A Comprehensive Guide to Manpower Planning: Process And Best Practices

Manpower preparation preparation is among the important parts of HR management activities. Through the solution of manpower preparation, business make sure a sufficient workforce availability to sustain business operations.

As the most valuable possession in a business, HR needs to satisfy the expectations and needs of the business. Otherwise, there is a high possibility that the company might stumble.

So, what is manpower preparation and what are its methods? Learn the total evaluation in the following Mekari Talenta short article.

Manpower preparation is a process of identifying, planning, estimating, and fulfilling the workforce with the best amount, time, place, and expense according to the company’s needs.

However, nowadays, the term manpower planning is not only about fulfilling workforce demand and supply.

But also about how business can guarantee that existing labor force can possess the abilities needed by the company and determine what technology is required to optimize the skills of these employees.

Marcus Lemonis, an American entrepreneur, stated, “The client is number 2 for me best behind the staff member.” It means that business ought to constantly put their workers well-being first above all else.

The tactical execution of workforce planning can have impacts not only on HRD but on the general company as well.

Here are some advantages that business can get through good manpower preparation:

– Increasing service efficiency as the company can approximate the quantity and types of workforce and innovation required.
– Enabling the business to have quality workforce in line with the business requirements and goals.
– Detecting problems early in the management system, particularly in the HR field, along with mitigation strategies.
– Creating effective labor force administration so that when there is staff member turnover, the company does not have uninhabited positions causing disturbances in the organization.
– Facilitating HR supervisors to make tactical decisions in establishing the workforce in regards to technology, skills, and staff member satisfaction.
– Quoting Deloitte, workforce preparation can cost-effectively manage labor costs. This is since the company can spending plan the variety of workers and expenses precisely.
– Creating customer satisfaction. With good manpower planning, the company management immediately has great systems and requirements, which affect consumer complete satisfaction.

Manpower Planning Objectives

The primary goal of implementing manpower preparation is to ensure the availability of labor force according to the company’s needs. This preparation process is not an activity that is done one or two times. Instead, it is a constant procedure as long as the company exists.

Moreover, every 5-10 years, commercial technology always alters and develops, hence business undoubtedly need to adjust.

For example, ten years earlier, cloud computing innovation or synthetic intelligence (AI) were not widely known by markets. However, just recently, these technologies have actually ended up being assets for business to survive in the digital era.

Companies are needed to satisfy these needs by having Human Resources or workforce capable of establishing and running such technologies. Manpower planning procedure is likewise required when a business sees brand-new business opportunities and wishes to implement them.

Such jobs need time, cost, manpower, and technology. If done quickly, these chances can become threats causing losses.

For instance, HR in your company has recruited 5 staff members. However, the needed technology is not offered yet, the job timeline is unclear, and even the budget does not meet the project’s expectations.

Here is where workforce planning plays its role in making sure that these aspects are fulfilled appropriately according to the company’s needs. Thus, business chances can run as expected.

To put it simply, another objective of workforce planning is to make sure no mismatch amongst the labor force, time, location, technology, and economy.

According to The 2022 Global Talent Shortage by ManpowerGroup, the average skill scarcity worldwide reached 75 percent in 2022.

The sectors most impacted include federal government, education, health care, innovation, production, finance, and retail.

Meanwhile, according to the World Bank report in 2018, Indonesia needs at least 9 million IT workers in between 2015 and 2030.

This is likewise supported by information from Korn Ferry in 2017, which forecasted Indonesia would deal with a proficient labor deficit of approximately 3.8 million by 2030.

If both of these circumstances happen in your business, business growth rate will be substantially slower. Companies will also struggle to contend and make it through, particularly in the future.

One method to narrow the skill space or perhaps enhance the business’s ability to satisfy its labor force needs is through workforce planning.

Best Practices in Manpower Planning Process

As a standard, there are 4 primary actions in tactically developing manpower planning, as follows:

Know the Company’s Business Conditions and Plans

Although manpower planning is a continuous process that runs continuously, every year the company has company plans and evaluates the present and future conditions.

HR managers, in this case, should coordinate with all departments and business units. What are the tactical plans of each company unit and what funds are needed?

To get to understand your company to align with workforce planning, at least consider the list below factors:

– The existing labor force, the number of business units there are, and the types of jobs currently available
– The existing work culture. Does it already satisfy expectations for the business, employees, and consumers?
– Business objective top priorities both short-term and long-lasting
– The kind of people and abilities needed by each company system
– Also, know the development stage of your business, whether it’s startup, development, mature, or decline. This will determine the required labor force capacity.
– Potential business threats both existing and future ones.

