Effective human resource plan Descriptive Essay

This human resource plan is a process of aligning the skills, interests and talents within an organisation with the economic opportunities and long term goals of the company under consideration.

The HR plan

The first step is the needs assessment or the research phase. The company will review its operation within the past twelve months so as to determine the key HR issues that arose. These include hiring, promotion and skills improvements. Additionally, this phase must entail anticipation of needs in the future.

If a company needs to increase production in ten years time, it will need even more employees to achieve this. Mission and vision clarification, as well as reviews of government policies and legislation, are in this phase. The company needs to do a gap-identification on the things that are missing in that workforce.¹

The job description should follow the first step. The HR team should look at the job positions in the organisation and record them. Issues such as the skills and duties involved in each position must be included. Salaries and benefits accorded to each job position need to be clearly determined and recorded. This will be part of the agreement that the employer and employee must get into during hiring. Annual updates of job descriptions ought to be done.

The HR team must then create an employee handbook in which it spells out the company’s HR rules clearly. In this document, one must include occupation health regulations as well as other employee safety policies. Sick leave, termination of employment, benefits, and overtime must all be included.

However, the latter component should be in line with government policies on the matter. The employee handbook does not work effectively when employees read it independently; the employer/HR team should sit down with an employee and go over the various components of the book.

The next step is recruitment which entails job advertisement. The company under consideration can use newspaper advertisements, employment agencies and the internet to do this. Employment agencies will come in when job seekers send excessive applications, and the company needs to do some screening. The HR team will do online recruitment to build profiles for vacancies while newspapers will spread the message about recruitment. Internal employees must be informed about the position so as to involve them in the recruitment.

Hiring entails interviewing, reference checking and job offers. The company will decide on the necessary interview questions. It will then assess how well the candidates respond. The company must then check on references and make the formal offer through a written document. It should have an agreement on various terms such as overtime, salaries, sick leave, housing, probation and termination.

Succession planning needs to be an indispensable part of the HR plan. A firm needs to identify the job relationships in the company and the criteria for promoting candidates. In this regard, a thorough training system must be implemented. Instating the right program alleviates skills shortages.

The company needs to have evaluation measures. It will use the balanced scorecard in order to assess the HR strategy’s effectiveness in achieving its intended outcomes. The company should give due feedback to members covered by the HR plan implementation process through effective communication channels.

Benchmarking the plan against good practice models

The plan will be operable in the United Arab Emirates. Consequently, the institution implementing it must incorporate policies and laws that prevail in the marketplace today. The government has passed a new policy known as Emiratisation. Here, employers must prioritise local employees over foreign ones.

In other words, it is compulsory for a company to hire national job seekers first before foreigners when filling up a position. Nonetheless, only those individuals who have the right qualifications and skills for the job should be hired. Therefore, if a national job seeker lacks these qualities, and a foreigner possesses the skills, then the organisation should hire the latter individual.

The government of the UAE also regulates the amount of overtime that companies can instate. This means that the Labour Ministry can intervene when complications arise concerning overtime. These issues are already in the HR plan. Lastly, the government has strict work termination policies.

Employers can only terminate employment upon the demise or disability of the employee. Furthermore, they can terminate employment if the span of a contract is indistinct or if the employee violates company rules, laws and country regulations. Employers ought to discuss all these concepts with employees during the hiring process; that aspect is also part of the HR policies.

Resources required to support implementation of the plan

The human resource plan will incorporate plenty of research. This will be a crucial part of the budget. Additionally, some consultants will need to be hired, and this will involve a considerable degree of financing.² The hiring process will require the use of several media platforms such as the web or newspapers. The company will need to create a database for the online enabled hiring process. It will require employees to work in the HR department.

Furthermore, special equipments and office space will need to be allocated towards the HR implementation process; they must be part of the budget. Additionally, the HR plan requires training and training consultants, which are in the budget too. The tools and systems required in supporting this process will also involve some expenditure. Communication channels involved in telling other business units about the HR plan will also be part of the budget. The monitoring process also involves a substantial amount of financing.

Risks associated with the HR plan

Most companies expect immediate results from the HR plan; therefore, some stakeholders may perceive it as a waste of time or just another way of diverting their energies. Impatience can be a significant impediment to HR plan success. The public may also be a serious cause for concern. Some of them may possess unrealistic expectations, such that job seeking may be perceived as a direct outcome. This means that a gap will arise during the hiring process especially with regard to the needs of the target hiring market. The main challenge in this plan is balancing between the long term HR strategy and responding to the external needs and challenges in the market. If the company strikes a poor balance, then it is probable that the HR plan will not lead to desirable results.

