Feedforward controls involve identifying and preventing problems in an organization before they occur. Feedforward controls are proactive and preventative. Feedforward controls are helpful to managers because they allow a manager to plan work effectively; they can regulate resources like employees, raw materials and capital ahead of time. This means that future problems can be avoided. Although feedforward controls can be costly and can slow down the planning process, they help to avoid problems later on.
Let's imagine the emergency room at City Hospital. The emergency room requires many different employees to properly treat patients. From highly-skilled to minimally-skilled employees, each function of the emergency room must be fully operational and run smoothly.
In order to avoid problems that may occur in the emergency room, it is important that City Hospital management hire the right people, inspect and test equipment regularly and have enough capital resources to manage any medical emergency that may come their way. This is a focus on inputs, or things the organization can put into the planning to be sure objectives can be met.
A closer look at the members of the management team of the emergency room will reveal that feedforward controls are always in action. As we look at examples of feedforward controls, we will find that a very detailed human resource plan, an equipment maintenance plan and a well-funded budget plan are in place.
Feedforward control planning can be used in planning for the Human Resource Department. A human resource plan ensures that the hiring managers are hiring the right people for every position. However, there is a downside. Hiring the right people can be costly and time consuming. Time and money is spent on placing Help Wanted ads in the right newspapers and right online job sites, interviewing candidates, running background checks and drug testing, training and health benefits.