Everything you need to know about the objectives of human resource planning. Human resource planning comprises putting the right number and kind of people at the right place, at the right time, and making them do things for which they are suited, to achieve business goals.

In the era of industrialization, structured HR planning has become a really important aspect. It is carried out in a particular sequence of steps which begins with analysing the current inventory of manpower available.

The managers need to suitably make plans for future requirements, by forecasting along with developing employment and training programmes.

According to Coleman, “Human resource planning is the process of determining manpower requirements and the means for meeting those requirements in order to carry out the integrated plan of the organisation.”

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The objectives of human resource planning are as follows:-

1. Provide Information 2. Effective Utilisation of Human Resource 3. Economic Development 4. Determine Manpower Gap

5. To Forecast Human Resource Requirements 6. Analyse Current Workforce 7. Effective Management of Change and 8. Realising Organisational Goals.


Objectives of Human Resource Planning

Objectives of Human Resource Planning – Top 8 Objectives: Provide Information, Effective Utilisation of Human Resource, Economic Development and a Few Others

Planning is a process of developing a set of decisions for action in future. Human resource (HR) planning is also termed ‘manpower planning’ by many authors. It is the process of preparing a set of decisions with regard to HR development and deployment. The actions required to be initiated are exogenous to HR planning and are generally categorized as – (a) employment opportunity and (b) economic development.

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HR planning comprises putting the right number and kind of people at the right place, at the right time, and making them do things for which they are suited, to achieve business goals. In the era of industrialization, structured HR planning has become a really important aspect. It is carried out in a particular sequence of steps which begins with analysing the current inventory of manpower available. The managers need to suitably make plans for future requirements, by forecasting along with developing employment and training programmes.

Employment opportunity originates from technology up-gradation, innovation, and continuous search for newer scope and ideas. For example, after launching CNC machines, the use of old conventional machines has mostly been discontinued in large companies. The new generation machines have opened up opportunities for employment for software engineers, growth of air conditioner manufacturers, etc.

In fact, modern technology explosion has made our lives hassle-free. This is directly related to economic development. Obviously, employment opportunity and technology advancement are interdependent.

HR planning also calls for deciding the position to be filled based on the workload for a considerable period of time by means of personnel planning and forecasting, building a pool of potential candidates who are capable of performing the required tasks through internal and external recruitment, using the most suitable selection tools tailor-made for the position, and populating the HR inventory/information system.

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While negotiating during an interview, the financial as well as the non-financial offers must be discussed openly to prevent attrition at a later stage. HR planning manifests its importance as the key to managerial functions, efficient utilization, motivation, better industrial relations, and higher productivity.

Human Resource planning is an important aspect of manpower management and administration. A large pool of manpower exists, but utilizing them for the right job at the right time is a major managerial task. Manpower is the quantity of productive people who can be used in any organization as human capital and as assets to achieve the common goal.

Human Resource planning is a process that comprises forecasting, developing, and controlling by an organization to ensure that it has the right number and kind of people with regard to their skills and competencies.

The objectives of HR planning are as follows:

Objective # 1. Provide Information:

The information obtained through HRP is highly important for identifying surplus and unutilised human resources. It also renders a comprehensive skill inventory, which facilitates decision making, like, in promotions. In this way HRP provides information which can be used for other management functions.

Objective # 2. Effective Utilisation of Human Resource:

Planning for human resources is the main responsibility of management to ensure effective utilisation of present and future manpower. Manpower planning is complementary to organisation planning.

Objective # 3. Economic Development:

At the national level, manpower planning is required for economic development. It is particularly helpful in the creating employment in educational reforms and in geographical mobility of talent.

Objective # 4. Determine Manpower Gap:

Manpower planning examine the gaps in existing manpower so that suitable training programmes may be developed for building specific skills, required in future.

Objective # 5. To Forecast Human Resource Requirements:

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HRP to determine the future human resource needed in an organisation. In the absence of such a plan, it would be difficult to have the services of the right kind of people at the right time.

Objective # 6. Analyse Current Workforce:

HRP volunteers to assist in analysing the competency of present workforce. It determines the current workforce strengths and abilities.

Objective # 7. Effective Management of Change:

Proper HR planning aims at coping with severed changes in market conditions, technology products and government regulations in an effective way. These changes call for continuous allocation or reallocation of skills evidently in the absence of planning there might be underutilisation of human resource.

