Question

Human Resource Planning (HRP) represents a significant improvement on traditional Manpower Planning exercise.

To what extent does HRP represent an improvement towards an organisation’s assessment of it human resource needs?

1.0 Introduction

2.0 Human Resource Planning (HRP)

     2.1 Definition of Human Resource Planning

     2.2 Role of Human Resource Planning

     2.3 Objectives of Human Resource Planning

      2.4 Process of Human Resource Planning

Answer 1

Solution -

Introduction

All companies today have some strategic goals and objectives. This can be fulfilled by a continuous flow of resources. The best assets of a company are its human resources. Now all human resources will never have the same skills and even the requirements of the company are also not so uniform. Hence to ensure that the right kind of skilled workforce is available for the organization is achieved through human resource planning.

Definition

Human resource planning is a process of identifying and fulfilling the human resource needs of the organization as per the organization's strategic objectives. This is a proactive process where these requirements are ascertained upfront and then through internal pipeline or through external resources such organisational needs are met.

Role -

Human resource planning is a strategic role. It is managed by the human resource department which works in sync with the recommendations from business which is looking at the organization's futuristic needs. These needs are directed by the market conditions and also by the strategic business objectives. Hence human resource planning is a dynamic role.

Objectives

The primary objective of the human resource planning is to ensure fulfilment of the organizational need in terms of human resources. The other objective is to fulfill such needs promptly and in a cost effective manner so that the organization remains competitive. Human resource planning is a continuous process and hence it ensures that all the dynamic requirements of the human resource needs are captured and proper fulfillment strategy is deployed.

Process

The process of human resource planning is as follows -

1. Assessment of current capacity. This is done through employee and leadership feedback. Organization performance also provides such feedback for assessment.

2. Assessment of requirements - This is done by considering the organization objectives and the business needs. The market conditions also dictates such requirements. This is done through the leadership vision of the organization and also by employing an external consultant.

3. Define the gap between capacity and requirements. This is usually done by mapping the requirements with organization skills and core competencies. The gap is highlighted and validated with the leadership

4. Assessing means to fulfill the gap - This is done through HR strategies when recruitment, training and development, outsourcing and realignment strategies are employed keeping the need and the costs in mind.

The human resource planning ensures to meet organisational needs in a more scientific manner. It ensures that the company is not suffering due to any adhoc requirements of business and the whole chain of human resources is streamlined and smoothened.