Human Resources Planning and Development

Human Resources Planning and Development Chapter 8 Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources Management Systems: A Practical Approach • By Glenn M. Rampton, Ian J. Turnbull, J. Allen Doran ISBN 0-459-56370-X Carswell Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Internal and External Trends Increasingly, legislative, sociodemographic and business trends are exerting pressures for organizational change (Solomon, 1994). Many organizations are finding it easier to make technical changes than to make accompanying human resources changes. In fact, the ability to adapt their human resources to new requirements is proving to be a limiting factor to success for many organizations (Coates, 1990; Towers Perrin, 1992). Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Reasons why HRP&D is becoming more important Skill shortages in key areas (e.g., systems analysts, engineers, data base specialist, information/communications specialists) caused by a greater demand for information processing/skills along with a shrinking labour force (the baby bust) making it increasingly important to plan for, and to develop staff effectively. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Reasons why HRP&D is Becoming More Important (Cont’d) • the requirement to foster management teams capable of "accomplishing more with less", and with a more diverse workforce. • the challenge of containing human resources costs in the context of the trend by governments to off-load training/development, health, benefits, and other costs onto corporations. • the pressures of accelerating social and legislative changes (e.g., pay equity, employment equity, etc.). • the challenge of making the most of staff, many of whom are educationally very well qualified, but under utilized. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Reasons why HRP&D is Becoming More Important (Cont’d) Corporate downsizing, restructuring, and the move to organizational levelling is leading to fewer, and more widely placed rungs on the corporate ladder. This, along with more sophisticated demands in many jobs, will make the transition between levels more difficult, rendering the probability of being able to learn the skills required for successive levels by osmosis alone, less likely. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Reasons why HRP&D is Becoming More Important (Cont’d) The available workforce is becoming more diversely based; increasingly composed of new Canadians; women, entering or re-entering the workforce; and members of ethnic minorities (Coates, 1990). Although these individuals will bring many skills and abilities with them, the ability to assess and keep track of: skills and qualifications; as well as, progress on skills refocusing and upgrading programmes, will be an increasingly important HRMS function (Liker & Thomas, 1991). Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Reasons why HRP&D is Becoming More Important (Cont’d) Many organizations are finding that alarming numbers of secondary and post-secondary school graduates do not have the literacy, numeracy, and technical skills that they require (Coates, 1990). Some of these problems may stem from the fact that increasing numbers of employees are working in their second language, while technological and other changes are creating new demands that the educational system cannot respond to quickly enough. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Importance of an HRMS The need to plan more systematically for the people required to staff and manage organizations, now, and into the future is critical (Cascio & Thacker, 1994; Dyer & Holder, 1988; Urlich, 1986; Wagel, 1990). Such planning cannot be done effectively in organizations any size beyond a few hundred employees without the support of an HRMS (Horsfield, 1991). Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Importance of an HRMS (Cont’d) • With the support of such tools human resources staff have increasingly been able to demonstrate that they have an important contribution to make to bottom line strategic corporate decision-making (Rampton & Doran, 1994; Snell, Pedigo, Krawiec, 1994). • Those human resources executives that have been able to show that they have something important to contribute to the bottom-line success of the organization are increasingly being welcomed to sit on senior executive committees (Dyer & Holder, 1988; Wagel, 1990). Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources Planning(Cont’d) The objective of human resources planning is to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of competent and motivated employees to meet an organization's need now, and for the foreseeable future. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources Planning The use of an HRMS in strategic corporate decision-making should result in improved: • understanding of the human resources implications of business/operational strategies; • awareness of the experience, knowledge and ability in the organization's employees; • productivity; • selection/development of potential replacements for key/vulnerable positions. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Demand and Supply Forecasting • The structure of an organization's workforce, including the number of employees that may be required, with specified skills, in defined positions should be determined from the organization's strategic/business plans through Demand Forecasting • The availability of human resources to meet these demands, whether from within the organization, or from the external labour market may be determined through Supply Forecasting Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources/Succession Planning There is sometimes confusion in the difference between human resources and succession planning. We have found the following rule of thumb to be useful in distinguishing between the two (see also, Walker, 1980): • human resources planning is aimed at resolving gaps that may exist for human resources of certain skills, whether across the organization, or in specific organizational units. • Succession planning, is aimed at determining how specific key, and/or vulnerable positions are to be filled appropriately. Thus, in operating specifically at the position, or individual level succession planning may be regarded as a subset or special application of human resources planning. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources Reports Using information contained in the position, person, and organization modules,of an HRMS reports can be done on: • the structure of the organization, as well as units within it relative to defined organizational requirements; • the numbers of unfilled positions; • the qualifications and assessed performance of the workforce relative to present and future defined requirements; • the age distribution of the workforce, across the organization, within organizational units, and within specific functions; • employment equity reports, including the distribution of women, individuals with disabilities, native people, and visible minorities in the workforce relative to the distribution of such individuals in the population; • turnover statistics by unit, function, qualifications, employment equity category, etc. