Internal Planning Factors

Internal Planning Factors
Planning Factors
These are the factors that relate to what is already happening inside the business. This includes how the organisation is changing to cope with new methods of working or new demands made on it, such as the introduction of technology or new products or services. It is also a way of considering the new skills that will be needed in the future and those that the existing staffs already have. The gap between the skills already present and those that are needed can be measured.

Organisational needs – The workforce needs to be able to adapt to changes. Demand for products and services will affect the number of people needed in certain roles. Businesses can look to move into new markets – this could mean abroad and staff needing new skills such as languages. More staff may be needed in distribution if the business grows. Technological change can also affect the internal working arrangements – machinery leads to redundancies, new training may be needed etc. (Internet shopping and self-scan checkouts) Outsourcing production to cheaper countries.

Skills requirements – Assessing the skills of the current workforce is an essential part of human resources planning as it enables a business to build up a profile of the training, experience and qualifications that employees already have. This is very important whether the business is capital intensive or labour intensive. As the nature and type of work changes within an organisation, so do the skills requirements. An organisation must measure the skills levels of its workforce in order to plan for the future – appraisals, awards, certificates etc. Workforce profiles – This means that a manager can view and monitor the types of employee working for the business. They usually include details such as age, gender, ethnicity and availability. Knowing ages can help you plan for the future and also ensures that you fulfill any legislation requirements. Large gaps in ages can cause problems so this allows you to combat this. Profiling the qualifications and training of your workforce allows a business to make use of any special skills staff members have. Planning Factors

External Planning Factors

These are the factors that influence the business from outside its direct control.

Supply of labour – What are the trends of the area the business is in? Is there any particular type of trade in that area? Nationally, the supply of labour is dependent on trends in unemployment and the types of skills that are needed by employers. What is the effect of Britain’s membership of the EU?

Labour costs – The cost of labour, as a percentage of the other costs within a business, will depend on whether the business is capital or labour intensive, as well as the extent to which the skills needed by that organisation are available and accessible. In the UK, labour costs are also governed by the national minimum wage.

Workforce skills – Using published national statistics, organisations can see the types of skills that are available in their local area or region. Businesses need to consider their future needs and those of their competitors in order to make sure they attract the right people – this may mean extra incentives being offered.

Government policy – Government policy and changes to education policies can lead to gaps in skills, or gaps in skills being addressed.

Labour market competition – As a business plans its workforce needs for the future, so do other businesses within the same industry. There may not be enough skilled employees for each business, so you may need to offer more money to attract the right staff, however, you need to manage your funds well to make a profit.

Changing nature of work – ‘A job for life’ used to be a standard idea in the workplace, but now employees need a wider range of skills and be willing to change employer and job role in order to stay in work. Overnight working,
flexible working hours and working from home are now commonplace in the workplace. Flat organisational structures mean employees may have to move to get a promotion.

Employee expectations – Differing types of contracts (part-time, full-time, temp, casual, permanent) Everyone is different and employees may have business at home to take care of meaning they cannot work full-time.

Impact of automation – This addresses the changes in technology over time and how this affects organisations – such as the internet and email, no need for phone operators, customers entering their own details online.

Demand for products and services – A business may have to alter or change its HR requirements or staff levels based on the natural changes in demand for goods or services. Hotels being affected by natural disasters for example. A competitor bringing out new technology making yours obsolete. Excess capacity is when an organisation has too many goods or services on offer compared to the number of customers.

P1
P1 – Describe the internal factors to consider when planning the human resource requirements at Manchester Airport. In this assignment I am going to consider what human resource requirements could Manchester Airport have due to changes in different areas they’re operating. Internal Factors.

If the Manchester Airport decided to make some changes in their technology use within the airport then they may have to consider following: Staff – due to changes in the way they operate (they start to use more technology) the airport might change their use of staff. Since use of technology can replace more and more peoples work then less people will be employed because it is more beneficial for the business. However there are some points than needs to be taken into account and they are: The new technology will require for new skills (specific IT skills), therefore this might lead the business to give additional training for the rest of the stuff that will keep operating within the airport. This will reduce the number of staff however they might have a need to employ temporary employees that could deal within temporary problems that technology might have unless it’s been provided within the training programme for the staff. However this might lead to another problem because when business will have a need to decide what personnel they want to keep and with which one they want no further contact, they need to look at their abilities to learn new skills because not all people would cope with the new technologies because they are too old to be understanding the use of them.

