You're probably just starting to think about your plans for 2017 and would like to focus on executing for a successful year. But instead of waiting until late next year to begin the planning process once again, I want to challenge HR leaders to plan now for the next several years.

The workforce is changing rapidly, and planning ahead helps you to implement new policies that will have a significant impact on your company culture. You need time to secure executive support and to thoughtfully roll out new plans. It is also important to think about how generational changes will impact your policies and programs – millennials now make up the largest share of the workforce, and the next generation will be entering soon.

It can be hard to think so far ahead, but having a vision that expands over a couple of years will make it easier to implement any large scale changes.

Here are some things that I am thinking about for my long-term planning:

• Technology: What sort of HR technology products do you need to be investing in for your company's future growth? Do you have the tools you need to successfully recruit employees and automate time consuming tasks? This may require building your own platform or investing in a vendor, so planning for that now will help you get the right systems in place.
• Benefits: How can your benefits program be altered to attract and retain talent? Adding programs like elder care benefits, tuition assistance, paternal leave or unlimited PTO are things that you will want to plan for now as they take time to implement. Listen to what your employees are asking for now to help you decide what to pursue for the future.
• Perks: If you are looking to change your company culture by offering new perks to employees, it's important to get senior leadership buy in and that you have time to develop a plan to roll out for your current employees and for recruiting. Whether it is your dress code or flexible work arrangements, these seemingly small things have a big impact on company culture.

Having a long-term vision for your HR practices will help you more easily disrupt current practices and will provide stability to your organization as the workplace changes.

Paul Wolfe is SVP of Human Resources at Indeed. He oversees all global human resource functions, including talent acquisition, employee retention, compensation, benefits, and employee development. Paul has over 15 years of experience as a human resources executive having served as a VP and SVP at number of well-known companies, including Match.com, Orbitz, Conde Nast and Ticketmaster.

Indeed are proud partners of HR Tech Fest, 27-29 November 2016 in Melbourne.