Strategic Planning Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

What Is Edgar Schein's Human Resource Planning & Development System (HRPD)?

In an outstanding and still relevant article entitled Increasing Organizational Effectiveness Through Better Human Resource Planning and Development, Edgar Schein suggests that the process of HR planning and developing staff must take into account two important sets of needs -- the needs of the company, and the needs and desires of the individual employees.

In our new millenium with companies showing less concern about employee career development, it's useful to pay attention to the idea that when both employee and corporate needs are taken into account, the results, for both parties are much superior to the situation where only one set is considered.

Schein's approach (which integrates HR planning and employee development, contains the following components:

• Strategic business planning
• Job/Role planning
• Manpower planning and Human Resource Inventorying

In addition he outlines staffing rpocesses as part of the model

• Job analysis
• Recruitment and Selection
• Induction/Socialization and Initial Training
• Job Design and Job Assignment
• Development Planning
• Inventorying of Development Plans
• Follow-UP of Developmental ACtivites
• Career Development Processes

and a good deal more.

We recommend Schein's article on HR planning as essential reading, even though it is almost 30 years old. It was originally published in the Sloan Management REview, Fall, 1977, Vol. 19, No. 1.