Process of Human Resource Planning

Executive Summary

Human Resource Planning is the process of determining future employee needs and deciding steps or strategies to achieve those needs for the purpose of accomplishing organizational goals and objectives. It is a Human Resource Management function that focuses on providing the organization with an adequate manpower. Main objective of Human Resource Planning is to ensure that the business having the right people at the right place at the right time doing the right work. Human Resource Planning enable the management of the company to determine future employee needs, to utilize human resource more efficiently and effectively, to control employment cost, to develop high talent employees and to formulate and successfully implement strategies. HRP or the work-force planning is a one of the most impactful aspects of the today’s business.

Human Resource Planning is an on-going process rather than a process limited to one stand-pint and then implemented. It in the broadest sense included both the strategic and operational human resources of the organization. It is a strategically driven HRM function that leads the company to acquire competitive advantages. Human resource gain competitive advantages by gaining cost economics, by operating productively, efficiently and effectively and by changing operations and acquiring new enterprises.

This report begins with discussing the matter of Human Resource Planning applying to a selected organisation. It will be discussed the considerations regarding the employment and the employees such as the legal and organizational framework, organizational environment, grievance, discipline and dismissal processes.

Question O1: Understand how the HR plan supports the strategic objectives

1.1 Assessing the strategic importance of current, future and anticipated HR requirements

The human resource is the most important resource a business has. Very often whether the corporate sets the future plans for other functions and for the other resources it is neglected to predict the future of the work-force. Further sometimes the enterprise identifies the importance of the quantitative factor of the resource but ignore the qualitative factors. Sometimes the organizations are very critical with human resource factor and the development of skills and new talents are very significant for such companies. If the manager of these companies fail to identify what skills the company needs, how much of them need, and fail to secure the appropriate supply then the capacity of the organization to fulfill the business requirements will be rare. Therefore it is crucial to every business to have a HR plan to meet and future workforce requirements in the both ways of quantity and quality.

When planning the human resource several aspects are to be looked at and several questions have to be answered. These aspects and the questions themselves emphasize the strategic importance of HRP.

The first one is determining the number of employees to be employed at a new place. The organization may have engaged too many staff so that there exists a surplus or underutilized workforce. If the number of employees is less that actual requirement then the organization will fail to meet the production requirements and there by fail to meet the market demand. Accordingly, it is very clear that the company will fail in front of the competition of the market. The questions that would have to be answered are,

How can the output be improved? Understand the interrelation between productivity, technological changes and the existing workforce.

• What are the techniques can be used to set the work force requirements?
• Have more flexible work organization been considered?
• How to acquire the necessary staff?

The second is how to retain your highly skilled staff. This is very important in the competitive environment. The skilled employees who contribute with distinct talents may leave the company on the grounds that the current company does not pay them satisfactorily when it so clear that such payment is very fair. Company may lose the capacity to meet the goals and will fail with the rival companies with lower human talents. Further to the losses arising from the competitive markets the company will have to incur higher costs of payments for the employees who left the company, and the costs of recruitment, induction and training of novel staff. Hence the questions will have to be answered are,

• How to monitor the extent of resignations?
• What are the reasons for turnover?
• What are the costs for the organization?
• How the turnovers of the company vary with the other companies of the industry?
• The third one would be how to manage a downsizing program effectively? This is critical. Managers have to cut off some of his staff painlessly while protecting long-term interests. HRP will help managers by considering;
• What sort of workforce envisage at the end of the exercise?
• How the nature and extent of wastage will change?
• Whether the use of retraining, redeployment and transfers would work out?
• What are appropriate recruitment levels?
• The fourth aspect we have to consider is from where you find the necessary skills and number of employees? If you do not have a clear idea you will face short-term skills and manpower shortage. The questions would have to be addressed are;
• Whether current career system of the organization supports the future requirements?
• What are the characteristics of those who currently occupy senior positions?
• What is the organizations future supply of talents?

Then the answers to these questions can be compared with the future requirements in the number and the type. Internal structural changes and the external business environmental changes will affect the sources of future supply of skills and persons.

Moreover it is important to note that the inconsistencies between culture and the strategies will severely damage the company sustainability. The organization must build up a pool of work-force who is match with the organizations culture. Hence it is important to plan the number, skills and sources from where you acquire future needs of human resource to recruit right people.

HRP is highly interdependent with all aspects of the business. It is affected by the all other sections’ strategies and future directions. Therefore the scope and objectives of the HRP must be thoroughly understood to acquire sustainable competitive advantages. Any HR strategy must be coping with the corporate and business level strategies. HRP must be done in the company’s strategic planning process so that a definition for expansion of the future needs will be strategically developed.

1.2 Analyse how HR planning impacts on the strategic plan

The HR planning is develop to identification and ensure the staffs, particular job related skills and talents, training and development, retention of staff, recruitments, selection processes and etc. The strategic plan give the future needs and trend of the staff to the particular departments, required talents, recruitments, training and development needs of staff.

