Effective Human Resources Planning: Key Principles & Strategies

Posted on Feb 22, 2025 in Tourism

Principles of Effective Human Resources Planning

The plan should be as detailed as expenditure constraints allow. Plans should not extend too far into the future, as accurate prediction of the distant future is impossible. All alternative courses of action should be considered. Side effects and implications of the actions envisaged should be examined. Instructions to individuals and departments must be incorporated into the plan. Plans should be concise and easy to understand.

Labor Turnover Analysis

Employees may be categorized according to age, length of service, occupation, educational background, job experience, and promotion potential.

Formula: Number of employees with more than one year’s service / total number of people employed one year ago

High labor turnover may be due to:

  • Low pay
  • Inadequate holiday entitlement
  • Long working hours
  • Other unsatisfactory conditions of employment
  • Excessively monotonous work
  • Absence of promotion prospects
  • Bad recruitment and staff induction procedures
  • Ineffective grievance procedures
  • Poor communications within the organization

Steps in the HRP Process

  1. The creation of an HRP group
  2. The statement of human resources objectives (capital equipment plans, reorganization, changes in product, marketing plans, financial limitations)
  3. The present utilization of human resources (numbers of employees in various categories, amount of overtime working, amount of short time, performance of present employees, general level of payment)
  4. The external environment of the organization (recruitment position, population trends, local housing and transport plans, national agreements and government policies)
  5. The potential supply of labor (effects of local emigration and immigration, effects of recruitment, possibility of employing categories not now employed, changes in productivity)

Difficulties in Forecasting

Many variables are determined by government, so they are beyond the organization’s control. Consumer tastes can change. New technical inventions emerge. Competitors might alter their strategies. Past events might not recur. Existing suppliers could disappear. Technical difficulties might arise.

The Final HR Plan Should Include

  • Jobs which will appear, disappear, or change
  • The extent to which redeployment and retraining are possible
  • Necessary changes
  • Training needs
  • Recruitment or retirement programs
  • Industrial relations implications
  • Arrangements for feedback in case modifications are necessary
  • Details of arrangements for handling any human problems arising from labor deficit or surpluses

Recruitment

Recruitment is the first stage in the process of filling a vacancy. It involves the examination of the requirements for filling the vacancy; consideration of the sources of suitable candidates; appropriate salary levels for new employees; and arranging interviews and other aspects of selection. Recruitment and selection should be constantly evaluated for their cost-effectiveness and validity.

Ways of Recruitment

  • Job ads
  • Headhunters
  • Internet
  • Offices of employment

Internal vs. External Recruitment

Advantages of filling vacancies internally rather than externally:

  • Better motivation of employees
  • Better utilization of employees
  • Greater reliability as compared to external recruitment
  • A present employee is more likely to stay with the organization than an external candidate