Barriers to Human resource planning(HRP)

Barriers to HRP

Human Resource Planners face significant barriers while formulating an HRP. The major barriers are elaborated below:

1)      HR practitioners are perceived as experts in handling personnel matters, but are not experts in managing business. The personnel plan conceived and formulated by the HR practitioners when enmeshed with organizational plan, might make the overall strategic plan of the organization ineffective.

2)      HR information often is incompatible with other information used in strategy formulation. Strategic planning efforts have long been oriented towards financial forecasting, often to the exclusion of other types of information. Financial forecasting takes precedence over HRP.

4)      Conflict may exist between short term and long term HR needs. For example, there can be a conflict between the pressure to get the work done on time and long term needs, such as preparing people for assuming greater responsibilities. Many managers are of the belief that HR needs can be met immediately because skills are available on the market as long as wages and salaries are competitive. Therefore, long times plans are not required, short planning are only needed.

5)      There is conflict between quantitative and qualitative approaches to HRP. Some people view HRP as a number game designed to track the flow of people across the department. Others take a qualitative approach and focus on individual employee concerns such as promotion and career development. Best result can be achieved if there is a balance between the quantitative and qualitative approaches.

6)      Non-involvement of operating managers renders HRP ineffective. HRP is not strictly an HR department function. Successful planning needs a co-ordinated effort on the part of operating managers and HR personnel.