HR Planning: Identifying Workplace Needs

Strategic HR planning is required when implementing operational plans and goals for an organization. The purpose of this HR planning is to determine if an organization has the right people, with the right skills at the right time. Any plan to determine workplace needs and a strategy to support organizational goals consists for a few steps:
 
1. Assessment: The knowledge, skills and abilities of staff needs to be analyzed. This can be accomplished by developing a skills inventory for each employee and listing all education and training. It is helpful to re-examine job descriptions for current employees as well.

2. Forecasting: There are many questions that need to be answered at this step.
 
– How many staff will be required to fulfill the plans and goals of the organization?
– What skill sets are required?
– Do your current employees have the required skills?
– Are employees currently using their strengths?

3. HR Gap Analysis: This is a result of the difference between the Assessment and Forecasting analyses and covers these points and questions:
 
– Does the organization have the employees and skill sets to accomplish team goals and plans?
– It is also important to review factors that influence short-term employment levels such as pending retirements, historic turnover rates and promotions.

4. Strategies: This is where HR planning can vary greatly depending on the result of the HR Gap Analysis. The different between projected labor needs and the current labor supply represents the “gap” that needs to be addressed. Here are some of the strategies used to address an HR gap in an organization:
 
– Restructuring (reducing staff, regrouping tasks to create newly designed jobs, reorganizing work units)
– Training & development (providing staff with training to take on new roles, development opportunities for future jobs)
– Recruitment (hiring new staff with skills and abilities needed)
– Outsourcing (using external people or organizations to complete tasks)
 
There are many factors to consider when analyzing an organization’s HR needs in the present and the future. HR Planning is crucial and always starts with determining the skills inventory of all employees at an organization. With this information, it is then possible to find any gaps in the projected organizational plans and goals. After HR Gap Analysis is completed, it may be determined that new staff is necessary and the focus can move to the recruitment strategy. For more information on recruiting and posting jobs, visit, www.agcareers.com.