HRP is understood as the process of forecasting an organizationâ s future demand for,

and supply of, the right type of people in the right number. It is only after t
his that the HRM department can initiate the recruitment and selection process.
HRP is a sub-system in the total organizational planning. Organizational plannin
g includes managerial activities that set the companyâ s objectives for the future an
d determine the appropriate means for achieving those objectives. HRP facilitate
s the realization of the companyâ s by providing the right type and the right number
of personnel.
I am familiar with Tata Teleservices. Tata Teleservices is part of the INR 54,00
0/- crore (US$11.2 billion) Tata Group, that has over 90 companies, over 210,000
employees and more than 2.16 million shareholders. With an investment of over I
NR 9,000 crore (US$ 2 billion) in Telecom, the Group has a formidable presence a
cross the telecom value chain.
The Planning process at Tata Teleservices: HRP essentially involves forecasting
personnel needs, assessing personnel supply and matching demand-supply through p
ersonnel-related programmes. The planning process is influenced by overall organ
izational objectives and the environment of business.

Organizational Objectives and Policies: HR plans need to be based on organizatio

nal objectives. In practice, this implies that the objectives of the HR plan mus
t be derived from organizational objectives. Specific requirements in terms of n
umber and characteristics of employees should be derived from the organizational
objectives. Organizational objectives are defined by the top management and the
role of HRP is to subserve the overall objectives by ensuring availability and
utilization of human resources.
HR Demand Forecast: Demand forecasting is the process of estimating the future q
uantity and quality of people required. The basis of the forecast must be the an
nual budget and long-term corporate plan, translated into activity levels for ea
ch function and department. In a manufacturing company, the sales budget would b
e translated into a production plan giving the number and type of products to be
produced in each period.
Demand forecasting must consider several factors â both external as well as internal.
After the external factors are competition (foreign and domestic), economic cli
mate, laws and regulatory bodies, changes in technology, and social factors. Int
ernal factors include budget constraints, production levels, new products organi
zations, though they may not do personnel-supply forecasting.
HR Supply Forecast: Personnel demand analysis provides the manager with the mean
s of estimating the number and kind of employees that will be required. The next
step for the management is to determine whether it will be able to procure the
required number of personnel and the sources for such procurement. This informat
ion is provided by supply forecasting. Supply forecasting measures the number of
people likely to be available from within and outside an organization, after ma
king allowance for absenteeism, internal movements and promotions, wastage and c
hanges in hours and other conditions of work.
Reasons for supply forecast are that it (i) helps quantify number of people and
positions expected to be available in future to help the organization realize it
s plans and meet its objectives; (ii) helps clarify likely staff mixes that will
exist in the future; (iii) assess existing staffing levels in different parts o
f the organization; (iv) prevents shortage of requirements of job reservations.
The supply analysis covers:
1. Existing human resources
2. Internal sources of supply; and
3. External sources of supply
HR Programming: Once personnel demand and supply are forecast, the two must be r
econciled or balanced in order that vacancies can be filled by the right employe
es at the right time. HR programming, the third step in the planning process, th
erefore, assumes greater importance.
HR Plan Implementation: Implementation requires converting an HR plan into actio
n. A series of action programmes are initiated as a part of HR plan implementati
on. Some such programmes are recruitment, selection and placement; training and
development; retraining and redeployment; the retention plan; the redundance pla
n; and succession plan.
Recruitment, Selection and Placement: After the job vacancies are known, efforts
are made to identify sources and search for suitable candidates. The selection
programme is professionally designed and, among other considerations, special ca
re is taken to ensure compliance with the reservation policies of the government
. An effort is made to match individual job preferences and qualifications with
organizational needs.
Training and Development: The training and development programme covers the numb
er of trainees required; training and development programmes necessary for the e
xisting staff; identification of resource personnel for conducting development p
rogrammes, frequency of training and development programmes; and budget allocati
on for such programmes.
Retraining and redeployment: New skills are to be imparted to existing staff whe
n technology changes. When a product line is discontinued, its employees are to
be retrained and redeployed to other departments where they could be gainfully e
mployed.
Retention Plan: Retention plan covers actions that would help reduce avoidable s
eparations of employees. Important actions under this head are:
1. Compensation plan
2. Performance appraisal
3. Employees leaving in search of green pastures
4. Employees quitting because of conflict
5. The induction crisis
6. Shortages
7. Unstable recruits
Control and Evaluation: Control and evaluation the fifth and the final phase in
the HRP process. The HR plan includes budgets, targets and standards. It should
also clarify responsibilities for implementation and control, and establish repo
rting procedures which will enable achievements to be monitored against the plan
. These may simply report on the numbers employed against establishment and on t
he numbers recruited against the recruitment targets. But they should also repor
t employment costs against budget, and trends in wastage and employment ratios.
HRP System Improvement
Following are some measures that could help in improvement in the current HRP sy
stem:
Corporate Head count "Fat" Assessment Plan
Ever wonder why the decision that we need layoffs seems to come up as a surprise
? Why not establish a set of assessment tools that will let you know in advance
where head count and overhead costs are excessive.
Redeployment / Agility Plans
In this changing world it is not uncommon for new markets and products to open (
and close) rapidly. Companies need to have a strategy to remain "agile" and to b
e able to move people, and resources rapidly from areas of low return to areas o
f a higher return.
"Smoke" Detectors (Predictors)
If HR is to be proactive it needs to be able to anticipate problems. Developing
HR systems and metrics known as "smoke detectors" that indicate potential proble
ms might give us sufficient time to develop plans and strategies to either avoid
the problem or minimize its impact.
Bench Strength (Back Fill) Plan
In this time of high turnover, it's increasingly essential to have a strategy of
identifying and developing individuals that can take over if an employee leaves
. A bench strength plan differs from traditional succession planning in that it
only covers replacing key jobs within a single department. It is not a company-w
ide succession plan. Individual managers are held responsible for developing at
least one individual to fill every key job.