Demands for service. If the business saves money on employing less people than needed then the Airport could develop their offers such as providing more flights and therefore being able to keep the same number of staff. If the technology will prove how beneficial it is for business they might have a demand for services therefore giving those people more opportunity to work. If the business expand and it stays with the same amount of workers but more technology it could be counted as a saving for business because they will get more money for the services provided meanwhile employing the same amount of people. This will be beneficial for business because it won’t have a need to sack people or spend loads of money on recruiting new staff when they use their existing employees and also employees with benefit from because they will still have a safe source where they’ll get their finances from. Changes in products they change to market changes. For example, if the business decided to offer more flights to countries with big population, they might need to consider employing more translator type of people that could help the customers with good customer service by providing them ability to be understood even if they don’t speak that particular language. Even in the case of emergency if the person doesn’t speak English but for a medic it is important to know what he experiences then a translator could be in the straight meaning – life saver.

This will give good feedback from customers and more people might be using their services because they know for sure that they won’t be alone – there always will be someone that will be able to help with any queries or problems. Workforce profiles. The Manchester Airport is requiring special entry requirement for different workplaces. For example, to become a part of air cabin crew you have to be pass following requirements – you need to be physically and medically fit, you will have to pass certain weight and height restriction. This is done because it will complete their health and safety policies in context of employing only people that are fit to that job role. Also they should be able to meet their uniform standards which incudes having no tattoos or piercings that could be seen by the passenger of the plane. Changes in the environment. Weather is a very important issue that must be always kept as an important issue within the airports. They can plan their flights based only on weather because this is something that will affect people’s safety. Now when more and more technologies enter the actual business, airport can use various methods of predicting weather so they can be sure that their flights won’t be affected by unexpected storms, snow etc. that could be hard to deal with whilst on air. This will affect staff in a way they will be needed to be given additional training to ensure that they can use those new technologies and read the information with no mistakes because if done faulty it could cause major issues whilst flying.

External factors.
There are many factors that have an impact however they can’t be controlled by that particular business because they are external. The biggest impact on business is caused by the changes in the economy. The economy changes make business think carefully about who they employ and for what reasons. Recession disables people to spend much money of stuff they may have wanted to spend on such as holidays etc therefore if less people will subscribe those offers then less flights will be provided which then will indicate the business to make most of the contracts to part – time in order to save money on staff that they don’t exactly need all day round.

The Manchester Airports Group (MAG) is the second largest UK airport operator and comprises the airports of Manchester, East Midlands, Humberside and Bournemouth. 24 million passengers travelled through MAG airports in 2009-10 (across all 4 airports) and the Group handled 409,000 tonnes of air freight. MAG generates around £3.2 billion for the UK economy and supports over 130,000 jobs nationwide. This will provide further opportunities to join the airport team, working in stimulating environment where no two days are ever the same. So if looking from HR point of view – this business gives great opportunity to many people from different ethnicities to get a job and work in a friendly environment. This will enable the business be able to employ people that want to work no matter what and that have good skills because nowadays when many people are losing their jobs during the recession they tend to work harder to keep their jobs. Airport should supply labour on national and international scale because in this way they would be able to bring more different and unique skills within their organisation.

People from different places has got different experiences therefore then more experienced people you bring into the business then more the business can rely on them and become successful. Since the our nation is slowly moving from manufacturing industry jobs to retail, service, and education workforces then by becoming a international employer, the business gives chances to more people become educated and earn skills that will help them in their lives later on. The gap between the manufacturing and retailing industry jobs should be dealt by the local business and agencies to ensure that people don’t suffer from these massive changes. They should be given an ability to find a new job by giving them additional training in order to keep up with the worlds updates job wise. Manchester airport is providing their own training such as they give training to a new personnel of air cabin crew team. This enables the personnel to be more productive in terms of their work because they have received additional training and therefore they can show good results for the business they are working for. As more and more people form EU are transferring to live in the UK, then there are more competition between the people wanting to work in the airport because these people often have an ability to speak in more than two three languages which is very useful and those skills are required. This gives an impact of having bigger competition between those people that have just come to this country against those, who own it.