Objective # 8. Realising Organisational Goals:

HRP helps the organisation in its effectively meeting the needs of expansion, diversification and other growth strategies.


Objectives of Human Resource Planning

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The term HR planning has gained popularity and is also used by academicians and people from orga­nizations all over the world. Let us discuss the term human resource, its rate of growth, quantitative and qualitative dimensions, and other facets.

Resource refers to the productive power of natural goods. Human resource means human beings with productive power. Human beings are both participants and beneficiaries of economic development of a country. The demographic profile, migration, mobility, and participation patterns in economic activity determine the quantitative aspects of actual and potential human resources.

The rate of growth of HR has two dimensions—quantity and quality.

The quantity of human resource has four determining variables:

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1. Population policy

2. Population structure

3. Migration

4. Labour force participation.

Three influencing variables of the quality of human resource are as follows:

1. Education and training

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2. Health and nutrition

3. Equality of opportunity.

Quantitative dimensions of HR planning consider human beings – (a) with productive power and (b) without productive power.

The definitions of population used may be categorized into two groups—de facto and de jure.

The de facto (present-in-area) concept refers to residents and non-residents physically present at the time of enumeration.

The de jure concept necessitates a complete count of all persons—normal residents of the country, irrespective of where each person is located, at the time of the census.

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Strict conformity to either can never be possible because of difficulties in enumeration due to the following types of people:

1. Nationals living abroad

2. Nomadic (roaming) population

3. Jungle inhabitants

4. Population in disturbed areas.

The objectives of human resource planning are as follows:

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1. To forecast the future needs of human resources.

2. To ensure fuller and effective utilisation of existing human resources.

3. To ensure that necessary manpower is available as and when required.

4. To relate human resource planning with the organisational planning.

5. To estimate the surplus or shortage of human resource in the organisation at any given time.

6. To get information about the manner in which the existing personnel are deployed, the kind of skills needed for various jobs, and manpower requirements over a specified period of time in relation to the organisational goals.

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7. To anticipate the impact of technology on jobs and human resources.

8. To determine the levels of recruitment and training.

9. To estimate the cost of labour force and its housing requirements.

10. To provide a basis for management development programme.

11. To meet the needs of expansion and diversification programmes.

12. To increase the labour productivity and thereby reduce the labour costs.

Thus, according to A. F. Sikula, “The ultimate aim of manpower planning is to relate future human resources to future enterprise needs so as to maximise the future return on investment in human resources”.


Objectives of Human Resource Planning – Important and Special Objectives of Human Resource Planning

The important objectives of human resource planning are:

(a) To ensure optimum use of human resources currently employed

(b) To assess and forecast future skills requirements if the organization’s objectives are to be achieved.

(c) To provide control measures to ensure that necessary manpower resources are available as and when required.

More specific reasons for planning are:

(1) To determine recruitment level

(2) To anticipate redundancies and avoid unnecessary dismissals

(3) To determine training and management development programmes

(4) To assess future accommodation requirements.

In short, planning for people in organizations involves trying to obtain:

i. The right people

ii. In the right number

iii. With the right knowledge, skills and experience

iv. In the right place

v. At the right time

vi. At the right cost

According to Dale Yoder, the special objectives of human resource planning are:

(i) Establishment and recognition of future job requirements

(ii) Assure supplies of qualified participants

(iii) Development of available manpower

(iv) Effective utilization of current and prospective workforce members (including reduction of labour cost per unit and sound recruitment and selection policy).

Thus, human resource planning can be seen as an attempt to balance the demand for employees with the numbers available. However, it is not merely concerned with numbers or the “quantity” but also the “quality” of human resources. At a broader level, manpower planning seeks to accomplish individual, organizational and national objectives.

Human resource planning helps an individual to improve his skills and utilize his abilities and potentials to the maximum possible extent. It helps the organization to improve its efficiency and productivity. It also helps the nation to achieve the desired economic and social advancement.

Accordingly, A. F. Sikula rightly observes that “The ultimate mission or purpose is to relate future human resource to future enterprise needs so as to maximize the future return on investment in human resources”.

In effect, the primary aim of manpower planning revolves around attempts at “matching or fitting employee abilities to enterprise requirements with an emphasis on future instead of present arrangements”.

This process of matching jobs with individuals is undertaken in short and long runs in different ways. Obviously, there are two main forms of manpower planning on the basis of time-span, i.e., short-term manpower planning and long-term manpower planning.

