Contemporary human resource planning (HRP) practice is described on the basis of a survey of 137 companies. Results indicate widespread use of simple forecasting techniques and increased acceptance of HRP during the turbulent 1980s, supporting the notion that HRP adapts to the business environment and has increasingly become a line management process. The forecasting component of HRP was found to serve several functions, the most frequent being developmental. HRP problems have evolved into concerns about the strategic planning role of HRP in the 1990s as opposed to the more technical issues of the past.