Episode 82 - Tyler Blackwell - Morningstar

Episode 82 of the SWP Podcast featured Tyler Blackwell, Director of Global Workforce Planning at Morningstar, for a thought-provoking discussion on the evolving practice of strategic workforce planning.

Tyler shares his unconventional journey into SWP, moving from foreign affairs and diplomacy into organisational effectiveness, org design, and ultimately workforce planning. The conversation explores how Morningstar has developed its workforce planning capability, including headcount forecasting, location strategy, and the shift from fragmented Excel-based processes to a more integrated approach using Workday, Adaptive Planning, and TalentNeuron.

Tyler and I also dive into the growing influence of AI on the profession, including the use of tools like Claude Code to support capability modelling, job redesign, and workforce intelligence. Throughout the episode, Tyler highlights the enduring importance of trust, judgment, curiosity, and human conversation, reinforcing why strategic workforce planning remains central to organisational decision-making in an increasingly AI-enabled world. What an episode...! What an incredibly insightful and interesting human!