Curious About Manpower Planning? Let's Break Down the Process Together

Hello HR Family,

Just wanted to understand the process that happens during manpower planning. Can someone please explain the process?

1. How do we determine the number of manpower required? Right from the requisition from the Operations Manager until the start of the recruitment process.
2. Are there budgetary constraints for the recruitment of new hires? If we are recruiting for the Operations department, who will bear the expenses – operations or HR budget?
3. Can we ask operations to partly bear the expenses of new hires? Are there any specific percentages of costs associated with new hires that should be borne by the operations department?
4. Are there any templates associated with manpower planning?
5. Are there any specific tools involved?

Hoping for guidance from all of you.

Hi there,

When determining the number of manpower required, right from the requisition from the Operations Manager until the start of the recruitment process, there are several factors to consider when working on planning the manpower of an organization.

1. Available resources - Why do I need to plan to recruit someone to fill a position when there are resources within the company that can do the job?
2. What value do you want the new recruit to add?
3. Why do you require the position you want to hire?
4. What is their job description and personal specification?
5. What are the budget constraints - Do I have enough in the budget to open a position, pay a 12-month salary, and train them?
6. What do you want the new recruit to achieve? i.e., What are their upcoming objectives and KPIs?
7. Who will they report to?
8. Keep in mind that in the first 6 months, the employee is learning the job and getting used to the environment.
9. After determining the above factors, you need to fill in the Manpower request form (assuming you have a process for this) that will kick off the recruitment process, with all the above questions addressed for approval.

Are there budgetary constraints for the recruitment of a new hire? If we are recruiting for the Operations department, who will bear the expenses - Operations or the HR budget?

Depending on your organization's method of budgeting and size, they can be grouped into two types that I know of:

1. Manpower planning and budgeting are centralized in HR.
2. Budgets are allocated to each department in the organization to include recruitment, training and development, stationery, equipment purchase, petty cash, etc.

Can we ask Operations to partly bear the expenses of a new hire? Are there any specific percentages of costs associated with a new hire to be borne by the Operations department? Refer to the above answer.

Are there any templates associated with Manpower planning? You need the following documents when planning manpower:

- Job Description and personal specification
- Career planning document (once we recruit this person, what happens to this person after 3 years, what position will they hold?)
- In what areas will the organization train this person?
- Budget constraints (do we have the money for it?)
- List of objectives and KPIs to be achieved
- Manpower planning form

According to Gorden MacBeath, manpower planning involves two stages. The first stage is concerned with the detailed "planning of manpower requirements for all types and levels of employees throughout the period of the plan," and the second stage is concerned with "planning of manpower supplies to provide the organization with the right types of people from all sources to meet the planned requirements."

Process of Manpower Planning:

The planning process is one of the most crucial, complex, and continuing managerial functions which, according to the Tata Electrical Locomotive Company, "embraces organization development, managerial development, career planning, and succession planning." The process has gained importance in India with the increase in the size of business enterprises, complex production technology, and the adoption of professional management techniques.

It may be rightly regarded as a multi-step process, including various issues, such as:

(A) Deciding goals or objectives
(B) Auditing of the internal resources
(C) Formulation of the recruitment plan
(D) Estimating future organizational structure and manpower requirements
(E) Developing a human resource plan

Planning Before Releasing a Job Description

Some of the planning before releasing a job description involves:

1. Comparing available resources to see if an existing employee can already perform this role or be assimilated within this position.
2. Determining what value a new recruit can add to this role or the company.
3. Understanding how the job position fits into the organizational schema of roles.
4. Creating the job description and specifying the required candidate qualifications.
5. Listing budgetary limitations, including training and onboarding costs.
6. Defining the objectives and Key Performance Indicators of the new recruit.
7. Considering that onboarding a new employee takes time, and it may take up to 6 months for them to be fully productive at optimum levels. Factor these in when making the choice to hire.

All these decisions are considered when hiring a third-party recruitment firm to find the right candidate for the company.

One such staffing firm is Prathigna.com, which undertakes recruitment drives either on your company premises or at their offices. To learn more, visit http://www.prathigna.com/ to see how this agency can be of service to you!