HUMAN RESOURCE

PLANNING
According to the book of W. Rothwell,J.Kazanas, H. C., titled
Introduction to Strategic Planning for Human Resources, In the
early days of industrialization, managers rarely had to think ahead
about the numbers and kinds of people required to get the work
out: Conditions outside organizations were relatively stable. Most
work demanded little by way of specialized training and expertise.
And managers could find all the people they needed on short
notice, provided they were willing to pay competitive wages.
However, there must have been some HR planning going on, even
in earliest times. It is hard to imagine that the builders of the Great
Pyramids or of Stonehenge completely disregarded planning those
superhuman exertion that were require form that time do not exist
to reveal how managers planned for their human resources.
The origin of manpower planning, the predecessor of
modern HR planning, predates the beginnings of twentieth-
century management theory. Among the first to rise the
manpower-planning issue was the Frenchman Henri Fayol
(1841-1925). His famous fourteen points of management
are still considered valid today. One point had to do with
what Fayol called stability of tenure of personnel. For
Fayol, administrators bear responsibility to plan for human
resources, ensuring that “human and material organization
is consistent with the objectives, resources, and
requirements of the business concern” (Fayol,130,p.53).
This point resembles some modern definitions of HRP.
A deep recession in the late 1950s sparkled the need for a
new way of thinking about management. People were
increasingly viewed as assets- human resources- that
could be either developed or wasted. This way of thinking
became even more pronounced during the 1960s and
1970s, when the focus was on finding ways to design
organizations and jobs to permit individuals greater
latitudes of self-expression. Human creativity and job
satisfaction are still two of the most important concerns of
management.
The 1960s also spawned the term manpower planning.
Initial manpower planning efforts were typically tied to
annual budgeting, as is still the case in some
organizations. The implication was the people are expense
items, since wages, salaries, and employee benefits
constitute a major cost of doing business. Early planners
were more often found in planning and budgeting
departments than in personnel or HR departments, but
they did manage to devote some attention for forecasting
manpower demands. However, it was a need to budget,
not a desire to stimulate creativity or increase
productivity, that spurred them.
As the Human Resources school of management thought
grew in importance throughout the 1970s, manpower
planning activities gradually shifted to personnel
departments. At the same time, the term human resources
planning supplanted manpower planning. Likewise,
personnel departments were renamed human resource
departments, reflecting a new and more pronounced
emphasis of the human side of the enterprise.
Human resource practitioners and other contemporary observers of
the management scene have expressed a growing awareness ever
since the 1990s that people represent a key asset in
competitiveness. While Western nations have long placed
enormous faith in the power of technology to enhance
productivity, the fact is that the greatest competitive gains stem
from the exercise of human creativity to identify new products and
services, find new markets and applications for existing products
and services, and make use of the possible gains to be realized
from technology. Without the creative application of human
knowledge and skill, organizations would not be formed and
would not thrive for long. Human beings thus represent
intellectual capital to be managed, just like other forms of
capital(Brown,1998)
WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE
PLANNING
Human resource planning (HRP) is the continuous
process of systematic planning ahead to achieve optimum
use of an organization's most valuable asset—quality
employees. Human resources planning ensures the best fit
between employees and jobs while avoiding manpower
shortages or surpluses. HRP helps companies is an
important investment for any business as it allows
companies to remain both productive and profitable
OBJECTIVES OF HUMAN
RESOURCE PLANNING
1. To ensure optimum use of human resources currently employed;
2. To avoid balances in the distribution and allocation of human
resources;
3. To assess or forecast future skill requirements of the organization’s
overall objectives;
4. To provide control measures to ensure availability of necessary
resources when necessary;
5. To control the cost aspect of the human resources; and
6. To formulate transfer and promotion policies
HUMAN RESOURCE
PLANNING PROCESS
Step 1: Assess your current human resource capacity
Start by looking at your current human resources state of play.
