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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

GENERAL

What is TALENT on demand?

TALENT on demand is a consultancy and technology firm specializing in Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP), skill and competence management, and workforce analytics. We help organizations prepare their workforce for future business needs through a combination of expert guidance and custom-built tools.

How can you get started with TALENT on demand’s services?

You can reach out via our website to request a consultation or give us a call. Together with you, TALENT on demand will assess your organization’s needs and recommend a tailored approach involving tools, training, and strategic support.

Are we a talent-scouting or recruiting agency?

No. Although recruitment is part of SWP, we are not recruiting people ourselves. This is done by the client’s internal recruitment organization or external recruitment agencies.

What industries do we work with?

Our clients span various sectors, including finance, healthcare, technology, education, manufacturing, and public service.

How big are the companies we work with?

Typically, we work with companies ranging from 2,000 people up to 200,000. Most of the time, the needs for SWP are required in complex organizations, which are complex due to the high-tech nature of the organizations or their sheer size.

What is our approach to Strategic Workforce Planning?

Depending on your needs, we offer either agile or comprehensive SWP. We blend strategic consulting with our proprietary analytics and workforce simulation platform (OXYGEN) to provide insights into skills, roles, and future workforce needs.

Do we use a specific methodology or framework?

Yes, we use the 5-Step SWP Model (Common Industry Practice), a widely used, straightforward model that includes:

  1. Business Strategy Alignment: understand future goals and direction
  2. Current Workforce Analysis: assess existing skills, roles, and demographics
  3. Future Workforce Forecasting: predict future talent needs and external labor trends
  4. Gap Analysis: identify gaps between current and future workforce
  5. Action Planning & Execution: develop hiring, upskilling, retention, or restructuring plans

This model is used by HR teams across industries to connect talent strategy with business outcomes.

What makes TALENT on demand different?

Focused, speed, agility, results. Incremental improvements: eat, sleep, plan, repeat.

Do we provide software-only solutions or consulting-only packages?

We do not offer consultancy-only or software-only services; we offer a combination of both.

Do we offer support after project delivery?

Yes. We provide ongoing maintenance, customization, system monitoring, data health checks, and advisory as needed.

Do we provide demos of our platform?

Yes. We offer live demos and walkthroughs of OXYGEN as part of the pre-sales and onboarding process.

What kind of results can you expect?

Clients typically experience an enhanced past and current workforce view, faster workforce gap identification, better gap-closure scenarios, and more accurate strategic workforce planning, execution and tracking capabilities.

CONSULTANCY

What kind of consultancy services does TALENT on demand offer?
TALENT on demand offers end-to-end consultancy support, including:
  • Workforce process design and optimization
  • Skills and job taxonomy development
  • Training programs for HR and business leaders
  • Tool implementation, maintenance, and customization
  • Business case development to justify workforce planning initiatives
Can TALENT on demand help build a business case for SWP?

Yes, building data-driven, executive-ready business cases is one of their core offerings. We help quantify the value of workforce planning and align it with strategic priorities.

What types of companies benefit from our consultancy services?

Our services are best suited for organizations undergoing transformation, workforce restructuring, and those looking to adopt data-driven HR strategies. We work with businesses of all sizes across sectors like finance, healthcare, tech, and manufacturing, that have made up their minds already to implement agile or comprehensive SWP. Companies that still need to decide whether or not to use SWP, we recommend going to the ‘Big 4’.

How is our consultancy different from other HR consulting firms?

We combine deep expertise in workforce strategy with hands-on support in integrating and using our proprietary analytics and strategic workforce planning tool, OXYGEN and OXYGEN AI. Our approach is tailored, tech-enabled, and focused on measurable outcomes.

How long does a typical implementation take?

Depending on scope and complexity, implementation can take from one month up to a year. We'll provide a detailed timeline after an initial discovery session.

What support do you provide post-implementation?

