BDO Seidman recently published leading risk factors for retailers and public technology companies, gleaned from SEC filings.  For retailers, the Labor Force made it to #5, with 62% of 10-K filings citing them.  For the tech companies, retention of talent was at #8, with 72% citing it as a risk.  Clearly organizational leadership realize that the workforce is a risky asset - but still relatively few have taken a strategic view of workforce planning, and we hear that many are struggling to get executive time dedicated to their projects.

If you are a public US company, our advice is "use your 10-K!".  SEC filings are something we always include in environment scanning exercises, and if your workforce is on the identified risk areas (like it is for over half the companies above!), then you can cite it as one of many good reasons to start a conversation with leaders about the future workforce.  Don't tell them you are doing workforce planning, just start the conversation!