Your Biggest Cost is People. When Was the Last Time You Audited It?

As the end of the financial year approaches, leadership teams across Australia are reviewing budgets, analysing revenue, forecasting cash flow and setting priorities for the year ahead.

It’s a critical exercise.

But there is one area that is often overlooked.

The workforce.

For most organisations, employee costs represent the single largest investment on the profit and loss statement. Yet many businesses spend significantly more time reviewing financial performance than they do reviewing the people, leadership and capability required to deliver future growth.

EOFY Isn’t Just a Financial Review

A financial review tells you where the business has been.

A workforce review helps determine where the business can go.

This is becoming increasingly important as organisations navigate skill shortages, AI, changing workforce expectations and increasing pressure to grow with leaner teams.

According to Deloitte’s 2026 Global Human Capital Trends research, 70% of business leaders identified speed and adaptability as their primary competitive strategy over the next three years. The same research found that organisations that can rapidly orchestrate people, skills and resources around business priorities are more likely to outperform in an increasingly volatile environment.

The challenge is that many businesses are still planning their workforce based on yesterday’s needs rather than tomorrow’s strategy.

The Questions Every CEO Should Be Asking

As organisations prepare for a new financial year, leaders should be asking:

• Do we have the right organisational structure to support our strategy?
• Are our leaders equipped to manage growth and change?
• Do we have critical capability gaps?
• Are there high-performing employees at risk of leaving?
• Are we effectively managing underperformance?
• Is our remuneration framework still competitive?
• Do we have succession plans for key roles?

These questions can have a greater impact on business performance than many of the financial decisions made during the budgeting process.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

Many workforce issues remain hidden until they become expensive.

A high-performing employee resigns unexpectedly.

A manager struggles to lead an expanding team.

A capability gap delays a critical project.

An outdated organisational structure creates inefficiency and confusion.

Deloitte’s 2025 Human Capital Trends research found that 66% of managers and executives believe recent hires are not fully prepared for the roles they are entering, while 73% of organisations recognise they need to reinvent the role of the manager, yet only 7% believe they are making significant progress.

These aren’t HR problems.

They’re business performance problems.

What Should an EOFY Workforce Review Include?

A meaningful review should examine both current performance and future readiness.

Workforce Structure

• Are roles and responsibilities clear?
• Is the organisation structured to support future growth?

Leadership Capability

• Do managers have the skills required to lead effectively?
• Where are the development opportunities?

Performance

• Are expectations clear?
• Is performance being managed consistently?

Talent and Retention

• Who are your critical talent?
• What is your retention risk?

Capability

• What skills will the business need over the next 12–24 months?
• Are there capability gaps that require investment?

Reward and Recognition

• Is remuneration aligned with market expectations?
• Are employees recognised appropriately for their contribution?

Looking Forward, Not Backward

The strongest organisations treat workforce planning with the same discipline as financial planning.

They understand that strategy is only as effective as the people responsible for delivering it.

The reality is simple.

Every business has a budget.

Fewer have a workforce plan.

As you finalise budgets and priorities for FY27, take the opportunity to review the one investment that has the greatest influence on business performance.

Your people.

Because EOFY isn’t just a financial review.

It’s a workforce review.

At Pupal HR Consulting, we help organisations assess workforce capability, leadership effectiveness, organisational structure and people strategy to ensure they are positioned for sustainable growth.

If you’re planning for FY27 and would like an independent workforce review, we’d love to have a conversation.