This business can decide what people they want to employ and therefore it leads back to one of the points why they should supply labour on national and international basis. Also business needs to consider whether they should emergence measures such as emergency training or short term contracts. For example, if many people massively fall ill and cannot return to their work duties for a while then business should consider of employing other people on short term basis. In this way they are able to observe any unique skills that they have a lack of in their business and if found they might consider the option of employing that person on permanent basis. In this way Airport is able to scan bigger amount of people and search for their skills on order to ensure that business has got decent employees that know how to do their job. In return of doing a good job the Manchester Airport is providing well served network of local and regional buses running daily from early morning to late night, including weekends and bank holidays. This is not just for travellers but is suitable for staff because it gives them opportunity to traveller from one location to another depending on their duty basis at any time. Also the workers are provided with free training therefore they don’t have to worry about not being up –to- date and they can feel safe and confident about what they are doing is good and as required.

Also Manchester Airport gives great opportunities for those families whose members are working within their business because Manchester by itself is a big and very socialised city with links all over the England and beyond. The family can have their education in one of the best colleges and university across the England therefore giving people chances to live better even if someone is travelling far distances and is not always available at home.

I will be able to describe how the skills that employees require to carry out jobs in an organisation are identified (Pass)

The skills and talents of employees are very important to businesses as they can add value to the organisation. This means that they can make the organisation even better or more efficient if full use is made of them. Humans, like other resources such as finance or buildings, need to be used efficiently and usefully. Like other resources they also need to be paid and planned for, especially if the skills that are required are hard to find. People as organisational resources

As human resources are just one part of the set of resources that any organisation has available to it, humans should be considered in an objective way and treated like any other resource. This can be difficult though, due to the nature of feelings.

Skill sets

What is the difference between capital and labour intensive businesses? How will the skill sets be different?

The types of human skills that are required to do a job effectively are known as a ‘skills set’. Examples could be:

– speaking and presenting
– data analysis
– coaching
– time management
– working machinery (forklift truck)
– using software (spreadsheets)

Different jobs have different levels of skills. If a job is complicated and demands a high level of education and training, it is going to need a high level of skill. If it is a job that can be performed with a minimum amount of training, then it is likely to be low skilled. Taking into account the range and complexity of skills that are needed is important for human resource planning.

A lower skilled job however, can have a high number of tasks associated with it, and vice versa. But a highly skilled job can also have a lot of tasks associated with it, such as a teacher!

Sometimes specific skills are needed for a job, or ‘job-specific skills’, whilst for others ‘generic’ skills are needed. Job-specific skills are only applicable to that particular job and generic skills can be transferable. Skill acquisition

Acquiring skills during work is extremely important for both employers and employees. Employers must make sure that they have got new people being trained to do a job in case an employee leaves the company. For employees, gaining new skills can help to motivate them and make them more efficient. Training involves money and time, but unless skills are regularly acquired the organisation is likely to face shortages in the number of people available to do some jobs, both inside and outside of the company.

Above is an example of a skills audit. These are where a business assesses the existing skills an employee has and also whether these skills match new organisational objectives. Some employees may already have the necessary skills, but may not be using them. The organisation would therefore use these employees instead of employing new staff. Organisations may carry out regular skills audits or use Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) to keep records of all employees, including their skills.

Some specialist jobs have transferable skills that can be easily taken from one organisation to another. Organisations must therefore look after their employees or risk losing them and having problems finding replacements. Problems can occur for employers and employees if their skills are too specialised. Impact of technology

Technology is changing the way we work and it has a significant impact on the number of workers that organisations need to employ, their other resources and the level of technical expertise required.

– What has been the impact of email, the internet and mobile phones?

The skills needed of employees to use technology and of organisations to manage the impact on employees and the business will continue to change at the fast pace of technology itself. Changes do not always mean fewer employees, but they often mean changes to the skills required.

