Five Steps of Human Resources Planning

What Is Human Resource Planning (HRP)?

Human resource planning (HRP) is the continuous process of systematic planning to achieve optimum use of an organization's most valuable asset-quality employees. Human resources planning ensures the best fit between employees and jobs while avoiding manpower shortages or surpluses. HRP is an important investment for any business as it allows companies to remain both productive and profitable.

Figure 01:Top five steps of Human Resource Planning By HRMCMATRIX

To retain employees and remain competitive, HRP often looks at organizational design, employee motivation, succession planning, and increasing return on investment overall. 5 steps of HRP as follows;

1. Analysis of Organizational Plans and Objectives

2.Analysis of Human Resource Planning Objectives

3.Forecasting for Human Resource Requirement

4.Assessment of Supply of Human Resources

5.Matching Demand and Supply

      Human resource planning needs to be flexible enough to meet short-term staffing challenges while adapting to changing conditions in the business environment over the longer term. HRP starts by assessing and auditing the current capacity of human resources.

                                             1.Analysis of Organizational Plans and Objectives

Human resource planning is a part of overall plan of organization. Human resource planning process begins with the analysis of overall plan of the organization into departmental, sectional and sub-sectional plans and functional plans like sales, marketing, technological plans. This break up of overall plan provides for assessing the human resource requirement for each department and activity. Besides analyzing the organizational plans, the objectives of the organization are also analyzed. 

Organizational analysis is the process of appraising the growth, personnel, operations, and work environment of an entity. Undertaking an organizational analysis is beneficial, as it enables management to identify areas of weakness and then find approaches for eliminating the problems.

                                            2.Analysis of Human Resource Planning Objectives

Human resource planning is a part of corporate plan. Its objectives are to be fixed in the light of corporate objectives. The emphasis is given on future requirements than the present one. The main purpose of human resource planning is to match the present and future manpower needs of the organization. These objectives should be integrated with the objectives of all the functional areas of the organization. The emphasis should also be given on to maximize the return on investment in human resources.

                                            3 .Forecasting for Human Resource Requirement

HR forecasting is the process of predicting how a company's staffing needs change with time so that it can remain prepared to operate successfully. Organizations use HR forecasting to decide to hire more people, reduce their staffing or adjust how they divide responsibilities.

The correct forecasting for required human resources for the organization becomes simple if design and structure of the jobs examined thoroughly keeping in view the skills, potentialities and knowledge required to perform them and make an estimate for the future requirements. Some factors dominating the forecast for human resources such as Expansion of the enterprise, Mergers and acquisitions, Retirement, death, resignation and terminations, Change in style of leadership, Improvement in productivity.

                    

                                                 4.Assessment of Supply of Human Resources  

Conducting a supply analysis involves understanding the current workforce and how it is projected to change over time, due to attrition and other trends. To make assessment of supply of human resources for the organization it should begin with the current human resource inventory of the organization. It is also known as auditing of human resource to be undertaken by the departments of the organization where complete information regarding skills, abilities, qualifications, capacity for hard work is available and so also the quantity and quality of human resources manning various positions, the probable retirements.

The supply of human resources may be less because of layoffs, dismissals, voluntary retirements, retirements, deaths etc. If the supply is less than the demand for or is inadequate to meet the requirement for human resources then it can be fulfilled through external sources. The graduates from educational institutions serve the purpose.

                                                      5.Matching Demand and Supply

Matching the demand and supply is where the hiring process gets tricky—and where the rest of the human resources management planning process comes into place. 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.

The organization must follow the human resource philosophy as a guiding principle. Career planning must be kept in view while planning for human resources.   

Conclusion:

Human resources planning should be flexible enough to control and meet staffing challenges  always. HRP starts by assessing and auditing the current capacity of human resources. Therefore it should be followed these 5 steps in HRP in a company and it helps to strategically reach business goals.       

References:    

What is Organizational Analysis? [online] Available at: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/management/organizational-analysis/[Accessed on 25th Apr.2023]

Human Resource Planning (HRP) Meaning, Process, and Examples [online] Available at:   https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/human-resource planning.[Accessed on 25th Apr.2023]

Top 5 Steps Involved in Human Resource Planning Process [online] Available at: https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/human-resource-planning/top-5-steps-involved-in-human-resource-planning-process/60204 [Accessed on 25th Apr.2023]

What is HR forecasting? [online] Available at:https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/hr-forecasting.[Accessed on 25th Apr.2023]

Supply Analysis [online] Available at:https://hr.nih.gov/workforce/workforce-planning/supply-analysis.[Accessed on 25th Apr.2023]

4 steps to strategic human resource planning [online] Available at:  https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/what-is-the-human-resources-planning-process.[Accessed on 25th Apr.2023]

       

Role of Technology in Human Resource Management

Connection between Technology and HR Management

Introduction

Nowadays, entrepreneurs with business acumen have acknowledged the power of information technology (IT) tools for reaching business targets. It not only helps achieve the business goals but also optimizes the work processes.