Human resource planning is a continuous process. It cannot be rigid or static; it is amenable to modifications, review and adjustments in accordance with the needs of the organization or the changing circumstances.


Objectives of Human Resource Planning – Forecasting HR Requirements, Effective Management of Change, Realizing Organizational Goals & a Few Others

The basic purpose of having a human resource plan is to have an accurate estimate of the number of employees required with the matching skills to meet the organizational goals. It is a database where one can easily identify the existing skills and matching positions held.

It is close to a flow chart wherein we also try to estimate the future requirements of human resource and the existing movement of the workforce towards it. It also provides us a time estimation and to select and train the required number of additional human resource.

The objectives of human resource planning may be summarized as follows:

Objective # i. Forecasting Human Resource Requirements:

Human resource planning is essential to determine the future human resource needs in an organization. In the absence of such a plan, it would be difficult to have the services of the right kind of people at the right time.

Objective # ii. Effective Management of Change:

Proper planning is required to cope with changes in market conditions, technology products, and government regulations in an effective way. These changes call for continuous allocation or reallocation of skills and in the absence of planning there might be under-utilization of human resource.

Objective # iii. Realizing Organizational Goals:

In order to meet the needs of expansion programmes and growth strategies of the organizations planning is essential.

Objective # iv. Promoting Employees:

The database available provides a comprehensive skill repertoire, which facilitates for decision making as to the promotional opportunities to be made available for the organization.

Objective # v. Effective Utilisation of Human Resource:

This database is also useful for identifying surplus and unutilized human resource and resources. In times of downsizing or in estimating the cost-benefit analysis of human resources would add value to the process.

The objective of human resource planning is to maintain and improve the organization’s ability to achieve its goals by developing strategies that will result in optimum contribution of human resources.

For this purpose, Stainer recommends the following nine strategies for the human resource planners:

(i) They should collect, maintain, and interpret relevant information regarding human resources.

(ii) They should report periodically human resource objectives and requirements, existing employees, and allied features of human resource.

(iii) They should develop procedures and techniques to determine the requirements of different types of human resource over a period of time from the standpoint of organizational goals.

(iv) They should develop measures of human resource utilization as components of forecasts of human resource requirements along with independent validation.

(v) They should employ suitable techniques leading to effective allocation of work with a view to improving human resource utilization.

(vi) They should conduct research to determine factors hampering the contribution of the individuals and groups to the organization with a view to modifying or removing these handicaps.

(vii) They should develop and employ methods of economic assessment of human resources to reflect its features as income generator and cost and accordingly improve the quality of decisions affecting the human resource.

(viii) They should evaluate the procurement, promotion, and retention of the effective human resources.

(ix) They should analyse the dynamic process of recruitment, promotion, and loss to the organization and control these processes with a view to maximizing the individual and group performance without involving high cost.

It is usually the top management that formulates the vision and translates the vision into objectives. Further, these objectives get translated into strategies and long-term plans. These plans usually form the guidelines for the human resource department to plan for human resource requirements.

Besides, various functional and departmental heads periodically furnish information to the HR department about their human resource requirements. The HR department coordinates the above information and prepares the human resource plan.

Prof. Geisler outlined the responsibilities of human resource department in respect of human resource planning as follows:

i. Assist and counsel operating managers to plan and set objectives.

ii. Collect and summarize human resource data keeping long-run objectives and broad organizational interests in mind.

iii. Monitor and measure performance against the plan and keep top manage­ment informed about it.

iv. Provide proper research base for effective human resource and organ­izational planning.


Objectives of Human Resource Planning – 17 Main Objectives of Human Resource Planning

Following are the objectives of human resource planning:

(i) To ensure the right distribution of manpower in different trades in an undertaking.

(ii) To determine training needs.

(iii) To provide control measures to ensure that necessary human resources are available.

(iv) To forecast the turnover.

(v) To make contingent plans to handle sudden requirements and situations of shortfall.

(vi) To determine recruitment levels in order to plan the intake for a particular organisation.

(vii) To have proper link between human resource planning and organizational planning.

(viii) To formulate channels of promotion and transfer by ascertaining the utilization of manpower and the placement and development of the right skill at the right place.

(ix) To develop the existing human resources to match the human resource requirements for the future.

