Manpower requisitions and headcount plan
A manager asks for headcount on a requisition with the budget and the profile, and nothing is posted until it is approved. Above it sits the year's manpower plan per department, with extra requests, a hiring freeze and exceptions.
PLANSScale only
The problem it solves
- Positions are opened on a phone call, and nobody can later say who agreed to the extra cost.
- A department hires above what was budgeted for the year, and finance finds out at payroll.
- Management announces a freeze, but recruiters keep interviewing because nothing in the system stops them.
- HR cannot answer how many people a department was allowed, has on the rolls and is still hiring.
How it works
- At the start of the year HR makes the manpower plan, with one line per department and its sanctioned strength. A line can be narrowed to a location, grade, designation or employment type. Count People Again fills in who is on the rolls, in notice, retiring and on contracts ending.
- Ask the Departments sends the plan to the department heads. Each fills in additions by month, the reason and the salary range, and marks the line Ready.
- HR clicks Consolidate and Send for Approval. Management approves the plan, which then changes only through a supplementary request.
- During the year a manager raises a requisition: Entity, department, position, number of people, needed by, and new position or replacement. It also holds the budget range, the profile and the job description. The form shows Within plan, Outside plan or No plan.
- The requisition goes through its approval chain. Outside the plan it needs a reason and also goes to top management. Only an approved requisition can be posted.
- When as many people are hired as were asked for, the requisition becomes Filled and its open postings close.
Everything it does
The requisition
- Position, grade, employment type, staff category, location, Number of People (1 to start with) and Needed By
- Reason: New position or Replacement, with the person it replaces
- Budget: Annual CTC From and Up To; a lower limit above the upper limit is refused
- Candidate profile: minimum qualification, experience from and up to (years), required and preferred skills
- Statuses: Draft, Waiting Approval, Approved, Posted, Filled, Rejected, Cancelled
- Create Posting makes a draft job posting from it, with nothing typed again
- A filled requisition cannot be cancelled; open postings must be closed first
The manpower plan
- One plan per Entity and year, with Year From and Year To
- Per line: Sanctioned Strength, On the Rolls, In Notice, Retiring and Contracts Ending; retirements come from the Retirement Age on the Entity
- Department heads fill Additions by Month: month, people, reason (Growth, Replacement or New project) and a note, with the annual CTC range
- A department head fills only the line of the department they head
- The plan shows Sanctioned, On the Rolls, Expected Exits, Planned Additions, In Requisitions, Salary Budget for the Additions and Departments Ready
- The salary budget of a line with one planned person is hidden from people who may not see salaries
- Statuses: Draft, Departments Filling, Waiting Approval, Approved, Rejected, Cancelled; an approved plan cannot be cancelled
Checked against the plan
- Every requisition shows Planned, In Other Requisitions and Left in the Plan
- An outside-plan requisition cannot be sent until Why Outside the Plan is filled in, and then also goes to top management
- Plan lines count requisitions waiting, approved, posted or filled, the people hired and what is left to ask for
- Supplementary requests add people to an approved plan once approved, so the requisition can be raised within plan
Hiring freeze
- Freeze the whole Entity (with a Freeze Note) or one department; departments under it are frozen too
- A requisition of a frozen department cannot be sent for approval
- Ask for a Freeze Exception: department, position, number of people, reason and an optional Valid Until
- Once an exception covering it is approved, Send for Approval works again
Reports
- Manpower Plan Against Actual: per department, planned against requisitions and hires
- Position Control: sanctioned strength, on the rolls, open positions and what is left
- Open Positions: every open requisition with its recruiter, age and whether it is late
- Filter Outside Plan on the list of requisitions
Who uses it
Manager or department headRaises requisitions, fills the department's line of the plan, asks for supplementary requests and freeze exceptions.
RecruiterSees every requisition, posts the approved ones and follows them to Filled.
HR administratorMakes the plan, sends it to the departments, consolidates it and sets the freeze.
ManagementApproves the plan, outside-plan requisitions, supplementary requests and exceptions.
Where you use it
- Web: Jobs > For Managers > Manpower Requisitions, Manpower Plan, Supplementary Requests and Freeze Exceptions for managers
- Web: Recruitment > Manpower Requisitions and Recruitment > Planning (Manpower Plans, Department Plans, Supplementary Requests, Freeze Exceptions) for HR
- The SmartMy HRMS app: Menu > Manpower requisitions to raise, follow and approve a requisition. Decisions also come in My approvals (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not in the app: the manpower plan, supplementary requests and freeze exceptions are on the web only
What you control
Settings
- Retirement Age (years) on the Entity's Recruitment tab, for expected retirements
- Hiring Freeze and Freeze Note on the Entity; Hiring Freeze on each department
- The approval chains below, per Entity
Approvals
- Manpower requisition (MRF): the department head first (skipped when the department has no head), then the hiring approvers you name. Left empty, the usual approvers (HR, then management) decide
- Manpower plan: management
- Supplementary manpower request: the department head, then management
- Hiring freeze exception: the department head, then management
- Nobody decides a request about themselves; the requester may decide only at a level they approve
Notifications
- Requisition to Approve: to the approvers, on screen and by email
- Requisition Decided: to the person who raised it, on screen and by email
- Plans, supplementary requests and exceptions wait in each approver's approvals inbox
Questions
Can a manager post a job without approval?
No. A posting is made only from an approved requisition. The manager asks; the chain approves; the recruiter posts.What if a department needs more people than the plan allows?
Raise a supplementary request with the month, the people and the justification. Once approved, the people are added to the plan and the requisition is within plan. Or raise the requisition outside plan with a reason; it then also goes to top management.Do we have to make a manpower plan?
No. Without an approved plan for the year, requisitions show No plan and follow their usual approval chain.How does a hiring freeze work?
Tick Hiring Freeze on the Entity or a department. Requisitions of a frozen department cannot be sent for approval until a freeze exception that covers them is approved.Can the approver see the salary budget?
The requisition shows its CTC range to those who handle it. On the plan, the budget of a line with a single planned person is hidden from people who may not see salaries.Related features
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See your own month run in it.
Tell us how many people you have, how you take attendance and how your salary is structured. We will show you SmartMy HRMS set up that way.