CHAPTER III

HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

Human Resource Planning is concerned with the planning the future manpower requirements
of the organisation. HR manager ensures that the company has the right type of people in the
right number at the right time and place, who are trained and motivated to do the right kind of
work at the right time. Obviously, human resource planning primarily makes appropriate
projections for future manpower needs of the organisation envisages plan for developing the
manpower to suit the changing needs of the organisation from time to time, and foresees how
to monitor and evaluate the future performance. It also includes the replacement plans and
managerial succession plans.

Human Resource planning is the process by which a management determines how an

organisation should move from its current manpower position to its desired manpower
position. Through planning a management strives to have the right number and the right
kinds of people at the right places, at the right time, to do things which result in both the
organisation and the individual receiving the maximum long-range benefit.

Definitions of Human Resource Planning :

1. Coleman has defined Human Resource Planning as ―the process of determining

manpower requirements and the means for meeting those requirements in order to carry out
the integrated plan of the organisation.

2. According to Wikstrom, Human Resource Planning consists of a series of activities, viz.,

(a) Forecasting future manpower requirements, either in terms of mathematical projections of

trends in the economic environment and developments in industry, or in terms of judgemental
estimates based upon the specific future plans of a company;

(b) Making an inventory of present manpower resources and assessing the extent to which
these resources are employed optimally;

(c) Anticipating manpower problems by projecting present resources into the future and
comparing them with the forecast of requirements to determine their adequacy, both
quantitatively and qualitatively; and
(d) Planning the necessary programmes of requirements, selection, training, development,
utilisation, transfer, promotion, motivation and compensation to ensure that future manpower
requirements are properly met.

Coleman has defined Human Resource Planning as ―the process of determining manpower
requirements and the means for meeting those requirements in order to carry out the
integrated plan of the organisation.

Human resource planning is a double-edged weapon. If used properly, it leads to the

maximum utilisation of human resources, reduces excessive labour turnover and high
absenteeism; improves productivity and aids in achieving the objectives of an organisation.
Faultily used, it leads to disruption in the flow of work, lower production, less job
satisfaction, high cost of production and constant headaches for the management personnel.
Therefore, for the success of an enterprise, human resource planning is a very important
function, which can be neglected only at its own peril.

NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

HRP is the subsystem in the total organizational planning. Organizational planning includes
managerial activities that set the company’s objective for the future and determines the
appropriate means for achieving those objectives. The importance of HRP is elaborated on
the basis of the key roles that it is playing in the organization.

Pool of Talent: Human Resource Planning ensures every organization to have a pool of
talent so that organization can utilize this talent as and when it is required for the attainment
of the organizational objectives.

Prepare people for future: We all know that every business is run in unstable conditions. It
is not necessary that people who are useful today, they are going to be useful for tomorrow.
Until and unless, people in the organization develop their skills basing on the requirements of
the future, they may not be handy for future challenges. One way or other HRP makes every
organization to get ready with the quality workers to meet the demands of the organization.

Expand or Contract: As we discussed earlier, future is so unpredictable, and if organization

wants go for expansion of the business, it requires more human resource and it might not be
possible to find in the market all of a sudden. However, HRP makes organization ready with
future demand of human resource to fulfill the requirements of the organization.
Reduces Costs: Human Resource Planning always allows every department and section of
the organization to have its own HR budget. This in turn helps in controlling manpower costs
by avoiding shortages/ excesses in manpower supply. The physical facilities such as canteen,
quarters, school, medical help etc., can also be planned in advance.

Coping With Change: Change is the law of Nature. HRP enables an enterprise to cope with
changes in competitive forces, markets, technology, products and government regulations.
Such changes generate changes in job content, skill demands etc., Shortage of people may be
induced in some areas while surplus in other areas may occur.

