Human Resource planning (HRP)

Human resources planning(HRP)

Human Resource Planning (HRP) is the process of forecasting the future human resource requirements of the organization and determining as to how the existing human resource capacity of the organization can be utilized to fulfill these requirements. It, thus, focuses on the basic economic concept of demand and supply in context to the human resource capacity of the organization.

Human resource planning will be taken to mean any rational and

planned approach for ensuring:

• Recruitment of sufficient and suitable staff
  
• Retention in the organization
  
• The optimum utilization of staff
  
• The improvement of staff performance
  
• The disengagement of staff, as necessary

Objectives or Aims of Human Resource Planning

• Attract and retain the number of people required with the   appropriate skills, expertise and competencies.
  

•  Anticipate the problems of potential surpluses or deficits of people. 
  

• Develop a well-trained and flexible workforce, thus contributing to the organizations ability to adapt to an uncertain and changing environment. Changes in competitive forces, market, technology, products and government regulations.
  

•  Reduces dependence on external recruitment when key skills are in short supply by formulating retention, as well as employee development strategies.
  

•  Improve the utilization of people by introducing more flexible systems of work.
  

•  To ensure optimum use of available Human Resources
  

• To forecast future requirements & estimate surpluses and lack of manpower
  

• To help in recruitment and selection - Rate of labour turnover is reduced by effective manpower planning
  

•  To maintain output/productivity levels- Estimate absenteeism, illness
  

•  To work out an effective employee development programme- Improve the skills and competencies of existing staff in order to perform their duties more effectively.
  

•  Establishing good industrial relations
  

•  Reduction in labour costs

Prerequisites for Human Resource Planning

• Integration with goals or objectives of business- i.e. sales, production etc.
  

• Support of top-level management- HR only acts as a catalyst. Every senior manager’s support is necessary for a manpower plan to be successful.
  

•  Well organized personnel department- HR department should collect, record, analyse, interpret data relating to employees. This data is used as a base for manpower planning.
  

• Determination of related HR policies- Policies regarding promotion, transfer, salaries, benefits,training, leave etc.
  

•  Responsibility- Senior person
  

• Fixing planning period- Short term planning and long term planning

Human Resource Planning Process

• The process of human resource planning is not necessarily a linear one.

• Starting with the business strategy and flowing logically through to resourcing, flexibility and retention plans.

• It may, be circular rather than liner, with the process starting anywhere in the cycle.

For example,
a. Scenario planning may impact on resourcing strategy, which in turn may influence the business strategy.
b. Alternatively, the starting point could be demand and supply forecasts, which form the basis for the resourcing strategy.
c. The analysis of labor turnover may feed into the supply forecast, but it could lead directly to the development of retention plans.

 

• Business strategic plans – defining future activity levels and initiatives demanding new skills.

• Resourcing strategy – planning to achieve competitive advantage by developing intellectual capital.

• Scenario planning – assessing in broad terms where the organization is going in its environment and the implications for human resource requirements.
• Demand/supply forecasting – estimating the future demand for people (numbers and skills), and assessing the number of people likely to be available from within and outside the organization.
• Labor turnover analysis – analyzing actual labor turnover figures and trends as an input to supply forecast. 

References 

Managementstudyguide.com. (2015). What is Human Resource Planning ? [online] Available at: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/human-resource-planning.htm.Accessed on 02nd July 2020.

Investopedia. (2019). How Human Resource Planning (HRP) Works. [online] Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/human-resource-planning.asp. Accessed on 02nd July 2020

Business Jargons. (2015). What is Human Resource Planning Process? Business Jargons. [online] Available at: https://businessjargons.com/human-resource-planning-process.html

Accessed on 02nd July 2020

Managementstudyguide.com. (2015). Processes in Human Resource Management. [online] Available at: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/processes-in-human-resource-management.htm. Accessed on 02nd July 2020