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources Reports (Cont’d) May be used to help line management answer such questions as: • are there any special business/economic factors that are likely to have major effects on the organization over the next one to five years? • what will the organizational unit look like one year from now? Two years from now? Three years from now? • what organizational problems are being experienced? • what human resources problems are being experienced? Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources/Succession Planning Significant parts of the data required for human resources planning (e.g., performance appraisal results, academic qualifications, skills inventories, applicant data, turnover data, job description and job requirements data) should be resident in the HRMS, as should an analysis capability so that relationships may be drawn in the data, and the results of these analysis reported in clear, "user-friendly" form. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources/Succession Planning (Cont’d) Knowing what is on the system, as well as how to conduct the requisite analyses, and report the results provides human resources personnel with a golden opportunity for gaining credibility with line management in an area that is becoming increasingly important to the long-term health of an organization. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources/Succession Planning (Cont’d) The human resources practitioner should be able to use the HRMS to provide statistical overviews for the whole organization, as well as each unit involved in human resources/succession planning. The overview should summarize flow data, such as recruitment, separations, promotions, transfers and turnover, and personal data such as sex, designated group for employment equity purposes, language(s), group and level, age, and years of service. A preliminary estimate of potential vacancies based on retirement projections should also be provided. More detailed assessments of these data may be conducted with line management wherein information can be added that is not formally contained on the HRMS, but may be known in the work environment, such as possible transfers, promotions, resignations, retirements, and so on Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources/Succession Planning (Cont’d) The HRMS should contain, or at least have access to job description information that can be related to its module(s) containing detailed information on the positions and organizational structure. It should have the capability of presenting this information quickly and flexibly, in "user-friendly" form. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources/Succession Planning (Cont’d) The human resources practitioner should then do summary analyses which can be provided to line management in advance of any HRP meetings, and should be prepared to do further "what if" modelling as part of the planning process. Line management should use this information to review job descriptions/positions that will probably become vacant in the next few years, and or/those that have significant operational impact. The job description information should be examined to help identify the major qualities of experience, knowledge and ability that will be required in successors to the present incumbent Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources/Succession Planning (Cont’d) The HRMS can then be used to provide information on current employees, including latest performance review and career development reports that have been completed and entered on the system. Summary reports of this information prepared by human resources practitioners and supplied to line management beforehand can be used to refresh memories regarding individual strengths, areas that need improvement, career interests, and development plans. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources/Succession Planning (Cont’d) A human resources practitioner can help line management identify potential successors for all positions that have been identified as "key and or vulnerable”. (S)he can also play a special role in using the HRMS in identifying appropriate individuals in organizational units other than the one in question. The human resources/succession planning module of the HRMS should have preestablished screens that allow those responsible for human resources/succession planning to document the additional knowledge experience, or formal training that is determined to be necessary for the identified individuals to qualify as a candidates when each position becomes vacant. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources/Succession Planning (Cont’d) The organizational charting function of an HRMS should be able to show the relation of such "key or vulnerable" positions to each other, and to other positions in the organizational, thus providing a graphic overview of the health of management "depth" of the organization, as well as where there might be weaknesses Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources/Succession Planning (Cont’d) Human resources/succession planning is often done by committees formed from the senior management team of the organizational unit concerned, with the head of the unit as chair, and a human resources practitioner as a resource person. Such a committee attempts to reconcile the demand of personnel with the required skill mix and the available supply reflected in the career planning and development information, and summary reports available through the HRMS. The committee examines this information in the context of what the unit requires now and for the future, both generally and for specific positions (including employment equity considerations). Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources/Succession Planning (Cont’d) The main basis for human resources/succession plans are organizational requirements (as determined by the demand/supply forecasts as outlined earlier), along with the resources to make them happen. It is generally more effective and economical to develop human resources internally. When, however, it is evident that certain requirements will not, or may not be met through such efforts, then the human resources plan will have contingencies to ensure that appropriate individuals are recruited externally. Copywrite 1999 PMi www.pmihrm.com

Human Resources Planning and Development