Increasing Investments in Human Resources: Another compelling reason for HRP is the
investment an organization makes in it’s human resources. Human assets, as opposed to
physical assets, can increase in value. An employee who gradually develops his/her skills and
abilities becomes a more valuable resource. Since any organization invests in its personnel
either through direct training or job assignments, it is important that employees are used
effectively throughout their careers.

Objectives of HR Planning:

The major objectives of Human Resource Planning in an organisation are to :

(i) ensure optimum use of human resources currently employed;

(ii) avoid balances in the distribution and allocation of human resources;
(iii) assess or forecast future skill requirements of the organisation‘s overall objectives;
(iv) provide control measure to ensure availability of necessary resources when
required;
(v) control the cost aspect of human resources;
(vi) formulate transfer and promotion policies.

STEPS IN HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING:

Human resource planning refers to a process by which companies ensure that they have the
right number and kinds of people at the right place, at the right time; capable of performing
different jobs efficiently. Planning the use of human resources is an important function in
every organisation. A rational estimate to various categories of personnel in the organisation
is an important aspect of human resource planning. HRP involves the following steps :
1. Analysis of Organisational Plans and Objectives : Human resource planning is a part of
overall plan of organisation. Plans concerning technology, production, marketing, finance,
expansion and diversification give an idea about the volume of future work activity. Each
plan can further be analysed into sub-plans and detailed programmes. It is also necessary to
decide the time horizon for which human resource plans are to be prepared. The future
organisation structure and job design should be made clear and changes in the organisation
structure should be examined so as to anticipate its manpower requirements.

2. Forecasting Demand for Human Resources: Human resource planning starts with the
estimation of the number and type of personnel required at different levels and in different
departments. The main steps involved in HRP process are (a) to determine and to identify
present and prospective needs of human resource, (b) to discover and recruit the required
number of persons. (c) to select the right number and type from the available people. (d) to
hire and place in the positions for which they are qualified, (e) to provide information to the
selected people about the nature of work assigned to them, (f) to Promote or to transfer as per
the needs and the performance of employees, (g) to denote if the employees are disinterested
or their performance is not upto the mark, (h) to terminate if they are not needed or their
performance is below standard and shows no hopes of improvement. It is the most crucial and
critical area of HRD. These HRD manager must pay attention to place right man to the right
job through recruitment selection Training and Placement of employees. This calls for the
adoption of a systematic procedure to complete recruitment and selection.

3. Forecasting Supply of Human Resources: One of the important areas of human

resources planning is to deal with allocation of persons to different departments depending
upon the work-load and requirements of the departments. While allocating manpower to
different departments, care has to be taken to consider appointments based on promotions and
transfers. Allocation of human resource should be so planned that available manpower is put
to full use to ensure smooth functioning of all departments.

4. Estimating Manpower Gaps: Net human resource requirements or manpower gaps can
be identified by comparing demand and supply forecasts. Such comparison will reveal either
deficit or surplus of human resources in future. Deficits suggest the number of persons to be
recruited from outside whereas surplus implies redundant to be redeployed or terminated.
Similarly, gaps may occur in terms of knowledge, skills and aptitudes. Employees deficient in
qualifications can be trained whereas employees with higher skills may be given more
enriched jobs.

5. Matching Demand and Supply: It is one of the objectives of human resource planning to
assess the demand for and supply of human resources and match both to know shortages and
surpluses on both the side in kind and in number. This will enable the human resource
department to know overstaffing or understaffing. Once the manpower gaps are identified,
plans are prepared to bridge these gaps. Plans to meet the surplus manpower may be
redeployment in other departments and retrenchment in consultation, with the trade unions.
People may be persuaded to quit through voluntarily retirement. Deficit can be met through
recruitment, selection, transfer, promotion, and training plans. Realistic plans for the
procurement and development of manpower should be made after considering the macro and
micro environment which affect the manpower objectives of the organisation.