Human Resource Management (HRM) includes activities such as recruiting, training, developing and rewarding people in the organization. 

Technology helps HR managers do their jobs more efficiently, make better decisions for the company, and maximize the potential and productivity of their staff.

 

        

Figure 01:Role of Technology in Human Resource Management By The Human Capital Hub

 HRM must aim at achieving competitiveness in the field of HR by providing constant educational and training programs for the personal and professional development of the employees of the organization. 

Information Technology may have a greater impact on organizations that exist in a dynamic environment. This will lead to greater efficiency and effectiveness of the Human Resources.  Innovation in Human Resource Management can manifest itself in a number of ways:

To identify solutions quickly and flexibly during a negotiation

To identify new ideas for products and services

To identify new markets

There are a lot of ways in which the company uses technology to make more money. Some of the ways are as below:

Employee management: Employee management deals with achieving the full potential of the employees of the organization.

Employee engagement: This kind of employee engagement is increasingly used in performance management.

Training and development: Most of the training programs are organized digitally according to the individual’s needs.

Recruitment: To keep the recruitment process running smoothly, the digital platform makes it easier to hire people through them. 

 Examples of how Technology is used in HR management

1. Documentation

The HR department is tasked to ensure that employees have timely access to important information. This increases transparency within the company. This is essential for employee productivity.

HR technology makes use of a cloud-based system to store important employee data. This ensures that the data is available throughout the day. Additionally it makes sure that it is safeguarded even in the case of a physical disaster.

2. Integrated Management System

HR is needed to collaborate with other departments inside the organization. They traditionally shared responsibilities with payroll. Today, it is required to share information and resources with other departments. These include the legal department, executives, and team leaders.

3. Employee Scheduling and Tracking

Simple things like overlapping leave requests can wreak havoc on a company's efficiency. The right HR software ensures that professionals can monitor employee availability. It also helps manage schedules properly. This enables the company to operate at maximum productivity throughout the year.

4.Travel and expense management

payroll is a travel and expense software, which HR departments use to provide travel services to employees, record related expenses, pay providers and reimburse the employee through a link to the payroll service.  

5.Talent management

Talent management is the process of recruiting, developing, evaluating and compensating employees. It is often managed in separate applications or in talent management software suites that consist of integrated modules for recruitment and onboarding, learning and development, performance management, compensation management, and succession planning.

6. Performance management

As employers have automated other previously manual HR functions, they have also started to embrace the idea of monitoring employees' job performance continuously instead of with the traditional annual job review.

7. Benefits administration

As a whole, HR technology for benefits administration is began to become digitized more recently, not only by putting benefits information online, but also by enabling employees to engage with benefits choices more easily.

As that digital transformation has picked up speed in recent years, benefits have come to mean more than just health and disability insurance, vacation and sick days.

8.Data management and critical analysis

Data management becomes easier when IT is used and it becomes paper-free. Many of the monotonous work is no longer manual. This increases the efficiency of the work and the effectiveness of it. Organizational performance can lead to the timely success of the business whether in a stable or an unstable environment. 

9.Cost-reduction and efficiency

The management of an organization is accountable to the owners of the business for the performance and the achievements of the organization. Managers can perform well and justify their authority only if they produce the desired economic results, for instance, the profits they have desired to achieve in a period of time. 

10.Inventory management tools and HR management

Entrepreneurs with business acumen describe that the performance of an organization can be made more effective and efficient by customer intimacy, operational efficiency, and leading edge. Customer needs must be met by customization and by providing outstanding customer instances. For this purpose, organizations use HR IT tools to provide a universal set of products and diversify the business by providing improved products and services.

Conclusion:

Technology has brought about the beneficial transformation that is required in the HR department. Technology that centralizes administrative tasks helps put HR professionals’ priorities into more important tasks.

References:

Impact of Information Technology on Human Resource Management [online] Available at: 

https://www.profilesasiapacific.com/2020/01/21/information-technology-hrm/ [Accessed on 25th Apr.2023]

Role of Technology in Human Resource Management [online] Available at: https://www.thehumancapitalhub.com/articles/role-of-technology-in-human-resource-management [Accessed on 25th Apr.2023]

Role of Technology in Human Resource  [online] Available at:Development https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/gcblogs/role-of-technology-in-human-resource-development-51391/ [Accessed on 25th Apr.2023]

Stredwick, J., 2013. An introduction to human resource management. Routledge.

