Answer 1

Human resource planning (HRP) is the endless process of systematically achieving the optimum utilization of
human resource in an organization. HRP bridges a gap between the employees and jobs while avoiding the
surpluses and shortages of manpower.

Human resources without any doubt plays the most vital role in functioning and in operations of an
organization. The term ‘human resource’ indicates abilities, potentials, skills and capacities, which can be
developed through proper and optimum utilization of that resource by continuous interactions in the setting of
an organization.

The interactions and activities performed contributes in some or the other way in developing potential of an
employee. Effective utilization of human resource result in productivity, growth and economic development of
an organization.

Hence, it is necessary for an organization to take critical measures for effective utilization of their human
resources.

The objectives and strategies of an organization for the future determine the future demand of human resource.
It helps an organization to analyse and know if there is a surplus or shortage of human resource in the
organization. It assesses the future requirement of workforce in an organization. It helps in identifying the size
and composition of human resources for present and future purpose. It just does not utilize manpower in
optimum way but also focuses on minimizing overall cost of production.

Human resource planning is affected by both internal and external factors. Some of the internal factors that
affect HRP are organization strategy, organization’s culture, leadership and experience, nature of work, and
empowerment of labour.

For developing an HR plan for a new generation private sector bank that have branches in major towns, a few
external factors that shall be considered are:

1. Government Regulations

After the introduction of new workplace compliance standards, human resources departments have
been forced to constantly stay within the law. These types of policies affect every process of HR
department, including recruiting, training, remuneration, termination and much more. A company can
be fined extensively or could cause the organization to shut down if they do not adhere to such policies.
Human resource management cannot manage the personnel solely as they have to abide by the policies
and the regulations imposed by the government from time to time. HR managers have to be aware
about the new rules and regulations enacted by the government at the state and centre.

2. Economic Factors

Current economy of the country has the biggest influences in human resource planning. Especially in
countries like India which has high GDP growth rate, a huge growing market would signify that there
is demand for more jobs. Level of economic growth determines the level of human resource
department as well as the supply of human resources in the future in the country.

3. Technological Advancement

Technology has pervaded in every organization and industry today. It plays a vital role in increasing
productivity and cutting down costs which highly influence human resource planning. Technology is a
dynamic factor and it is changing at a very fast speed. Earlier the work which used to take two to three
manpower, now with technological advancements globally, the same work is done with just 1 person.
Every organization needs to cope up with the current technological advancements in order to survive in
the industry. Technological advancements in an organization leads to downsizing of the workers by
 increasing automation. In favour of the employees, increasing technological base can help the
employees to learn and upgrade their skills with the emerging industries.

4. Workforce Demographics

The workforce demographics also influence the human resource department while human resource
planning. Average age of the working population, gender mix, composition of workforce, etc. are the
demographic factors which affect human resource planning. A number of people retire every year and
a number of people become eligible for working every year. With every year a new batch of graduates
with different specialization are joining, human resource department needs to find ways to attract
potential candidates for the organization. These days not everyone gets satisfied with financial benefits.
People are finding for work-life balance more than just financial growth. Human resource needs to find
a balance between what the organization can offer and what the workforce demands.

5. Social & Cultural Factors

Society includes the organization’s own workforce, their friends and relatives and neighbours too. An
organization has to work by public consent to satisfy the needs of the society. For instance, if the firm
needs to downsize, the organization needs to understand what the societal reaction would be and will
have to take proactive steps accordingly. Similar way the culture of the society does matter too in order
to have an effective human resource planning. Work ethics and culture differ in every region. Some
places the workers are keen to work and love their work whereas in some places, the workers have a
deep apathy towards work. HRP has to cope up with the cultural changes too.

