Meaning of Human Resource Planning:

Human resource planning is concerned with forecasting and predicting the number of people
whom the organisation has to hire, train or promote in a given period of time. Recruitment
and selection basically commence with human resource planning. Human resource planning
is the process of deciding what positions of the organisation will have to be filled and how to
fill them. It is basically a management strategy sees for procurement, development,
allocation, and utilisation of the organisation's human resources. Like all good plans, human
resource plans also need proper forecasting or estimation.

Definition of Human Resource Planning:

In the words of Decenzo and Robbins,

"Human resource planning is the process by which an organisation ensures that it has
the right number and the right kind of people, at the right place, at the right time,
capable of effectively and efficiently completing those tasks that will help the
organisation to achieve its overall objectives"
According to Ruff C.F.,

"Human resource planning is a process of getting the right number of qualified people
into the right job at the right time" Coleman defines 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"
As per these definitions, human resource planning is concerned with developing and
determining objectives, policies, and programmes that will enable the organisation to procure,
develop and utilise human resources in achieving the corporate objectives.

HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING PROCESS

1. Make HR objectives
When creating HR objectives, it's important to develop goals for the overall company and
individual departments. Department goals should reflect individual responsibilities and
requirements while contributing to the larger objectives of the business. For example, you
might know that each project in the marketing department requires at least three to four
people. If the company plans to work on three projects simultaneously every year, it may
need at least nine or more skilled employees for its marketing department.
2. Analyze the current workforce
Analyzing the company's workforce involves reviewing the skills, experience and
performance of the current employees to determine the effectiveness of the business. During
this step, it can also be beneficial to communicate with department leaders and managers to
see how they feel their team members are performing and if they need more resources to
fulfill their department's responsibilities. It's also helpful to give employees self-assessments
and questionnaires to see how they feel about their job performance and what they might like
to see from the new HR plan. Once you have the information, consider creating a spreadsheet
or document highlighting each department's skill set based on its employees. This can help
you determine the major strengths of each department. You can also read over it to determine
if there are any opportunities for improvement.
3. Determine HR supply and demand
Determining your company's HR supply and demand involves analyzing your collected data
and information on current employees, assessing the company's present needs and
anticipating what needs may arise in the future. When reviewing data, determine if your
company has an employee shortage or surplus by examining salary expenses and the quality
and quantity of employees' work. You can decide which processes can change to reflect this
information. For example, your company may have a labor surplus if salary expenses are too
high and employees are producing more than enough goods or services. When anticipating
future needs, review market trends and research possible technological advancements to see
if there might be areas that the company may automate within a couple of years. This can
help determine if you can spend resources on training right away or if you can wait for the
new technology.
4. Create an action plan
When creating an action plan, it's important to decide whether the company can hire more
employees, transfer or renegotiate contracts or focus on developing current employees' skills.
If the company requires more employees, it's important to determine what skills they should
possess and which departments need them most. If the company has an employee surplus,
consider which employees might approach retirement or if other company facilities could use
their skills. If some employees need more training, it can help to solidify which skills or
knowledge might require improvement and how to develop them properly. This can direct
you to consider available resources before developing a process plan. For example, if the
company doesn't have enough funds to hire more sales associates but still wants to increase
its sales, you might create a training program to develop your employees' sales skills

5. Training and development

Even after a company executes its HR plan, it should continue to train and develop its
employees. Training programs can improve occupational skills and better position employees
for future advancement. Promoting employees who already understand the business and its
systems can save the company time, money and other valuable resources.
6. Monitoring and controlling
The final step in human resource planning is its effective monitoring (reviewing) and
controlling by the organisation. For this purpose, proper efforts must be made by the HR
department to see that executed action plans are continuously reviewed and monitored against
set standards. Any deficiency in its implementation should be seriously taken note of and
corrective measures should be taken immediately to set the things right. In case such
deviation is due to external factors, necessary steps should be taken to modify the action plan
to meet the changing needs of the organisation warranted by the changes in the external
environment.
To conclude, human resource planning would be a roaring success only when it secures full
support from the management with relevant personnel policy statement. The human resource
plan must be made an action plan for the organisation with regard to manpower requirements.
For this purpose, there should be a separate human resource philosophy developed by the
management which should be considered as a guiding principle in the execution of a human
resource plan.

