HUMAN RESOURCE

PLANNING (HRP)
Human Resource Planning is the process of anticipating and carrying out the movement
of people into, within, and out of the organization. Human resource planning is done to
achieve the optimum of human resources and to have the correct number and types of
employees needed to meet organizational goals.

According To Geisler, “Human Resource Planning is the process that ensures;

• The right number of people
• The right kind of people
• At the right places
• At the right time, doing work for which they are economically most useful

The role of Human Resource planning determines the structure, roles and
responsibilities of personnel within a firm; whether they have the necessary skills or
training for their current or future roles; what their possible future potential to the
organization may be and professional development of personnel.

The definition of human resource does not end here. The term includes, its
management, which primarily involves issues related to the workforce. Human resource
management (HRM) is the strategic and coherent approach to the management of an
organization's most valued assets - the people working there who individually and
collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the business.

A company may have all the financial resources it may need. But what if the manpower
employed to manage the finances isn't well trained?

Human resource planning process, thus, can be considered as one of the strategic
steps for building the strong foundation of an efficient workforce in an organization!

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 IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN
RESOURCE PLANNING
Planning is a process that has to begin from somewhere and completed for a purpose.
It involves gathering information that would enable managers and supervisors to make
sound decisions. The information obtained is also utilized to make better actions for
achieving the objectives of the organization.

HR Planning involves gathering of information, making objectives, and making decisions

to enable the organization achieve its objectives.

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 deal with 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 successful. Human Resources Practitioners who

prepare the HR Planning program would assist the organization to manage its staff
strategically.

The program does not assist the Organization only, but it also facilitates the career
planning of the employees and aids them to achieve their objectives as well.

Human Resource Planning has an enormous task keeping pace with all the changes
and ensuring that the right people are available to the organization at the right time.

The changes in composition of workforce not only influence the appointment of staff, but
also the methods of selection, training, compensation and motivation.

The most important reason why Human Resource Planning should be managed and
implemented is the costs involved. Because costs forms an important part of the
Organizations budget, workforce planning enable the Organization to provide HR
provision costs. When there is staff shortage, the organization should not just appoint
discriminately, but first it has to plan and analyze situations and then follow them.

Human Resource Planning is essential for the growth, nourishment and sustenance of
an organization, except of the reasons mentioned above the planning has additional
significances:

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PLANNING IS THE KEY TO
SUCCESS
a) PLANNING FACILITATES
MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES:
• Planning begins with determination of objectives.
• It highlights the purposes for which various activities are to be undertaken.
• It makes objectives more clear and specific.
• Planning helps in focusing the attention of employees on the objectives or goals of
enterprise.
• Without planning an organization has no guidance.
• Planning compels manager to prepare a Blue-print of the courses of action to be
followed for accomplishment of objectives.
• Therefore, planning brings systematic arrangement and rationality into the
organization.

PLANNING MINIMIZES
b)

UNCERTAINTIES:
• All Business is full of uncertainties. There are various risks due to uncertainties.
• Planning helps in reducing uncertainties of future as it involves anticipation of future
events.
• Although future cannot be predicted with accuracy but planning helps management
to anticipate future and prepare for risks by necessary provisions to meet
unexpected turn of events.
• Therefore with the help of planning, uncertainties can be forecasted which helps in
preparing backup plans, as a result uncertainties are minimized to a great extent.

PLANNING FACILITATES CO-

C)

ORDINATION:
• Planning revolves around organizational goals. All activities are directed towards
common goals.
• There is an integrated effort throughout the enterprise in various departments and
groups.
• It avoids duplication of efforts. In other words, it leads to better co-ordination.
• It helps in finding out problems of work performance and aims to resolve them.

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 PLANNING IMPROVES EMPLOYEE’S
d)

MORAL:
• Planning creates an atmosphere of systematic sequences and discipline in
organization.
• Employees know in advance what is expected of them and therefore conformity can
be achieved easily.
• This encourages employees to show their best and also earn reward for the same.
• Planning creates a healthy attitude towards work environment which helps in
boosting employees moral and efficiency.

PLANNING HELPS IN ACHIEVING

e)

ECONOMIES:
• Effective planning secures economy since it leads to orderly allocation of resources
to various operations.
• It also facilitates optimum utilization of resources which brings economy in
operations.
• It also avoids wastage of resources by selecting most appropriate use that will
contribute to the objective of enterprise.

