The problem in attracting or retaining key staff.
The scope to make better use of people by increasing employment flexibility.
The danger of down sizing.
6.1 Components of Resourcing Strategy
Michael Arm Strong (2008) indentified three components of resourcing strategy.
Resourcing Plans:
These plans find people from within the organization and / or for training programmes to help
people learn new skills. If needs are not satisfied from within the organization, resourcing
plans prepare longer term by attracting more qualitative candidates as the employer of choice.
Flexibility Plans:
These plans increase the feasibility in the use of human resource to enable the organization to
make the best use of people and adapt swiftly to changing circumstances.
Relation Plans:
These plans are intended to retain the people the organization needs. Resourcing strategy
provides the basis for these plans within the frame work of business needs. It will be more
effective, if it is supported by scenario planning
6.2 Scenario Planning
Scenario planning is also called by the name, the formal strategic planning technique. An advanced
learner’s oxford dictionary defines a scenario as “an imagined sequence of future events”. It is a more or less
formalized process for establishing a view about any changes that can be seen to the scale and type of activities
in the organization and to its structure. It identifies all external environmental changes that are likely to affect it.
It aims at obtaining a better understanding of the possible situation that may have to be dealt within the future.
In this context, Reill(1999) observes that “ Scenario planning tries to open minds to a range of possibilities that
organizations may have to confront. These possibilities are then ordered to produce a series of internally
consistent pictures of alternative futures. It is an intellectual process that seeks to identify issues and examine
the possible consequences of events
The scenario planning involves making broad assessments of likely internal developments. It shows the
direction in which the organization is going and the implications this has on people requirements. According to
Michael Armstrong(2008), the assessments may have to be made in the absence of any articulated business plan,
and thus involve questioning top management and key line managers on how they see the future, and asking
them to interrupt what this means in terms of their human resource needs Assessments also have to be made on
likely changes in the external environment as it may affect the labour market.
Scenario planning also helps sometimes in estimating future people requirements. However, wherever
it is feasible attempts can be made to produce demand and supply forecast. They will help in determining the
type of action needed to be taken if the forecasts indicate the possibility of a human resource deficit or surplus.
6.3 Demand Forecasting
Demand forecasting is a process of human resource planning by which the number of people, their
skills and competencies required for an organization is estimated. The ideal basis of the forecast is an annual
budget and longer term business plan, translated into activity levels for each function and department or decision
on downsizing.
6.4Supply forecasting
Supply forecasting is a process of human resource planning by which the number of people to be
available within and outside the organization is measured. Supply forecasting is based on the following six
factors.
An analysis of existing human resources in terms of numbers in each occupation skills and potentials.
Forecasting losses to existing resources through attrition.
Forecasting changes to existing resources through internal promotion.
Effecting changing conditions of work and absenteeism