This will involve analyzing the HR strength of your organization
across factors including employee numbers, skills, qualifications,
experience, age, contracts, performance ratings, titles, and
compensations. During this phase, it’s a good idea to gather
insight from your managers who can provide real-world feedback
on the human resource issues they face, as well as areas in which
they think changes are necessary.
HUMAN RESOURCE
PLANNING PROCESS
Step 2: Forecast future HR requirements
You will then need to look at the future HR needs of your organization and
how human resources will be applied to meet these organizational goals. HR
managers will typically look at the market or sectoral trends, new technologies
that could automate certain processes, as well as industry analysis in order to
gauge future requirements. Of course, there are a number of factors affecting
human resource planning such as natural employee attrition, layoffs, likely
vacancies, retirements, promotions and end of contract terms. Above all of
this, you will need to understand the goals of the organization: are you
entering a new market, launching new products or services, expanding into
new areas. Forecasting HR demand is a complex task based on several
dynamics. Being informed and having a seat, or at least an ear, at boardroom
level is essential if you are to make accurate HR projections.
HUMAN RESOURCE
PLANNING PROCESS
Step 3: Identify HR gaps
An effective human resource plan walks the fine line between
supply and demand. By assessing the current HR capacity and
projecting future requirements you should have a clear picture of
any gaps that exist. Using your HR forecast you can better judge if
there will be a skills gap, for example. Should you upskill existing
employees or recruit employees who are already qualified in
specific areas? Are all current employees being utilized in the right
areas or would their skills be better suited to different roles?
HUMAN RESOURCE
PLANNING PROCESS
Step 4: Integrate the plan with your organization’s overall strategy
After you’ve assessed your current human resources capacity, projected
future HR demands and identified the gaps, the final step is to integrate
your human resources plan with your organizational strategy. On a
practical level, you will need a dedicated budget for human resources
recruiting, training or redundancies, and you will also need management
buy-in across the business. You will need cooperation and the necessary
finances in order to implement the plan and a collaborative approach
from all departments to put it into practice. Learn about the benefits of
strategic human resource management
CURRENT INTEREST IN HR
PLANNING
1. Employment-Unemployment Situation – this emphasizes the
need for more effective recruitment and retaining people.
2. Technological Changes – These changes can cause problems
relating to redundancies, retraining and redeployment. Human
Resource Management needs to plan human resource needs
intensively and systematically.
CURRENT INTEREST IN HR
PLANNING
3. Organizational Changes –In a turbulent environment marked
by cyclical fluctuations and discontinuities, the nature and pace of
changes in organizational environment, activities and structures
affect human resource requirements and require strategic
consideration.
4. Demographic Changes – The changing profiles of the work
force in terms of age, gender ,literacy, technical inputs and social
background have implications for human resource planning.
CURRENT INTEREST IN HR
PLANNING
5. Skill Shortages – Government control and changes in legislation
with regard to affirmative action for the disadvantaged groups,
working conditions and hours of work restrictions etc. have
stimulated the organizations to become involved in systematic
human resource planning.
6. Legislative Controls – It is easy to increase but difficult to
reduce the numbers of employed because of recent changes in labor
law relating to lay-offs and closures. Those responsible for
managing human resources must look far ahead and attempt to
foresee human resource position.
CURRENT INTEREST IN HR
PLANNING
7. Impact of Pressure Groups – Pressure groups such as unions,
politicians and persons displaced from land by location of giant
enterprises have been raising contradictory pressures on enterprise
management in areas such as internal recruitment and promotions,
preference to employees’ children, displaced persons, sons of oils
and others.
CURRENT INTEREST IN HR
PLANNING
8. System Concept – The spread of systems thinking and the
advent of microcomputer as part of the on-going revolution in
information technology emphasize planning and adopting newer
ways of handling voluminous personnel records.
9. Lead Time – A longer lead time is necessary for the selection
process and for training and development of the employees, to
handle new knowledge and skills successfully.