Human Resource Management (BEBA55A) UNIT-1

REF NO: BEBA55A-U2-01

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (BEBA55A)

UNIT – II

HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

2.1 OBJECTIVES

o After studying this unit, you will be able to:

o Understand the nature and need of HRP
o Able to gain information about different factors that affect HRP
o Realize the importance of human resource planning in current organizational scenario
o Understand the HRP process and the pre requisites for successful HRP process

2.2 INTRODUCTION
As told in the last chapter Human resource management has started to play a significant role in
the overall strategic development of the organization. At present HR strategies are designed in
tune with the overall business strategy of the organization. HR strategy should sub serve the
interest of the organization, translating firm’s goals and objectives into a consistent, integrated
and complimentary set of programmes and policies for managing people.

First part of Human resource strategy is HRP – Human Resource Planning. All other HR
activities like employee hiring, training and development, remuneration, appraisal and labour
relations are derived from HRP.HR planning is important in a wide variety of industries and
firms. HR planning affects what employers do when recruiting, selecting, and retaining people,
and of course these actions affect organizational results and success. The challenges caused by
changing economic conditions during recent year’s show why HR workforce planning should
occur.

Staffing an organization is an HR activity that is both strategic and operational in nature. As

the HR Headline indicates, HR planning is important in a wide variety of industries and firms.
HR planning affects what employers do when recruiting, selecting, and retaining people, and,
of course these actions affect organizational results and success. Human Resources planning
mean different means to different organizations. To some companies, human resources
planning mean management development. It involve helping executives to make better

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decisions, communicate more effectively, and know more about the firm. The purpose of HRP
is to make the manager a better equipped for facing the present and future.

2.3 HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING (HRP)

Human resource planning is important for helping both organizations and employees to prepare
for the future. The basic goal of human resource planning is to predict the future and based on
these predictions, implement programmes to avoid anticipated problems. Very briefly humans
resource planning is the process of examining an organization’s or individual’s future human
resource needs for instance, what types of skills will be needed for jobs of the future compared
to future human resource capabilities (such as the types of skilled employees you already have)
and developing human resource policies and practices to address potential problems for
example, implementing training programmes to avoid skill deficiencies.

2.4 DEFINITION OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

According to Vetter, “HRP is the process by which management determines how the
organization should move from its current man power position to desired manpower position.
Through planning, management strives to have the right time, doing things which result in both
the organization and individual receiving maximum long run benefits”.

According to Gordon Mc Beath, “HRP is concerned with two things: Planning of manpower
requirements and Planning of Manpower supplies”.

According to Beach, “HRP is a process of determining and assuming that the organization will
have an adequate number of qualified persons, available at proper times, performing jobs which
meet the needs of the enterprise and which provides satisfaction for the individuals involved”

Simply HRP can be understood as the process of forecasting an organization’s future demands
for and supply of the right type of people in the right number. In other words HRP is the process
of determining manpower needs and formulating plans to meet these needs.

HRP IS A FOUR-PHASED PROCESS.

o The first phase involves the gathering and analysis of data through manpower
inventories and forecasts,
o The second phase consists of establishing manpower objectives and policies and
gaining top management approval of these.

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o The third phase involves designing and implementing plans and promotions to enable
the Organization to achieve its manpower objectives.
o The fourth phase is concerned with control and evaluation of manpower plans to
facilitate progress in order to benefit both the organization and the individual. The long
run view means that gains may be sacrificed in the short run for the future grounds. The
planning process enables the organization to identify what its manpower needs is and
what potential manpower problems required current action. This leads to more effective
and efficient performance.

2.5 NATURE OF HRP

Human resource planning is the process of analysing and identifying the availability and
the need for human resources so that the organization can meet its objectives. The focus of
HR planning is to ensure that the organization has the right number of human resources,
with the right capabilities, at the right times, and in the right places. In HR planning, an
organization must consider the availability and allocation of people to jobs over long
periods of time, not just for the next month or the next year1.

HRP is a sub system in the total organizational planning. Actions may include shifting
employees to other jobs in the organization, laying off employees or otherwise cutting back
the number of employees, developing present employees, and/or increasing the number of
employees in certain areas. Factors to consider include the current employees’ knowledge,
skills, and abilities and the expected vacancies resulting from retirements, promotions,
transfers, and discharges. To do this, HR planning requires efforts by HR professionals
working with executives and managers.

