What is the difference? Personnel planning and personnel deplyoment planning (PDP)

Table of content

At a glance

Objectives and purpose of personnel planning

Objectives and purpose of personnel deployment planning

Conclusion

Objectives and purpose of personnel planning

The purpose of personnel planning is to plan employee requirements in such a way that the company can achieve and pursue its goals and long-term strategy. Successful personnel planning is the basis for the subsequent successful implementation of personnel deployment planning. The following points are decisive here:

Securing personnel requirements

The fact is: no company can operate without employees. One of the main objectives of personnel planning is therefore to ensure that the company has sufficient qualified personnel. In this way, current and future requirements can be met. To do this, HR managers must first determine how many employees are needed and what qualifications they should have. This is usually done via a needs analysis

Optimizing employee qualifications and skills

Of course, it is not enough to simply hire X amount of people - existing employees must of course have the necessary qualifications and skills to achieve the company's goals. It may also be necessary to identify and implement training and development measures to upskill employees. A needs analysis helps here too.

Strategic orientation

HR planning should ensure that the composition and qualifications of the workforce correspond to the company's long-term strategic goals. This includes the identification of key skills and talents. What's more, especially in times of skills shortages, it is important that companies show their employees prospects within their own company and give them the opportunity to develop personally. This is also referred to as personal or agile personnel development.

Adapting to change

Of course, the demands placed on companies are constantly changing. Consequently, personnel planners must also react to changes in the environment, the market and technology. The aim of good HR planning should therefore be to adapt the personnel structure to changing requirements. In plain language, this means that HR managers must keep a close eye on current trends. Ideally, they can make predictions about what qualifications will be required of employees in the near future and look for or recruit staff accordingly.

Talent management

Identifying key people and promoting talent are also objectives of HR planning. HR managers can ensure that the company has the right managers and technical experts. They can also create incentives by specifically promoting and challenging staff.

Objectives and purpose of personnel deployment planning (PDP)

Overall, the purpose of personnel deployment planning is to deploy the available workforce effectively, avoid bottlenecks, improve the quality of work and promote employee satisfaction. Short to medium-term operational requirements are taken into account.

Efficient resource utilization: everyone in the right place

The main objective of personnel deployment planning is to ensure that existing employee resources are used efficiently - on a short-term or even daily basis. This involves assigning employees to specific tasks, projects or work areas in order to make the best possible use of their skills.

A central component of workforce scheduling is creating shift plans and communicating them to employees. This means that every employee knows when and where they have to work and when.

Flexible, demand-oriented provision of manpower

A good PDP can ensure that sufficient employees are available at all times to meet current work requirements. This includes taking working hours, shift schedules and vacation times into account.

It may also be necessary to deal with unforeseen events: For example, if employees are absent due to illness or there is too little work for too many staff due to short-term delivery bottlenecks.

Avoiding overloads and shortages

Precise staff scheduling can prevent overloads and reduce shortages. This helps to ensure an even workload, save costs and promote employee satisfaction. After all, companies lose money if their employees are idle due to too few orders. On the other hand, employees become frustrated when they are under- or overworked.

Adaptation to seasonal fluctuations

Flexible personnel deployment planning enables companies to react flexibly to seasonal fluctuations or peak periods. It ensures that sufficient staff are available when demand is high and enables adjustments to be made in quieter periods.

Consideration of qualifications and skills

Qualifications and skills must also be taken into account when assigning employees. This is the only way to ensure that the right people are assigned to the right tasks. This contributes to the effectiveness and quality of work, makes employees happier and also reduces costs for a company.

Compliance with labor laws and regulations

Labor laws, collective agreements and other regulations must also be taken into account in all of this. After all, if working hours and conditions are not in line with legal requirements, this can have serious consequences for a company. This also applies to the way in which shift schedules and, in particular, changes at short notice are communicated. This must also be GDPR-compliant.

Employee satisfaction and work-life balance

More than just work: staff scheduling should also take into account aspects of employee satisfaction and work-life balance. A balanced distribution of working hours and consideration of individual needs help to promote job satisfaction.

Conclusion

The differences can be summarized as follows:

Personnel planning is about the long-term strategic orientation of the company to ensure that the right employees with the appropriate qualifications are in place. The identification of key skills and talents plays a central role in this. This process also includes agile approaches such as personnel development in order to further develop employees within the company.

Personnel deployment planning, on the other hand, works on a short to medium-term, operational level. Its aim is to deploy existing employees efficiently, avoid overloads, reduce bottlenecks and react flexibly to changes and seasonal fluctuations. The focus here is also on taking working time models, shift planning and vacation planning into account in order to ensure optimal use of resources and promote employee satisfaction.