Loyal and hardworking employees are the asset of and company. But, how do find and retain them?
Employees are the most important part of a company’s production and management. Your organization can become one of the best if the employees take pride in working for the company. It is made possible by recruiting the right kind of people in the right amount at the right time. This is called Human Resource Planning HRP. HRP allows you to have a steady supply of employees or workers per need, which is why HRP is important.
What is Human Resource Planning?
Human resource planning is the implementation of “demand and supply” rules for human resources. It means forecasting the need for employees in the future. HR may either hire new people for a particular role or expand the working horizon of the existing employees. HRP also enables the company to achieve objectives in time successfully by making the best use of available human resources. It is also known as workforce planning.
Human resource planning begins with the assessment and auditing of the human resource in the company. The Human Resource department makes changes in the workforce according to the company’s needs. It may involve promotions, new hirings or say goodbye to some old employees. HRP is essential for the long term to provide adequate solutions in times of crisis.
Challenges of Human Resource Planning

Human resource planning involves planning the incoming and outgoing employees to ensure you have enough people at one time. While it seems simple, it is not so. HRP involves several challenges like:
- Employees often make sudden decisions about moving to another place. Respecting their decision is HR’s job. The challenge arises when you have to substitute another person within the available time frame.
- Finding the right employees is another major problem in HRP. Recruitment is a tough process as you have to be very careful and choose the most appropriate person for the particular role.
- Human resource planning also involves retaining the right employees for a long time. So, HR also has to motivate and plan how to retain the employees by giving them appreciation, increments, and other benefits.
Importance of Human Resource Planning
Utilization of Manforce
Human Resource Planning enables HR to utilize the available human resources in the best possible way. You can shift, add or remove roles from a personnel’s job description to improve efficiency and productivity. It is essential to make changes in the company in the sudden absence of an employee to ensure the product does not suffer.
Future Workforce Needs
Human resource planning does not only allow you to make the best of the present manforce but also to analyze future workforce needs. It saves your company from a sudden employee crisis when an important worker goes on leave. Thus, HR can start the recruitment process before the 11th hour to find the most suitable candidate.
Recruitment of Suitable Employees
As mentioned above, human resource planning is essential for recruiting suitable employees. HRP allows you to understand the human resource inventory and look for the right people at the right time. If you do not analyze and access the present workforce situations, you might have to recruit personnel in haste.
Training and Workshops
The human resource department’s job is not restricted to generating a job post and interviewing a candidate only. They ensure a smooth onboarding and work to provide the best opportunities to their employees. You may add workshops and training sessions to develop your employees’ soft and hard skills. The importance of HRP also lies in the fact that it helps them perform better and become an efficient part of the department.
Adaptation to Change
Human resource planning is critical to cope with the change resulting from external factors. It helps you suit your organization’s work to changing political, social, or economic changes. You can reduce the impact of the socio-economic and political changes by assessing and making changes in your organization accordingly.
Risk Management
Having a plan is an excellent way to reduce risk. Similarly, human resource planning also saves you from potential damage by lacking resources or recruiting too many people for the company. HRP lets you create the best plan for your organization’s welfare. It also saves you from the reputational risk that may occur due to a lack of resources within the company.
The Bottom Line
Human resource planning allows a company to perform its best without being influenced by external factors. The HR department recruits the right people in the right number at the right time for the smooth running of company operations. HRP is highly important for any organization that wants to stay at the top of its game. Ignoring the importance of HRP can cause functional issues.
FAQs
What are the features of human resource planning?
The objectives and features of human resource planning include adjusting the demand and supply network, keeping manforce inventory, determining human resource reeds, and creating a proper work environment.
How many types of human resource planning are there?
Human resource planning is of various types. The most important three types of HRP are tactical, operational, and strategic planning. Strategic planning is the most common one in companies nowadays.
What are the 5 steps in human resource planning?
The five crucial steps in human resource planning are analyzing organizational objectives, keeping an inventory, assessing supply and demand, matching the supply per demand, and creating an action plan.

Matthew is a Co-Founder at BusinessFinanceArticles.org. Matthew was a floor manager at a local restaurant in Wales. He lost his job after the pandemic and took initiative to make a team and start the project.
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