TYPES OF HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

In most developing countries the development of human resources has been regarded as one
amongst many objectives of long-term economic growth. As a result even the objectives of
economic planning and the priorities thereof began to be shifted away from purely growth-
oriented development strategies to those that recognise and partly remedy the past neglect of
such social sectors like population planning, health, education, housing, social security and
other social services. The following have been the prime concerns of governments in
developing countries.

(i) How to cope with the phenomenal explosion in population ? (ii) How to provide
productive employment to the already unemployed and to those who are entering the labour
market ? (iii) What supplementary programmes to initiate for specific target groups
(rural/urban poor, socially disadvantaged groups like the scheduled castes/tribes, backward
classes, minorities, women, children, physically handicapped, etc.) for employment creation,
income generation and poverty alleviation ? (iv) What pro-active measures to take up to
meet the skill shortages so that there is no problem in realising plan targets due to shortage in
critical skills at various levels and in various trades/disciplines ? (v) How to upgrade
technical, administrative and managerial skills in different sectors of the economy to sustain
and improve productivity and further the pace of economic development ? (vi) How to cope
with the growing imbalances in the supply and demand side of human resources in an
uncertain and turbulent environment within and outside the country in an increasingly
interdependent world ?

The broad framework for Human Resource Planning at macro level would encompass all
these and other concerns, dealing with both the supply and the demand side of the problems.
It should cover not only quantitative aspects, but also qualitative factors. The objectives of
Human Resource Planning in India, as in most other developing countries at the macro level,
should thus encompass all aspects of human resource development, from population planning
on the one hand to investments in health, education, housing and other social welfare services
on the other.

The objectives of Human Resource Planning at the micro level are to ensure that the
organisation :

(i) obtains and retains the quantity and quality of human resources it needs at the right time
and place; and (ii) makes optimum utilisation of these resources.

Corporate Planning and Human Resource Planning Process Human Resource Planning
constitutes an integral part of corporate plan and serves the organisational purposes in more
ways than one. For example, it helps organisations to (i) capitalise on the strengths of their
manpower; (ii) determine recruitment levels; (iii) anticipate redundancies; (iv) determine
optimum training levels; (v) serve as a basis for management development programmes; (vi)
cost manpower for new projects; (vii) assist productivity bargaining; (viii) assess future
requirements; (ix) study the cost of overheads and value of service functions; and (x) decide
whether certain activities need to be subcontracted.

The Human Resource plan is a part of the corporate plan. Without it there can be no Human
Resource Plan for human resources. If there are several imponderables and unpredictable in
the corporate plan, there will be difficulties in Human Resource Planning. Whether or not the
Human Resource Planning meets the requirements and is in tune with reality depends on
clarity of goals and the validity of the stated assumptions. The other important point is the
time frame in defining the future. In Human Resource Planning the future can be classified
into three periods :

(i) the short-range or immediate future; (ii) the mid-range; and (iii) the long-range future,
none of which can be spelt out in terms of a set number of days, months or years. The
immediate future may refer to current situation and experiences and may even concern issues
such as overtime and replacements. If there has been previous planning for human resource,
such plans can serve as a guide in the immediate future. If not, a beginning should be made at
once.

The mid-range future has a different time span in various companies. It can be as short as a
few months or as long as several years. Most would agree upon 2-3 years‘ period as a
midrange. The long-range plan could be five years, while 10 to 15 years span could be used
for a perspective plan. Long-range plans must be made on the basis of various trends in the
economy and in the labour market, and on long-term trends of production in the company.
Long-range plans are general rather than a specific, flexible rather than rigid.

Nevertheless, a plan can be extremely useful in identifying factors and trends that need to be
reckoned with for early warning on possible problems. The long lead time provides the
opportunity and resilience to meet exigencies and make necessary adjustments. More
complete plans can be had as time slowly brings the long-range into short-range.

The following are the problems generally HR Managers face while formulating the
HRP:

1) Wrong notion on HRP: People argue that there are people when needed. Offer attractive
packages of benefits to them to quit when you find them in surplus. When task is so simple,
why elaborate and time-consuming planning for HR? Thus goes the argument. Surprisingly
this perception about HRP is also held by the top management.