(x) To determine the levels of recruitment.

(xi) To control the wage and salary bill.

(xii) To optimize staffing in the organization.

(xiii) To ensure optimum use of existing human resource.

(xiv) To foresee the effects of technological changes on the requirement for human resources.

(xv) To maintain the required quantity and quality of human resource required.

(xvi) To provide basis for organizational development programmes.

(xvii) To plan to meet organizational human resource needs at the time of expansion or diversification.


Objectives of Human Resource Planning – In an Organisation

The important objectives of human resource planning in an organisation are:

i. To recruit and retain the human resource of required quantity and quality;

ii. To foresee the employee turnover and make the arrangements for minimising turnover and filling up of consequent vacancies;

iii. To meet the needs of the programmes of expansion, diversification, etc.

iv. To foresee the impact of technology on work, existing employees and future human resource requirements;

v. To improve the standards, skill, knowledge, ability, discipline, etc.;

vi. To assess the surplus or shortage of human resources and take measures accordingly;

vii. To maintain congenial industrial relations by maintaining optimum level and structure of human resources;

viii. To minimise imbalances caused due to non-availability of human resources of right kind, right number in right time and right place;

ix. To make the best use of its human resources; and

x. To estimate the cost of human resources.


Objectives of Human Resource Planning – Various Objectives of Human Resource Planning

Human Resource Planning is one of the most important activities of the business.

It has various objectives; some of the important ones are listed as under:

1. To anticipate and forecast accurately the quantity and quality of people required by an organisation at a future date.

2. Identify the best source of recruitment and attract the right kind of people from there.

3. Select the right number of people required with the appropriate skills, competencies, knowledge and expertise.

4. Develop a well-trained and contended workforce contributing to the organisational objectives.

5. Continuous monitoring of performance and effectiveness of the existing manpower, and making efforts for its improvement.

6. Create a scientific base for introducing human resource develop­ment efforts for improving the quality of work life.

7. Selection of an appropriate mechanism for compensating the employees as per their worth to the organisation.

8. Designing effective motivational programmes for constantly increasing the morale of the employees.

9. Maintaining an effective manpower database which can provide the management with information regarding internal succession and managerial personnel. It would also help in devising suitable promotional plans for the employees.

10. Human Resource Planning also helps in taking care of the vari­ous government regulations with regards to the employees’ work­ing conditions, hours of work, employment criteria’s, wage and compensation etc.


Objectives of Human Resource Planning

According to E. W. Vetter, “The process by which management determines how an organisation should move from its current manpower position to its desired manpower position. Through it management strives to have the right number and the right kind of people at the right place, at the right time, doing things which result in the organisation and the individual receiving, maximum long range benefit”.

Human resource planning is a two-phased process by which management can project the future manpower requirement and develop suitable action plans to accommodation the implications of projections.

According to Coleman, “Human resource planning is 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 continuous process. It cannot be rigid or static; it is amenable to modifications, review and adjustments in accordance with the needs of the organisation or the changing circumstances. Thus, human resource planning is the process of developing and determining objectives, policies and programs that will procure develop and utilise human resources so as to achieve the goals of the organisation.

The major objectives of manpower planning are as follows:

1. To ensure optimum use of existing human resources.

2. To forecast future requirement for human resources.

3. To link human resource planning with organisational planning.

4. To control the cost aspect of human resources.

5. To formulate transfer and promotion policies.

6. To meet the needs of expansion and diversification programmes.


Objectives of Human Resource Planning – Principle Objectives of Human Resource Planning

The penalties for not being correctly staffed are costly to any organization in today’s business context. On the other hand understaffing loses the business economies of scale and specialization, orders, profits and most importantly the customers. Overstaffing is wasteful and expensive, if sustained, and it is costly to eliminate because of modern legislation in respect of redundancy payments, consultation, minimum periods of notice, etc.

Hence in order to ensure the competitive efficiency of the business, any organization requires meticulous planning of its staffing activity. This involves the assessment of present and future needs of the organization to be compared with the present resources and future predicted resources along with the involvement of appropriate steps so as to effectively plan and balance the demand and supply of manpower in the organization. This is known as human resource planning (HRP) or manpower planning.

Human resource planning has the following principal objectives. These objectives not only help the organization to facilitate proper functioning of the organization, but also act like a bridge so as to ensure that the HR practices are linked with the strategic goals and objectives of the organization.