Mishra, A. and Akman, I., 2010. Information technology in human resource management: An empirical assessment. Public Personnel Management, 39(3), pp.271-290.

 The 5 Main Roles in Human Resource Management

Figure 01: Major roles in HR By Regina Ongkiko

An effective Human Resources (HR) management department can help provide organizational structure and the ability to meet business needs by managing your business’s most valuable asset – your employees.

Several disciplines make up the HR department, and human resources managers working at least smaller companies might perform more than one of the five main duties: 

1.Talent management

2.Compensation and benefits for employees

3.Training and development

4.HR Compliance

5.Workplace safety

We can discuss about them as follows:

                                                       1.Talent management

The talent management team in the HR department rolled up all the distinct areas under one umbrella. The talent management team is responsible for recruiting, hiring, developing, and retaining employees.

A recruiter’s success is determined by several key metrics: the number of positions they fill each year, where candidates are coming from (e.g., job postings, social media, career fairs, etc.), the time it takes to fill positions, and reasons why an applicant wasn’t hired.

Recruiters are the heavy lifters in building any company’s workforce. Employee relations or support is the area of the talent management team that is concerned with strengthening the employer-employee relationship. The talent management group is also home to HR practitioners who focus on workforce planning and management. This area includes succession planning and retention efforts across the business, from the C-suite on down. 

     

Figure 02: 10 Tips for a Successful Strategy By  Erik Van Vulpen

                                      2. Compensation and benefits for employees

 In smaller companies the compensation and benefits roles can often be overseen by one or two human resources professionals, but companies with a larger workforce will typically split up the duties. HR functions in compensation include evaluating the pay practices of competitors and establishing the compensation structure. The compensation department is also responsible for creating job descriptions in tandem with department managers, as well as working with talent management on succession planning.

                                                     

Figure 03: Employee Benefits By PCG Services.com

                                                3.Training and development

Every company wants to see its employees thrive, which means providing them with all the tools they need to succeed. These tools aren’t necessarily physical such as laptops, job-related software, or tools for a particular trade; they can include new employee orientation, leadership training programs, personal and professional development, and managerial training. Training refers to a systematic setup where employees are instructed and taught matters of technical knowledge related to their jobs.  

Today, many colleges and universities offer degrees in training and development; an instructional design degree would also be helpful in this role. It is depending on the type of employee role played at the company.

                                          

Figure 04:Training and Development in HR (source-fhlb.com)

                                                   4.HR Compliance

      HR compliance is defined as the process of aligning workplace policies with a city’s, state’s, country’s, and the world’s labor laws in sync with industry-specific regulations. In addition to policy setup, enforcing practices to follow these policies daily is also part of HR compliance.   

 When a business is out of compliance, it can result in applicants or employees filing claims based on discriminatory hiring and employment practices or hazardous working conditions. The HR compliance team is also heavily involved working in tandem with other HR practitioners- in developing all company policy that makes up the employee handbook.

Figure 05:The role of HR Compliance By Meghna Kaushal

                                                 5. Workplace Safety

Every company wants to provide a safe place to work for its employees, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) actually mandates that employers provide a safe working environment for their workers. A large focus area for HR is developing and supporting safety training and maintaining federally mandated logs in the event injuries or fatalities happen at work.

                                

Figure 06:What is HR role's in safety? By Report Source 

Conclusion:

If someone wants to become an HR professional it is  needed to have a basic know-how of what all it entails. Then they can become an HR generalist or a specialist, depending on how they want to shape their career in  HR field. These 5 main roles play an important disciplines in HR management. It can be concluded that if somebody wans to be a HR professional, they should follow this 5 main roles definitely. 

References:

10 Tips for a Successful Strategy By  Erik Van Vulpen [online] Available at: https://www.softwaretrends.com/blog/the-3-major-roles-in-hr/2020/01/20/ [Accessed on 23rd Apr.2023]

Proper Differentiation between Wage and Hourly Employees is Critical  [online] Available at: https://www.pcg-services.com/proper-differentiation-between-wage-hourly-employees-critical/[Accessed on 23rd Apr.2023]

Training and Development [online] Available at: www.toppr.com/guides/business-management-and-entrepreneurship/human-resource-management/training-and-development/[Accessed on 23rd Apr.2023]

What Is HR Compliance? Definition, Checklist, Best Practices, and Key Issues [online] Available at: ttps://www.spiceworks.com/hr/hr-compliance/articles/what-is-hr-compliance/[Accessed on 23rd Apr.2023]

What Is Hr.'s Role In  Safety?[online] Available at: Https://Ireportsource.Com/Blog/What-Is-Hrs-Role-In-Safety/[Accessed on 23rd Apr.2023]

Main Functions of Human Resource Management [online] Available at:  https://talentedge.com/articles/six-main-functions-human-resource-management/[Accessed on 23rd Apr.2023]

What Is HR’s R

ole in Safety?

