Human Resource Planning Meaning, Nature And Need Of HRP

Table of Content:

Meaning of Human Resource Planning
Nature of Human Resource Planning
Need of Human Resource Planning
Characteristics of Human resource planning
Objectives of Human Resource Planning
Importance of Human Resource Planning

Meaning of Human Resource Planning

Human Resource Planning Meaning: Another name for Human Resource Planning is Manpower Planning. Human Resource Planning (HRP) can be defined as a process of balancing the people’s supply including the present and prospective employees with the potential job openings in the organisation in a given period. It is the system of the organisation to ensure the availability of the right number of people, the right type of people, at the right time and the right place to attain the organisational objectives.

HRP is also known as:

1. Manpower planning,

2. Personal planning or

3. Workforce planning.

It comes under the preview of organisational planning and is a future-oriented activity. Inappropriate planning may result in the excess recruitment of the staff, a rise in expenses regarding direct costs and training costs and other amenities for employees besides the production cost. Inappropriate recruitment also results in an adverse impact on the self-esteem and the efficiency of the employee. All these factors highlight the importance of HRP in an organisation

Nature of Human Resource Planning

The nature of human resource planning is as follows :

1) Continuous Activity

It is an ongoing activity as the need for assessing the supply and demand of the manpower resources within the organisation never comes to an end.

2) Clearly Specified Objectives

HRP objectives may be guided by the strategic and operational planning of the organisation. Basically, the needs of the human resources within the organisation are based on the firm’s objectives HRP also aims at developing human resources, sharpening the technical skills of resources, assisting them in planning their career map, retaining them, etc.

3) Assessing the Staff Requirements

HRP focuses on the pre-planning of the needs regarding human resources within the organisation. All the proceedings related to the recruitment, selection and training procedure are planned in advance.

4) Maintaining Inventory of Existing Human Resources

It consists of the record of present human resources. The manager must be aware of the available manpower supply for fulfilling the higher positions in the future.

Need of Human Resource Planning

Human resource planning is needed for the following reasons:

1) Balancing Employment-Unemployment Situation

HRP tries to balance the educated unemployed skilled youth of the nation and the skill requirements in the industry.

2) Technological Upgradations

There have been continuous upgrades in the marketing methods management techniques, and systems of the production technologies in the industry. It has also demanded modifications to the job profiles. HRP must plan the manpower needs accordingly to avoid redundancy, re-training, or re-deployment problems.

3) Changes in the Organisational Environment

In the dynamic and ever-changing business environment, organisations are always subjected to variations and breaks in their system of working. Therefore, organisations must rely on HRP to strategically plan their manpower requirements.

4) Diverse Workforce

In the present scenario of the business environment, the workforce consists of people of different ages, genders, social backgrounds and cultures having different skills altogether. An effective HRP is required here for proper planning of the manpower needs of the organisations.

5) Skill Shortages

In this competitive era of business, the system of working in organisations is becoming more and more complicated on account of the special and rare skills required within the firm for accomplishing the task. Therefore, HRP has an important task of not only attracting the required potential but also ensuring retaining them in the organisation.

6) Government Interference

Various legislative measures such as provisions regarding the work conditions and working hours, restrictions on child and women employment, contract labour, casual labour, etc. and government interference in the administration of the functioning of the firm have necessitated more systemic HRP for the firms.

7) Judicial Regulations

Gone are the days when employees were treated as objects within the organisation. The various legislative measures have strengthened the positions of the employees in the organisation. Various labour laws have been implemented to ensure that the employees do not face unjustified lay-off, retrenchment, etc. HRP is responsible for forecasting the requirements after considering this fact.

8) Justified Recruitment

It is very natural for an organisation to get recommendations for recruitment from various groups like trade unions, political groups, and private sources. To avoid this type of partial recruitment, HRP must be strictly implemented in the system.

9) Systematic Concept

As with the growth of the concept of people management, there has been a need to maintain transparency in the system which can be fulfilled by maintaining a systematic and transparent record by HRP.

10) Lead Time

As new employees are being trained for the new job responsibilities and profile, sufficient time is required for the employees and for the management to assess the employee’s worth and assign tasks accordingly. HRP provides lead time for all these issues.

Characteristics of Human Resource Planning

An analysis of the above definitions reveals the following characteristics of human resource planning:

(i) HRP like all planning is forward-looking or future-oriented. It involves forecasts of the manpower needs in a future period so that adequate and timely provisions may be made to meet the needs.

