When executives and human resources professionals hear the words “skill redundancy,” many immediately think of layoffs. However, true workforce optimization is far more strategic than simply reducing headcount.
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, skill redundancy is often a sign that organizations have outgrown old processes, duplicated responsibilities, or failed to align talent with evolving business needs.
The goal should not be to eliminate people. The first goal should be to understand the work that is being performed so hiring the right person and realigning your people strategy becomes possible.
Redundancy Often Starts with Poor Workforce Design
Denise Nichols, Partner and HR and Talent Transformation Practice Leader at Anders, explained that redundancy becomes visible during broader capability and workforce assessments.
A lot of people just hire their way through things versus actually analyzing the specific skills needed and designing hiring processes around those needs.
Rather than focusing solely on employee counts, organizations should examine where overlap exists in the work being performed. In many cases, companies have hired reactively over time instead of intentionally designing efficient operating models.
This can happen across departments—from sales and customer service to operations and administration. Over time, teams may develop duplicate processes, overlapping responsibilities, or manual tasks that technology could streamline.
Not All Work Carries the Same Strategic Value
Before making workforce decisions, we recommend categorizing work into different levels of importance
Organizations should distinguish between:
- Mission-critical work
- Core operational work
- Transitional work
- Low-value or obsolete work
This framework helps leaders identify where redundancies may exist without immediately defaulting to layoffs.
For example, some roles may support processes that are becoming automated through artificial intelligence (AI) or technology modernization. Others may involve tasks that no longer align with the company’s long-term strategy.
Understanding these distinctions allows organizations to make smarter decisions about restructuring, automation, and skill development.
Reskilling Should Come Before Workforce Reduction
Workforce reduction should rarely be the first solution. Instead, reskilling should be your target.
Organizations facing redundancy challenges often have valuable top talent whose skill sets can evolve alongside the business. Employees may be redeployed into emerging functions, retrained for new technologies, or transitioned into more strategic roles.
Natural attrition and voluntary separation programs (such as incentivized retirement) can also help organizations reduce redundancy gradually without sacrificing critical institutional knowledge.
Why Companies Miss Redundancies Altogether
Ironically, many organizations are unaware of redundancies because leaders lack visibility into day-to-day work. For example, we’ve come across executives who know employees feel overwhelmed but cannot clearly identify how time is actually being spent.
In some cases, employees may be dedicating large portions of their day to manual administrative work, outdated reporting, or responsibilities that no longer belong within their department.
Once organizations conduct workflow assessments or time studies, they often uncover significant opportunities for automation and redesign.
The Future of Workforce Planning Requires Flexibility
Skill redundancy is becoming more common as technology reshapes how work gets done. Organizations that approach redundancy strategically can turn disruption into opportunity.
The most effective companies don’t simply ask:
- “How many employees do we need?”
- Instead, they ask:
- “What work truly creates value?”
- “What capabilities do we need for the future?”
- “How can we redeploy talent more effectively?”
By focusing on capabilities, reskilling, organizational design, and workforce analytics, companies can reduce inefficiencies while still preserving the talent needed for long-term growth. These efforts can also unveil where skill gaps (whether involving technical skills or soft skills) may lie, and therefore, where hiring is needed.
In the end, redundancy planning is not just about reducing costs. It’s about building a workforce that is aligned, adaptable, and prepared for what comes next.
If you need assistance with workforce planning and talent strategies, reach out to our Human Resources and Talent Transformation team. They can help you design the right strategies to reach your business growth goals.