HR Chapter 4.(MQC)

Question 1

Human resource planning (HRP) referred to as

Answer 1

• workforce planning or personnel/manpower planning

Question 2

Define Human Resource Planning(HRP)

Answer 2

• The process of anticipating and providing for the movement of people into, within and out of an organisation

Question 3

Name the different Linkages and how they come help of HR planning

Answer 3

o Input linkages
♣ Information is made available either before or during the strategic planning process
♣ Take place through a specialised HR unit doing scanning or through a specialised committee of HR personnel

o Decision inclusion linkages
♣ Either directly or indirectly involved in the strategic planning process of the company
♣ Participate in developing overall goals and strategies
♣ Sit in during a strategy session and participate only in discussions of HR issues

o Review and reaction linkages
♣ Respond to a proposed or final strategic plan
♣ Reviewed from an HR flexibility and desirability viewpoint or they may even have sign off authority

Question 4

What is a Planning horizon and how long is each

Answer 4

• Time frame or planning horizon: the length of time over which the objectives and the plan for accomplishing them will occur

o Short range objectives – one year or less
o Intermediate objectives – 2-4 years (objectives are specific)
o Long range objectives – 5-15 years (objectives are more general

Question 5

Who is responsible for SHRP?

Answer 5

• Main responsibility rests with HR managers at all levels
• Must liaise with line managers
• For the HR professional to be successful:
o Will have to be knowledgeable about the organisation
o Demonstrate their competence and expertise to line managers
o Developing linkages between HR planning and strategic company planning is a process that occurs over time

Question 6

Steps in the SHRP process

Answer 6

1. Establish the mission, vision and values
   • Establishment of the purpose of the organisations and why the organisation exists
   • Identifies where the organisation is headed in the future
   • The main principles and belief system
   • Organisations have to analyse the situation by monitoring and assessing the company mission and core business, its strategic plans and parameters, its concepts and structure and the culture and HR related challenges
2. Conduct an environment analysis
   • Economic factors, legislative matters, changes in technology and trends in the market and labour market
   • Environmental scanning is conducted to gather information about trends and anticipated developments in the external and internal environment and their relevance for HR strategy
3. Internal analysis
   • The organisations can determine what they need to change and improve and what they doing well
   • Need to look at what they will need in the future in terms of human resources
4. Forecasting demand
   • Determination of the total manpower requirements of the company
   • The types, numbers, skills and location of employees during the planning period must be determined
   • Forecasting involves approximations
   • Demand forecasting frequently involve analysing past trends, productivity levels and linking company plans to productivity levels and projecting future needs
   • Factors to be taken into account: absenteeism, management philosophy and technology
5. Forecasting supply
   • Evaluation of the future supply of labour needed in the organisation
   • Internal supply, require that the company has maintained a history of employee characteristics e.g. job classification and age profiles
   • External supply (local, national or international) will be derived from an assessment of demographic, government policies and labour mobility
   o Also review of labour markets and availability of skills
   • Employee surveys are one method used to investigate the opinions of employees
6. Developing, formulating and implementing a strategy
   • Corporate strategy – in what markets do they compete, how do they compete and against which organisation
   • Organisations can use SWOT analysis for this purpose
   • Business strategy – the domain in which they operate given this domain they need to decide whether they need to look at
   • Functional strategy – translation of the corporate and business strategies into the functional areas of the organisation
   • Important that there is a connection between objectives of the organisation and initiatives that HR takes (vertical alignment) , HR practices should be aligned with each other (horizontal fit)
   • The ultimate goal is to improve the quality of strategic company decisions by ensuring an appropriate match between human resources capital resources and physical resources
7. Succession planning
   • Does not formally form part of SHRP but is the logical next step
   • Succession planning – The process of identifying a longer-term plan for the orderly replacement of key employees
   • Needs to take place for individual positions within the company as a result of promotions, retirements and death
   • Involves identifying key management positions the organisation cannot afford to have vacant

Question 7

List a few Common pitfalls in SHRP

Answer 7

• The identity crisis – Unless HR planners develop a strong sense of mission (direction) their existence might be challenged
• Top management support – For the process to be viable it must have the full support of management. Sometimes this might not be forthcoming
• Size of effort - Many SHRP fail in the beginning because of complex start, better to build the system gradually rather than start with a complex start
• Integration with company plans – must be derived from organisational plans