Episode 84 - Karthik Yogeshwar - Meta

In episode 84 of the SWP Podcast, I sit down with Karthik Yogeshwar from Meta to explore his journey into strategic workforce planning and the evolving nature of the discipline. Karthik shares how he “fell into” SWP through operations, analytics, and finance, and why he’s stayed by choice ever since.

We unpack the reality that workforce planning isn’t just forecasting—it’s about aligning demand, supply, and strategy in an environment where the future rarely behaves as expected. Karthik highlights the importance of understanding the business, building strong stakeholder relationships, and moving beyond data to real insight.

We also dive into some fascinating areas, including hybrid workforce planning—where people, AI, and automation combine—and a novel approach to workforce management using concepts from stock market analysis.

Finally, we explore the growing impact of AI, including Karthik’s research into AI readiness at a country level, and what this means for the future of workforce strategy.