In conclusion, human resource planning process is important in assessing organization’s both current and future
personnel needs in terms of quality as well as quality. Human resource is considered to be the backbone of an
organization. An effective human resource planning is required in order to entice and retain valuable
employees. It is a fundamental process that straightaway connects human resources activities to the objectives
and plans of an organization. Moreover, this process protects the organization from different difficult scenarios
and challenges by preparing it for the external and internal factors which could affect the organization’s
activities. Human resource planning should thus be given higher importance as it determines the successful
implementation and achievement of the goals and objectives of an organization.
Answer 2

In this dynamic fast-changing technology world, humans are struggling to cope up with their own inventions.
Their skills and knowledge are becoming obsolete through time and age. Obsolescence results when an
employee no longer possesses the skills and knowledge to perform the given tasks successfully. It may
result from an individual failing to adapt to newer technologies, newer procedures and changes in the internal
and external working environment. The more there is a change in the working environment, the more humans
tends to become obsolete. It occurs when there is a gap between objective of the particular job and employee’s
capabilities. In other words, it occurs when an employee’s skills and knowledge are insufficient and inadequate
to perform a task effectively and efficiently. Employers needs to overcome this problem of employees getting
depreciated with the time. Employers uses training as a base to avoid their employees’ skills and knowledge
from becoming obsolete.

Training is an organised course for developing and upgrading the skills and knowledge base of the employees
to enhance their current job performance. It has a short-term perspective which is entirely job oriented. When
an employee lacks skill to perform a particular job, need for training arises. It is a systematic process which
involves teaching and giving information and instructions to improve the performance of an employee and help
them acquire the required amount of knowledge and skills to perform the job given to them. Training is been
set up by the employer or the management usually for any new employee or the existing employee who has
recently been promoted.

There are various types of training programmes conducted by an employer for their employees. Some of the
important training programs are:

1. Induction

This type of training is conducted for the employees who have newly joined. It focuses on introducing
the new employee to the procedures of an organization, their employees, how they function, what are
their policies, cultures, rules and regulations. It is usually conducted at the first day of an employee in
the organization.

2. Job Training

This kind of training is conducted for both new and existing employees which aims making the
employees aware about their roles in the company, what their roles are, what responsibilities will they
be given and how much they are accountable. This further helps the employees to perform their job
effectively and efficiently.

3. Training for Promotion

Organization sometimes appreciate the employees the employees who has performed better than their
existing job roles and provide them with special training that can prepare them for the next promotion.
This helps the employees to understand the job responsibilities as they get promoted and be prepared
for it.

4. Apprentice Training

This is a type of training in which an employee can earn while learning about the skills and knowledge
required in performing a particular job. It is a mixture of job training and classroom teaching which is
most desirable in manufacturing and construction industries where workforce with particular
knowledge and skills are required constantly.

5. Internship Training

To provide practical training to the students, vocational and educational institutes enters in a formal
contract. It is provided to the students of that institution to gain practical knowledge and training with
 formal education. Unlike other types of training, interns are not a part of the organization. However, if
the organizations want to, they can absorb the interns and ask them to become an employee as well.

It is the duty of organization as well as the employees from taking an active role in ensuring that the training
would help them to avoid personnel obsolescence, and provide the employees with the required skills and
knowledge to perform a particular job and also helps both of them to identify their weaknesses and make
amendments to fix them. The reason why organization are investing huge amounts on conducting training
programs are not just to develop the skills of their employees but also to help them to quickly adjust with the
changing business environment.

The need and importance of training programs are:

• It helps the new employees to get aware of their job roles, process of the organization, and adapt to
work culture of the organisation.
• It helps in building efficient and effective teams which further helps the organization to quickly
respond to changes in the business environment.
• It helps in motivating the employees at work to accomplish the organizational goals and objectives by
providing them with the expectation of the organization.
• It helps in developing the intellect and personality of the employees and help them to avoid personnel
obsolescence.
• It helps their employees to identify their strengths and weaknesses and how to use them and correct
them respectively.

With new technologies coming every day, training is becoming very much important in an organization.
Employees with not sufficient knowledge and skills are been phased out. People should participate in the
training programs to advance to professional jobs and become familiar with the on-going and upcoming
processes and to maintain their position.