PLANNING FACILITATES
f)

CONTROLLING:
• Planning facilitates existence of certain planned goals and standard of performance.
• Planning provides pre-determined goals against which actual performance can be
compared.
• In fact, planning and controlling are the two sides of a same coin. If planning is root,
controlling is the fruit.
PLANNING PROVIDES COMPETITIVE
g)

EDGE:
• Planning provides competitive edge to the enterprise over the others which do not
have effective planning. This is because of the fact that planning may involve
changing in work methods, quality, quantity designs, extension of work, redefining of
goals, etc.
• With the help of forecasting not only the enterprise secures its future but at the same
time it is able to estimate the future motives of it’s competitor which helps in facing
future challenges.
• Therefore, planning leads to best utilization of possible resources, improves quality
of production and thus the competitive strength of the enterprise is improved.

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 PLANNING ENCOURAGES
h)

INNOVATIONS:
• In the process of planning, managers have the opportunities of suggesting ways
and means of improving performance.
• Planning is basically a decision making function which involves creative thinking
and imagination that ultimately leads to innovation of methods and operations for
growth and prosperity of the enterprise.

HRP PROCESS
The term human resource implies human capital that operates an organization. The
word planning suggests a course of action. And lastly, process is the method of
operations.

Thus, the human resource planning process is defined as, a course of actions that the
human capital takes up for a methodical achievement of predetermined goals.

1) WORKFORCE ANALYSIS:
The first step involves establishing a clear understanding of the organization’s direction
and external environment, and analyzing the internal and external factors that influence
labor supply and demand.

Human resource managers should understand both internal and external environments.
Data on external environment include the general status of the economy, industry,
technology and competition; labor market regulations and trends; unemployment rate;
skills available and the age and sex distribution of the labor force. Internal data includes
short- and long-term organizational plans and strategies.

2) FORECASTING HUMAN RESOURCE

DEMAND
The second step involves identifying changes to the service delivery and labor force
requirements of the organization.

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The aim of forecasting is to determine the number and type of employees needed in the
future. Forecasting should consider the past and the present requirements as well as
the future organizational directions.

HR Planning requires the collection of data on the organizational goals and objectives.
One should understand where the Organization wants to go and how it wants to get to
that point.

3) ANALYZING SUPPLY
After knowing what human resources are required in the Organization, the next step is
to take stock of the employees in the organization from internal or external means.
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.

4) DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT

STRATEGIES
The final step in human resource planning is developing action plans based on the
gathered data, analysis and available alternatives. It involves the planning and design of
specific programs and projects to meet future business needs. The key issue is that the
plans should be acceptable to both top management and employees.

There are three fundamentals necessary for this first step (Strategy
Development):

• Know where the organization is going.

• There must be acceptance and backing from top management for the planning.
• There must be knowledge of the available resources (i.e) financial, physical and
human (Management and technical).

Once the strategies are developed these strategies are implemented, which involves
the execution of specific programs and projects to develop and maintain the workforce
capability and capacity requirements.

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.

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5) MONITOR AND EVALUATE:
The final step of Human resource Planning involves determining the effectiveness
and efficiency of the workforce planning strategies that were implemented.

JOB DESIGN
Job design is a conscious effort to organize task, duties and responsibilities into a unit
of work to achieve a certain objective. A job design is creating jobs.

Job design can be defined as the arrangement of tasks over a work shift with the goal of
achieving technological and organizational requirements as well as reducing sources of
fatigue and human error.

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 JOB ANALYSIS
Job analysis is the systematic method of jobs to identify work activities, tasks, and
responsibilities, plus the working conditions to perform the job.
Job Analysis refers to various methodologies for analyzing the requirements of a job.

PROCESS OF JOB ANALYSIS

IDENTIFY PURPOSE OF JOB
STEP#1:
ANALYSIS
The first step is to identify the purpose of job analysis because the purpose will later on
define what job analysis methods should be used what data is to be collected and how
the data should be analyzed etc.

STEP#2 : SELECTING THE ANALYSTS

Choosing the correct analyst is vital because the analyst is the one who can influence
the job analysis easily. The analyst can be chosen from professional human resource,
line mangers, incumbents or consultants.

In choosing the analyst an organization can invite external analysts’ team or the internal
sources can also be utilized.