Employee Challenge Plan

One of the primary reasons employees leave their jobs is due to a lack of challe
nge. HR can dramatically increase retention rates if it gets managers to develop
individual "Challenge Plans" for each worker. The plan is reviewed each month t
o ensure that the individual is constantly growing and feels challenged.
Retention Plan
A retention plan is a corporate strategy to lower turnover. The first step is to
identify key performers and hard to fill positions. Individuals that may be "at
risk" are identified. Individuals or position -wide strategies are then develop
ed to increase their retention rates. Additional efforts are made to identify wh
y people stay in their jobs and why people leave.
Quality of Labor Supply Forecasts
Identifying the "quality" of the future labor supply is a medium term strategy b
ased on the assumption that the available labor force will not have the competen
cies and skills that our company needs. Accurate forecasting will allow us to pr
epare training and development plans to upgrade the available talent. Adequate p
reparation will give us a competitive talent advantage over our rivals.
Horizontal Progression Plan
Our company has delayed or eliminated many management positions there are fewer
opportunities for promotion to stimulate workers. As a result, we need to develo
p horizontal transfer and job rotation plans to ensure the continued development
of both technical and managerial skills among our top employees.
Work/Life Balance Supply/Demand Forecasts
New hires, as well as our current workers are demanding an increasing array of b
enefits and work life balance options. HR needs to develop strategies to accurat
ely assess what those work life balance demands will be. It must also be able to
forecast what percentage of our work force will choose to participate in work l
ife balance programs like job sharing and sabbaticals. This forecast will enable
us to be prepared for the decreased amount of hours our employees will be willi
ng to put in.

Learning / Knowledge Plan

A major competitive advantage occurs when a company can rapidly acquire informat
ion/solutions and swiftly share them throughout the company. HRP can help by ass
isting managers in developing individual and corporate wide learning plans and s
trategies to increase our speed of learning and the application of that knowledg
e within our company.
Skills/ Competency Inventories
In order to rapidly redeploy resources and fill unexpected vacancies HRP must de
velop computerized skill or competency inventories. Such inventories allow us to
"throw" talent at a problem because we are aware of which individuals in our co
rporation have the needed skill or experience to solve that problem. These inven
tories do not require people to move between positions as they can also be used
as sources for advice and benchmarking.
Interest Inventories
In order to retain employees it is essential that we have a strategy for identif
ying and meeting the changing needs of our workers. By asking workers What proje
cts they might like to work on? What skills they would like to develop? and What
individuals or teams would they like to work with? managers can develop strateg
ies for increasing a worker excitement and productivity levels.
Candidate Expectation (offer acceptance criteria) Forecast
The increased number of job openings and the "unique" expectations of the curren
t crop of generation Xer's and college hires makes it increasingly more difficul
t to get candidates to accept an offer. By using focus groups and surveys, we ca
n identify and forecast the unique offer acceptance demands of it's recruits. Ac
curate forecasts can give our company sufficient time to develop the array of pr
ograms and benefits that are increasingly essential to get a candidate to say ye
s.
Bad Management Identification Program
One of the primary reasons that employees quit their jobs are the bad management
practices of their direct supervisor. Companies often throw managers into their
jobs with little training or preparation. Through the use of surveys, 360 degre
e assessments and interviews companies can identify "bad managers". The organiza
tion can then develop strategies for fixing these managers, transferring them ba
ck to more technical jobs or for releasing them. Because managers are responsibl
e for meeting many employee needs that are cited as reasons for employee turnove
r (communicating with the worker, challenging them, recognizing their efforts et
c.) fixing bad managers may be the single most important factor in increasing pr
oductivity and decreasing turnover.
Talent Acquisition Through Mergers & Acquisition Plan
There are ways to acquire talent beyond traditional recruiting. Acquiring "intac
t" teams and large numbers of talented people (with similar values) rapidly is p
ossible by having HR "scout out" target firms and then recommending their acquis
ition just for their employees.
Targeted Succession plans
Targeted succession plans are narrowly focused strategies for ensuring that indi
viduals are available to fill vacant key positions in project teams. Targeted ar
eas often include major software implementations, year 2000 efforts and product
development teams. Most succession plans have often failed because they were too
broad. Targeted plans allow the focus and forecasting to be more narrowly appli
ed with the goal of increasing the accuracy of the planning.
Turnover / Exit Forecast
A strong economy coupled with large swings in the health of world economies make
s predicting the supply of labor increasingly difficult. The other side of this
issue is identifying where our company is likely to lose key talent through turn
over and retirements. This turnover forecast is designed to predict short term v
acancies in the next six months in order to prepare the appropriate recruitment
or internal promotion strategies.