HR Planning and budgeting in times of pandemic

Posted On: Sep 1, 2021

The year 2020 surprised everyone. Therefore, the HR planning and budgeting made at the end of last year needs to be revised. After all, it is necessary to have strategic planning in the pandemic. This is because many companies are already returning to their in-person activities.

However, nothing is the same as before. The economic scenario has changed. This is a time of stress in all sectors, so HRs or business owners need to set goals and objectives to be able to overcome this phase in the best way possible. In addition, this is a period to set aside traditions, as it is necessary to adapt to the digital market.

So, let's talk in detail about strategic planning in the pandemic? Keep following up and find out how to organize your recruitment process in such a delicate moment.

Importance of HR planning and budgeting

Controlling the HR planning and budgeting is essential for a company to operate safely, keeping the results at a satisfactory level. An organization that uses calculation for the human resources department intelligently can predict crisis scenarios, optimize processes, increase productivity and reduce costs.

The effects of strategic planning go far beyond supporting the company in a market as competitive as the current one, as an engaged team produces satisfactory results and even projects the brand, bringing visibility to the business.

Human Resources Expenses

HR is a sector that is responsible for management of various expenditures related to human capital management (recruitment and selection, hiring, salaries and benefits, incentive actions, career and training plan, and others).  Therefore, the HR budget must not be carried out in a short time as it holds a unique importance in the company. It requires hours or days of planning because it has many details.

HR's foremost expenses are linked to the requirements of labor legislation, selection, remuneration, and development of the professionals. Before you understand how to plan your budget, you need to understand what HR expenses are. The most significant accounts are:

• Salary: Amount paid monthly to employees following the job and salary plan.
• Labor charges: Provided for in labor legislation, such as vacations, 13th salary, overtime, and nighttime, paid absences, leaves, hazard and unhealthy work additional, in addition to FGTS payments.
• Benefits: Some benefits are mandatory, and others depend on the policies adopted by the company, such as transportation, meals, health or dental plans, private pension, daycare assistance, and others.
• Training: According to the survey of needs, such as, the arrival of new technologies, or equipment, expenses with hiring and developing training for employees.

Ways to prepare HR Planning and budgeting for 2021

As said, the current scenario has contributed a lot for companies to review their strategic plans. Perhaps, now is the time for you to invest in new market research to check data and statistics. Here are some necessary focuses to review in the pandemic:

Review the existing plan

Undoubtedly, all your planning for 2020 or much of it has been compromised. Goals, priorities, indicators, and many others had to be set aside so that HR could deal with the demands of the pandemic that were rising uncontrollably and relentlessly. And, there were many: Provisional Measures, adoption of the home office (telework), granting of immediate vacations, alterations, reduction or suspension of contracts, alteration of the bank of hours, etc.

Therefore, the first step before resuming your HR activities altogether is to review your planning. Analyze and ask yourself - what is necessary to do and what can be stopped? What is still fundamental to the area and what no longer makes sense? From everything that had been planned to what can no longer standstill?

After this thorough and detailed analysis, list all the projects, ideas, and actions that need to go back to planning for the coming months. Regardless of the quantity, list them all. With them listed, you will have a view of the whole, and it will be easier to continue the recovery of the area.

Hire different profiles

This strategy is also no exception to HR's planning and budgeting. Just adopt a few concepts when making a new hire. The company you work for probably has a customer profile. In other words, they must be similar in some points, which can be age group, social class, and behavioral factors, among other aspects.

However, this does not mean that they are the same. Therefore, it is necessary to have a critical eye when making a new hire to see different profiles from those already on the team. Employees that complement each other are essential to complement skills, maintain a harmonious work environment and deal with the most varied personalities of customers.

Have well-defined indicators

Another point of attention is related to team indicators. It is beneficial for monitoring the numbers, which will help HR understand what features need to be improved and how the investment will be crucial for this growth.

Understand: upon having knowledge about the absenteeism rate and identifying that it is higher than usual, it is necessary to understand why this occurs in the company. Through thorough research, if HR recognizes that it is a lack of motivation and engagement, it is essential to look for strategies that fill this gap. They can range from training and development to providing a more suitable infrastructure. With building talent pipeline or well-defined KPIs, the area has the opportunity to monitor the performance of teams, processes, and routines, which enables more effective decision-making. Other major indicators to analyze are:

• headcount — number of employees
• turnover
• retention
• employee satisfaction
• the ratio of overtime to hours worked; between others.

Keep an emergency reserve

Maintaining an emergency reserve is essential for professional activities as, with this, it is possible to avoid situations in which the corporate account is out of control in the face of any adversity.

Nobody wants an employee to have an accident, but unfortunately, this can happen, and it will be necessary to hire someone to cover the absence of this professional in the need of leave. Several episodes may require an emergency reserve. Planning that includes a reservation is essential so that the company does not suffer a breach in its accounts.

Final Words

How does your company plan the Human Resources area? Is there any formal planning, or is everything half up in the air? Is there use of metrics and data history to set budget, or is it based on guesswork?

By now, you should have understood how it is necessary to align HR actions with the company's goals and strategic planning. Consider the above tips, and do excellent Human Resources budget planning.