The Top 10 Competencies and skills for HR Professionals.

What are the most important Top 10 skills and competencies for HR professionals.

Introduction

Human Resource management is one of the main criteria of  any successful organization in the world. Simply,

''Human resource management (HRM) is the practice of recruiting, hiring, deploying and managing an organization's employees'' Chai w, Sutner s,(December 2020)

HR professionals is not only a position in the  successful organization. It must be combined with business' strategic plan. And the HR team should have good skills and competencies for managing their employees. Following are the most important skills and competencies  for HR professionals.

• Interpersonal skills
• Communications skills.
• Active listening skills.
• Critical thinking skills.
• The ability to be flexible.
• Learning and unlearning competence.
• Emotional intelligence.
• Conflict resolution.
• Expertise in using technological.
• Analytical expertise.

These competencies will ensure the professionals keep their A-game on and contribute effectively to the organization’s growth.

1.Interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skill is the ability to interact with people around, both verbally and nonverbally. Without a doubt, this is one of the primary key competencies for HR professionals. As the name suggests, the first job of any HR person is being human with the employees.

From the day an employee is recruited to the day they walk away from the organization, HR’s support is needed, which is why interpersonal skills become essential.

Some of the features of interpersonal skills are:

• Being approachable
• Being available in person and emotionally
• Ability to interact with employees, making them feel at ease
• Knowing the art of being professional yet friendly

                                                                   Figure 01: The importance of Interpersonal Skills in Business By Mike Podesto

2.Communication skills

Communication skills can be considered a sub-sect of interpersonal skills. While this is important for everyone, for an HR professional, this is vital. Many HR professionals assume that they have great communication skills because they constantly converse with employees. However, conversation and communication are two completely different skill sets.

A conversation is the mere exchange of words and thoughts and can be done by anyone at any point in time. Conversation is mostly informal. Communication, on the other hand, requires the person to think, validate their thoughts, and then speak. A person can alter the next course of action by communicating right. HR professionals need to learn the art of communication. Sometimes, they would be required to pacify employees and, at times, speak for them.

In some cases, the way they talk could be the difference between an employee staying back or quitting. So, communication is one of the vital HR  competencies professionals need to learn and master over time.

 Figure 02: Communication Skills Workplace Success By Alison Doyle Updated on March 13,2021

3.Active listening skills

Did you know that a person spends 55% of their time in a day listening? However, research states that only 17-25% of this information is actually listened to and retained. Active listening is the process of listening to someone, understanding the meaning, responding to it the right way, and retaining the information.

This is one of the HR core competencies that HR professionals need to build over time.

Here are a few ways to actively listen to employees.

• Maintain eye contact
• Show nonverbally that you are interested in the conversation
• Keep an open mind and do not rush with judgments.
• Ask questions in between to show that you are actively listening.
• Do make notes if necessary.
• You can nod your head, smile in acknowledgement, or politely ask them to continue in between pauses.
• Give regular verbal and nonverbal feedback

Figure 03 :Making Sure Students know were Listening By MIDDLEWEB published 11/08/2022 

4.Critical thinking skills

Critical thinking is the ability to critically analyze evidence, facts, and observations and come to a solution. It is one off the HR skills and competencies that help steer clear of stereotypes, judgments, and partialities in the workplace. When you learn to think critically, you will approach problems methodically, with the highest quality of fair-mindedness and analysis. As a result, employees and the management would be more comfortable coming to you with grievances and issues, knowing you will analyze them and put forward the right solution.

.                                       

5.The ability to be flexible

An HR manager is not just someone to manage the HR team and answer grievances. HR leaders are a part of the global CXOs and are a part of every business decision taken by the organization. That is why one of the competencies of HR managers is to be flexible and adaptable. They need to rethink company policies and find best practices from competitors constantly.

These managers need to be on their toes to find newer tactics to keep employees engaged and productive. This needs to happen, even if it means changing processes upside down and making completely new policies and procedures.

