Human Resource Planning

Concept of HRP

- The process by which management determines how an organization should move from its current manpower position to its desired manpower position.
- Through it management tries to have the right number at the right place at the right time.
- It includes all activities managers do to forecast current and future HR needs.
- It falls into the wider area of employee resourcing (planning for, acquiring and allocating the desired human resources for the organisation).
- HRP entails knowing in advance what the staffing needs of the organisation will be, assessing the supply of the relevant workers in the organisation and labour market, and finding ways to fulfil the staffing needs of the organisation.
- It must be done prior to recruitment and selection
- Demand forecasts made by managers estimate the number & qualifications the firm will need.
- Supply forecasts estimate the availability and qualifications of current workers and those in the labor market.
- In short HRP may be defined as the process of determining manpower needs and making plan to meet these needs.
- Successfully planning and handling labour needs can thus be a competitive advantage or disadvantage.
- Companies who make and implement better HRP strategies than others will adjust better to environmental changes and have the most suitable workforces.


Objectives of HRP

1. To ensure optimum use of existing human resources.
2. To forecast future requirements for human resources.
3. To link human resource planning with organizational planning.
4. To asses the surplus and shortage of humans resources.
5. To anticipate the impact of technology on jobs and human resources.
6. To estimate cost of human resources and housing needs of employees.
7. To determine the levels of recruitment and training.
8. To estimate the use and efficiency of human resource.
9. To meet needs of expansion and diversification programmes.


Need, significance and Importance of HRP:

1. It is helpful in recruitment, selection and training activities.

2. it identifies gaps in existing manpower in terms of their quality and quantity.

3. It helps in replacing employees who retire, die, resign and injured.

4. It helps in providing manpower for expansion and diversification of an organization.

5. It helps in anticipating the cost of human resources by avoiding both shortage and surplus of manpower.

6. It helps in planning for physical facilities like canteen, staff quarters, hospitals and schools.

Techniques employed in HR forecasting

1. Managerial Judgment: - Under this method experienced managers estimated the manpower requirements for their departments on the basis of expected future workload and employee efficiency. These departmental estimates are then aggregated and approved by top management. This very simple and time saving method and suitable for small organizations.

2. Delphi Technique:- This method is used in group decision making in small groups and for forecasting human resource needs in two forms, first it can be used to know the trends for changing job profile and consequently, the changing personnel profile across the country or at international level, secondly it can be used to solicit views of experts in different functional areas of an organization about the changing profile of personnel in their respective departments in light of changing environment. Such views are collected and summarized by HR department to arrive at decision about the types of personnel needed in future.

3. Work study method:- In this method time and motion study are used to analyse and measure the work being done. Under this method the standard time required for one unit of work in decided and then on the basis of productive hoiur, number of workers are estimated. Example output for the next year = 50,000 units, standard hour per unit= 2 hrs, Total hours required= 50,000 x 2= 100,000 hrs, Productive hours / worker = 2,000 hrs, Total workers required = 100,000 / 2,000 = 50 workers.

4. Job trend analysis:-Under this method ratio on the basis of past data, on the basis of established ratios, the demand for manpower is estimated. Ex. Production level in 1994-1995 = 50,000 units, no. of workers in 1994-1995 = 50, ratio = 50 / 50,000 = 1 / 1000, Estimated production in 1995-1996 = 60,000 units, no. of workers required in 1995-1996 = 60,000 / 1000 = 60 workers.

Process of HRP

1. Analysing organisational plan: First of all, the objectives and plans of the company are analysed. Plans related to technology, production, marketing, finance, expansion and diversification give and idea about the future activity. Each plan can further be analysed into sub-plans and detailed programme.

2. Manpower demand forecasting: On the basis of corporate and functional plans, and future needs and human resources in the organization are anticipated. There are various techniques used in manpower forecasting.

3. Forecasting supply of human resources: After forecasting of manpower requirements, supply of manpower is forecasted. There are two sources of supply of manpower for any organization- internal (like promotion and transfer) and external (like new procurement of manpower).

4. Estimating manpower gaps: manpower gap can be identified by comparing manpower demand and its supply.

5. Action planning: Once the manpower gaps are identified, plans are prepared to bridge these gaps. Surplus manpower may be redeployed in other departments / units. Deficit manpower can be met through recruitment, promotion and transfer.

6. Monitoring and control: Once the action plans are implemented, the human resource structure and system need to be reviewed and regulated.