hr planning, staffing & separations shrm

HR Planning, Staffing & Separations – SHRM

Tulasi S RHyderabadsrtulasi@gmail.comsrtulasi@yahoo.com

Planning

HR Planning - SHRM•A proactive process & is aligned to business needs•Anticipates developments in internal and external

environment & addresses them before they happen•These assumptions will need to be written down •Particularly important during turbulent times•Such a planning has to be flexible & evolving•Goes far beyond simple hiring & firing•Focus on deployment of HR Capital in the most

efficient & effective manner• Includes reassignment, training & development,

outsourcing, partial employment, temporary help etc

Some examples – Dell Computers

•HR professionals have dual reporting relationship to VP (HR) & VP ( Business unit)

•They are internal consultants in business meetings•Anticipate growth, map key job openings & source

talent both from inside & outside in advance•Analyze existing high performers to spot their keys

to success & identify competencies and skills required by new employees

•Line managers function as “rotational recruiters”•During slower recruitment seasons, HR staff move

to sales, customer service etc

Key objectives of HR Planning

•Prevent overstaffing and understaffing•Ensure the Organization has right

employees with right skills in right places at right times

•Ensure Organization is responsive to changes in the environment

•Provide direction and coherence to all HR activities and systems

•Unite the perspectives of line and staff managers

Types of HR Planning •Aggregate Planning -Mathematical models such as linear

programming -Unit forecasting ( bottom up planning ) - Assets allocation ( Top down forecasting ) - Markov Analysis ( Transition probability )• Succession Planning -Identifying key positions that can not remain

vacant -Replacement charts / Skills inventory

A Sample Transition MatrixPart A: Personnel Supply

Estimated Personnel Classification in Year T + 1 (%)

Classifications in Year T P M S Sr A Exit

Partner .70 .30Manager .10 .80 .10Supervisor .12 .60 .28Senior .20 .55 .25Accountant .15 .65 .20

Part B. Staffing LevelsEstimated Personnel Availabilities in Year T + 1 (nos)

BeginningClassifications in Year T Levels P M S Sr A ExitPartner 10 7 3Manager 30 3 24 3Supervisor 50 6 30 14Senior 100 20 55 25Accountant 200 30 130 40

10 30 50 85 130

Pros & Cons of disclosing Succession Planning

Disadvantages Advantages

Succession Planning – Some innovations•K Havanian enterprises –A large US homebuilder •Acquired seven other such companies in 3 years•Adopted a unique Succession technique - Feedback collected from 12 to 14 direct reports,

colleagues and other senior managers to assess leadership ability and potential

- Identified candidates were asked to create a plan for personal development

- Results indicated 100% elevation of employees who completed the programme while those hired from outside had a success rate of only 50 percent.

CEO Succession Planning – GE Way • Jack Welch,–A legendary CEO’s retirement did not

cause concern among stake holders •He planned his succession for over six years-

Jeffrey Immelt succeeded him and two other GE executives moved to 3M and Home Depot as chief executives.

•Executives are rotated from job to job every 3 yrs•Each assignment planned to build new skills•A specific set of goals and expectations must be

met to ensure further advancement •The model is relatively simple but takes

tremendous amount of time, energy and commitment

Strategies for managing shortages & surpluses

Recruit new permanent

employees

Increase retirement age

Rehire retirees part time

Attempt to reduce attrition

Let the current staff work

overtime

Subcontract work out

Hire temporary employees

Redesign the job processes so

that fewer employees are

needed

Managing shortages Managing surpluses

Hiring freeze

Do not replace those who leave

Offer early retirement incentives

Reduce work hours

VRS, Leaves of absence

Across the board pay cut

Lay off

Reduce / discontinue outsourced

work

Switch to variable pay plan

Expand operations/Employee

training

Staffing

Staffing – SHRM innovative methods•Kroger – Computer based, self administered

employee selection system ; Survey of customers to identify Knowledge, skills and competencies that provide outstanding customer service & built in to a measurable scale

•St.Peter’s health care – Started a bidding process as it suffered from severe shortage of qualified nurses. Nurses bid for open shifts for a certain pay rate per hour and those rejected can rebid

•Kellogg – well known cereal manufacturer outsourced recruiting function through a vendor

•Microsoft – College recruiting via internships

Separation incl retention

Employee separation – SHRM

•Stable domestic economic landscape no longer exists

•Technology and increasing skill obsolescence•Competitive Organizations need to be flexible

and responsive to environments•Faster growth-Organic / Mergers / Acquisitions•Size inhibits attention to individuals •Employees are less committed to employers

and vice versa / No more life time employment •Organizations should develop appropriate

strategies to deal with issues of ‘separation’.

IT Employee retention – Kraft foods

• CIO partnered with HR to help HR understand the unique challenges faced by IT & develop holistic plans

• Employees pursue one of two career tracks – technical or managerial through intranet tutorials – self development

• Ten working days an year exclusively to such pursuits• Tuition reimbursement for outside study programmes• Managers provide ongoing feedback & developmental

sessions• Unique ‘IT Leadership programme’ with executive mentors• A special sense of family is found at work• Ideas are solicited and accepted from every level, besides

flexi hours, telecommuting, part-time work options, casual dress code, company stores and on site health club etc.

Employee retention – Sprint PCS

• Sprint – A provider of consumer cellular telephone services identified that high performing employees were leaving not because of pay but because managers did not understand them

• Sprint designed ten retention competencies to be imparted for managers such as trust builder, esteem builder, climate builder, communicator, talent developer etc and identified gaps for each manager through 360 degree survey

• Each manager received a plan that identified at least four competencies to be developed through e learning modules

• Managers were encouraged to share specific best practices relative to retention with each other

• Lower attrition proved the effectiveness of this process

Ten mistakes to avoid while restructuring• Failure to be clear about long term and short

term goals• Use of down sizing as first resort• Use of non selective down sizing• Failure to change the way work is done• Failure to involve the stakeholders in the

process• Failure to communicate openly & honestly• Inept handling of those who lose jobs• Failure to manage survivors effectively• Ignoring the effect on other stake holders • Failure to evaluate results and learn from

mistakes

Performance – Replaceability strategy matrix-Martin& Bartol

Difficult to replaceHighly dysfunctional attritionRetain / Invest in employee :Develop back up

Easy to replace Dysfunctional attritionRetain / Invest in employee

Easy to replace Functional ( beneficial ) attritionImprove performance or terminate

Easy to replaceDysfunctional if replacement costs are highRetain / Performance incentive ?

Difficult to replaceShort term dysfunctional but long term functional attritionImprove performance or terminate / Develop back up

Difficult to replaceDysfunctional (problematic) attritionRetain / Performance incentive?Develop back up

Difficult EasyReplaceability

Any questions please !