1. To ensure having an estimate of employee requirement along with matching skill or competency so as to efficiently meet organizational needs and objectives.

2. To provide information about how existing manpower are to be employed and what types of skills and or competencies are to be developed for achieving the desired levels of performance.

3. To indicate the requirement of additional manpower when and wherever required by the organization.

4. To cope immediate changes or fluctuations regarding the requirement of a particular skill and or competency in the workforce.

5. To ensure productive and efficient utilization of human resources and reduce manpower wastage.

6. To assess and forecast future skills requirements of the employees in the organization.

7. To provide control measures so as to ensure that necessary resources are being made available as and when required.

8. To provide guidelines so as to enable employees to train and develop themselves for higher pursuits and effective performances.

9. To form the basis of career planning and succession planning in the organization.


Objectives of Human Resource Planning – Need, Importance and Objectives of Human Resource Planning

The main objective of having human resource planning is to have an accurate number of employees required, with matching skill requirements, to accomplish organizational goals.

According to Sikula “the ultimate purpose/objective of human resource planning is to relate future human resources to future enterprise need so as to maximize the future return on investment in human resources”.

The objectives of human resource planning are as follows:

1. To Ensure adequate supply of manpower as and when required.

2. Ensure proper use of existing human resources in the organization.

3. To forecast future requirements of human resources having different levels of skills.

4. To assess surplus or shortage, if any, of human resources available over a specified period of time.

5. To anticipate the impact of technology on jobs and requirements for human resources.

6. To Control the human resources already deployed in the organization.

7. To provide lead time available to select and train the required additional human resource over a specified time period.

8. To utilize human resource optimally.

9. To promote competent workers.

10. To cope up with situational challenges.

Need for Human Resource Planning:

The human resource function includes the determination of human resource or manpower needs, the identification of personnel to fill these needs, their recruitment and employment, their placement and orientation and the rearrangement of team members through promotion, transfer, and termination.

The human element was either ignored or simplified under the traditional or classical school of thought in the field of management “human being” was regarded merely as a factor of production. It was assumed that they could be bought at any time like any other resource of production. The value of a human being was recognized only under the Human Relations Movement.

This movement brought to the attention of management the powerful role that individuals play in determining the success of an organization. Thus, the importance of human beings as a resource and a power came to be accepted in industrial situations. Rothwell and Kazanas trace the origin of manpower planning to Henry Fayol. Many organizations and managers now recognize this fact and preserve their manpower and consider it as an important resource.

In recent years such planning is known as human resource planning. It involves getting the required number of qualified people for the right jobs at the right time. Usually these plans are derived from the long-range plans of the organization. They can no longer rely upon finding talented and qualified manpower just when they need it.

It is the assumption of some managers that they need not engage in human resource or manpower planning since they operate in a labor-intensive environment. Where managers and their subordinates get involved in human resource planning, the company ends up with better quality of human resources. This approach is known as, Commitment Manpower Planning or simply CMP.

Even in the best managed companies, replacement of employees takes place on a continuing basis for a variety of reasons, namely, the expansion of the company, the termination of employees for poor performance or unacceptable behavior, retirement of employees, and some are promoted and transferred. All these may involve replacement.

The productivity, performance, and the profitability of an organization depend upon having a good quality workforce. The need for manpower is constantly on the rise at an accelerated pace due to the expansion of markets, development of new products due to high rate of innovation, economic growth, increase in investment and jobs are created overnight.

Greater importance is placed on research and development in many organizations. The growth and expansion seems to be on the increase in electronics, pharmaceutical, and automobile industries with the introduction of new products. All these require more and more people to manufacture and sell these products.

The internal and external forces create change in existing as well as new businesses which create demand for more and more employees. As this demand is on the increase, more and more colleges, universities, and technical schools are being opened. Every year, a number of students are graduating from vocational schools, colleges, and universities with engineering, business, and liberal arts, science degrees.

During good economic conditions, the demand for labor and supply of labor seem to meet up. A government with good governance keeps an eye on these factors so that unemployment does not get out of hand. Various government and non-governmental bodies keep monitoring these figures, and take necessary steps as and when needed.

While governments are engaged in the analysis of demand and supply of human resource needs at the macro-level, business organizations do similar home work at the company level. They draw up corporate human resource plans and programs. When a job vacancy arises in an organization, personnel or human resource department rushes to look for an individual to fill the position. They do not take time to see how the filling vacancy fits into the overall human resource planning. However, the decision to hire is an important one, it should not be made hastily.