2) HR Managers are experts in HR Area: HR practitioners are perceived as experts in

handling personnel matters, but are not experts in managing business.

3) Financial forecasting dominance in strategy formulation: HR information often is

incompatible with other information used in strategy formulation. Financial forecasting takes
precedence over HRP.

4) Conflicts may exist between short-term and long-term HR needs:. For example,
conflict arises between the pressure to get work done on time and on long-term needs such as
preparing people for assuming greater responsibilities..

5) Non-cooperation from operating Managers: Non-involvement of operating managers

renders HRP ineffective. HRP is not strictly HR department function. Successful planning
needs a co-ordinated effort on the part of operating managers and HR personnel.
JOB ANALYSIS

Job Analysis is a procedure, by which pertinent information is obtained about a job, i.e., it is
a detailed and systematic study of information relating to the operation and responsibilities of
a specific job. According to Michael L. Jucius, “Job analysis refers to the process of studying
the operations, duties and organizational aspects of jobs in order to derive specifications or as
they called by some, job descriptions.” An authority has defined job analysis as ―the
process of determining, by observation and study, and reporting pertinent information
relating to the nature of a specific job... ―It is the determination of the tasks which comprise
the job and of the skills, knowledge, abilities and responsibilities required of the worker for a
successful performance and which differentiate one job from all others.

Information provided by Job Analysis:

Job analysis provides the following information:

1. Job Identification: Its title, including its code number;

2. Significant Characteristics of a Job: It location, physical setting, supervision, union

jurisdiction, hazards and discomforts;

3. What the Typical Worker Does : Specific operation and tasks that make up an assignment,
their relative timing and importance, their simplicity, routine or complexity, the responsibility
or safety of others for property, funds, confidence and trust;

4. Which Materials and Equipment a Worker Uses: Metals, plastics, grains, yarns, milling
machines, punch presses and micro meters;

5. How a Job is Performed: Nature of operation - lifting, handling, cleaning, washing,

feeding, removing, drilling, driving, setting-up and many others;

6. Required Personal Attributes : Experience, training, apprenticeship, physical strength, co-

ordination or dexterity, physical demands, mental capabilities, aptitudes, social skills;

7. Job Relationship: Experience required, opportunities for advancement, patterns of

promotions, essential co-operation, direction, or leadership from and for a job.
Methods of Job Analysis Four methods or approaches are utilised in analysing jobs. These
are :

1. Personal Observation: The materials and equipment used, the working conditions and
probable hazards, and an understanding of what the work involves are the facts which should
be known by an analyst.

2. Sending out of Questionnaires: This method is usually employed by engineering

consultants. Properly drafted questionnaires are sent out to job-holders for completion and are
returned to supervisors. However, the information received is often unorganised and
incoherent. The idea in issuing questionnaire is to elicit the necessary information from job-
holders so that any error may first be discussed with the employee and, after due corrections,
may be submitted to the job analyst.

3. Maintenance of Long Records: The employee maintains a daily record of duties he

performs, marking the time at which each task is started and finished. But this system is
incomplete, for it does not give us any desirable data on supervisor relationship, the
equipment used, and working conditions. Moreover, it is time consuming.

4. Personal Interviews: may be held by the analyst with the employees, and answers to
relevant questions may be recorded. But the method is time-consuming and costly.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job description is a written record of the duties, responsibilities and requirements of a

particular job. It is concerned with the job itself and not with the work. It is a statement
describing the job in such terms as its title, location, duties, working conditions and hazards.
In other words, it tells us what is to be done and how it is to be done and why. It is a standard
of function, in that it defines the appropriate and authorised contents of a job.

Job description helps top executives, especially when they jointly discuss one another‘s
responsibilities. Overlapping or confusion can then be pointed out questions can be raised
about the major thrust of each position, and problems of structure can be identified. A job
description becomes a vehicle for organisational change and‘ improvement.

