Explain manpower planning, its importance, challenges and process.

Manpower Planning is a process through which an organization ensures that right people, at right place and at right time are available. Manpower Planning involves determination of future, manpower needs to help management in being proactive. It also helps the management in understanding the gap between available manpower and the future needs. This understanding plays an important role in bridging the gap. It is primacy in nature and all other staffing functions follow it. It puts the objectives of the organisation on paper and plans into the number and kind of personnel needed to accomplish those objectives.

Importance of Manpower Planning :

• Since Manpower Planning defines future personnel nee. therefore, it becomes the basis of recruiting and developing personnel.
• We all are facing fast change in corporate sector. It will be impossible to cope up with this change in case of faulty or no manpower planning.
• There may be surplus manpower in some areas and shortage in other areas. An effective Manpower Planning can only  create a balance in such a situation as it is the only way through which manpower needs and availability can be identified much in advance.
• Proper and effective Manpower Planning will help in coping up with the increasing cost of hiring personnel from reputed Universities.
• Manpower Planning also helps in developing new talents.

Manpower Planning Process

• Linking Organizational objectives and plans.
• Forecasting manpower requirements
• Preparing manpower Inventory
• Identifying manpower Gap
• Planning the Action.

Challenges of Manpower Planning

• Globalization
• New organizational forms
• Changing demographics of workforce
• Changed employee expectation
• Proactive Strategy to build up Industrial relations
• Contribution to the success of organization
• Established fact- People are the most important
• Managing the managers
• Protect the interests of the weaker sections