HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

1
HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

• The achievement of corporate objectives through
  the development of strategies designed to enhance
  the contribution of people at all times in the
  foreseeable future.
• More simply
• Employ the right number of people with the right
  skills and ability at the right time.
• Monitor how people are used now and will be used
  in the future and to improve their utilisation.
• Improve peoples performance by training,
  development and by providing satisfying work.
• HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNERS LOOK AT 4 THINGS
• Internal Factors
• The Internal Labour Market
• The External Labour Market
• Other External Factors

2

• INTERNAL FACTORS
• Human Resource planning starts with the
  organisations corporate objectives The number
  of people and the types of skill it will need in
  the future depend, amongst other things, upon
• The companys plans for capital expenditure
• Any new technology it intends to use
• The new products or services it intends to
  introduce
• The new markets it intends to enter
• Any acquisitions it intends to make
• The state of the economy and its likely effects
  on the business.
• HR planners will use this information to
  estimate the number and types of people that will
  be required to carry them out.
• THE INTERNAL LABOUR MARKET
• HR planners will analyse their existing
  workforce. The business will want to get the best
  out of its existing people before it considers
  employing others.
• What skills have we got?
• How many of each do we have?
• What levels of performance are we getting?
• Can people transfer their skills to other jobs?
• Are Trade Unions concerned about this?
• Promotion Prospects?
• Age Distribution of the Staff
• Sex Balance / Ethnic balance

3

• THE EXTERNAL LABOUR MARKET
• HR planners will look at
• The availability of young people leaving
  education with relevant training
• The competition for staff
• Unemployment level
• Wage rates
• The state of the Economy
• The influence of Trade Unions
• The State of Technology
• Availability of training / retraining schemes.
• OTHER EXTERNAL FACTORS
• HR planers also need to think about
• Availability and Quality of Housing
• Transport Services
• Schools
• Recreational Facilities
• Social and Cultural Opportunities
• The above have become increasingly important in
  recent years when firms have tried to attract key
  personnel.

4
HRM and competitive advantage

• The case for HRM
• It will make the workers and thus the
  organisation more competitive (illustrated by the
  performance of many Japanese companies).
• It treats everyone as an individual (rather than
  treating all workers as homogenous) thus each
  individual is nurtured and developed in pursuit
  of the organisations objectives.
• If successful, workers are motivated, committed
  and do not wish to leave. They are also aware of
  their role in fulfilling company objectives.
• Therefore the business will
• Incur lower recruitment costs
• Higher productivity
• Reduction in faulty products
• Attract better worker (all these factors should
  improve domestic and international
  competitiveness.
• The case against HRM
• It can cause industrial relations problems due to
  the fact Trade Union recognition is a problem
  under HRM. This can be damaging to a businesss
  competitive performance.
• The firms culture and management style may not be
  conducive to HR policies.
• HRM may involve additional costs in the
  short-term.