Training helps in the development of almost every organizations throughout the organization. This program can
provide enough chances for the employees to focus on developing and boosting their abilities. The continuous
search for innovation has increased the fact that continuous learning is the way forward. However, organising a
training program is not just enough. Employees tends to resist to the environmental changes in their
organization. It is only possible if the employers are confident enough to convince their employees by stating
how it will help them perform their hob in a better way.
Answer 3 (A)

Getting a promotion is a very favorable news for an employee. It is necessary for every employer to give some
kind of promotion to the deserving employees quite often to retain them as they are the asset of the firm.
However, some employee resists these kinds of changes because they do not want to get out of the comfort
zone they are into. Rohit has been going through the same problem. He had been working as an officer at DDA
which was not a desk job. He loved that work and because of which he was promoted as a manager which was
basically a desk job. He was not liking the work there as it was a desk job and did not give him any exposure to
media.
Being his boss, it is necessary to help Rohit settle in his new job and ensure that he fits the role he has got out
of his merits.
Rohit needs to be explained the benefits of socializing with his coworkers and how it helps in getting used to
the new job. He needs to start socializing with his coworkers as it will help him in strengthening the quality of
his work place relationships which will further help him in working better together. Socializing with the
coworkers is slightly different from socializing with friends and family.
It is not just the duty of Rohit to go and socialize with other people at work but also the co-worker’s duty to
engage with Rohit and help him settle down in his new role.
Rohit also needs to be explained about his new job and how it will benefit him in his upcoming career. This can
be done by proper internal on-boarding. It is very important for an employer to make use of proper onboarding
techniques which would help them retain more employees.
As Rohit’s boss, it is my duty to help him on-board his new job which will help him learn about his new job. It
is important for him to learn, develop and come out of his comfort zone and accept the new job profile that is
being given to him. It takes some time for everyone to adjust in their new job. Rohit should also have patience
and focus on the work that is given to him.
I shall also motivate him in a various way, like telling him about his new job and its benefits, explaining him
how this promotion can help him in his future career, provide him with training and development program,
encouraging him by convincing him to trust his capabilities.
Rohit needs to give himself sometime with his new job, have the urge of learning and developing, trust his
capabilities and explore new challenges in his career to grow more and to not called a ‘misfit’ by his senior
management.
Answer 3 (B)
Yes, this situation can be avoided earlier. Starting a new job is often uncomfortable, even if you are an existing
employee who has been promoted or demoted to a new position. It can be challenging to meet new people,
adjusting to new expectations and learning new processes. Organization believe that first 45 days of the
employment is very crucial and important for job longevity and thus invest huge amount of time and money in
onboarding of new hires. However, doing this they tend to neglect the existing employees who have developed
their skills and have been promoted to a new job in the organization.
Proper onboarding of existing employees is also as important as that of new hires. Onboarding of an existing
employee is an ongoing process that enables existing employees to acquire the required knowledge, training
and skills they would need in the new position they have been promoted to. It can be done in a few ways:

• Explaining the promoted employee about his new job thoroughly. Although he has been working with
the organization for long and has been promoted on his merits, the new job is totally unknown to him
so he shall be trained properly about it.
• Creating a 30, 60, 90 days goals in his new role. It is an important step as it will help the employee
focus more in the new role and create priorities to achieve them. Building a roadmap for those goals is
very crucial for an employee to put in everything into the new role.
• Ensure that he or she has accustomed to new culture and is socializing with the new team. Socializing
with the new coworkers and team members will make him/her like the new job and stay engaged with
the new role.
• Assign a new mentor is another step. Every hire needs certain guidance when taking a new job
regardless of how knowledgeable the he was in his former role. For existing employees, assigning a
new mentor will enable him to learn more and achieve his full productivity.

Rohit’s resistance of accepting the new role was also because he was unaware of the importance of professional
development programs. Professional development programs are often neglected by the employers. Employers
should arrange professional development programs for their employees to avoid this kind of situation further.
Benefits of doing so are:

• It will help in advancing knowledge of the employee in their own field as well as in a field
complementary to current position.
• It will help boost the confidence among the employees which would further lead them to grow in their
career and accept new challenges.
• It also increases job satisfaction resulting in increasing employee retention.

To avoid the situation where employee is not happy with his new role, like Rohit, it is very important for the
HR department of the organization to not just focus on new hires but also on development of the existing
employees in order to retain them, avoid the problems of resisting from the changes, increase productivity and
job satisfaction in the organization.