SELECTING THE APPROPRIATE

STEP#3:
METHOD
To select the best method followings are considered:
• Representative positions are selected to be analyzing because there may be too
many similar jobs to analyze, and it may not be necessary to analyze them all.
• Review background information such as organization charts, process charts, and job
descriptions of positions selected.

Then methods of job analysis are identified. There are many methods in job analysis,
advantages and disadvantages of each method are considered in order to choose a
suitable one.

Following are the methods used to collect job analysis information:

OBSERVATION METHOD

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Direct Observation is a method of job analysis to observe and record behavior / events /
activities / tasks / duties while something is happening.
Direct observation is useful when job consists of observable physical activities (Clerk).
On the other hand observation is not appropriate when the entails a lot of mental activity
(lawyer). Nor it is useful if the employees occasionally engage in important activities
(Nurse).

INTERVIEW METHOD
Interview method is a useful tool of job analysis to ask questions, three types of
interviews can be used to collect information; individual interview with each employee,
group interview with groups of employees who have the same job, and supervisor
interviews who knows the job.

COMPETENCY PROFILING
Competency modeling is the activity of determining the specific competencies that are
characteristic of high performance and success in a given job. Contents of competency
modeling include skills, knowledge, abilities, values, interests, personalities.

QUESTIONNAIRE METHOD
Having employees fill out questionnaire to describe their job-related duties and
responsibilities is another good way to obtain job analysis method.

EXAMINING MANUALS/REFERENCE
MATERIALS
Manuals/reference materials such as quality manual, human resource manual,
procedures, instruction, forms, and job description are useful for analyst in job analysis.

DIARY/LOGS METHOD
This method is a useful tool of job analysis to ask worker maintaining and keeping daily
records or list of activities they are doing on every day basis.

CHECKLISTS AND RATING SCALES

Checklist is job analysis method base on an inventory of job elements. You can ask
question about purpose of position; key responsibility areas; organization; relationships;
decision making; authority; Skills, knowledge, experience, working conditions.

TECHNICAL CONFERENCE
Technical conference is a useful tool of job analysis base on Subject Matter Experts
(SMEs). SMEs conduct brainstorming sessions to identify job elements. SMEs can use
all job analysis methods in here.

COMBINATION OF METHODS

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In process of job analysis, analyst can use and associate all methods to collecting job
information. For example, when you use direct observation, then you always do
interview method.

STEP#4: TRAIN THE ANALYSTS

If internal analysts are chosen, then they are taught that how to use the selected
methods. And in case of external analysts, they need to learn about the organizational
culture and environment.

STEP#5: PREPARATION OF JOB ANALYSIS

Before the job analysis is initiated various preparations are made:
• To communicate the project in the organization. So that the employees are well
informed that why are they begin questioned or evaluated.
• Preparing the documentation for analyzing the jobs, for example: making interview
questions, drawing questionnaires etc

STEP#6: COLLECTING DATA

Once the preparations are made then the analysts starts to collect the data:
• Analyst collects data on job activities, employee behaviors, working conditions, human
traits and abilities needed to perform the job etc.
• Analyst uses one or more of the job analysis methods to collect the data.

STEP#7 : REVIEW AND VERIFY

After the data is collected the results are consolidated.
The entire data that is gathered must be reviewed. This helps the analysts to confirm
that the information is factually reliable, correct and complete.

The information can be reviewed by:

• Reviewing data with incumbents by interview.
• Reviewing data with immediate supervisor.
• Reviewing data by technical conference.

DEVELOP A JOB DESCRIPTION AND

STEP#8:
JOB SPECIFICATION
After reviewing the data results are implemented into the company procedures
according to the goal-setting.

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On the basis of the job analysis information job descriptions and job specifications are
developed.

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 JOB DESCRIPTION (JD)
A job description is a list of the general tasks, or functions, and responsibilities of a
position/designation.

A job description is a written statement that describes the activities and responsibilities
of the job, working conditions and safety and hazards

IMPORTANCE OF JOB DESCRIPTION

Job descriptions are essential because job descriptions are required for recruitment so
that the employer and the applicants can understand the roles and responsibilities. Job
descriptions are necessary for all designations. A job description defines a person's role
and accountability. Without a job description it is not possible for a person to properly
commit to, or be held accountable for a role.

