What is personnel planning?

Personnel planning is a key responsibility of the HR department. It ensures that the staffing needs of the company are met in the best possible way. This is essential for maintaining economic efficiency and operational effectiveness. Realistic and well-structured planning helps identify and address staff shortages at an early stage. It also regulates whether employees require further training. Personnel planning is often defined as the anticipation of future staffing measures. It aims to ensure that in the short, medium, and long term, the company has the required number and quality of employees, at the right time and place, and aligned with the company’s strategic goals.[1]

Instruments of personnel planning

Instruments of personnel planning can be active or passive. Active measures include the development of training and development programs tailored to your employees. These aim to build targeted expertise and skills within specific departments. Other effective tools include financial incentives, personalised development offers, or additional benefits. It is important that these measures are applied strategically, as budgets are limited. 

Passive instruments include employee engagement: for example, staff members can share job postings on their social media accounts or participate in employee referral programs. You can also promote open applications, which signals openness to new talent.

Tasks and Objectives of Personnel Planning

Tasks of personnel planning

• Personnel planning aims to optimise both the current and future workforce. 
• The focus is on achieving corporate objectives through the best possible staffing. 

In practice, personnel planning is often broken down into five main tasks:

Workforce analysis: defines the current status and serves as the basis for accurate personnel planning. It involves assessing the current workforce and identifying available resources across all employees.

Personnel requirements planning: defines the target status. Both quantitative and qualitative changes must be estimated and planned accordingly.

Personnel development : involves assessing the existing skills of each employee. HR then determines what types of further training or development would be beneficial. These measures aim to boost both motivation and qualifications.

Recruitment: becomes necessary when the personnel requirements analysis reveals a shortage of qualified staff. New hires must then be sourced through recruitment. Employer branding and active sourcing play a crucial role here. This is known as external recruitment and focuses on actively filling open positions. Internal recruitment complements this by reallocating existing internal resources where needed.  

Personnel downsizing planning addresses potential surpluses due to restructuring or automation. However, redundancies are not always necessary. Alternatives include role changes, reduced working hours, overtime reduction, short-time work, or early retirement.

Objectives of personnel planning

The goal is to achieve an ideal staffing structure—balancing employee satisfaction with the company’s strategic goals. The overall setup should be as efficient as possible through optimal workforce utilisation. As a key part of overall corporate planning, personnel planning plays a vital role in maintaining competitiveness. When done well, it increases productivity and efficiency by ensuring that all personnel requirements are met. The ultimate aim is to reach and continuously optimise the ideal staffing state.

Types of personnel planning

Strategic personnel planning

Strategic personnel planning assesses the current workforce situation and initiates measures to reach the target state. It is essential for maintaining long-term competitiveness and achieving business objectives within the intended timeframe. Anticipatory planning is key: understanding how many employees are missing, where training is required, and which other measures might be necessary.

Quantitative and qualitative personnel planning

• Quantitative personnel planning concerns employee inflow and outflow, including resignations, retirements, parental leave, death, or disability, as well as returns from leave, prolonged sick leave, retention of apprentices, or new hires. 
• Qualitative personnel planning evaluates whether employees have the essential skills needed. Are job requirements being met—or is there a need to build additional competencies?