Applying Human Resource Planning in Your Business

Depending on the size and nature of the business, its goals and environment, planning can either be simple or complex - short or long-term. No matter which, it is a real requirement of business life. Owners and executives are called on to prepare for the future even as they tackle their day to day challenges.

Human resource planning should become an integral part of your business planning, following six basic steps:

1. Define your business objectives

Human resource planning starts with your business plan. Your business plan should assess current market and economic trends, future opportunities for growth and define in realistic terms what your organization hopes to achieve.

2. Identify your people requirements

What kind of skills does your business need to reach its objectives? Be as specific as possible, identifying the kinds of jobs that must b e performed, the number of people required for each job, and the skills they must have. Analyse the causes of any recruitment or worker retention problems.

3. Identify your resources

How many of these skill requirements can be met through your existing work force? Conduct an inventory of your existing employees, describing their qualifications, skills, experience, and their ability to adapt to new job requirements.

4. Identify the gaps between your resources and your needs

Are there gaps between the people you have, an the people you will need in the future? For example, you may find that you have too many sales people and not enough production workers; or your production workers may not have the skills required for a new technology you will introduce in the future.

5. Develop a strategy to fill in the gaps

Depending on your needs, your plan may involve such things as reorganizing job functions, accelerating promotions, training and re-training, improving working conditions, participating in apprenticeship or co-operative education programs or preparing to hire new employees.

6. Monitor and update your plan regularly

Your human resource plan should reflect changes in your business environment as they occur. Human resource planning is not a paper exercise to be done once and then forgotten. It is a continuous process to be implemented carefully and measured regularly, with adjustments made to deal with unforeseen problems. In order to achieve results, concrete actions must follow from your human resource plan.

Courtesy of: Employment and Immigration Canada

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