A thorough assessment of the HR development needs can lead to excessive identification of these needs. Sometimes, these may supersede the organisation’s capacity to deal with them, especially if resources are inadequate. The HR staff members may need to make extremely difficult choices so as to focus on the most pressing HR concerns. Training may also be a challenge if it does not align well with long term needs. Some companies may find that their prevailing training steps do not meet their current needs. Additionally, some training may be done in a disorganised manner.

Companies can overcome these risks through a number of avenues. First, they can ensure that they possess adequate support from the rest of the enterprise throughout the HR planning and implementation process. One must explain the importance of HR planning to the stakeholders to secure this commitment. This will ascertain that the company allocates enough resources and provides the needed support to those parties involved.

As such, the company can be able to deal with all human developmental needs as it will anticipate them. Additionally, a consultant can help in making the HR plan more effective. He or she can also assist in better organisation and long term orientation of the process. As noted earlier, gaps between prevailing job vacancies and future job opportunities can impede the success of the HR plan.

One can deal with this problem by carrying out an analysis phase to determine the differences between skill and knowledge bases today, and future job opportunities. A company can deal with the job market development needs and developmental gaps in a better way by doing this. In order to ensure the success of the HR plan, it is also imperative to have the right training goals. This can be done by prioritising the most vital training needs and sequences.

The most significant element that can overcome most HR plan risks is the execution of a robust evaluation process. Here, qualitative and quantitative feedback from employees must be measured. This ensures that the plan is on track and that the firm realises the desired outcomes from the whole process. Furthermore, communication channels need to be highly effective in order to ensure that all stakeholders stay committed to the HR plan.³

Key performance indicators to monitor the progress of the plan

As one continues to implement the HR plan, it becomes necessary to examine changes that arise in the rate at which recruitment of employees occurs. If these rates increase, the HR plan should be working. However, the increases will not be dramatic; they will correspond to the stage of the implementation process.

The process of promotion needs to occur at a faster rate when gaps occur. Once again, this will correspond to the stage under consideration in the HR plan. If the HR plan is still in its infancy, then the company will do its promotions much slowly than if it has completed the training phase.

Lastly, the recruitment process needs to possess corrective actions when certain scenarios come up, if the situation under consideration is such that it warrants a hiring process or a succession, then the company must respond to those needs almost immediately. One can, therefore, assert that if these response rates are high, then the HR plan is on course. Several changes should be made when the reverse is not true.

Aligning HR strategies to support the organisational vision, objectives and he overall strategic plan.

This organisational plan dwells on providing adequate internal capability such that the company can deliver on its business goals. Since people are the principal source of a firm’s competitive advantage, then the HR practices and policies need to maintain that advantage.

This HR plan will achieve that function by structuring and designing work, training, rewards, pay, performance management and other policies. This will allow employees to meet organisational goals. In other words, the HR plan will align human resource practices in a company with behaviours that can strengthen employee behaviour to realise strategic intentions.

One way in which the company will achieve this is by carrying out an external environmental analysis of the company. Additionally, the plan will entail vision and mission clarification so as to provide clear guidelines for implementing the plan. This latter process is also similar to identification of company strategic goals, which will be a vital component of the process.

Since the plan will entail consultations with relevant experts, then one can be certain about its ability to meet the vision and mission of the organisation. Furthermore, this HR plan will entail the use of best practices in a company. As such, the company will meet its objectives for maintenance of a diverse workforce.

The HR team will systematically determine the human capital needed to meet company goals by quantifying the skills required and by providing the avenues for filling them. If an organisation can attract and eventually retain the right kinds of workers, then it can easily achieve its mission and vision.

Communication channels to be used in the communication of the plan to the various business units

The process of communicating various parts of the HR plan necessitates the use of internal channels of communication. Minor adjustments or announcements can be communicated through the use of emails or memos. However, the HR team will need to create formal reports that contain details about significant achievements or changes that the HR plan implementation phase has created.

The administrators of the HR implementation phase will also utilise face to face conversations for crucial aspects of the process. If aspects such as training or succession planning need to take place, then the company can make use of this mode of communication. Promotions and career development are highly personal elements that would be implemented well when they portray a distinct level of discretion.

