Human Resources Planning

According to Crane (1974) in Rudman (2002)

HR planning is concerned with much more
than efficient recruitment of new or
replacement employees – so that organisations
have “the right number and kind of people in
the right place, at the right time, doing things
for which they are economically most useful”.
 What is HR planning?

Human resource planning is the systematic and

continuing process of analysing an organisation’s
human resource needs under changing conditions
and integrating this analysis with the development
of personnel policies appropriate to meet these
needs
It might be better to regard HR planning less as a
process of producing specific and measurable plans
than one of identifying options and preparing for
possibilities.
Three critical questions
 What human resources will the
organisation need to fulfill its goals and
plans and cope with its possible futures?
 What are the gaps between that future
‘demand’ for human resources and the
‘supply’ available to the organisation at
present?
 What HR programmes and activities will
be needed so that the organisation can
bridge those gaps?
The Benefits of HR Planning
 a systematic and integrated approach to HR
policies and programmes
 an improved framework for communicating clearly
defined goals and strategies
 improved employee relations and higher
productivity
 higher quality products or services
 greater security and stability of employment
 lower turnover
 improved succession planning
 improved competitiveness and ‘survivability’
Challenges for HR planning
 continuing competitive pressures to
develop new or different markets,
products and services
 greater demand for better services at
lower costs
 introduction of new technologies
 restructuring and relocations
 changes in work systems and methods
 changing attitudes among various groups
in the workforce
Levels of HR planning

International level
 policies to encourage migration

 programmes for the international

recognition of occupational or
professional qualifications
 agreements that allow people to
work in foreign countries
Levels of HR planning

National level
 monitoring labour markets and
employment patterns
 reviewing education and training
policies
 providing employment and training
advice and assistance
 financial assistance for the
unemployed
Levels of HR planning
Industry and occupation level
 professional societies

 industry associations (ITO’s)

 close involvement in planning and

providing education and training for
potential members
 regulation of entry

 monitor and control standards of

performance and behaviour of members
Levels of HR planning

Organisation or enterprise level

 Acquiring human resources

 Developing human resources

 Managing and motivating human

resources
 Renewing human resources
HR roles and responsibilities in HR
planning
 HR department
 Corporate management
 Line managers
 Individual employees
HR roles and responsibilities in HR
planning
 HR department
 Inform about importance of planning HR
policies and programmes
 Highlighting potential problems
 Inform about appropriate approaches
 Monitor and adapt HR plans on a continuing
basis
 Encourage the allocation of sufficient resources
 Foster (employee’s) involvement, commitment
and acceptance of responsibility for own
department
 Facilitate the business planning process
HR roles and responsibilities in HR
planning
 Corporate management
 Develop and monitor business plan for the
organisation
 Take a long-term view of the organisations
goals and strategies
 Facilitate systematic interaction and debate
between ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up” strategies
 Implement the HR planning activities needed
 Ensure the allocation of appropriate resources
 Work with HR function to establish appropriate
development and career paths
HR roles and responsibilities in HR
planning
 Line managers
 Implement HR plans
 Systematically consider the factors likely to affect
their part of the organisation
 Communicate standards of performance
 Discuss training and development needs with
employees
 Identify employee’s training and development needs
 Ensure employees are aware of their development
needs
 Ensure that performance problems are addressed
 Establish regular communication with employees
HR roles and responsibilities in HR
planning
 Individual employees
 Identify own training and development
needs
 Recognise the need to train and retrain
and to change the roles and work
practices
 Involve themselves, as appropriate, in
plans and decisions which will affect
them as individuals or the organisation
as a whole
 HR planning process

Organisation’s strategies and plans

Human resources requirements Human resources availability

Assessment of human resources needs

•Gap analysis

Action planning

Implementation
HR planning process

1. Agree strategies and plans

2. Assess requirements
3. Assess available human resources
4. Gap analysis
5. Plan action to close gaps
6. Implement and monitor plans
Organisation level activities

 Acquiring
 Job analysis, job description, person profile,
recruitment, selection, induction, initial
training
 Developing
 Career planning and counselling, performance
planning and review, training, development
 Maintaining
 job design, management style,
communication, involvement, rewards,
remuneration, ‘people management’
 Renewing
 termination, redundancy, retirement,
outplacement
Benefits for organisation
 Contributes to overall corporate
planning process
 Part of process of implementing
agreed organisational strategies and
plans
Uses of HR planning
 Assessing present resources
 human resources inventory
 workforce profiles

 forecasting HR requirements
 Statistical
 Non-statistical techniques

 replacement and succession planning

Source (unless otherwise specified):
Rudman, R. 2002, Human Resources Management
in New Zealand, 4th ed Pearsom Education, New
Zealand