Human Resource Planning

Introduction:
Human Resource planning is predicting and preparing for changes in an organisations workforce. This includes retirements, changes in job responsibilities changes in required skill sets of incumbents, and changes arising due to the expansion programme. Human resource planning is the most valuable asset of and organisation. The production and the performance of an organisation depend upon the quality and quantity of of the human resources Human Resource Planning is the strategy of procurement, development, allocation and utilisation of enterprises human resources.

Human Resource Planning Defined:

Human Resource Planning is the process of determining manpower requirements and means for meeting those requirements in order to carry out the integrated plan of the organisation Coleman Human resource planning is the strategy for acquisition, utilization, improvement and preservation of an enterprises human resources. It relates to establishing job specifications or quantitative requirements of jobs determining the number of personnel required and developing sources of manpower Stainer

Need for Human Resource Planning

Human Resource Planning is viewed as foreseeing the human resource requirements of an organisation and supply of human resources. Its need can be assessed from the following points:-

1.

Replacement of Persons:

A large number of persons are to be replaced in the organisation because of retirement, old age, death, physical and mental ailments etc. there will be a need to prepare persons for taking up new positions.

2.

Labour Turnover:

Human Resource Planning is also essential because of frequent Labour turnover which is unavoidable and beneficial because it arises factors which are socially and economically sound such as voluntary quits, discharge, marriage, promotions, or factor such as seasonal and cyclical fluctuations in business which cause a constant ebb and flow in the work force in many organisation.

3.

Expansion Plans:

When ever there is plan to expand or diversify the concern then more persons will be required to take up new positions. HRP is essential under these situations.

4.

Technological Changes:

The business is working under changing technological environment. There may be a need to give fresh training to personnel. In addition, there may also be need to infuse fresh blood into the organisation. HRP will help in meeting the new demands of the organisation.

5.

Assessing Needs:

Human resource planning is also required to determine whether there is any shortage or surplus of persons in the organisation. If there are less persons than required it will adversely affect the work, on the other hand if more persons are employed than the requirement then it will increase labour cost etc. HRP ensures the employment of proper workforce.

Human Resource Planning Process:

Human Resource Planning process is regarded as multi step process including various issues such as: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. Deciding Goals and Objectives Forecasting Inventory Reconciliation Action plan Feedback and Evaluation

Deciding Goals and Objectives: The objectives may be short term (i.e. for
one year) or can be long term (i.e. more than one year). Human Resource Planning requires that we gather data on the organisational goals and objectives. One should understand where the Organisation wants to go and how it wants to get to that point. The needs of the employees are derived from the corporate objectives of the organisation. They stern from shorter and medium term objectives and their conversion into action budgets At the strategic planning level, an organisation conducts a number of assessments to determine its long-range objectives, usually for up to five years. At this level, the human resources planning process assesses such issues as strategic plan implications, factors external to an organisation, and the internal supply of employees over the long-run. Human resources collects data and information to analyse and assess these types of issues, but does not make detailed projections. Data and information are collected through scanning internal and external environments of an organisation.

Internal Scanning Internal scanning explains and documents the makeup of the
current supply of the workforce and the human resources activities within an organisation. It looks at the composition and diversity of the workforce, including what type of skills and jobs are available, what type of human resources policies and programs already exist, what is the culture and structure of the organisation, and what are the trends in regard to tenure, turnover rates, etc. In addition, consideration should be given to such issues as prevailing personnel problems, managerial attitudes concerning human resources, etc.

External Scanning External scanning tracks trends and developments in the

external environment, documenting their implications for human resources management and ensuring they receive attention in the human resources planning process. This assessment looks at: How the economy is performing both locally and nationally. How technology is expected to change and how these changes will influence the type and number of jobs available and the skills and education needed for these jobs What the current and future labor market looks like regarding the availability of certain occupations and the people necessary to fill them.

The requirements are for current or future government regulations, such as affirmative action and equal employment opportunity or regulations which influence agency-specific programs.

Identifying the sources for competition in terms of attracting people (salary, benefit packages, etc.). What overall trends can be identified that could influence an organisation such as the movement towards decentralization and restructuring.

II. Forecasting: The strategic plan eventually breaks down into operational
plans that state specific objectives an organisation wants to accomplish over the next six months to one year. This will, in turn, forecast future human resource needs. The focus for human resources becomes forecasting the number of currently available employees with the appropriate skills and educational levels to meet operational plans. This information is drawn from internal and external assessments, but is further refined for these plans. The forecasting process highlights the supply and demand principle of the model. Strategic and operational plans determine the necessary human resource requirements (demand) needed, while the human resources planning process forecasts the availability (supply) of human resources.

III. Inventory: After knowing what human resources are required in the
Organisation, the next step is to take stock of the current employees in the Organisation. The HR inventory should not only relate to data concerning numbers, ages, and locations, but also an analysis of individuals and skills. Skills inventory provides valid information on professional and technical skills and other qualifications provided in the firm. It reveals what skills are immediately available when compared to the forecasted HR requirements.

III. Reconciliation: Reconciliation identifies those gaps that occur between

supply and demand. This process focuses an organisation on specific human resource issues that need to be addressed. This allows an organisation to move forward with its operational plans. The process of reconciliation helps identify what the major gaps or "sources of pain" are in managing human resources. In addition, through reconciling an organisation is able to develop a sense of urgency and build commitment to action regarding its "sources of pain."

IV. Action Plans: Action plans aims at finding out sources of labour supply with a
view to making an effective use of these sources. it represent programmes and policies needed to address the gaps identified in the reconciliation process. The first thing, therefore, is to decide on the policy should the personnel be hired from within through promotional channels or should it be obtained from and outside source. The best policy is to fill up highers vacancies by promotion and lower level positions by recruitment from the labour market. To be successful and ensure accountability, action plans must outline specific responsibilities, timelines, staff, and financial resources necessary to address those gaps.

VI. Feedback and Evaluation Feedback and evaluation are critical to the
success and effectiveness of the Human Resource planning process. These two mechanisms are ways to retrieve information to evaluate and make adjustments to the process.

Feedback Feedback mechanisms should be designed to retrieve information so

programs and policies can be evaluated to determine how well the process works. This provides input to update strategic or organisational plans. Inadequate feedback mechanisms or plans can cause small problems to grow into large problems that impede the overall process.

Evaluation In implementing evaluation mechanisms, it is important to first

determine what is to be measured. Normally, human resources strategies are measured in terms of implementation or completion of actual programs. But to provide more meaningful information, measures have to be designed to determine the effect the action plans have had on the defined issues. Therefore, it is important to identify specific measures and target levels to be achieved and what the end results should be.