Manpower preparation planning is one of the crucial parts of HR management activities. Through the solution of workforce preparation, companies ensure a sufficient labor force availability to sustain service operations.

As the most important possession in a company, HR must satisfy the expectations and needs of the company. Otherwise, there is a high possibility that the company could stumble.

So, what is workforce preparation and what are its techniques? Find out the complete review in the following Mekari Talenta post.

Manpower preparation is a procedure of recognizing, preparing, approximating, and satisfying the workforce with the ideal amount, time, location, and cost according to the company's needs.

However, nowadays, the term manpower preparation is not just about fulfilling labor force need and supply.

But also about how business can ensure that existing labor force can possess the abilities needed by the company and determine what innovation is required to enhance the abilities of these staff members.

Marcus Lemonis, an American entrepreneur, stated, "The client is second for me ideal behind the employee." It means that company must constantly put their staff members welfare initially above all else.

The strategic execution of manpower preparation can have impacts not just on HRD but on the general organization too.

Here are some benefits that business can get through great workforce planning:

- Increasing service productivity as the company can estimate the amount and kinds of labor force and technology needed.
- Enabling the business to have quality labor force in line with the organization requirements and goals.
- Detecting problems early in the management system, especially in the HR field, together with mitigation strategies.
- Creating effective workforce administration so that when there is employee turnover, the company does not have vacant positions causing disturbances in the company.
- Facilitating HR managers to make tactical choices in establishing the labor force in regards to technology, skills, and employee complete satisfaction.
- Quoting Deloitte, workforce preparation can cost-effectively handle labor expenses. This is because the business can budget plan the number of workers and expenses properly.
- Creating consumer fulfillment. With excellent workforce preparation, the company management instantly has excellent systems and standards, which affect consumer fulfillment.

Manpower Planning Objectives

The main goal of implementing workforce preparation is to make sure the accessibility of labor force according to the company's requirements. This preparation procedure is not an activity that is done when or two times. Instead, it is a continuous procedure as long as the company exists.

Moreover, every 5-10 years, commercial innovation constantly alters and evolves, therefore business inevitably need to adapt.

For instance, ten years back, cloud computing innovation or expert system (AI) were not widely known by industries. However, just recently, these technologies have ended up being possessions for companies to endure in the digital era.

Companies are needed to fulfill these needs by having Human Resources or labor force efficient in establishing and running such innovations. Manpower preparation procedure is likewise needed when a company sees brand-new business opportunities and desires to execute them.

Such jobs need time, expense, workforce, and innovation. If done hastily, these opportunities can develop into threats leading to losses.

For example, HR in your company has recruited 5 staff members. However, the required technology is not available yet, the project timeline is uncertain, and even the spending plan does not satisfy the task's expectations.

Here is where workforce preparation plays its function in making sure that these components are fulfilled properly according to the company's needs. Thus, business chances can run as expected.

Simply put, another goal of workforce planning is to guarantee no mismatch amongst the workforce, time, location, technology, and economy.

According to The 2022 Global Talent Shortage by ManpowerGroup, the typical skill shortage worldwide reached 75 percent in 2022.

The sectors most impacted include government, education, healthcare, technology, production, financing, and retail.

Meanwhile, according to the World Bank report in 2018, Indonesia needs a minimum of 9 million IT workers in between 2015 and 2030.

This is also supported by data from Korn Ferry in 2017, which forecasted Indonesia would face a knowledgeable labor deficit of approximately 3.8 million by 2030.

If both of these situations happen in your company, business development rate will be substantially slower. Companies will likewise have a hard time to contend and make it through, especially in the future.

One technique to narrow the skill gap or perhaps boost the business's ability to satisfy its labor force needs is through manpower preparation.

Best Practices in Manpower Planning Process

As a guideline, there are 4 primary steps in tactically establishing workforce preparation, as follows:

Know the Company's Business Conditions and Plans

Although manpower preparation is a continuous process that runs continually, every year the company has organization strategies and evaluates the existing and future conditions.

HR managers, in this case, should coordinate with all departments and business systems. What are the strategic plans of each business unit and what funds are required?

To be familiar with your business to align with workforce planning, at least think about the following elements:

- The current labor force, how lots of service units there are, and the kinds of tasks currently readily available
- The present work culture. Does it currently satisfy expectations for the business, staff members, and clients?
- Business objective concerns both short-term and long-term
- The type of people and abilities needed by each service system
- Also, understand the development phase of your business, whether it's startup, growth, mature, or decline. This will figure out the needed labor force capability.
- Potential service risks both existing and future ones.

