, Crunchr gives its full list of the other companies that handle your data for it. Ask for the list before you sign.

You build your plan on Orgvue with its own consultants, called Expert Services, or with a partner. TVH, a parts supplier founded in Belgium, with about 5,300 employees, is a named Orgvue customer. Orgvue commits to delete all personal data within 90 days of your request or the contract's end. Its contract bars you from entering personal data into Henshaw, Orgvue's AI assistant.

Visier and Nakisa both limit how far you may rely on their AI

Visier Workforce Planning comes with four ready models. They cover headcount and cost, headcount forecasting, diversity goals and skills. You start from one of these models instead of designing a plan from scratch. Visier says it does not use your data to train generative AI.

Visier's AI Addendum bars staff decisions that its AI makes alone or that rely too much on it. Its examples include hiring, promotion, pay and dismissal. Under Visier's AI Addendum, you give affected workers (and their representatives, where required) any notice the law requires before use.

Nakisa's Strategic Workforce Planning Suite comes with a set method. It reviews your workforce by headcount, cost, skills, make-up and structure. It then sets out ways to close a gap, such as hiring, contractors, training or automation. Nakisa's published Terms of Use say its AI outputs should not be the only basis for critical decisions.

Ask every seller for a written quote, and check Orgvue's 7% rise

Across this market, only Dayforce publishes a price for its planning tool. Dayforce lists it at $54.00 per employee per year. Dayforce sells it on top of the Dayforce Platform, which costs $171.96 per employee per year. Compare other quotes with that list price.

Orgvue's order forms add 7% a year to the price through the term. You can end a committed Orgvue term early only for a serious breach or events such as insolvency. Visier's contract renews automatically unless you give 60 days' notice. Software4You publishes no minimum term, notice period or renewal terms for 4PLAN HR.

Nakisa licenses per user, so its cost follows how many people plan, not your headcount. You can buy Visier Workforce Planning only with Visier People Essentials, so ask for one quote that covers both.

What should you ask each seller before you sign?

Our compare guide adds questions for every product in this market.

1. 4PLAN HR: Which law governs our contract, and what are its minimum term and notice period? Good answer: a named country and dates, in the order form.
2. 4PLAN HR: If we have a works council in Germany, what have your other customers shown theirs? Good answer: a named customer and the documents it used.
3. Neobrain: Does Talent Planner predict anything about a named employee? Good answer: a plain yes or no, in writing.
4. Neobrain: Does French law govern our contract, as it governs your website terms? Good answer: the governing law, named in the contract.
5. Crunchr: Will you put the contract term, notice period and governing law in writing? Good answer: all three, before we sign.
6. Orgvue: Will you hold our price flat for the whole term, without the 7% yearly rise? Good answer: a fixed price in the order form.
7. Visier: Does the Headcount Forecasting model use the named-employee risk-of-exit score? Good answer: a plain yes or no.
8. Visier: Which country's law governs our contract, and where will our data be held? Good answer: both named in the order form.
9. Nakisa: Does the Suite predict or flag anything about a named employee? Good answer: a plain yes or no.

Read the size guide that fits your headcount as well

• Companies of 200 to 2,000 people can read our mid-market guide.
• Companies of more than 2,000 people can read our enterprise guide, which also covers Workday, Oracle, SAP, UKG and Dayforce.
• Our compare guide puts every product in this market side by side.
• Each seller's own page in this guide covers setup, contract and cost in more detail.