Human resources planning

Human resource planning can be such a "big" endeavor, with planning for all kinds of things, like quality staff retention, layoffs, training and development, compensation, etc, that it's hard to provide hints and tips in anything less than a book sized manual. However, if we take a "view from the top" perspective, there are some things that apply to most human resources planning functions, and are important in making the process effective, or even to make it part of creating a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
First, human resource planning needs to be linked to the larger business planning or strategic planning process. HR planning is NOT an end to itself, and neither is HR management an end in itself. The function is meant to support and enable the company to attain its business goals, so as such it needs to be linked to and driven by those business or strategic goals.
This is called vertical integration.
Second, and related, it's important that when HR planning is lead by the HR department, it must be remembered that the whole process is to serve the stakeholders and "customers" of the human resources department. This means that the planning process MUST actively involve those stakeholders and customers -- managers, executives, even line employees.
Third, HR planning can't be effective without an understanding of the company or organization, its managers and employees, its mission and issues, etc, and the environment in which it works. The Public Service Human Resources Agency of Canada puts it this way"
Good HR planning entails understanding the demographics-you know the numbers!

• Data
• Profiles
• Projections

Fourth, as with any planning endeavor, the outcomes of the implementation of an HR plan should be measurable and assessible. With many personnel functions there are good, already available metrics (such as employee turnover or "churn", frequency of grievance, etc), but it's also good to try to assess the effects of the implementation of an HR plan on the achievement of the organization's business goals.