6.Learning and unlearning competence

Learning is an important competency skill. Surprisingly, unlearning is too. Unlearning is the ability to move on from outdated skills, competencies, and beliefs and learn new things. One of the HR skills and competencies that HR experts need to know is unlearning. The faster an HR individual unlearns and relearns, the more effective they will be as a backbone for the organization.

As a team, make sure you invest in HR-based learning and development programs for everyone in the HR department. As an HR individual, take an active interest in finding new trends and keep updating your knowledge and skills.

7.Emotional intelligence

Now, this is one of the HR core competencies that has gained popularity in the recent past. For those with no prior introduction to the term, it is defined as the ability to control, understand, manage, and showcase emotions correctly.

EI is a competency that is valued during high-pressure situations. This term was introduced only during the 1990s and became popular when Dan Goleman wrote a book about Emotional Intelligence. So, what can you achieve with the right levels of EI at the workplace?

• You can resolve conflicts better
• You can encourage and motivate others
• You can prevent personal emotions from affecting workplace relationships
• You can build qualities like collaboration and synergy with teammates

A 2003 article in Harvard Business Review mentions that about 80% of all the top competencies needed to become top performers in an organization fall under the bracket of Emotional Intelligence! No wonder this is listed as one of the top HR competencies.

8.Conflict resolution

This is one of the most straightforward of all the HR competencies. As an HR individual, you will be required to resolve conflicts regularly at the workplace – between employees or between an employee and the management. De-escalating tension and helping the concerned parties to reach a reasonable consensus is an essential role of an HR professional.

                                                           

9.Expertise in using technology

The sheer amount of technological growth the HR industry has seen in the last decade is astonishing. HR individuals, who, ten years back, collected resumes from peers, shortlisted them and arranged for interviews, now use AI to automate the initial recruitment processes completely. HR experts, who used time sheets to measure productivity, now use smart tools.

HR technological expertise has become one of the game-changing competencies of HR managers and experts to grow in their roles and become a thought-leader in the industry. Possible Works makes it easier for HR experts to understand and use the latest technology tools by simplifying and customizing them based on requirements. Our tools support the HR team like a rock and help them get more effective, analytical, and critical in their decision-making processes.

                                                                                       

10.Analytical expertise

Analytical expertise could be a derivation of technological expertise. The right tools give you enough data to analyze employee behavior, productivity levels, and workplace trends and make data-driven decisions. Analytical expertise is one of the key competencies for HR that will be a strategic advantage to the organization. As HR processes get more analytical, solutions get better and more streamlined.

Again, investing in the right technological tools will help make processes more analytical. So HR experts, along with picking the right tools, need to train themselves to use the vast amount of data mines these tools offer.

Conclusion

Most HR folks come with the right educational degree to work in this particular field. However, these 10 HR core competencies need to be inculcated over time. They need to be learned, practiced, believed in, and upgraded regularly if an HR professional wants to make a difference. Just like how you have competency-based assessments for other employees, creating competency evaluation sessions for the HR department will help understand competency gaps and allow these experts to hone their HR skills and competencies and grow as a professional.

References:

Human Resource Management (HRM) by Chai w, and Sutnar s, December 2020 [online] available at:https://www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/definition/human-resource-management-HRM[Accessed at: 21 Apr.2023]

Vu, G.T.H., 2017. A critical review of human resource competency model: Evolvement in required competencies for human resource professionals. Journal of economics, business and management, 5(12), pp.357-365.

Schramm, J., 2006. Hr technology competencies. SHRM Research Quarterly, 1, pp.1-11.

The Top 10 Competencies and Skills Vital for HR Professionals.Possibleworks 2023.[online]Availble at:https://possibleworks.com/blog/top-core-competencies-for-hr-professionals/  [Accessed at:21 Apr.2023]

Legge, K. and Legge, K., 1995. What is human resource management? (pp. 62-95). Macmillan Education UK.[Accessed at: 21 Apr 2023]

 Communication Skills Workplace Success By Alison Doyle Updated on March13,2021[online] Availble at:https://www.google.com/url [Accessed at:21 Apr.2023]

5 components of emotional intelligence By Jacob Morgon[online]Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-components-emotional-intelligence-jacob-morgan[Accessed at:21 Apr.2023]

The evolution of HR Tech post 2020 [online]Available at: https://www.peoplemattersglobal.com/article/hr-technology/the-evolution-of-hr-tech-in-post-2020-29077[Accessed at:21 Apr.2023]

 What is the Role of the HR Analyst? By Erik van Vulpen[online]Available at: https://www.aihr.com/blog/hr-analyst-role/[Accessed at:21 Apr.2023]