We offer half-yearly maintenance and software updates, customization, user training, technical support, data quality audits, and performance tuning to ensure long-term success.

Can the tools of TALENT on demand integrate with existing HR systems (e.g., Workday, SAP, Oracle)?

Yes, OXYGEN is designed to integrate with major enterprise data warehouse applications. Our team will handle the configuration and API-based integrations as needed.

How do you get started?

You can start with a discovery call and demo where we assess your needs and requirements. From there, we’ll prepare a tailored proposal and project plan.

What does your consultancy cost?

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Do we offer training for internal teams?

Absolutely. We provide hands-on workshops, train-the-trainer sessions, and ongoing user support to ensure your teams can fully adopt the tools and methodologies.

TOOLS - OXYGEN 

What is OXYGEN?

OXYGEN is a dedicated platform for high-value workforce planning, analytics, workforce simulations, and tracking of workforce plans. Built on top of your existing HR, finance, and business systems, it creates a consolidated data layer that forms a unified, trusted view of your workforce in terms of headcount, cost and revenue, spanning historical trends, current state, and future projections.

Who is OXYGEN for?

OXYGEN is used by CHRO, CFO, and CXOs, workforce planners, learning & development teams, recruiters, real estate managers, and business strategists aiming to build a future-ready workforce.

What can OXYGEN do?
Key capabilities include:
  • Historical and actual workforce analytics, including costs
  • Workforce taxonomy creation (existing and new)
  • Competency and skill mapping
  • Strategic Workforce Planning
  • What-if scenario modeling
  • Gap analysis
  • Identification of all HR transactions (hiring, restructuring, training…)
  • Real-time dashboards (tracking the SWP execution)
Can you use OXYGEN to model future workforce scenarios?

Yes. OXYGEN includes dynamic scenario modeling features to test different hiring, upskilling, or restructuring strategies.

How does OXYGEN handle taxonomy or framework customization?

OXYGEN is fully customizable, whether you're using internal frameworks or external standards.

Can OXYGEN integrate with HR systems?

Yes. It integrates with major HRIS platforms like Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle, and more, through API or file-based methods.

Does OXYGEN support multi-source data aggregation?

Absolutely. It can consolidate data from multiple sources, such as HR, L&D, performance systems, and spreadsheets.

Is your data secure in OXYGEN?

Yes. OXYGEN follows strict EU data privacy and security regulations, with enterprise-grade data encryption and access control.

Where is the data hosted?

Data is hosted at the client site. Data used in SWP contains very sensitive and secret information that should never be hosted or shared in a cloud environment.

Is OXYGEN user-friendly for non-technical teams?

Yes. The interface is designed for HR and business users, not just IT teams. Visualizations and guided workflows make navigation easy. OXYGEN AI is also used to enhance the user-friendliness.

Do we offer training for users?

Yes. Onboarding includes live training, video tutorials, and user manuals. Ongoing support is also available.

How do we support adoption after implementation?

We provide change management support, coaching for power users, and continuous updates to help your team get the most out of OXYGEN.

What’s included in the OXYGEN license?

Licensing typically includes use of the software, half-yearly software maintenance (software updates to the latest version), and help desk access. Consulting services are available as add-ons. Licensing fees are based on the number of resources in the system (internals, externals…). The more resources, the lower the cost per resource.

What makes OXYGEN fast, flexible and future-safe?
  • Fast: implementation in days, building business cases in weeks, and generating insights in seconds.
  • Flexible: easily customized without altering existing systems, agile development.
  • Future-safe: modular design supports seamless integration of AI and emerging tech while preserving core processes.
What can OXYGEN AI actually do for us?
  • Provide a curated SWP Body of Knowledge with best practices and frameworks
  • Offer SWP Process Templates, customizable for industry and company size
  • Generate competitive benchmarking reports to compare workforce readiness
  • Enable taxonomy definition and updates, aligning with new skill trends
  • Deliver guided assistance for platform navigation and usage
  • Provide future-of-work insights, including AGI/ASI workforce impacts 
  • Create customizable reports on company insights (company introduction, competitive analyses, Porter’s analyses, PESTEL reports, Risk and SWOT analyses…)
Can OXYGEN AI help predict future skills or roles?

