3.1 Stages of HRP:
HRP comprises three stages as mentioned here under.
Forecasting future people needs (Demand Forecasting)
Forecasting the future availability of people (Supply Forecasting)
Evolving plans to suit supply and demand.
Casson (1978) views that “this Conventional wisdom represents Human Resource Planning (HRP) as
an all embracing policy making activity producing on a rolling basis, precise forecasts using technically
sophisticated and highly integrated planning systems”. He also suggests that it is better regarded as, first, a
regular monitoring activity, through which Human Resource stocks and flows and their relationship to business
needs can be batter understood, assessed and controlled, problems highlighted and a base established from
which to respond to unforeseen events, and second, an investigatory activity by which the Human Resource
implications of particular problem and changing situations can be explored and the effects of alternative policies
and actions investigated.”
He further points out that “the spurious precision of quantified staffing level plans has little value when
reconciled with the complex and frequently changing nature of man power, the business and the external
environment”. The concept of Human Resource Planning (HRP) fails because the ability to make these
estimates must be severely limited by the definitely predicting the influence of external events. “There is a risk
that sensible anticipation gets converted into foolish numbers and their validity depends on large, loose
assumptions”, according to Heller (1972).
To-day Human Resource Planning (HRP) is in all probability to concentrate on what skills will be
needed in the future. It may provide a broad indication of the numbers required in the longer term. Yet in some
circumstances it may make short term forecasts when it is possible to predict activity leads and skills
requirements with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Such predictions will often be based on broad scenarios
rather than on specific supply and demand forecasts