Factors Affecting Human Resource Planning

Internal Factors:
Following are the important internal factors affecting human resource planning:
1. Type of Organisation: The type of organisation has a definite impact on the production
process and the number and kind of employees to be employed in an organisation.
Manufacturing organisations have a more complex structure when compared to service
organisations. Such organisations have an elaborate human resource planning. Hence, human
resource planning varies depending on the nature of the organisation.
2. Budgetary Allocation: The total amount of funds available at the disposal of the
management for meeting labour cost is the most immediate issue in human resource planning.
It determines how people in an organisation can be hired, retained or promoted. Financially
sound organisations can go for investing huge amounts on human resources.
3. Organisational Structure: Organisational structure does have an impact on human
resource planning since the HR manager has to decide on the required number of employees
to be recruited and promoted to higher positions. This calls for determining the functional
areas that need more employees and relocating (shifting/transferring) or removing those
employees whose services are no longer required for the organisation. For this purpose,
people involved in human resource planning have to draw up a hierarchy chart of the
organisational structure to identify the requirement of the employees in various positions and
to fill up those positions.
4. Flair (desire) for Technological Development: Technological developments taking place
in the spheres of production, marketing, research and development, and information science
compels the organisations to be aware of the proficiencies and training needs of employees
while planning human resources. The introduction of new products or services requires
appointing highly skilled employees or training existing employees to meet the situation.
5. Level of Growth: Organisations which want to register rapid growth and success may
have to appoint a large number of employees. On the other hand, moderate organisations
which are satisfied with their present rate of growth may have to lay greater emphasis on
employee retention through increased compensation and providing fringe benefit.
Organisations performing miserably in the market may have to go for downsizing (cutting
down), losing some of their skilled, experienced, and talented employees.
6. Labour Productivity: The efficiency with which the workers perform in the organisation
decides their productivity. The productivity of labourers can be increased by keeping them
happy and satisfied. It is possible to get the best out of the workers when a very conducive
work environment is created for them within the organisation. Attractive pay, cordial
relations, excellent working conditions, promising career opportunities, complete freedom in
their work, etc. go a long way in creating a positive worklife resulting in their increased
productivity.
7. Outsourcing: Some organisations outsource some of the processes particularly, security,
maintenance, canteen, transportation of employees, accounting, etc. with a view to reducing
cost or to be relieved from getting these things done by their own employees. Under such
circumstances, a smaller number of employees is to be appointed in the organisation and
hence, intensive human resource planning is not required.
8. Mobility of Labour: Increasing trend among the employees to move to any place within
the country and even abroad has made many organisations retain the talented staff. For this
purpose, the organisation must give them attractive offers so that they would stay back in the
organisation and never think of leaving it.
External Factors:
The external factors that have a bearing on human resource planning can be studied as shown
below:
1. Compliance with Labour Laws: The government enacts a number of labour laws and
regulations for the protection and promotion of the interest of the workforce with regard to
payment of wages, bonuses, working conditions, safety measures, job security, fringe
benefits, etc. These laws can influence how an organisation goes about hiring, training,
compensating and retaining its workforce. Hence, the HR department must take proper care
to see that all these legal provisions are duly complied with when it plans for manpower
requirements.
2. Demographic Changes: The profile of the workforce regarding its educational, social and
economic background, competence, technical skills, and so on has been changing at a greater
speed Highly qualified, well settled, rich people demand more in terms of salary and service
conditions from the organisation. On the other hand, people with moderate educational, social
and economic backgrounds normally will not bargain for more incentives. Therefore,
demographic changes have made it obligatory on the part of the HR department to consider
these changes while taking decisions on human resources.
3. Available Labour Pool: The most significant function of the HR department is to maintain
an adequate number of employees through workforce planning. One external factor that
influences the ability to recruit qualified candidates is the labour market availability, which is
affected by the presence of educational institutions which provide employable candidates,
unemployment rates, applicants with specialised skill sets, etc. The HR managers, therefore,
need to focus on these issues while human resource planning.
4. Competition: Competition among the different organisations in attracting talented and
experienced employees to avail their expert service by offering the best packages is one of the
most important external factors influencing human resource planning. The HR department of
the organisation should be ready to pick such employees who can contribute their energy for
the success of the organisation. The hiring of such people would definitely put the
organisation in an advantageous position since it does result in heightened morale, increased
production, blown up markets and enlarged profits.
5. Pressure Groups: Trade union activists, human rights activists, woman activists, media,
leaders spearheading political parties, social backward groups, etc. exert tremendous pressure
on the organisations at the time of appointment and promotion of employees. All these factors
would influence the HR department's decision regarding human resource planning.