The following points indicate the importance of manpower planning:

i. Manpower planning forms the key for almost all managerial functions such as planning, organizing, controlling, direction. Manpower planning provides information required for all managerial functions.

ii. Efficient utilization and management of personnel. Setting up of new factories and companies require large-scale manpower and such assistance can be provided only through planned manpower.

iii. Placing the right people in right jobs is possible through good manpower plans. Once this matching is done, employee motivation can be maintained.

iv. Manpower planning enables one to spot the positions for recruiters in organizations. The input from manpower can be used to identify the number and the type of people required for such positions.

v. When an organization makes sure to identify who, where, and when people are needed and such people are placed on those positions, productivity becomes a possibility.

vi. When better plans are made regarding the placement of human resources and such people are placed in their positions, human relations and morale get better.

An effective manpower planning brings several advantages to an organization. Because of manpower planning, shortages of manpower and at times surpluses of manpower can be spotted and necessary adjustments can be made. When such problems are identified, prompt remedial actions can be taken. To have sound recruitment and selection programs in an organization, a company may require a good manpower plan.

Manpower plans are effectively instituted, costs can be minimized, especially, labor costs since excess employees in any department or section can be identified and remedial actions can be planned. Through proper manpower planning, various talents and training and development programs can be identified. During growth and diversification stages, manpower can be made available readily if manpower plans are in place. Manpower planning provides stability to an organization since it helps to keep an eye on requirements of an organization.


Objectives of Human Resource Planning – 22 Important Objectives

According to Terry L. Leap and Michael D. Crino, “HRP includes the estimation of how many qualified people are necessary to carry out the assigned activities, how many people will be available, and what, if anything, must be done to ensure that personnel supply equals personnel demand at the appropriate point in the future”.

Features of HRP:

i. It is a continuous process

ii. It is a predetermined course of action

iii. It includes planning and development of human resources

iv. It is futuristic

v. It has a systemic approach.

Objectives of HRP:

i. To optimally utilize the present employees.

ii. To post the right people, for right job, at right place and at right time.

iii. To bridge the gap between demand and supply of workforce.

iv. To effectively and efficiently deal with surplus and deficit workforces.

v. To decide on future quality and quantity of manpower.

vi. To determine cost and control of human resources.

vii. To formulate transfer and succession policies.

viii. To evolve development programmes.

ix. To achieve organizational objectives.

x. To ensure that current human resources are employed to have the optimum use.

xi. To assess or forecast skill needs for future.

xii. To institute control measures to ensure the availability of the necessary resources as per requirements.

xiii. To link manpower planning with organisational planning

xiv. To determine recruitment levels.

xv. To anticipate redundancies.

xvi. To determine optimum training levels.

xvii. To provide a basis for management development programme.

xviii. To esteem cost of the manpower in a new project.

xix. To assist productivity bargaining.

xx. To assess future accommodation requirements.

xxi. To study the cost of overhead and value of service functions.   

xxii. To decide whether certain activities need to be sub-contracted, etc.


Objectives of Human Resource Planning – Objective & Scope of Human Resource Planning

Human resource planning is the very first function of HRM. The effectiveness and efficient functioning of all other functions of HRM purely depends on effective and appropriate human resource planning. It is a process for acquiring suitable human resources for the organization to attain its objectives. HRP has two sub-plans i.e., Human resource demand plan and Human resource supply-plan.

According to Beach, “HRP is a process of determining and assuming that the organization will have an adequate number of qualified persons, available at proper times, performing jobs which meet the needs of the enterprise and which provide satisfaction for the individuals involved”.

In the words of Aswathappa, “HRP is the process of forecasting demand for, and supply of, the right type of people in the right number”.

1. Forecast Personnel Requirements – Human Resource Planning is essential to determine the future manpower needs in an organization. In the absence of such a plan, it would be difficult to have the services of right kind of people at the right time.

2. Cope with Changes – Human Resource planning is required to cope with changes in market conditions, technology, products and government regulations in an effective way. These changes may often require the services of people with the requisite technical knowledge and training. In the absence of a Human Resource Plan, we may not be in a position to enlist their services in time.