Yes, using OXYGEN AI, the system can suggest emerging skill needs and help you plan where to invest in workforce capability building. This is also the case for the training programs, ROI’s…

Is OXYGEN AI included in the standard OXYGEN platform or a paid add-on?

OXYGEN AI is completely integrated in OXYGEN; there are no additional costs for functionality, nor a reduction if OXYGEN AI is not used. However, when using OXYGEN AI, you need access to your own enterprise LLM or make use of an external LLM (OPENAI, Grok…).

Do users need additional technical setup for AI features?

No separate AI infrastructure is needed; it's built into OXYGEN. Ongoing updates ensure AI keeps pace with the latest in generative AI technology.

How does OXYGEN AI improve efficiency compared to traditional SWP?

By leveraging AI, you accelerate the planning process, accessing templates, insights, and recommendations quickly, reducing manual research effort and speeding up decision-making.

Does OXYGEN AI keep content and frameworks up to date?

Yes, it continuously integrates the latest SWP research, industry trends, and generative AI advancements to keep your planning models up to date.

Will users need AI training to use these features?

While the AI is intuitive, we recommend providing users guidance and training, so they understand how to interpret and validate AI-generated output.

Is there ongoing support for these AI capabilities?

Yes, updates, support, and guidance are part of the service to ensure you maximize the use of AI tools.

TOOLS - OXYGEN AI

What is OXYGEN AI?

OXYGEN AI is designed to assist SWP practitioners in the creation and customization of new SWP processes, SWP foundations (taxonomies), and identification of the SWP burning platform(s). To construct the Strategic Workforce Plan and monitor its implementation, it is also intended to serve as the SWP collective body of knowledge and to make it easier to create various workforce scenarios. It uses artificial intelligence with innovative algorithms to consistently analyze data, predict trends, perform gap analysis, and define HR transactions and costs to transform Workforce 1.0 into Workforce 2.0, which is prepared and ready to implement the Business Strategy.

What does OXYGEN AI contribute to Strategic Workforce Planning?

OXYGEN AI revolutionizes Strategic Workforce Planning by providing data-driven insights that accelerate decision-making processes, enhance efficiency, and improve accuracy. It helps companies transform their workforce towards business goals by predicting the workforce supply and demand, identifying skills gaps, and suggesting optimal staffing levels and transformation programs.

What’s the difference between OXYGEN and OXYGEN AI?

While OXYGEN is a proven platform for Strategic Workforce Planning that can implement most SWP use cases, OXYGEN AI takes it a step further by incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities. Where before, SWP practitioners defined trends and evolutions, mainly based on historical information and future trends, OXYGEN AI adds advanced data analysis, predictive modeling, new taxonomies, and real-time decision-making. During scenario creation, OXYGEN still serves as a platform that is consistently calculating billions of workforce changes, a thing where AI is still relatively weak.

What can you do with both OXYGEN and OXYGEN AI?

With OXYGEN, SWP leaders manage Strategic Workforce Planning and track the execution of the plans. Typically, when building an SWP for an organization, three different scenarios (worst, normal, best) are created and compared. Out of these scenarios, a risk-mitigated SWP plan is created and used for implementation. When integrated with OXYGEN AI, because of the accelerated scenario creation, the SWP leader can create and analyze many more scenarios and select out of these the best candidates. With AI, the SWP leader can create and compare hundreds or thousands of scenarios. With OXYGEN and OXYGEN AI automation, getting the best scenarios out of thousands of simulations is a question of hours… Let the machine do the hard work overnight and send you an email when the job is done.