Meaning of Job Analysis:

Determining human resource requirements both in terms of quantity and quality is one of the
major objectives of human resource planning. The quantitative aspect deals with the
determination of the total quantum of work to be done in a particular period of time and the
total number of employees required to do various jobs But the type of people to be recruited
for doing such jobs comes under the qualitative aspect of human resource requirements. The
process by which qualitative requirements are determined is known as job analysis. Job
analysis is concerned with a systematic and detailed study of jobs to understand the
nature and characteristics of people to be recruited for each job.
It is a process of identifying essential information relating to the nature of a particular job.
The following data may be required for job analysis:
1. Identification of the job with definite title and code number.
2. Nature of the job. Human Resource
3. Operations involved in performing job.
4. Materials, methods, and equipment needed for performing the job.
5. Personal attributes needed to perform the job, such as educational qualification, skills,
experience, training. sociability, physical and mental capacities, etc.
6. Duties and responsibilities involved in the job.
7. Relation of the job to be performed with other jobs.

Definition of Job Analysis:

Job analysis is defined by Edwin B. Flippo as,
"The process of studying and collecting information relating to the operations and
responsibilities of a specific job".
As per this definition, job analysis is a process of determining duties, responsibilities and
defining accountabilities (answerability). It comprises collecting and analysing the relevant
information relating to job, verifying its accuracy for determining the job description.
It also identifies necessary skills. knowledge, and abilities needed for performing the job and
updating such information at regular intervals, if required.
 Objectives of Job Analysis:
The objectives of job analysis can be grouped under three heads:
1. Redesigning the Job:
One of the objectives of job analysis is to redesign a job i.e., simplifying the process and
methods involved in performing a job for the purpose of improving the productivity of the
job.
2. Establishing Work and Time Standards:
The job analysis aims at establishing work and time standards. This requires a detailed
analysis of the job. This analysis reveals the work standards and time standards relating
to the daily work performance of individual doing the job.
3. Other Objects:
The final objective of job analysis is to provide support to other personnel activities such
as recruitment, selection, training and development, performance appraisal, salary
administration, safety, etc.
PROCESS OF JOB ANALYSIS
Job analysis is a systematic procedure of exploring facts and functions within a job. It
involves a process and this process consists of following steps
1. Organising and Planning for the Programme: The organisation must assign this
work to the job analyst who will be in charge of the programme and he must assign
responsibilities to the designated persons. He should also prepare a schedule and budget
for carrying out analysis of jobs.
2. Selecting a Representative Job for Analysis: The second step is to select only a
representative sample job for the purpose of detailed analysis since analysing all jobs of
the organisation is a very difficult process which is both costly and timeconsuming.
Therefore, establishing priorities in the jobs to be analysed is a must in the job analysis
process.
3. Collection of Data of Jobs for Analysis: In this step, data relating to the features of
the job and the necessary qualifications the employee should possess to perform the job
are systematically collected either through questionnaire, observation and interview. Job
analyst has to take proper care to choose the most suited and reliable method in the given
situation of the job.
4. Preparing Job Description Forms: The information so collected through the above.
mentioned techniques are used to prepare the job description form. Job description form
is a document which states detailed information about the various activities involved in
performing a job. It is a document that describes the tasks, duties and responsibilities that
are to be performed and shouldered by an individual for the successful completion of the
specific job.
5.Preparing Job Specifications: The next step in the process of job analysis is to
prepare job specifications on the basis of information gathered. It is a statement
announcing minimum acceptable qualifications and qualities such as education, trait
training, aptitude, attitude, knowledge, etc. to be possessed by an employee to perform
the given job successfully.
6. Preparing Report: The final step in the process of job analysis is to prepare a report
by the job analyst and submitting the same the human resource manager. The report so
submitted is then discussed at the top-level management which either accepts it as it is or
certain modifications may be suggested by the management after discussing it with the
heads of different departments.

