Analyze the Importance of Human Resource Planning Case Study
Key Learning Outcomes
By the end of the case, students should be able to:
- Understand the concept of Human Resource Planning, what it is, and its role in an organization's success
- Identify the main steps and methods involved in the human resource planning process.
- Evaluate the benefits and challenges of human resource planning for different types of organizations.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Human resource planning is a key function of human resource management that aligns the workforce with the organizational objectives by estimating the number and quality of employees needed to achieve the desired outcomes. Human resource planning helps to ensure that the organization has the right people in the right place at the right time. For an organization to effectively manage its human resources, it must ensure to have efficient human resource planning as per De Cenzo & Robbins, 1988).
Mondy (1996) terms human resource planning as a process whose primary aim is to ensure that a business organization has an adequate and appropriate supply of competent employees for the various jobs that it needs to fill at any given time. Human resource planning involves predicting the demand and supply of human resources, evaluating the loopholes and inconsistencies, and developing and implementing strategic approaches to address them. Human resource planning is essential for achieving organizational goals and objectives, as well as for ensuring employee satisfaction and maintenance.
An organization that effectively implements its human resource planning will likely prosper in a competitive environment. Several studies have shown that approximately 80 % of small and big businesses perform human resource planning regularly (Craft, 1988). The optimum utilization of human resources is a significant success factor that contributes to an organization’s long-term competitiveness (Zülch, Rottinger & Vollstedt, 2004).
Human resource planning is vital in organizational uneven phases such as during merging, amalgamation, and consolidation. Human resource planning is an essential human resource management process that seeks to prepare organizations for their current and future workforce needs by ensuring the right people are in the right place at the right time (Jacobson, 2010). Human resource planning can also be used to achieve organizational goals and objectives by understanding and planning for people's needs in the short, medium, and long term (Colley & Price, 2010).
Michael (2006) contended that the aims of human resource planning in any organization will largely depend on its setting. The purpose of human resource planning is to forecast organizational needs for employees taking into account the internal and external supply of labor to meet staffing requirements; that is, identifying the gap between what is needed and what is available.