Manpower Planning

Manpower planning is the long term planning of the manpower requirements of an organization taking into account both internal activities and factors in the external environment. Manpower planning aims at:

•    obtaining and retaining the quantity and quality of people an organization needs.
•    making the best use of human resources
•    being able to anticipate the future in terms of potential surplus or deficit of people.


Job Analysis

1.  Manpower planning starts with job analysis which is the systematic collection and recording of information about jobs in an organization. It is concerned with determining the requirements of a job in terms of tasks and responsibilities. A good job analysis should provide information on knowledge, skills, experience and any personal qualities and potentials that can be developed within that job.

A good job analysis consists of :

•    Job Description—which summarises the duties encompassed by the job, working conditions, tools required, materials and equipment used on the job and

•    Job Specification—which is a statement of minimum requirements to be able to perform the job satisfactorily. Whereas job specifications are used as standards against which applicants are compared in each step of the recruitment and selection, job descriptions are used as standards against which staff appraisal is carried out. Organizations also use job specification and job description in identifying trainees training needs as well as developing appropriate training programs.

2.  The second step in manpower planning is that of forecasting the demand and supply of labour. Demand forecasting is the process of estimating the future quantity and quality of people required based on the corporate plan. Supply forecasting involves the measurement of the number of people likely to be available from within and outside the organization. It covers existing human resources, potential losses to existing resources through labour wastage, potential changes to existing labour force due to promotions and effects of changes of work conditions and absenteeism.

3.  The last step in manpower planning is that of matching the demand and supply of labour. If supply exceeds demand, management must plan for layoffs, terminations, early retirements and normal attrition. If demand exceeds supply management must plan to recruit, select and train new employees. Finally if supply and demand is roughly equal no immediate action is necessary although the situation should be monitored in case either supply or demand changes.