The six steps of HR planning

HUMAN RESOURSES PLANNING

There are many ways to define HR planning, or explain what it is, but the following definitions, taken from the Government of Canada human resources site, is a good, useful working definition:

“Rigorous HR planning links people management to the organization’s mission, vision, goals and objectives, as well as its strategic plan and budgetary resources. A key goal of HR planning is to get the right number of people with the right skills, experience and competencies in the right jobs at the right time at the right cost.”

Introduction

Planning is very important to our everyday activities. Several definitions have been given by different writers what planning is all about and its importance to achieving our objectives. It is amazing that this important part of HR is mostly ignored in HR in most organizations because those at the top do not know the value of HR planning. Organizations that do not plan for the future have fewer opportunities to survive the competition ahead. This article will discuss the importance of HR planning; the six steps of HR planning that is: Forecasting; inventory, audit, HR Resource Plan; Actioning of Plan; Monitoring and Control.

When we prepare our planning programme, Practitioners should bear in mind that their staff members have their objective they need to achieve. This is the reason why employees seek employment. Neglecting these needs would result in poor motivation that may lead to unnecessary poor performance and even Industrial actions.

Importance of Planning

Planning is not as easy as one might think because it requires a concerted effort to come out with a programme that would easy your work. Commencing is complicated, but once you start and finish it you have a smile because everything moves smoothly.

Planning is a process that has to be commenced form somewhere and completed for a purpose. It involves gathering information that would enable managers and supervisors make sound decisions. The information obtained is also utilized to make better actions for achieving the objectives of the Organization. There are many factors that you have to look into when deciding for an HR Planning programme.

HR Planning involves gathering of information, making objectives, and making decisions to enable the organization achieve its objectives. Surprisingly, this aspect of HR is one of the most neglected in the HR field. When HR Planning is applied properly in the field of HR Management, it would assist to address the following questions:

1. How many staff does the Organization have?

2. What type of employees as far as skills and abilities does the Company have?

3. How should the Organization best utilize the available resources?

4. How can the Company keep its employees?

HR planning makes the organization move and succeeds in the 21st Century that we are in. Human Resources Practitioners who prepare the HR Planning programme would assist the Organization to manage its staff strategically. The programme assists to direct the actions of HR department.

The programme does not assist the Organization only, but it will also facilitate the career planning of the employees and assist them to achieve the objectives as well. This augment motivation and the Organization would become a good place to work. HR Planning forms an important part of Management information system.

HR have an enormous task keeping pace with the all the changes and ensuring that the right people are available to the Organization at the right time. It is changes to the composition of the workforce that force managers to pay attention to HR planning. The changes in composition of workforce not only influence the appointment of staff, but also the methods of selection, training, compensation and motivation. It becomes very critical when Organizations merge, plants are relocated, and activities are scaled down due to financial problems.

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Steps in HR Planning

Forecasting

HR Planning requires that we gather data on the Organizational goals objectives. One should understand where the Organization wants to go and how it wants to get to that point. The needs of the employees are derived from the corporate objectives of the Organization. They stern from shorter and medium term objectives and their conversion into action budgets (e.g.) establishing a new branch in New Delhi by January 2006 and staff it with a Branch Manager (6,000 USD, Secretary 1,550 USD, and two clerical staff 800 USD per month. Therefore, the HR Plan should have a mechanism to express planned Company strategies into planned results and budgets so that these can be converted in terms of numbers and skills required.

Inventory

After knowing what human resources are required in the Organization, the next step is to take stock of the current employees in the Organization. The HR inventory should not only relate to data concerning numbers, ages, and locations, but also an analysis of individuals and skills. Skills inventory provides valid information on professional and technical skills and other qualifications provided in the firm. It reveals what skills are immediately available when compared to the forecasted HR requirements.

Audit

We do not live in a static World and our HR resources can transform dramatically. HR inventory calls for collection of data, the HR audit requires systematic examination and analysis of this data. The Audit looks at what had occurred in the past and at present in terms of labour turn over, age and sex groupings, training costs and absence. Based on this information, one can then be able to predict what will happen to HR in the future in the Organization.

HR resource plan

Here we look at career Planning and HR plans. People are the greatest asserts in any Organization. The Organization is at liberty to develop its staff at full pace in the way ideally suited to their individual capacities. The main reason is that the Organization’s objectives should be aligned as near as possible, or matched, in order to give optimum scope for the developing potential of its employees. Therefore, career planning may also be referred to as HR Planning or succession planning.

Actioning of Plan

There are three fundamentals necessary for this first step.

1) Know where you are going.

2) There must be acceptance and backing from top management for the planning.

3) There must be knowledge of the available resources (i.e.) financial, physical and human (Management and technical).

Once in action, the HR Plans become corporate plans. Having been made and concurred with top management, the plans become a part of the company’s long-range plan. Failure to achieve the HR Plans due to cost, or lack of knowledge, may be serious constraints on the long-range plan. Below is an illustration of how HR Plan is linked to corporate Plan.

Monitoring and Control

This is the last stage of HR planning in the Organization. Once the programme has been accepted and implementation launched, it has to be controlled. HR department has to make a follow up to see what is happening in terms of the available resources. The idea is to make sure that we make use of all the available talents that are at our disposal failure of which we continue to struggle to get to the top.

CONCLUSION

Let us all check where we are working and see whether there is really a Human Resource Plan. If it’s not available, let use try to develop one and you would see how you will make a difference. It is quite true that HR plan is the basis of Human Resources Management. If we do not know how to develop it, then we are not doing services to our Organizations and our impact will not be felt in the management pool.