Therefore the practice of HR functions which depends on HR planning and developments depends on the strategic plan which established by the top management of the organization. HR planning uses the inputs as information from the strategic plans. So HR planning influences the existence of mission and goals of the organizational strategic planning process. The organizational quality and level of standard about goods and services is depending on the quality work of staff of the organization. Therefore the standard of strategic decisions will reflect through the profitability and growth of the HR planning taken by the organization.

Question O2: Understand the legal and organizational frameworks for the employment of staff

2.1 Evaluate the current legal requirements influencing a HR plan

The government regulations, tax purposes, employee rules and regulations, social security purposes will influence the HR planning of the organization.

The economic conditions like economic booms and recessions of the country will make different legal and ethical conditions in the country. Therefore the legal requirements of the organizational framework will influence the recruitment and selection of new employees.

Therefore the unemployment rates, interest rates and etc will make legal requirements for the organizational HR conditions. These will affect to the HR planning for training and development of staff of the organization.

2.2 Describe a process for recruitment and selection of new staff (external candidates) that complies with current legislation and organization requirements

The recruitment of the staff depends on the needs and requirements of the position of the organization. The recruited people must be able to perform current and the intended requirements of the organization. Through the advertising and recruiting agencies the recruitment information can be publish. For some jobs cannot be done by the women’s. In that positions should be restrict to the men’s, so the recruitment must be done according to these legislations. In the legislation the women’s have time constraints of working time and hours.

The selection process carried out through the people who have recruited to the organization through different resources. The interviews, CV screening, identifying skills and talents will help for better selection of new staff to the organization. The discriminations cannot be done on race, color, nationality and region when the selection process. The men and women must be paid in same amount for the same work force and etc in the organization.

Question O3: Understand the effect of the organizational environment on staff

3.1 Discuss how organizational culture affects recruitment and retention of staff

The recruitment process will reflect the organizational culture and the staff is fit for that culture then the staffs will exist more time in the organization. The organizational culture affected to the job analysis, job description, recruitment, selections and etc. The organizational limitations are can be also affect to the organizational culture.

The employee retention will benefit to the organization as well as to the employee. Therefore the employee should have better understanding about the organization and will be able to adapt to that environment easily. Employee retention is key element to the organizational existence. On the other hand high labour turnover is a cost, leads to more turnover, loss of organizational knowledge, harm to the image and the goodwill of the organization, inefficiencies of the work in the organization.

3.2 Assess work life balance issues and the changing patterns of work practices

The employee stress on the work force of the organisation highly affected to the life. The lot of overtime is done by some of the employees will lead to some absentee sums on staff sickness. So such problems will affect to the work life and home life problems and issues. To eliminate these problems the government have establish employee rules and regulations.

The changing patterns of the work practice are very hard to capture by some employees of the organisation. Therefore the change agents must be able to identify the situation and the positions of the organisational workforce and change according to the clear concepts and conditions. The changes must be discussed with the employees before. The organisation should be considerable to provide the quality and slandered service to the customers. There are seasonal fluctuations of customers in the different time period of the year. Therefore the changing patterns of the work practice will need in such situations.

Question O4: Understand the grievance, discipline and dismissal process

4.1 Identify the process to be followed in a grievance situation

The grievance situation occurs when an employee has a problem with the employer. In such a situation the three steps are taken place, the written statement, a meeting and an appeal meeting.

The written statement must be accepted by the employee the person who has the problem. Then it will pass to the human resource manager to his consideration. In the disciplinary meeting the particular employee or a work representative will participate. In this meeting discussed about the actions happened and in details about the problem and come to the agreement about the facts of the problem. And come up to a situation to an arrival of solution. If the employee is not satisfied about the problem then the employee can appeal the problem. This meeting is also same as the above meeting but the employee will represent the disagreement to the solution of the organization.

4.2 Describe the stages of a discipline issue that results in dismissal

The absentee sums, poor work performance, neglecting of duty, threats, frauds, offensive behavior, harassments, inappropriate behavior, misconduct, repeat minor behavior and etc. are the main discipline issues. The written document about the unacceptable discipline and discussed about in the meeting by the representation of the particular employee or a work representative. Then after the meeting or before the deadlines the employee is allowed to appeal. If it is not agreed then the employee can appeal in the employee tribunal about the disciplinary action. Some times the disciplinary issues results in a dismissals.

The lots of the dismissals are not fair. The unaware of the rules and regulations of the organization, didn’t give much chance for the employee to tell about his own side about the issues, does not give equal chance to each employee and etc. are lead to dismissals in so many cases.

4.3 Explain the role of ACAS, Employment Tribunals and other external agencies that could be involved in grievance, discipline and dismissal processes

The ACAS is involving in grievance, discipline and dismissal processes. In the ACAS code of practice the disciplinary procedure must be in written statement, provides the actions to be taken place and resolving, ACAS tells the responsible authority to take actions about the discipline, explain the employees about the basic rules and regulations of the organization, explain the organization to, the employees must not be dismissed to the first breach of discipline and given rights to the employee to explain the situations and ides about the discipline.