(ii) Human resource planning is an ongoing or continuous process because the demand for and the supply of human resources undergo frequent changes.

(iii) HRP plays an important role in corporate planning. Without a well-defined corporate plan, the development of a comprehensive manpower plan is impossible.

(iv) The basic purpose of human resource planning is to ensure the optimal utilization of an organization’s current and future human resources.

(v) Human resource planning encompasses both quantitative and qualitative aspects. The former implies the right number of employees while the latter means the right talent required in the organisation.

(vi) Human resource planning is the primary responsibility of management to ensure the effective utilisation of the organisation’s human resources.

Some more characteristics of Human resource planning

(vii) HRP is a systematic approach to managing human resources. The information about the demand and supply of human resources constitutes the input. Comparison and evaluation of demand and supply so as to identify the gap between the two is the transformation process. The outputs of human resource planning are the strategy and programme formulated to bridge the gap.

(viii) Human resource plans can be long-term or short-term Long-range plans are prepared for a period of five years or more on the basis of trends in the economy, labour market and production. These reflect management thinking on the organisation structure, business environment and human resource policies. Short-term manpower plans cover time periods ranging from one year to less than five years. These are concerned with filling existing jobs Long-range and short-range plans work in harmony with each other.

(ix) HRP is a two-phased process involving the calculation of the demand for and supply of human resources, so as to secure an equilibrium between the two. A manpower plan consists of two sub-plans:

(a) A manpower demand plan, and
(b) A manpower supply plan.

(x) HRP involves the study of the manpower environment which influences the demand for manpower and its supply. It also involves the study of manpower utilisation.

Objectives of Human Resource Planning

The main objectives of human resource planning are given as follows:

1. It ensures the optimum use of existing human resources.

2. It involves forecasting future requirements for human resources.

3. It provides control measures to ensure the availability of essential human resources whenever they are needed.

4. It establishes a strong connection between human resource planning and organisational planning.

5. It evaluates the availability of human resources and identifies both surpluses and shortages.

6. It anticipates the impact of technology on jobs, employment and human resources.

7. To determine levels of recruitment and training.

8. To estimate the cost of human resources and housing requirements of employees.

9. To provide a basis for the implementation of effective management development programs.

10. It plays a crucial role in facilitating productivity bargaining.

11. To meet the needs of expansion and diversification programmes help takes necessary measures.

Effective manpower planning aims to align future human resources with the evolving needs of the enterprise, thereby optimizing the return on investment in human capital. By strategically forecasting and managing the workforce, organizations can maximize their future gains from human resources.

Importance of Human Resource Planning

Effective human resource planning has the following benefits:

(1) To carry on its work and to achieve its objectives, every organisation requires employees who possess sufficient knowledge, experience, and aptitude. Human resource planning is helpful in the selection and training of activities. It ensures that an adequate number of persons are selected and trained well in advance to fill future job vacancies in the organisation.

(2) HRP identifies gaps in existing manpower both in terms of talent and quantity. By recognizing these gaps, organizations can proactively address them through suitable training and other strategic measures.

(3) Provision for the replacement of personnel can be made through effective human resource planning. If there is a need to replace employees who resign, die, retire and become incapacitated due to injury.

(4) HRP plays an important role in the expansion and diversification of an organisation. In the absence of human resource plans, the required human resources will not be available to execute a smooth and efficient expansion process.

(5) HRP promotes the optimum utilization of human resources throughout the organization. By strategically aligning workforce needs with organizational goals, it effectively reduces wastage of manpower at the right time.

(6) HRP is useful for the effective use of technological progress. There is a need to retrain existing employees and recruit new talent to meet the challenge of new technology.

(7) HRP effectively manages manpower within an organization. By applying this strategic approach, organizations can proactively identify areas where there is an excess of personnel and promptly take appropriate measures, such as redeployment.

Some more importance of Human Resource Planning

(8) HRP is a valuable tool for estimating and managing the cost of human resources. The budgeting process can be facilitated through its effective use. Additionally, it plays an important role in controlling costs.

(9) HRP fosters career and succession planning within an organization. It provides ample time and opportunities for employees to progress through promotions and it ensures a smooth transition of employees to higher positions. Moreover, it also contributes to the development and succession of management personnel.

(10) The HRP process ensures that the organization effectively plans and provides necessary amenities to support the well-being and productivity of its workforce. This approach helps in planning for physical facilities, such as a canteen, staff quarters, dispensary, and school for employees and their children.

(11) At the national level, HRP plays an important role in facilitating educational reforms, promoting geographic mobility of talent and job creation.