Mapping the Company’s Future Workforce Needs

The next step is to map the future labor force requires or workforce forecasting. Through workforce forecasting, you can approximate the required workforce and the abilities needed by these workers. Manpower forecasting itself has 2 methods: internal and external.

Internal analysis includes:

– Expert analysis including all employees including stakeholders from each department and C-level. This can be done through studies or casual discussions.
– Workload analysis by considering the existing work culture, functions, and the skills most required by each department or company unit.
– Workforce analysis, which includes observing the variety of employees, yearly turnover rates, attendance records through online applications, and worker efficiency.
– Other workforce-related analyses such as monetary and business analyses.

While external analysis includes:

– Analysis of the task market patterns and its influence on the business.
– Third-party analysis. Whether it’s stakeholders who can provide external information or technology providers who can support the business’s manpower preparation process. For example, making use of employee recruitment applications.

Develop Workforce Programs

The next action is to establish labor force programs that include recruitment procedure designs, Standard procedure, and workforce positioning.

Additionally, it needs to be kept in mind that in workforce preparation, the company not only focuses on acquiring the needed labor force but also on how to maintain it.

Compensation programs, working hours, absences, availability, and other techniques to guarantee employee fulfillment with the company are crucial elements not to be overlooked.

Design Workforce Development Programs

Finally, workforce advancement must be executed to satisfy the company’s needed skill needs. As mentioned earlier, workforce planning not only concentrates on recruiting new talent however likewise on developing existing skill.

According Huawei’s Future of Work: 2022 Digital Talent Insight report, there are three primary programs that business can implement in workforce advancement programs:

– Leadership: Building a workforce culture in the management phase so that the existing workforce has the same mindset as the company’s vision.
– Upskilling and reskilling: Developing existing staff member skills or introducing new skills to staff members.
– New skilling: Providing new skills to new graduates, for example, through internship programs or external training.

Examples of Manpower Planning

Here are some study cases that explain some cases on how manpower preparation can be used.

Manpower Planning on Recruitment Process

Manpower preparation frequently utilized in the recruitment process given that some companies have factors to employ more staff members. With reliable workforce method, business can recognize its objective while figuring out how many workers they require to complete some jobs.

For example, a manufacturing business that produces steel items for construction jobs analyses its sales number and found that the variety of customers might increase 2 times within a year. The company understands that it doesn’t have adequate staff members to fulfill the production numbers for the increasing customer. This projection indicates the requirements of hiring extra labor force to meet production quotas.

Then, they establish a strategy and identify how many employees required to increase production number. The business discovers that they need 20% more labor force to run the plan and begins recruiting brand-new employees. Over two years, they can attain their goal to meet the need of production for their increasing consumers.

Manpower Planning on Leadership

Leadership often stands as a vital part within an organization’s workforce. Effective leadership generally causes improved performance, the execution of new policies, the cultivation of healthy work environments, and the assistance of effective procedures.

Moreover, it is usually critical in cultivating readiness for change. As an organization goes through operational shifts, skilled leadership can considerably aid the modification procedure. A labor force strategy commonly examines the present leadership capacity within business, highlighting the potential requirement for leadership advancement.

For instance, one company concentrating on individual finance consultation, carries out an analysis of its HR metrics and observes a consistent decrease in worker engagement. It expects that only 20% of its existing staff members may remain within the next 3 years.

Recognizing the requirement for to reinforce worker relations and retention rates, it creates new policies. However, it acknowledges the requirement for enhanced management to successfully execute these policies and attain their goals.

Consequently, the company formulates a labor force plan that integrates training and advancement initiatives for its current leadership. Through involvement in management development programs, both management and senior workers fine-tune their leadership competencies.

Then, employees start to put greater trust and regard in their leadership figures, consequently cultivating a more positive office environment. As a result of the improvement in its leadership capabilities assisted in by boosted labor force planning, it observes an increase in its projected retention rates.

Manpower Planning Through HRIS

One method in performing workforce preparation is by counting on HRIS.

Through HRIS technology, you can make use of labor force data more quickly and thoroughly. This information can then be used to figure out the future instructions of the business, particularly in HR.

According to Gartner’s report, just 12% of companies effectively make use of labor force data, especially in assisting business decision-making.

One company of HRIS in Indonesia is Mekari Talenta.

Mekari Talenta is a software that has functions covering several HR functions such as online presence, payroll, performance management, employee self-service, staff member database management, and workforce preparation.

With Manpower Planning (MPP) feature, company no longer needs to do manual data analysis, mapping, computation, and decision of employment strategies. The allotment of workforce requirements is more transparent to prevent unpredictability and to tone down recruitment costs.