Job descriptions improve an organization’s ability to manage people and roles in the
following ways:
• Clarifies employer expectations for employee
• Provides basis of measuring job performance
• Provides clear description of role for job candidates
• Provides a structure and discipline for company to understand and structure all jobs
and ensure necessary activities, duties and responsibilities are covered by one job
or another
• Provides continuity of role parameters irrespective of manager interpretation
• Enables pay and grading systems to be structured fairly and logically
• Essential reference tool in issues of employee/employer dispute
• Essential reference tool for discipline issues
• Provides important reference points for training and development areas
• Provides neutral and objective reference points for appraisals, performance reviews
and counseling
• Enables formulation of skill set and behavior set requirements per role
• Enables organization to structure and manage roles in a uniform way, thus
increasing efficiency and effectiveness of recruitment, training and development,
organizational structure, work flow and activities, customer service, etc.
(The list is not exhaustive.)

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 POSSIBLE JOB DESCRIPTION ITEMS
The objective of a job description is to have a clear outline of duties and responsibilities
to make the screening process as direct and focused as possible.

Job descriptions may have the following elements:

1) JOB TITLE:
A specific designation of a post within an organization normally associated with a job
description that details the tasks and responsibilities that go with it. With the rise of
online job search engines, job titles became increasingly important.

2) BASED AT (BUSINESS UNIT, SECTION):

Describes where the designation is available

3) REPORTS TO:
Position reports to (Line Manager title, location, and Functional Manager, location if
matrix management structure)

4) JOB RESPONSIBILITIES/DUTIES AND

ACCOUNTABILITIES
Is also referred as Tasks Performed; may be as lengthy as necessary to fully describe
each essential duty or responsibility which comprises the employee's functions,
generally starting with principal duties.

This includes supervisory level, managerial requirements, and any working relationships
and may also include your corporate/individual objectives.
Dimensions/Territory/Scope/Scale indicators (the areas to which responsibilities extend
and the scale of responsibilities - staff, customers, territory, products, equipment,
premises, etc)

5) SALARY AND BENEFITS

This describes the compensation type, hourly or salary, and amount. In addition it
includes both standard benefits and any fringe benefits associated with the position.

6) PERFORM OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED

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 JOB SPECIFICATIONS (JS)
A job specification summarizes the personal qualities, traits, skills, and background
required for getting the job done.

Derived from job analysis, it is a statement of employee characteristics and

qualifications required for satisfactory performance of defined duties and tasks
comprising a specific job or function.

Job specification summarizes the human characteristics needed for satisfactory job
completion. It tries to describe the key qualifications someone needs to perform the job
successfully. It spells out the important attributes of a person in terms of education,
experience, skills, knowledge and abilities to perform a particular job.

The job specification is a logical outgrowth of a job description.

For each job description, it is desirable to have a job specification. This helps the
organization to find what kinds of persons are needed to take up specific jobs.

The personal attributes that are described through a job specification may be classified
into three categories:

• Essential attributes: skills, knowledge and abilities a person must possess.

• Desirable attributes: qualifications a person ought to posses.
• Contra-indicators: attributes that will become a handicap to successful job
performance.

A job specification can be developed by:

a) Talking with the current jobholders about the attributes required to do the job
satisfactorily.
b) Opinions of supervisors could also be used as additional inputs.
c) Checking the job needs of other organizations with similar jobs will also help in
developing job specifications.

IMPORTANCE OF JOB SPECIFICATIONS

Job specification is useful in the selection process because it offers a clear set of
qualifications for an individual to be hired for a specific job. Likewise, a well-written job
specification offers a clear picture to new recruits of what they will be doing in the
organization.

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 POSSIBLE JOB SPECIFICATION ITEMS

• Education
• Experience
• Skill, Knowledge, Abilities
• Professional training/Courses
• Age

USES OF JOB ANALYSIS

INFORMATION
The main purpose of
conducting job analysis is
to prepare job description
and job specification which
in turn helps to hire the
right quality of workforce
into the organization. The
general purpose of job
analysis is to document
the requirements of a job
and the work performed.
Job and task analysis is
performed as a basis for
later improvements,
including: definition of a job domain; describing a job; developing performance
appraisals, selection systems, promotion criteria, training needs assessment, and
compensation plans.

INTERNAL & EXTERNAL

LABOR
Once the jobs are analyzed by the analyst and when the job description (JD) and job
specification (JS) are developed, then the other part of the Human Resource Planning
initiates that is recruitment & selection, which decides whether the organization needs

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internal employees or external whether the organization is capable of recruiting external
employees etc.

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