HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

• Right number of people with right skills at right place at right time to implement organizational strategies in order to achieve organizational objectives
• In light of the organization’s objectives, corporate and business level strategies, HRP is the process of analyzing an organization’s human resource needs and developing plans, policies, and systems to satisfy those needs
• Setting human resource objectives and deciding how to meet them
• Ensuring HR resource supply meets human resource demands

HRP Process

• Interfacing with strategic planning and scanning the environment
• Taking an inventory of the company’s current human resources
• Forecasting demand for human resources
• Forecasting the supply of HR from within the organization and in the external labor market

HRP Process Cont.

• Comparing forecasts of demand and supply
• Planning the actions needed to deal with anticipated shortage or overages
• Feeding back such information into the strategic planning process. 

Example of the Basic Human Resources Planning Model

HRP Model

Strategic Human Resource Planning 

• Links 1 & 5: HR objectives are linked to organizational  objectives and planning

Designed to insure consistency between organization's strategic planning process and HRP. 

So objectives of strategic plan are feasible and

•  HR programs are designed around what organizational objectives and strategies require in terms of human resource goals

Example of the Basic Human Resources Planning Model

Operational Human Resource Planning

- Steps  2,3, & 4

Ensure HRP programs are coordinated and allows the  organization to meet its human resource requirements.

Example of the Basic Human Resource Planning Model

Link 1: Determine Demand (labor requirements)

• How many people need to be working and in what jobs to implement organizational strategies and attain organizational objectives.
• Involves forecasting HR needs based on organizational objectives
• Involves consideration of alternative ways of organizing jobs (job design, organizational design or staffing jobs)
• Example - Peak production could be handled by temporary workers or assigning overtime.  Machine breakdowns assigned to maintenance department or handled by machine operators

Link 2: Determine HR Supply (availability)

• Choose  HRM programs (supply)
  --Involves forecasting or predicting effect of various HR programs on employee flowing into, through and out various job classifications.
  --First determine how well existing programs are doing then forecast what additional programs or combination of programs will do
  --Need to know capabilities of various programs and program combinations
• Determine Feasibility 

Links 3 & 4 Capable of being done 

• Requires knowledge of programs, how programs fit together and external environmental constraints (e.g., labor force, labor unions, technology created skill shortages) and internal environmental constraints (skill shortages within the organization, financial resources,  managerial attitudes, culture)
•  Do the benefits outweigh the costs
• Difficulty in quantifying costs and benefits

Revise Organizational Objectives and Strategies Link 5

• If no feasible HR program can be devised, the organization must revise strategic plans
• Shortcomings of the model - HRP in Practice
• Oversimplification of planning process -Planning does not normally proceeds till find first acceptable plan
  More than one set of HR goals to satisfy link 1 and more that one acceptable plan to satisfy link 2 so:
• Typically choose the best HR goal for the strategic plan and the best program to satisfy that HR goal

Shortcomings of the model - HRP in Practice

• Oversimplification of the benefit of planning is the specific plans that result
• Planning process has value in and of itself
• HRP in practice is usually less rational and may omit one or more of the steps
• May lack knowledge required for forecasting
• Incorrect assumptions about effectiveness of HR programs
• Does not engage in strategic planning
• Resistance to change present HR systems

HRP should be :

• Done to guide and coordinate all HR activities so they work together to support the overall strategy
• Responsive to internal and external environment
• Planning  - done in advance
• Strategic - linked with higher level planning