Mapping the Company's Future Workforce Needs

The next step is to map the future workforce needs or workforce forecasting. Through workforce forecasting, you can approximate the needed labor force and the abilities required by these workers. Manpower forecasting itself has 2 methods: internal and external.

Internal analysis consists of:

- Expert analysis involving all employees consisting of stakeholders from each department and C-level. This can be done through surveys or casual discussions.
- Workload analysis by thinking about the existing work culture, functions, and the abilities most needed by each department or organization system.
- Workforce analysis, which includes observing the number of employees, yearly turnover rates, participation records through online applications, and employee performance.
- Other workforce-related analyses such as monetary and business analyses.

While external analysis consists of:

- Analysis of the job market trends and its influence on the company.
- Third-party analysis. Whether it's stakeholders who can offer external information or technology providers who can support the company's workforce preparation procedure. For instance, using worker recruitment applications.

Develop Workforce Programs

The next action is to establish workforce programs which include recruitment process models, Standard Operating Procedures, and labor force positioning.

Additionally, it needs to be kept in mind that in manpower planning, the business not only focuses on getting the required labor force but also on how to retain it.

Compensation programs, working hours, lacks, ease of access, and other approaches to guarantee worker complete satisfaction with the business are crucial elements not to be overlooked.

Design Workforce Development Programs

Finally, labor force advancement must be executed to fulfill the business's required skill needs. As pointed out earlier, manpower preparation not just concentrates on recruiting new talent however likewise on establishing existing skill.

According Huawei's Future of Work: 2022 Digital Talent Insight report, there are 3 primary programs that business can execute in workforce advancement programs:

- Leadership: Building a workforce culture in the management phase so that the existing labor force has the same mindset as the company's vision.
- Upskilling and reskilling: Developing existing employee abilities or introducing brand-new skills to employees.
- New skilling: Providing new skills to new graduates, for example, through internship programs or external training.

Examples of Manpower Planning

Here are some research study cases that explain some cases on how workforce preparation can be utilized.

Manpower Planning on Recruitment Process

Manpower planning frequently utilized in the recruitment process because some services have reasons to hire more staff members. With efficient manpower method, company can identify its goal while figuring out how lots of employees they require to complete some jobs.

For example, a producing company that produces steel products for building jobs analyses its sales number and found that the variety of consumers might increase two times within a year. The business understands that it doesn't have enough staff members to meet the production numbers for the increasing consumer. This forecast shows the needs of employing additional labor force to meet production quotas.

Then, they develop a strategy and determine how numerous employees needed to increase production number. The business discovers that they require 20% more labor force to run the plan and starts hiring brand-new workers. Over 2 years, they can achieve their goal to satisfy the demand of production for their increasing clients.

Manpower Planning on Leadership

Leadership often stands as a critical component within a company's workforce. Effective management typically leads to enhanced efficiency, the implementation of new policies, the growing of healthy workplace, and the assistance of effective procedures.

Moreover, it is typically essential in fostering preparedness for modification. As a company undergoes shifts, adept leadership can considerably assist the change procedure. A workforce strategy commonly assesses the existing leadership capability within business, highlighting the possible need for leadership development.

For circumstances, one business concentrating on individual financing consultation, carries out an analysis of its HR metrics and observes a consistent decrease in employee engagement. It anticipates that just 20% of its existing workers may stay within the next 3 years.

Recognizing the requirement for work environment improvement to boost employee relations and retention rates, it creates new policies. However, it acknowledges the need for boosted management to effectively implement these policies and achieve their goals.

Consequently, the company formulates a labor force strategy that includes training and advancement initiatives for its present leadership. Through participation in leadership advancement programs, both management and senior workers refine their leadership proficiencies.

Then, staff members start to put higher trust and respect in their leadership figures, thus cultivating a more favorable work environment atmosphere. As an outcome of the enhancement in its management capabilities assisted in by boosted labor force planning, it observes a rise in its projected retention rates.

Manpower Planning Through HRIS

One strategy in performing manpower preparation is by depending on HRIS.

Through HRIS technology, you can make use of labor force information more easily and thoroughly. This data can then be utilized to determine the future instructions of the company, specifically in HR.

According to Gartner's report, only 12% of business successfully make use of workforce information, especially in helping organization decision-making.

One service provider of HRIS in Indonesia is Mekari Talenta.

Mekari Talenta is a software that has features covering multiple HR functions such as online presence, payroll, performance management, employee self-service, worker database management, and manpower preparation.

With Manpower Planning (MPP) feature, company no longer requires to do manual data analysis, mapping, estimation, and determination of work plans. The allocation of workforce needs is more transparent to avoid uncertainty and to tone down recruitment expenses.