Inventory is a term that is use to count tangible objects like goods and raw materials. The inventory of human resources is also prepared in the same way but it is not simply the counting of heads that are available at present but cataloguing the present and future potentials. The human resources of the organization are divided into managerial and non-managerial categories, the skills inventory is related with non-managerial employees and the management inventory is related with the management personnel. The process of preparing a human resource inventory involves the determination of personnel whose inventory is to be made, cataloging the factual information of each employee, systematic and detailed appraisal of these employees and a thorough study of the individuals who have potential for growth.

Employee retention is the process through which employees are encouraged to continue with the same organization for the maximum period of time possible. The present day employees are aware of the opportunities available to them and as soon as they feel dissatisfied with their present job or employer, they change their job immediately. On the other hand employers do not want to lose their good employees thus it becomes important for them to know how to attract and retain their employees. There are four basic factors that play an important role in retaining the employees. These are salary and remuneration, recognition, benefits and opportunities for personal growth.

Adopting the following practices could also lead to employee retention:

(i) Open communication inculcates a feeling of loyalty among the employees. The employees are also aware of the fact that their opinion matters and the organization is interesting in knowing their views.

(ii) Career development program: It is human nature to worry about the progress of the career of an individual. The organizations that provide opportunities for enhancing the knowledge and skills are preferred by employees.

(iii) Recreation facilities: These facilities help in keeping away the stress from the employees. Different recreational programs include trips by employees, sports activities and celebrating anniversaries at the organization.

Other practices that could be adopted for employee retention are Employee Reward Programme, performance base bonus and gifts to the employees.

The process of man power planning involves the following steps.

First of all the objectives and strategies regarding the diversification, expansion innovation, production, marketing and finance of the organization are analyzed so that a fair idea could be made regarding the future HR needs of the organization. Because the organizational plans are based on the labour, economic, sales and expansion forecasts, it serves as a good foundation for the manpower planning.

Next step is forecasting the demand for human resources. There are many techniques available for forecasting the HR demand like managerial judgment, ratio-trend analysis and mathematical models. The supply of man power is also taken into consideration from internal and external sources. The difficulties faced during the process of manpower planning are uncertainties that can be caused by absenteeism; seasonal employment and labour turn over. The other uncertainties that make the manpower planning process less reliable are technology changes and market conditions. Sometimes the employees and their unions also resist the man power planning process because they erroneously feel that man power planning could increase the work load of the employees. Another limitations faced by the process of man power planning is that the information system regarding the human resources of an organization is not fully developed in some countries.

Man power planning helps in ensuring that an organization has the right kind of employees in sufficient numbers doing the right kind of job. It also makes sure that the employees doing a particular job are capable of performing the job efficiently and effectively. Coleman has described the process as “the process of determining manpower requirements and the means for meeting those requirements in order to carry out the integrated plan of the organization.”

The main features of manpower planning are:

1. It is future oriented and involves the forecasting of manpower requirements so that these demands can be fulfilled with timely and adequate supply of personnel.

2. It is a continuous process as the manpower demands of the organizations keep on changing with its needs and environment.

3. Manpower planning aims at the optimal use of the present and future workforce of the organization, thus it is required for getting maximum results from the investment in human resources.

4. Manpower planning involves both quantitative and qualitative aspects. While the quantitative aspects deal with the right number of people at a job, the qualitative aspect involves the search for the right kind of people for a particular job.

Manpower planning is done at both the macro level and the micro level. It is influenced by the environmental factors like employment rate, demographic changes, legal control and organizational policies at the macro level, the factors like technological changes, trade union pressure, gap in skill and competency and recruitment and selection affect the process of manpower planning at the micro level.