Lastly, the HR plan will also involve the use of phone calls. Using the plan alongside emails and memos reinforces certain information. It may also explain it well to the individuals concerned. Since the internet plays a vital part in most company’s processes, then it should be incorporated into the communication mix for the HR plan.

Here, the organisation can use internal blogs to get feedback from the employees concerning the effect of the HR plan. They may also use social networking websites such as twitter or facebook in order to involve external parties during the recruitment or hiring process. Other details should be communicated through discrete channels such as email or phone calls.⁴

Systems and tools required to support the implementation process

The company will require database management software that will record and manage data about employees. It should include the positions of all employees, possible vacancies and training or skills achievements. Once a robust and well-managed database exists, then the company can have a plausible mode of action for effecting any changes in the future.

There should be performance management tools that deal with work planning, performance reviews and other similar assessments. Training kits and systems also facilitate the training process and lead to smooth HR implementation. A company needs to have competency architecture in order to ascertain that all HR applications achieve maximum efficiency.

Online tools and support systems for human resource management are imperative in ensuring HR plan success. A company needs to have a framework for ascertaining that it possesses adequate accountability.

HR plan implementation

The next stage should be implementation after completing the plan. This needs to occur when the senior managers and company executives believe that the strategic HR plan is appropriate. However, no need for this step exists if the HR team consults stakeholders from the start.

Later, the HR team needs to communicate the plan to the entire company. This communication process should tie the company strategic plan with the HR plan. It should identify changes in HR policies and management that it needs in order to support strategic planning. It should show how each member can contribute towards the plan, and should have information about company support. Lastly, the communication process should talk about how the firm will alter in the future.

The HR team needs to gather the resources needed to carry out all the steps in the HR plan. It can then start rolling out this plan slowly. This may be done by looking for equipment and space needed for the plan. Then changes in hiring can start. Thereafter, the company may work on succession and skills shortages as they arise. Finally, the organisation needs to carry out an evaluation of the HR plan so as to measure its level of success. This information should be communicated to all concerned parties.⁵

Support for the HR plan

The culture within an organisation plays an immense role in the HR plan implementation process. The administrative team in charge of HR plan implementation will be there to identify any alterations in the systems that may oppose organisational culture. The HR team can offer support by ascertaining that it informs everyone about the alterations when the changes take place.

Additionally, the company can offer support throughout succession planning so as to ensure that individual careers grow as much as organisational goals. This will contribute towards better commitment to the goals of the HR plan. The company will keep revising the HR strategy so as to meet internal and external changes. That will offer support to various business units on the basis of supply and demand in those firms.

Ongoing monitoring

The HR team will monitor the following operations and performances throughout the process: First, the HR team will analyse the effectiveness of the HR planning process by measuring staff numbers. It will also examine the ratio of the required staff to surplus staff and compare differences.

The implementation phase will entail continuous monitoring of training and development. Here, administrators will compare training days to the training plan to certify that it is on track.

Additionally, the HR team will assess job improvements so as to ensure it achieves the right results. Equal opportunity measures need to be done. Here, the company will assess the number of grievances that relate to equal opportunity employment, and compare them with targets in the plan. The evaluation will entail continual assessment of recruitment processes.

This will involve measurement of the time that it takes to fill up a vacancy and the degree of compliance with selection procedures. Administrators will assess staff attendance at work so as to calculate staff retention rates. Lastly, monitoring will involve performance appraisal comparisons with targets. This will facilitate the determination of percentage achievements. Once the HR team identifies problem areas, then it should figure out ways of reducing them.

Bibliography

Frank, F & A Smith, Human resource planning, CED, 2003. Web.

Reilly, P, Human resource planning; an introduction, Institute for Employment Studies, London, 1996.

Robertsa, R & B Taylor, Human resource management, Wiley, NJ, 2005.

Whetten, D & S Cameron, Developing Management skills, Upper Saddle River, Pearson Education, NJ, 2007.

Work Info, A guide to strategic human resource planning, World bank, 2009. Web.

Footnotes

¹ D Whetten & S Cameron, Developing Management skills, Upper Saddle River, Pearson Education, NJ, 2007, p. 41.

² Work Info, A guide to strategic human resource planning, World bank, 2009.

³ Reilly, P, Human resource planning; an introduction, Institute for Employment Studies, London, 1996, p. 61.

⁴R Robertsa & B Taylor, Human resource management, Wiley, NJ, 2005.

⁵ F Frank & A Smith, Human resource planning, CED, 2003.