3. Use Existing Manpower Productively – By keeping an inventory of existing personnel in an enterprise by skill, level, training, educational qualifications, work experience; it will be possible to utilize the existing resources more usefully in relation to the job requirements. This also helps in decreasing wage and salary costs in the long run.

4. Promote Employees in a Systematic Manner – Human Resource Planning provides useful information on the basis of which management decides on the promotion of eligible personnel in the organization. In the absence of a Human Resource Plan, it may be difficult to ensure regular promotions to competent people on a justifiable basis.

5. Identifies Forecast Demand – Human Resource Planning Identifies the Human Resource needs of the organization based on strategic goals (forecasting workforce demand).

6. Forecast Supply – Helps us to understand the talent that we already have and become familiar with the talent we need (forecasting workforce supply).

7. Identifies Supply Market – Make sure we are up-to-date on labour market, e.g., the talent that is available to us now and in the future (forecasting workforce supply).

8. Helps Creating, Modifying and Recasting Human Resource Policies, Procedures and Practices – Help us to create or modify human resource policies, procedures and practices to align the demand and supply of human resource talent in the organization.

9. Provides Right People with Right Capabilities at Right Time and at Right Place.


Objectives of Human Resource Planning – Purpose and Objectives of Human Resource Planning

In the changing business scenario, organizations can achieve strategic goals if, they have right number of talented, committed workforce to produce quality goods and services as per requirements. HRP helps organizations by way of supplying information to them in advance to create a dynamic, committed, pro-acting, loyal workers’ community through recruitment process, moulding and development techniques to achieve strategic goals of organizations.

The objectives of human resource planning are discussed herein below:

Objective # 1. Providing information to organization in respect of available source of quality personnel:

Organization needs different kinds/grades of people to meet the challenges arising out of the changing situation. HRP identifies the sources of human resources skill-wise and informs the top management to utilize the sources as per needs of the organization.

Objective # 2. Helping organization to know the demands for people for different sections / departments:

HRP makes a detailed study as to the requirement of changes in operation, system, structure of organization, quality and production, introduction of new techniques, methods, machines etc. and makes organization aware of the demands of the departments / sections for people with different skills. This sort of information helps the top management to man the departments / sections properly for effective utilization of human resources.

Objective # 3. Identifying ineffective, incompetent, useless employees:

HRP data help the organization know its dead woods. The company can, therefore, downsize the workers’ strength by way of removing ineffective, incompetent employees through VRS and the like, and in the process it can increase efficacy and financial health and can achieve organizational goals.

Objective # 4. Helping organization to implement succession planning scheme:

HRP supplies necessary data pertaining to vacancies, arising out of superannuation, business policy / strategy etc. and also talent reservoir to fill in those vacancies under succession planning scheme.

Objective # 5. Making training system effective:

HRP provides data / information with regard to the people who are potential and need training as also the people who lack competencies for performance of present job / future job. This information helps the training department to keep the records up to date and to design and conduct training courses/ programmes as per requirement, need of the individuals and organization.

Objective # 6. Helping to implement business policy/strategy of organization:

HRP makes strategic planning taking into consideration of business policy / strategy of the organization. Since, HR is a most vital factor for effective implementation of corporate business policy / strategy, strategic HRP contributes a lot to the process of implementation.

Objective # 7. Helping the organization to create a dynamic and world class workforce:

HRP provides detailed information to the top management regarding employees’ profiles like name and number of performers, non-performers, potential people, deficit area of the workpeople, nature of training required for increasing coping and pro-acting capabilities, internal labour market situations etc.

On the basis of such information, organisation takes the help of change agents and experts to make changes in the behaviours and activities of the employees and to create a dynamic and world class workforce so that they can deliver the goods, services as per needs of the organization.

Objective # 8. Helping organization to increase production, productivity quality of goods and to provide customers’ delightment through trained, perfect, skilled workforce:

HRP provides data support to the organization to create effective, competent, trained, perfect, skilled workforce who can provide customers’ delightment and can give higher production, better quality of goods and maximum productivity.

Besides the above, purposes of HRP are:

I. To make the best use of human resources.

II. To develop healthy industrial relations and to create congenial and conducive atmosphere in organization.

III. To improve quality of working life.

IV. To foresee the impact of technology on work.

V. To balance the cost between utilization of plant and workforce.

VI. To foresee HR turnover and taking measures to check turnover requirement

VII. To introduce expansion, diversification programme as per requirement.