 

OXYGEN AI is designed for businesses of medium/large size looking to implement and optimize their Strategic Workforce Planning processes. It’s particularly beneficial for companies in industries with complex and dynamic staffing needs, complex, because of the number of roles and technologies within a company, or the sheer size of the organization. With the arrival and adoption of AI in the coming years, the workforce composition will see significant changes. Preparing and transforming the workforce for the future will require a holistic overhaul of the way business and work are done. Preparing this transformation will need the inclusion of tools that can accelerate the analysis and define workforce roadmaps and transformation programs. In most cases, these tools will include AI capabilities, like OXYGEN AI.

What do you need to use OXYGEN AI?

If you already have tools for SWP, OXYGEN AI can be used as a stand-alone tool, where it is used as the SWP Body of Knowledge, new taxonomy creator, and creator of the Transformation Programs to prepare the “Future of Work”.  If you integrate OXYGEN AI with OXYGEN, you immediately can use the output of OXYGEN AI in your workforce simulations, test new taxonomies, create and execute thousands of scenarios, and use OXYGEN AI as a power user assistant for OXYGEN! Access to a secure large language model (LLMs) is required, which we can set up securely for you, or where you make use of your corporate LLMs, that are shielded from the outside.

What are the key enablers of OXYGEN AI?

Depth and breadth of knowledge of SWP and adjacent processes, ability to create new taxonomy on the fly (days vs. months or years), information on your industry, business, and competitors, step-by-step planning and execution of your use cases, speed, and cost.

What are the potential barriers to using OXYGEN AI?

Ensuring data privacy is a key challenge, which is being addressed by integrating a secure corporate LLM. Access to advanced AI models and their associated costs may also be a hurdle for some organizations. Additionally, successful adoption requires training, as well as increasing awareness of AI’s current limitations, such as uncertainty and accuracy. Providing clear information about OXYGEN AI’s capabilities is essential to building trust and ensuring effective use.

What are the costs of OXYGEN AI?

For organizations already using OXYGEN as their SWP tool suite, integrating and using OXYGEN AI comes at no additional cost. The only expense is access to LLMs. If you use enterprise GPT models or a local installation, costs remain minimal. However, opting for external GPT models, though not recommended due to data privacy, will incur additional fees.

 
During our OXYGEN AI Early Access Program, which exclusively used open-source LLMs, the primary cost was electricity consumption. AI-powered analysis was 180 times faster than human analysis, completing 16,000 tasks in just 72 hours for €7.20, compared to an estimated 1.5 years and €55,000 for human analysis, a 750x cost reduction. Additionally, human analysts often struggle with large-scale repetitive tasks, leading to boredom and errors, whereas AI maintains accuracy and efficiency.
What can OXYGEN AI do today, and how will it evolve?

Currently, OXYGEN AI provides access to the SWP Body of Knowledge, tens of SWP process templates, competitive reporting and analysis, taxonomy definition and updates, guided assistance, and the “Future of Work” preparation.

 
In the future, OXYGEN AI will continue to evolve with advancements in AI and machine learning, adding more sophisticated forecasting abilities, personalized staffing recommendations, and further automation to increase operational efficiency. The roadmap includes developing deeper integration with other enterprise systems and expanding its capabilities to support more industries. For sure, OXYGEN AI is following the evolution of the capabilities of AI towards AGI and ASI and will integrate these new capabilities as they become available.
Is OXYGEN AI future-proof?

Yes, OXYGEN AI is built to adapt to the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and Strategic Workforce Planning. As new technologies and capabilities emerge, the platform will be updated to stay relevant. It is designed with flexibility in mind, so businesses can continue to benefit from it as the AI landscape changes over time. Regular updates and improvements ensure that they remain effective and usable in the years to come.

How does OXYGEN AI prepare businesses for the Future of Work?

OXYGEN AI is crucial for preparing businesses for the Future of Work by automating routine tasks, optimizing workforce allocation, and providing insights that allow businesses to adapt to changes quickly. This reduces the time and effort needed for manual processes, enabling companies to stay agile and focused on strategic goals. By leveraging AI for planning, businesses can be more proactive in managing workforce needs, adapting to new market trends, and ensuring they have the right talent at the right time.

