Every manager is required to perform manpower planning in his department. Sometimes the manpower planning is required to be performed at the enterprise level.
Following are the main steps required to be taken in an organisation for manpower planning-
1.Assessment of current manpower requirement.
2.Forecasting of future manpower requirement.
3.Make a recruitment plan.
4.Design training and development plan.
1. Assessment of current manpower requirement-
The first step of manpower planning is to assess the current man power availability and its requirement. This procedure is similar to stock taking. The present inventory of the personnel which exists in stock is compared with what is exthat time. This will indicate the needs of expansion. The existing performance should also be evaluated to take decision about training and development plans…
The management should also try to develop the talented employees in advance because it can not be possible to find just when it is required.
2. Forecasting of future manpower requirement- The second important step in manpower planning is to forecast the manpower requirement. The forecasting may be both in terms of quantity and quality. Basically manpower forecast is based on the possibility of number of vacancies due to retirement, death. resignation, transfer and promotion. So the manpower requirement involves two areas of forecasting-
1.Increment in number of positions due to growth and expansion.
2.Number of vacancies created by retirement may be made by various techniques like judgement, pastntrend, work-study and productivity. A few techniques of forecasting manpower requirement are as follows
(a) Managerial Judgement- Under this method experienced managers estimate the manpower requirements for their respective departments on the basis of their knowledge of expected future work load and employees’ efficiency. These departmental estimates are then aggregated and approved by top management.
This is a very simple and time-saving method. But it is quite subjective and is, therefore, suitable only for small firms. The estimates based on experience can be refined to some extent with the assistance of work study, O & M and personnel experts. This method helps in judging the influence of informal group norms on manpower needs.
(b) Work Study Method- In this method, time and
motion study are used to analyse and measure the work being done. With the help of such studies standard time required per unit of work is decided.
Work study method is more appropriate for repetitive and manual jobs when it is possible to measure work and set standards. Job methods should not be changed frequently.
(c) Ratio-Trend Analysis- Under this method ratios
(e.g., total Output / number of sales persons, direct workers/indirect workers), are calculated on the basis of past data.
Future ratios are calculated on the basis of time series analysis/extrapolation, after making allowances for expectednchanges in organisation, methods and jobs. Extrapolationnor projection is mathematical expansions of past data into a future time period. Moving averages and exponentialbsmoothing can be used for projection. On the basis of established ratios, the demand for human resources is estimated.
3. Make a recruitment plan- Once the manpower
gaps are identified, plans are prepared to bridge these gaps.If there is surplus manpower, it may be transferred to other department or retrenched. Appropriate plans should be made for the procurement and development of manpower. All the factors which affect the manpower objectives of the organisation should be considered. In short, the present manpower must be compared with future requirement to decide thenneed. This comparison should be both quantitative and qualitative. Then only recruitment plan can be made.
4. Design training and development plan- This is the next step of making a recruitment plan. Immediately after recruitment, manpower training and development plan is designed. The manpower can be useful only if it is welltrained. It should have appropriate knowledge and skill, so that it may be productive. In fact, there is requirement of transformation, it is possible only through training and development. This plan is necessary, not only for existing manpower but also for the new manpower recruited. Then only an organisation can achieve its targets. In short, manpower planning includes not only the forecasting of manpower requirement but also its training and development to make it more productive and useful for organisation. The above discussed process is not rigid. It may be modified, reviewed and adjusted according to the needs of organisation.
