Section I - Developing a Human Resources Plan

Why develop a human resources plan?

An HR plan can serve as an information base for many purposes, such as:

1. identifying HR requirements to better meet business objectives
2. promoting a proactive approach to HR management and career planning
3. reducing the time and cost of future staffing
4. identifying opportunities for synergy, such as opportunities for collaborative staffing actions
5. identifying employment equity goals and facilitating their realization
6. identifying official languages requirements
7. signalling potential work load and/or work force adjustment situations
8. predicting potential shortfalls in the labour force and market availability
9. highlighting projected retirements and resignations and developing appropriate succession plans
10. identifying seasonal or cyclical hiring patterns

What information should be considered in developing a human resources plan?

Some organizations will already have an established HR planning tool and process in place. Where these exist they should be used. If there isn't one available, then management teams may want to consider at least some of the following elements:

1. What are the departmental strategic objectives for the next year; for the next three years; for the next five years?
2. What are the capabilities and capacities of the organization's current workforce and what are the organization's current or existing HR needs?
   • Are there existing employees who can do the work at this time?
   • What are the strengths and weaknesses of existing resources?
   • Are the positions classified at the appropriate groups and levels?
   • Where are the labour markets in which likely candidates are located?
   • Is the workforce sufficiently diverse to reflect the labour market availability (i.e. employment equity considerations)?
   • Is the workforce capable of meeting the Official Languages obligations?
   • What are employees' career development needs, plans and aspirations?
3. What is the organization's future supply of, and demand for, employees to meet the business plans and priorities in a timely manner?
   • Which functions will need to be performed?
   • How will the current functions evolve?
   • How should the organization be structured?
   • Will the positions be classified at the appropriate groups and levels?
   • Which type of competencies/qualifications will be required?
   • Will the competencies required to perform the work be the same as now? If not, what will be required?
   • How many people will be needed to perform the work? At what point in time and for how long?
   • Are there employees who, with appropriate development, could perform the work in the future?
   • What attrition will occur, e.g. retirements, deployments or promotions out of the organization?
   • how will corporate memory be preserved?
   • how will specialized skills or knowledge be retained?
   • What use of extended leave is estimated (e.g., sick leave, parental leave, leave-with-income-averaging)?
   • How can employees' career development needs, plans and aspirations be accommodated?
   • Where will the labour market be in which likely candidates will be found?
   • Will the workforce be or remain sufficiently diverse to reflect future labour market availability (i.e. employment equity considerations)?
   • Will the workforce be capable of meeting future Official Languages obligations?

Treasury Board recommends that organizations implement an HR management framework. This framework should be linked to the strategic planning cycle and the achievement of corporate business lines. Further information on how to do this can be obtained by using the Human Resource Management Framework Guide developed by Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.