The Internal and External Factors in Planning the Workforce

Workforce planning is a continuous process that an organization uses to align the wants and priorities with that of its workforce and this ensures that the organization is able to achieve its objectives, production requirements, services and its legislative. In other words, workforce planning is finding the right number of personnel with the right set of skill, competencies and experiences at the right time and in the right jobs.

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The internal policies of a company give a direct impact on how a business staffs its workforce. Human resource planning appreciates these internal factors so as to ensure the business acquires the most talented employees in the market at the right time. These internal factors include; companys mission, organizational culture, organizational structure, funding.

A companys mission puts to light its vision, values and its purpose. The organization sets a clear path by establishing objectives and clear goals. When the human resource department wants to fill the staff positions, they interview, recruit and hire people who the same value. For example, when an organization feels the desire to adopt a new business practice which is sustainable to protect the environment, it should seek people who have similar interests.

Organizational culture explains how employees interact with one another. Small businesses usually have one location, and thus, they expect the personnel to work in an office. Larger institutions and companies may allow their workers to work from their homes (World Bank Group 2014). Therefore new employees at bigger organizations have to be comfortable with dealing with co-workers on phone and attending virtual meetings. Generally, the human resource planning needs to know the formality tolerated by the institution, dress code, and the flexibility amount in terms of hours. Additionally, it makes sure the staffs working hours are well defined by the operational policies of the company. For instance, when a company gives its customers a promise of providing 24 hours services a day the human resource planning should anticipate providing a 24-hour schedule to its workers.

The organizational structure gives an impact on the human resource Planning. Divisional, functional or matrix structure need a different staffing. Employees usually perform tasks that are specialized in functional structures, in divisional structures; departments have representation from each function that is required, such as; marketing, support, development and sales, the employee gives his/her report to two bosses with each having a different function, For example, one being the divisions manager and the other representing her function (World Bank Group 2014). For example, effective human resource planning make sure positions are filled in order to ensure productivity and follow the companys state, local and federal laws for security and safety purposes.

Funding entails all about the companys budget. Human resource has to make plans within the companys budget in order to maximize on profitability. The demand of having additional staff may provide an impact on the hiring plans; therefore, small organizations need to be anticipating for this (World Bank Group 2014). The desire of acquiring specialized skills may also provide an impact. To meet the companys short term goals it may need outsourcing activities that are not core. Meeting long-term goals involves offering training and development chances to all the workers. To maximize productivity, loyalty and morale the employers can plan work parties and events. For example, organizations provide free resources which are related to the development of professionalism and team building. Adjusting the human resource funding levels may make it challenging to them especially in small business

Human resource management is affected by also external factors, and these factors include; government regulations, economic conditions, technological advancement and workforce demographics. We will see the effects of this bellow because a well-developed human resource department takes into consideration the external factors which might affect the department

The introduction of new government regulations in a workplace may be termed as an external factor which requires the human resource department to ensure that the institution complies with the new laws. These regulations influence the HR department processes which include termination, training and hiring without adhering to the law would lead to shut down of the company (World Bank Group 2014). For instance, in some companies they offer room to four foreign employees and if they have to bring in a new foreigner they should make room for him before getting to employ him.

The shape of the current economy is one of the greatest external influences. This is because it greatly affects the talent pool and the ability to hire someone. For example, affects companies ability to employ new task force and as a result, graduates normally get a rough time to acquire the jobs they want

Technological advancements are considered being an external factor since when new technology is introduced HR department start to look for ways to decrease the number of employees and thus helping the company save money. For instance, a company that a had 4-6 workers could be cut into two since new technology is more revolutionizing and cost saving as compared to human labour.

Workforce demographics are among the external effect, and the human resource got to look into this in order to hire new and well-equipped workers. For example; as the old people retire new blood must be brought in and thus the HR must attract a new set of people to take the job vacancies and by offering compensation packages that are different so as to comply with the younger generation.

Describe how the employee skills required to do the jobs in an organization are identified.

Employability skills can also be called as soft skills. These are actions, skills and actions which enable employees get along with their workmates and supervisors and make critical and sound decisions. These skills are divided into; personal qualities, critical thinking skills, basic academic skills and technological skills

Basic skills include: reading, writing, maths, listening and oral communications. Employers look for employees who can communicate well in both writing and orally. Communication skills are needed in selling oneself during an interview. Being able to pass through your thoughts both verbally and orally enables better relations with ones co-workers. Listening comprises of both being able to hear and to understand information.

Critical thing comprise of both problem solving and decision-making skills and this acts as an asset to the employer. Critical thinking comprises of; reasoning, planning, organizing, problem-solving, creative thinking. Creative thinkers are able to come up with new ideas and new ways to do things thus adding value to a workplace, therefore, enabling the company to stay competitive in the job market.

Personal qualities also contribute to skills; these skills include; honesty, integrity, leadership, self-directed, team spirit, punctuality, social skills and good work attitude. Leadership is where one can influence others towards achieving a certain goal. Employers hire people who seem, to be honest and can manage themselves

In the modern world, one cant escape the urgency of technology. Most employers require their employees to familiarize with a wide variety of computer applications. In other words, this can be termed as computer literacy. Technological skills include; exchanging emails, using Microsoft word, browsing the internet and using Microsoft excel.

Talent and skills of the employees are very much essential to business because they can add value or bring innovations in an organization. This suggests that they can enable an organization even better much more efficient if they are fully utilized (World Bank Group 2014). Different jobs require different skill levels. If the job tends to be complicated and it demands a high level of education then it definitely requires a high level of skill, and if a job is to be performed with a low amount of training then it requires low skills World Bank Group. Taking note of the complexity and range of skill required is vital for human resource planning.

Skill acquisition is one thing that employers look for in employees. Employers want employees who will absorb new ideas and make them work. Employers have to make sure that their new employees are trained to do a job just in case one of the employees leave. Employees, acquiring these new skills help in motivating them and making them much more efficient. Training requires a lot of money and its also time consuming but its only if skills are regularly acquired the business company is much more likely to face shortages in the number of personnel available to perform some jobs, both inside and outside the company.

Skill audit and transferability are where a business is able to access the existing skills than an employee has and if their skills can match those of the organization objectives. Some employees may have the required skills and they may not be putting them into use. The organization could hence use the set of employees instead of hiring new staff (Mundial, 2015). Companies may perform regular auditing of skills or use the human resource information system to keep track and record of all the workers including the skills each individual possess. Some specialist works have skills that are transferable and thus they can easily be taken from one organization to another. Companies ought to look after their employees or run the risk of losing them. Problems may also occur if the employees skills are much too specialized.

Technology is transforming the way individuals work and it poses a significant impact on the amount of workers that a company can employ. The employers are requiring having employees who have high skill level on matters of technology due to fast changing technology. Changes in technology at times dont always mean fewer employees but, it can also mean change of skill of required.

References

Mundial, B. (2015). Doing Business 2015: Going Beyond Efficiency. Washington, DC.

World Bank Group. (2014). Doing Business 2015: Going Beyond Efficiency. World Bank Publications.