2.6 OBJECTIVES OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

1. To ensure optimum utilization of human resources currently available in the

organization.
2. To assess or forecast the future skill requirement of the organization.
3. To provide control measures to ensure that necessary resources are available as and
when required.
4. A series of specified reasons are there that attaches importance to manpower
planning and forecasting exercises.

They are elaborated below:

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o To link manpower planning with the organizational planning

o To determine recruitment levels.
o To anticipate redundancies.
o To determine optimum training levels.
o To provide a basis for management development programs.
o To cost the manpower.
o To assist productivity bargaining.
o To assess future accommodation requirement.
o To study the cost of overheads and value of service functions.
o To decide whether certain activity needs to be subcontracted, etc.

HRP exists as a part of planning process of business. This is the activity that aims to
coordinate the requirements for the availability of the different types of employers. The
major activities are the forecasting, (future requirements), inventorying (present strength),
anticipating (comparison of present and future requirements) and planning (necessary
program to meet the requirements).

The HR forecasts are responsible for estimating the number of people and the jobs needed
by an organization to achieve its objectives and realize its plans in the most efficient and
effective manner.

HR needs are computed by subtracting HR supplies or number of the employees available

from expected HR demands or number of people required to produce a desired level of
outcome. The objective of HR is to provide right personnel for the right work and optimum
utilization of the existing human resources.

The objectives of human resource planning may be summarized as below:

 Forecasting Human Resources Requirements: HRP is essential to determine the

future needs of HR in an organization. In the absence of this plan it is very difficult
to provide the right kind of people at the right time.
 Effective Management of Change: Proper planning is required to cope with
changes in the different aspects which affect the organization. These changes need
continuation of allocation/ reallocation and effective utilization of HR in
organization.

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 Realizing the Organizational Goals: In order to meet the expansion and other
organizational activities the organizational HR planning is essential.
 Promoting Employees: HRP gives the feedback in the form of employee data
which can be used in decision-making in promotional opportunities to be made
available for the organization.
 Effective Utilization of HR: The data base will provide the useful information in
identifying surplus and deficiency in human resources. The objective of HRP is to
maintain and improve the organizational capacity to reach its goals by developing
appropriate strategies that will result in the maximum contribution of HR.

2.7 NEED FOR HRP IN ORGANIZATIONS

Major reasons for the emphasis on HRP at the Macro level:

1. Employment-Unemployment Situation: Though in general the number of educated

unemployment is on the rise, there is acute shortage for a variety of skills. This
emphasizes on the need for more effective recruitment and employee retention.
2. Technological Change: The changes in production technologies, marketing methods
and management techniques have been extensive and rapid. Their effect has been
profound on the job contents and job contexts. These changes have caused problems
relating to redundancies, retention and redeployment. All these suggest the need to plan
manpower needs intensively and systematically.
3. Demographic Change: The changing profile of the work force in terms of age, sex,
literacy, technical inputs and social background has implications for HRP.
4. Skill Shortage: Unemployment does not mean that the labour market is a buyer’s
market. Organizations generally become more complex and require a wide range of
specialist skills that are rare and scare. A problem arises in an organization when
employees with such specialized skills leave.
5. Governmental Influences: Government control and changes in legislation with regard
to affirmative action for disadvantages groups, working conditions and hours of work,
restrictions on women and child employment, causal and contract labour, etc. have
stimulated the organizations to be become involved in systematic HRP.
6. Legislative Control: The policies of “hire and fire” have gone. Now the legislation
makes it difficult to reduce the size of an organization quickly and cheaply. It is easy to

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increase but difficult to shed the fat in terms of the numbers employed because of recent
changes in labour law relating to lay-offs and closures. Those responsible for managing
manpower must look far ahead and thus attempt to foresee manpower problems.
7. Impact of the Pressure Group: Pressure groups such as unions, politicians and
persons displaced from land by location of giant enterprises have been raising
contradictory pressure on enterprise management such as internal recruitment and
promotion, preference to employees’ children, displace person, sons of soil etc.
8. Systems Approach: The spread of system thinking and advent of the macro computer
as the part of the on-going revolution in information technology which emphasis
planning and newer ways of handling voluminous personnel records.
9. Lead Time: The log lead time is necessary in the selection process and training and
deployment of the employee to handle new knowledge and skills successfully.

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