M1 – Explain why human resources planning is important to an organisation. Human Resource management can be defined as a management of organisation workforce. It is responsible for recruitment and selection, induction and training, promotion and transfers, human resources and manpower planning, rewards and conditions of employment and appraisals and termination of employment. HRM is also a strategic and comprehensive approach to managing people and the workplace culture and environment. Effective HRM enables employees to contribute effectively and productively to the overall company direction and the accomplishment of the organisation’s goals and objectives. (1) Roles of HRM:

The human resources management team suggests to the strategic management team how to strategically manage people as business resources. For example: Recruiting and hiring employees – BT HRM deal with these roles, by assessing and recruiting the right candidates for the work place they have within organisation. BT checks skills of the candidates and select those, which matches required criteria. Induction and training- BT HRM are responsible for improving employee’s skills by selecting the right training to them, also giving the induction on how they need to work. Promotion and transfers- BT HRM are dealing with promotion and transfers of employees and promoting those employees who work right and deserve to grow up within organisation. For example, from worker to supervisor, also if they need to continue in the same organisation, but willing to relocate to other place BT can provide them with higher position available in other location.

Human resource and manpower planning – consists of putting the exact number of people, right kind of people at the right work place, at exact time, doing the special things for which they are suited for the achievement of goals of the BT. Rewards and conditions of employment- BT gives many rewards to their employees like growth in salary, or promotion because of their good work and good work conditions for example some employees are allowed to work from home. Appraisals and termination of employment- BT organisation gives contracts to their employees for specific time period (temporary or probation) and permanent work contracts. Human Resource Planning Cycle:

Assessing current workforce- this will cover how many employees work in each area of BT, the skills and abilities of their current staff. The tasks and roles workers need to carry out. Analysing future workforce – this will cover areas of supply and demand of labour (do staff have the right skills to work, is anybody going to retire, what staff may be needed for different areas), organisational objectives and forecast demand for products (does the business intend to grow, demand of services increase or decrease), the external business environment and changes in technology (is there more competitors to enter the market, is their some new technology to reduce some need of workers). Identifying the gap- gap analysis involves identifying existing employee skills and qualifications of short-and long-term skills competencies and knowledge required for BT. Gap analysis perform skills between current organisational skills and the skills required to function in the planned environment of BT. Developing strategies to fill the gaps – strategies show the way business strategy and demographic movements are forwarded through the analysis. These are converted into action plans based on the outcome of consistent planning activities of BT.

For example it could be: Scenario Planning (conducting an environmental scan on the issues that most affect the labour market pertaining to the organisation). Demand forecasting (estimating future needs of people and competences based on corporate functional plans and future activity levels), Supply forecasting (estimating the supply of manpower, based on current resources, future requirements and wastage). Forecast Requirements (analysis of demand and supply forecasts to identify shortages or extras with the help of models if appropriate). Productivity and Cost Analysis (analysing productivity, capacity, utilisation and cost to identify the need for improvement in production or reduction in cost). Factors involved in BT HRM planning:

The main internal factors of human resource planning are demands for product or services, markets technological changes, etc. For example: Use of technology  Internal factor is the willingness for BT human resources department and company management to use technology to aid in certain key human resources functions which can impact on how the department allocates its time and resources. Existing or New Skills Requirements (Training and Development) Training and development are important for all businesses and is particularly important for BT, experienced competent people contribute to both the productivity and profitability of BT. Remaining competitive depends in large measure on ensuring that BT workforce is trained and up to date with all updated skills and knowledge, especially in today’s global economy, in which keeping up with new methods is so important. External Factors Involve:

The main external factors of human resource planning are workforce profiles, supply of labour competition within labour market, changes in nature of work, government policy, etc. For example: Supply of Labour

A primary function of human resources departments is to maintain enough staffing levels. An external factor which influences the ability to recruit qualified candidates is their availability. If BT needs to hire individuals with highly specialised skills, it may have difficulty locating and attracting suitable candidates, especially if the same skill sets are in demand throughout the entire industry. Government Policy

The introduction of new government workplace regulations is an external factor that requires BT’s human resources to make sure the company is in compliance. Regulations can influence how BT goes about hiring, training, compensating and even disciplining its workers, and a misstep could result in sanctions against BT or even lawsuits filed by employees, prospective employees, vendors and customers. Employees with right skills and knowledge to meet organisational goals and objectives: Employees planning are essential in meeting BT goals. It benefits managers by providing a structured approach to identifying gaps between current job skills and competencies needed to perform work in the future, preparing for the growing number of retirements, maintaining and recruiting a diverse pool of employees, providing an orderly way to address external or internal environmental changes that could impact the employees, and preparing for expansion, restructuring, or reduction in the number of employees.