TABLE OF CONTENTS When you have read this chapter and carried out the activities, you will be able to:
Understand the purpose of human resources planning (HRP) in an uncertain world.
Identify the main issues that influence the way HRP is approached.
Draw up an outline plan by following the three-stage planning approach.
Conduct simple mathematical calculations to identify demand and supply data.
Identify the necessary implementation strategies and practices to achieve success.
Assess the extent to which HRP can improve organisational effectiveness.
Manpower planning in large UK companies was once the centre of influence for human resource (HR) professionals. A period of 2 to 3 years in the department that collected and processed vast amount of internal and external staffing and market data, identified the labour needs for 5 years ahead and then produced a master plan of recruitment, training and career development to meet all those needs, was considered an essential milestone on the road to high office. The influence of the staffing master plan, just as in the Soviet equivalent, could not be under-estimated as it guided the majority of HR activities in a predictable world.
Today, as set out in Chapter 1, we are no longer sure of what the future will hold even 2 or 3 years down the line. Large organisations still have strategic plans, but these are set out in more general terms of shareholder returns and competitive stance. They provide for flexibility to take advantage of opportunities that arise and to cope with...
