Views of Planning Human Resources

1. Views of Planning Human Resources • Planning for human resources has had a chequered past • Planning is a critical tool for business success • A sustainable tool for managing downsizing and redundancies • No longer meaningful • An important contribution in supporting strategic HRM

2. Planning & Strategy A common view – virtually one and the same hence the term Strategic Planning

3. Strategic Thinking & Strategic Planning Mintzberg (1994) made such a distinction Strategic thinking – about synthesis, intuition, creativity to produce a not too precise articulated vision of direction Strategic planning – about collecting the relevant information to stimulate the visioning process and programming vision into what needs to be done to get there

4. HR Planning Contribution • Planning as strategic programming • Planning as tools to communicate and control • Planners as analysts • Planners as catalysts

5. How HR Planning is Critical to Strategy HR planning can identify: • Gaps in capabilities • Surpluses in capabilities • Poor utilisation of people • Developing a talent pool (Lam & Schaubroeck 1998)

6. Factors That Make Planning Difficult • Rapid and discontinuous change in environment • Free will of people

7. Factors That Enhance The Contribution and Implementation of HR Planning (1 of 2) • Viewing plans as being flexible • Regular review of plans • Involvement of all stakeholders in planning process • Planning owned and driven by senior managers rather than HR specialists

8. Factors That Enhance The Contribution and Implementation of HR Planning (2 of 2) • Linking plans to business and HR strategy • User friendly plans that are not overly complex • Where necessary plan on an issue by issue basis

9. Traditional View of HR Planning Traditionally HR planning (manpower planning) was concerned with the numbers of employees and having the right number of people with the right levels and types of skill in the organisation

10. Traditional Manpower Planning Model Figure 3.2  A model of traditional manpower planning

11. Problems With the Traditional Manpower Planning Model • Too much reliance on calculations of employee numbers or potential numbers • Gives insufficient attention to skills • Does not allow planning for soft issues

12. An Integrated HR Planning Framework Figure 3.3  Integrated human resource planning framework

13. Analysing the Environment • Identify how difficult or easy it will be to find employees with the necessary skills • Identify what employees want from an employer • The impact of legislation that will limit or widen conditions of employment • Data about employment trends

14. Categorising Trends • Social • Demographics • Political and legislative • Industrial & technological • Competitors

15. Social Trends – Possible Sources • Census information • CIPD journals • News media • General Household Survey • Employment Gazette • Social trends • Local papers

16. Demographic Trends – Possible Sources • Labour Market Quarterly • Census information • Employment Gazette • Local Council • Learning and Skills Councils

17. Political and Legislative Trends – Possible Sources • News media • Proceedings of European Parliament • Proceedings of British Parliament • Hansard • Industrial Relations Review and Report • Industrial Law Journal • IDS Brief

18. Industrial & Technological Trends – Possible Sources • Employment Digest • Journals specifically for the industry business is in • Financial Times • Employers’ associations • Trade associations

19. Competitor Trends – Possible Sources • Annual reports • Talking to competitors

20. Mapping the Environment Figure 3.4  Mapping the environment

21. Forecasting Future HR Needs • Undertaken by the use of management judgment • Three simple techniques that can help - HR implications checklist - HR scorecard - Scenarios

22. Beginnings of a Human Resource Implications Checklist Beginnings of a Human Resource Implications Checklist Figure 3.5  The beginnings of a human resource implications checklist

23. Strategic Brainstorming Figure 3.6  Strategic brainstorming exercise

24. Demand Forecasting • Objective methods – statistical and work study approaches • Subjective methods – (simple methods) managerial opinion and estimates based on past experience and on corporate plans

25. Statistical models • Tend to relate employee number demand to specific organisational circumstances & activities • Models can take into account factors such as production, sales, level of service, etc.

