What is human resources planning (or HR planning)?
There are many ways to define HR planning, or explain what it is, but the following definitions, taken from the Government of Canada human resources site, is a good, useful working definition:
Rigorous HR planning links people management to the organization's mission, vision, goals and objectives, as well as its strategic plan and budgetary resources. A key goal of HR planning is to get the right number of people with the right skills, experience and competencies in the right jobs at the right time at the right cost.
Note the emphasis on linkage to strategic planning and business planning in the first sentence, and the emphasis on the arrangement and alignment of staff and employees in the last sentence.
Here's another definition, perhaps a bit simpler:
The process by which management ensures that it has the right personnel, who are capable of completing those tasks that help the organization reach its objectives.
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