A job description contains the following:

1. Job identification, which includes the job title, alternative title, department, division, and
plant and code number of the job. The job title identifies and designates the job properly. The
department division, etc. indicate the name of the department where it is situated-whether it is
the maintenance department, mechanical shop etc. The location gives the name of the place.

2. Job Summary serves two important purposes. First it provides a short definition which is
useful as additional identification information when a job title is not adequate. Second, it
serves as a summary to orient the reader towards understanding of detailed information
which follows. It gives the reader a ―quick capsule explanation‖ of the content of a job
usually in one or two sentences.

3. Job duties give us a comprehensive listing or the duties together with some indication of
the frequency of occurrence or percentage of time devoted to each major duty. It is regarded
as the heart of a job.

4. Relation to other jobs: This helps us to locate the job in the organisation by indicating the
job immediately below or above it in the job hierarchy. It also gives us an idea of the vertical
relationships of work flow and procedures.

5. Supervision : Under it is given the number of persons to be supervised along with their
job titles, and the extent of supervision involved – general, intermediate or close supervision.

6. Working conditions usually give us information about the environment in which a job
holder must work. These include cold, heat, dust, wetness, moisture, fumes, odour, oily
conditions, etc. obtaining inside the organisation.

Information about jobs can be had from : (i) Observation of employees while on work; (ii)
Study of specially maintained diaries; (iii) A review of Critical incidents; and, (iv)
Discussions with departmental heads and outside experts or consultants.

A job description enables us to frame suitable questions to be asked during an interview. It is

particularly helpful when the application from is, used as a tool for eliminating the unfit
personnel. According to Zerga, a job description helps us in :

(i) Job grading and classification; (ii) Transfers and promotions; (iii) Adjustments
of grievances; (iv) Defining and outlining promotional steps; (v) Establishing a
common understanding of a job between employers and employees; (vi)
Investigating accidents; (vii) Indicating faulty work procedures or duplication of
 papers; (viii) Maintaining, operating and adjusting machinery; (ix) Time and
motion studies; (x) Defining the limits of authority; (xi) Indicating case of
personal merit; (xii) Facilitating job placement; (xiii) Studies of health and
fatigue; (xiv) Scientific guidance; (xv) Determining jobs suitable for occupational
therapy; (xvi) Providing hiring specifications; and (xvii) Providing performance
indicators.

JOB SPECIFICATION

Job Specification is a standard of personnel and designates the qualities required for an
acceptable performance. It is a written record of the requirements sought in an individual
worker for a given job. In other words, it refers to a summary of the personal characteristics
required for a job. It is a statement of the minimum acceptable human qualities necessary for
the proper performance of a job.
Job specifications translate the job description into terms of the human qualifications which
are required for a successful performance of a job. They are intended to serve as a guide in
hiring and job evaluation. As a guide in hiring, they deal with such characteristics as are
available in an application bank, with testing, interviews, and checking of references.

Job specifications relate to:

(a) Physical characteristics, which include health, strength, endurance, age-range, body size
height, weight, vision, voice, poise, eye, hand and foot co-ordination, motor co-ordination,
and colour discrimination.

(b) Psychological characteristics or special aptitudes which include such qualities as manual
dexterity, mechanical aptitude, ingenuity, judgment, resourcefulness, analytical ability,
mental concentration and alertness.

(c) Personal characteristics traits of temperament such as personal appearance, good and
pleasing manners, emotional stability, aggressiveness or submissiveness, extroversion; or,
introversion, leadership, co-cooperativeness, initiative and drive, skill in dealing with others,
unusual sensory qualities of sight, smell, hearing, adaptability, conversational ability, etc.

(d) Responsibilities which include supervision of others, responsibility for production,

process and equipment; responsibility for the safety of others; responsibility for generating
confidence and trust; responsibility for preventing monetary loss.

(e) Other features of a demographic nature, which are age, sex, education experience and
language ability.