26. Work Study Method Based on thorough analysis of the tasks to be done and time taken to complete tasks Person hours needed for each unit of output is calculated Standards are developed for the numbers and levels of employees required Useful when studying production work

27. Range of Methods to Change Employee Utilisation (1 of 2) • Introducing new materials or equipment, especially technology • Introducing changes in work organisation • Organisation development • Introducing changes in organisational structure

28. Range of Methods to Change Employee Utilisation (2 of 2) • Introducing productivity schemes • Encouraging greater staff flexibility • Altering times and appraisal of staff • Developing managers and use of performance management

29. Projecting Forward A range of techniques can be used here: • Questionnaires to staff • Interviews • Managerial judgment • Focus groups

30. Projecting Forward – Information That Can be Sought (1 of 2) • Motivation of employees • Job satisfaction • Organisational culture • The way people are managed • Attitude to minority groups and equality of opportunity

31. Projecting Forward – Information That Can be Sought (2 of 2) • Commitment to the organisation and reasons for this • Clarity of business objectives • Goal focused and other behaviour • Organisational issues and problems • What can be done to improve • Organisational strengths to build on

32. Forecasting Employee Supply Predicting: • How the current supply of employees will change • How many employees will leave • How many will be internally promoted or transferred Analysed by what has happened in past and projecting this to the future to see what will happen if same trends prevail

33. Employee Supply Analysis The number of employees classified by: • Function / Department • Job title • Skills • Qualifications • Training • Age • Length of service • Performance appraisal results

34. Most Popular Forms of Analysing Staff Leaving the Business • Annual labour turnover index • Stability index • Cohort analysis • Half-life • Census method • Retention profile

35. Annual Labour Turnover Index Leavers in year X 100 = percentage wastage Average number rate of staff in post during year Provides only limited information Does not take into account length of service

36. Stability Index Number of staff with one years X 100 = % stability service at date Number of staff employed exactly one year before This ignores those who join the business throughout the year and takes little account of length of service

37. Cohort Analysis Tracks what happens as some people leave a specified cohort Can be plotted as a survival curve Cannot be used for groups other than the specific group for which it was prepared Information has to be collected over a long period of time

38. Half-life Analysis Figure expressing the time taken for half a cohort to leave the organisation Useful summary Useful method of comparing different groups

39. Census Method An analysis of leavers over a reasonably short period of time – often 12 months The length of completed service of leavers is summarised in graph format

40. Retention Profile Staff who remain with the business are allocated to groups depending on year of joining Each year group then calculated as percentage of the total number of staff who joined in that year

41. Analysing Internal Movements • Age and length of service distributions • Stocks and flows analysis • Succession planning

42. Reconciliation, Decisions, and Plans • Process of continuous feedback • Acceptability of plans to senior managers and employees, priority, & who will need to be influenced in accepting the plan • Soft side – dynamic relationship between future vision, environmental trends, & current position • Hard side – may centre on situation where the supply forecast is less than the demand forecast

43. Action Plans Covering HR Activity • Human resource supply plans • Organisation and structure plans • Employee utilisation plans • Learning and development plans • Performance and motivation plans • Reward plans • Employee relations plans • Communications plans

44. Summary • HR planning still has a valuable contribution to make • Planners need to plan what is acceptable as well as what is feasible • HR planning covers number of people and skills and also encompasses structure, culture, systems, and behaviour

45. Focus on Skills I:Effectiveness of Interactions • HR specialists have skilfulness in interaction as their core expertise • Interactive skill essential to impact on strategy formulation

46. Poise • Being at ease in a variety of situations • Talking with different types of people in a relaxed and self-confident way • Knowing what you are talking about • Maturity • Responsiveness to needs of others

47. Factors That Impair Effectiveness • Frame of reference • Stereotypes • Cognitive dissonance

48. Different Types of Interaction Figure I.1  Four categories of interaction

49. Features in Setting The Tone • Speak first • Smile, look confident and relaxed • Have brief, harmless exchanges that enable parties to speak to each other without the answers mattering • Explain your understanding of what is to happen • Check that this is understood

50. Fundamental Skills in Listening • Tone of voice • Giving attention • Eye contact