Types of Human Resource Planning

To achieve organizational goals, human resource planning must use employee recruiting, development and retention. It must also analyze the current workforce and consider how it aligns with future employment needs. Attracting, training and retaining quality employees allows human resources to use different types of planning to meet future workforce requirements.

To satisfy the organization's strategic objectives, human resources needs to consider what kind of workforce will be needed in the future. Workforce forecasting is a major component of human resource planning, and involves analyzing its current workforce and comparing it to future requirements to discover what gaps and surpluses exist.

Achieving strategic objectives through the human resource element involves attracting and recruiting quality employees. Benefits, compensation, organizational structure and employee growth or advancement are key elements for finding and hiring good employees. Planning the recruiting process with these elements in mind will assist with future employee selection.

Development, or training, is a type of human resource planning that focuses on how it can improve the current and future workforce. Training and development programs improve both specific work-related skills and more general skills like customer service or sales training. Training and retraining programs can also focus on reducing current and future liability issues related to workplace safety.

Planning for the retention of employees can be an arduous task, as it is difficult to prevent employees from looking at other employment opportunities. Human resources can help to reduce this likelihood by planning retention programs that focus on employee recognition, rewards, advancement or growth, a work-life balance and employee benefits.