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In this HR series, we will be discussing FORECASTING

How many eyes do you have?

Many years ago as children, we were playing hide and seeks with my dad and he got tired and decided to seat. Since we wanted to continue playing, he sat on a stool and asked us to choose a hiding spot behind him. When we were done hiding, he will call out our name one after the other and once we responded “ Yes, daddy” he would try to guess where we were hiding. Funny as it may seem , he seemed to accurately predict where we were hiding and we all laughed and ran towards him and then I asked a crazy question.

Daddy, How were you able to accurately predict where we were all hiding and he replied because I have four eyes. Two in front of my head and two behind my head (lol i am sure some of you shares similar childhood memories with me).

FORECASTING gives you Four eyes. As an innovative HR, Your superpower lies in your ability to accurately predict the future.

What is HR Forecasting?

Forecasting is a business analysis that is used to assess what future trends are likely to happen, especially in connection with a particular situation, function, practice or process that is likely to affect the organization’s business operations.It empowers organizations to proactively determine the number and type of candidates they need to hire.

If you’re interested in ensuring you have the staff to succeed even as business conditions change, you might benefit from learning about the value of HR forecasting.

There are several techniques that can be employed in carrying out a HR forecasting. Techniques for Forecasting of Human Resources are;

  • Delphi technique.
  • Nominal technique.
  • Brainstorming.
  • Ratio Analysis.
  • Trend Analysis.
  • Scatter plot.

Trend Analysis: Trend analysis means studying a firm’s past employment needs over the years to predict the future. The purpose is to identify trends that might continue. It provides an initial estimate.

HR forecasting using trend analysis can be done for the following aspects of HR

(a) Employment Trends: By comparing and analyzing the staff during the past five years, the company can judge it’s trends in the manpower.

(b) Replacement Needs: These depend on firstly retirement, and then on death, resignation, and termination of employees. Its assessment is on the basis of past experience and retirement situation in the future.

(c) Productivity: Improvements in productivity affects manpower needs. better utilization of existing manpower is one method of securing gains in productivity. Automation and computerization is another method of productivity improvement. It will affect both the quantity and quality of manpower. Matching of skills with job requirements is the third method.

Hence, Job analysis techniques are helpful in such a matching.

An innovative HR professional must learn to accurately forecast the future of several aspects of HR then make the right recommendations to management helping them make an informed decision.

Your ability to forecast accurately positions you as an expert before your management and this could be the key to your promotion or climbing up the career ladder.

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