TOOLS - SWPLAB

What is SWPLab?

SWPLab is your sandbox for experimenting, learning, and scaling agile Strategic Workforce Planning. It offers a structured environment with proven practices, industry-specific workflows, and advanced resources to support both beginners and experts in building effective workforce planning capabilities.

Who is SWPLab for?

It's designed for HR and business leaders who are building, evolving, or scaling their strategic workforce planning capabilities, especially those looking to go beyond theory and move into actionable implementation.

What does 'Lab' mean in this context?

“Lab” refers to a flexible, workshop-style engagement where we design, test, and iterate workforce planning elements such as capability models, planning cycles, dashboards, or governance frameworks.

What kinds of projects can be done in an SWPLab?
Typical Lab topics include:
  • Designing capability frameworks
  • Creating workforce segmentation models
  • Building SWP dashboards
  • Establishing planning cycles and roles
  • Connecting SWP with L&D and talent strategies
How is SWPLab different from traditional consulting?

SWPLab emphasizes rapid co-creation and design thinking principles. It’s more interactive and hands-on than traditional consulting, clients help to shape the solution in real time.

Is this a one-time workshop or an ongoing service?

SWPLab can be a single sprint or a series of iterative labs. It’s customized based on your goals and internal capacity.

Can SWPLab be customized to our organization’s maturity level?

Absolutely. We tailor the lab based on whether you're just beginning your SWP journey or looking to scale existing practices.

Do we need to be using OXYGEN to participate in an SWPLab?

No. While OXYGEN can support outputs from the lab, it’s not a requirement. SWPLab is tool-agnostic and adaptable to your current tech stack.

Who should attend an SWPLab session?

Ideally, a cross-functional team: HRBPs, data analysts, learning leaders, business strategists, and talent management stakeholders.

What can we expect as an outcome from SWPLab?

You’ll leave with tangible, co-developed outputs, such as draft capability models, process maps, dashboards, or planning templates, ready to be piloted or scaled.

Can we run the SWPLab remotely?

Yes. SWPLab can be delivered virtually, in person, or as a hybrid, depending on your team’s availability and location.

What is the cost of SWPLab?

Pricing depends on the scope, number of sessions, and team size.

What’s needed from us to get started?

A short discovery call to understand your current SWP maturity, goals, and constraints, and then we co-design the lab format and timeline.

Do we offer follow-up support after the lab?

Yes. We can help implement lab outcomes, integrate with existing tools or systems, and provide coaching or additional consulting if needed.

FUTURE OF WORK

How can companies approach the Future of Work effectively?

Companies can navigate the Future of Work through Strategic Workforce Planning. This involves assessing current skills, prioritizing roles, redesigning jobs to integrate AI, testing new approaches, and continuously evolving based on real data. It’s a structured, step-by-step method that turns uncertainty into sustainable growth.

Will AI and automation take away all jobs?

Not all jobs will disappear; many will evolve. AI and automation are expected to handle routine tasks, while human roles will shift toward creativity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and leadership. New job opportunities are already growing in fields like AI, sustainability, and healthcare.

What risks do companies face if they don’t adapt to workforce changes?

Companies that ignore workforce shifts risk falling behind due to skill gaps, lower innovation, and loss of top talent. As technologies and market demands evolve, failing to invest in reskilling or role redesign can lead to redundancies, low morale, and poor business performance.

What steps can organizations take to future-proof their workforce?

Organizations can future-proof their workforce by applying Strategic Workforce Planning. This includes assessing current capabilities, prioritizing key roles, redesigning jobs with AI in mind, testing new roles through pilot programs, and regularly updating plans to stay aligned with ongoing changes.

CONTACT US

WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU!

Email
hello@talentod.com
Phone
+32 (0) 472 229 756
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