Introduction
Employment planning refers to the process through which the management of an organization makes sure that it has the right kind and number of employees at the right places and time (Rao, 2008). These people must be ready to complete those tasks that will assist the company to achieve its goals. Employees then convert the mission and objectives of an organization into a personnel plan to alleviate the organization in achieving its goals. Employment planning may be influenced by two main forces in determining the kind of employees that one requires for employment. These two forces are quantity forecast and quality forecast.
Quantity forecast
In every company, there are a target number of employees. In most cases, this target is achieved through pre definition of positions in the company plus the benefits that will go with each position. This is usually defined through the requirement forecast. The requirement forecast is pre definition of the requirements for an employee to fill a given position in a company (Rao, 2008). Through this, this the company gives the profile of the number of employees that it may require based on their duties in the company in different vacancies.
Quantity forecasting may also be defined through the availability forecast. This is the pre definition of the number of employees that a company requires in a given position based on the availability of these employees (Turner, 2002). It is following number of employees available and qualified for certain positions in the company that policies of the position are given. The employer needs to have a proper understanding of the employee market for him or her to define the requirements for employees accordingly. Availability forecast is subject to time. This means that from time to time the people available for different positions change.
Also, quantity forecast may be defined by the gap analysis. This is a method that defines the steps that needs be undertaken in order to change from the current state to the desired state. This is defined by three elements. The first one is listing of traits factors like competencies, performance levels as well as attributes. The second one is listing factors required to achieve future goals of the company. The third one is highlighting the existing gaps and need to be filled (Turner, 2002). Therefore, gap analysis forces a company to reflect on the current type of staff and the kind of staff it would wish to have in the future.
Quality forecast
This refers to the anticipated quality index for an employee by any company. It defines traits of the employees that the company is looking for to fill the available vacancies (Rao, 2008). Quality forecast may be defined by several traits.
Organization fit is one of the main elements that are applicable in employment circles. It aims at defining the kind of employee that a company requires and is traits (Turner, 2002). This means that a company must be willing to employ an individual who suits the traits of the required employee. The person being recruited must confine to the requirements of the position they are being employed. The individual must fit with the activities of the organization to command smooth sailing for the company. This means that the employee must fully understand the provisions of the company in terms of culture to define the possibility of fitting into the company.
Quality forecast is also defined through the job fit element. Different positions in different companies represent different qualities. This means that a job becomes unique depending on the uniqueness that is defined in the company in terms of traits that the job stands for in a company (Rao, 2008). Therefore, when a company is looking for an employee to fit into a particular position, several traits must be considered. The management must determine whether the individual qualifies for the position. If after the interview the individual is found to have qualified on the given job vacancy he or she is referred to as fit for the job. This is what is referred to as job fit. One has to correspond to the desired traits by a given job.
There are several significant effects that go along with quality forecast. To companies, this is an extremely vital element. It aids in ensuring that only the fit employees acquire positions. This means that the company fetches the right employee for the available vacancy. Therefore, the performance of the company is enhanced. It becomes easy for the company to predetermine its performance through valuation of quality employees to define high performance for the company (Turner, 2002). The company also gets to understand what to do for it to improve the quality of its employees in order to counter competition from other companies.
Conclusion
Employment planning is an extremely crucial element in the hiring department for any company. The management needs to have a clear outline of the kind of employees it wishes to acquire. Therefore, the company must have a clear outline of the roadmap towards the kind of employees it anticipates. This is achieved through quantity and quality forecasts. Quantity forecast is based on the distribution or the availability of employees for the vacant position. Quality forecast is embedded to traits for individuals aspiring to fill the vacant positions in the company. Availability forecast and gap analyses are crucial elements for defining quantity forecast in employment planning. On the other hand, organization fit and job fit are fundamental in defining quality forecast.
References
Rao, S. R. (2008, May 19). Manpower Planning and Forecasting. Citeman Network — Online Business Community Knowledgebase. Retrieved February 5, 2013, from http://www.citeman.com/3255-manpower-planning-and-forecasting.html
Turner, P. (2002). HR forecasting and planning. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