METHODS OF JOB ANALYSIS

The following methods could be used to collect necessary data for determining the
requisite knowledge, skill, and capabilities to be able to perform the job by an individual
efficiently and effectively:
1. Questionnaire Method:
A lengthy questionnaire covering all aspects of the job is prepared by the job analyst
for collecting the information from the employees. The questionnaires are distributed
through supervisors among the employees from whom the information in respect of
jobs is to be collected. The information so collected, are then quantified, processed
and analysed to take important decisions. Moreover, this is the simplest and cheapest
method of collecting information in respect of a job.
2. Observation Method:
Under this method, job performers (employees) are observed by the job analyst when
they are at work. This method facilitates the collection of reliable and first-hand
information pertaining to the job. The employees who are be observed should have
no information about it. If they have any information about the same, then they may
not be natural in their performance. Therefore, proper care must be taken by the job
analyst in this regard or else the information will be inaccurate which may lead
distortion in job analysis. A video camera can also used for observing the work being
done by the employees.
3. Interview Method:
Under this method, experienced employees a interviewed to elicit (collect)
information relating to the jobs to be analysed. These employees are personally
interviewed and questions are asked to the about the job they performed and the
experience they have gained in doing that job. The very purpose of using this method
is to obtain complete and unbiased information from the respondent (the person from
whom information is collected).
4. Work Diary Method:
Under this method, each and every worker is give work diary in which he records his
day-to-day activities in a systematic way. A properly maintained diary serves as a
good source of information regarding the job performed by the employees. It is very
useful in those jobs which are difficult to observe such as the job performed by
engineers, senior executives and scientists.
5. Checklist Method:
A checklist contains a few subjective questions in the form of 'Yes' or 'No'. The
worker is supposed to tick the questions relating to his job. This checklist is prepared
in consultation with the supervisors, industrial engineers and other prominent people
 who have a lot of information about the job to be analysed. The worker has to check
all the tasks listed in the checklist he performs. The amount of time taken by the
worker on each task and the type of training and experience required to do each task
should also be mentioned in the checklist. This method is used in large organisations
where the number of workers is huge and where each worker is supposed to do one
particular job. Only large organisations make use of this method as it is a costly
method.
6. Critical Incidents Method:
Workers are told to remember and share their past critical incidents/experiences in
performing their job. Those incidents as stated by the workers are then thoroughly
analysed. A high degree of skill is to be used by a job analyst to study these incidents
for the purpose of job analysis. The major drawback of this method is that some of
the workers may not memorise the past incidents accurately and in that case, the
information collected may not serve the purpose of job analysis.

7. Technical Conference Method:

A conference of supervisors who are in possession of knowledge about the job done
by their subordinates is organised under this method to collect information for job
analysis. These supervisors who are specialists in their field discuss the various issues
related to the jobs to be analysed. The job analyst secures relevant job information
from the discussion held among these specialists.
Conclusion:
It should be noted that organisations use one or a combination of two or more
methods for collecting the information required for job analysis depending upon the
situation. Normally, the job analyst chooses a more specific method or a combination
of two or more methods that facilitate the gathering of necessary information for job
analysis.