The Role of Human Resource Planning in Reducing Employee Turnover: A Case Study of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Apapa

This study explores the role of human resource planning in reducing employee turnover at Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Apapa, Lagos State, South West Nigeria. High staff turnover in manufacturing organisations creates significant costs related to replacement, onboarding, and productivity loss, making effective HR planning an operational imperative. The study adopts a case study design, using structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews as primary data collection instruments. A sample of 100 employees and five HR specialists were selected using purposive and simple random sampling techniques respectively. Secondary data were drawn from the organisation's workforce retention records spanning recent years. Findings indicate that inadequate succession planning, poor career development pathways, and mismatches between role expectations and actual job descriptions are the leading drivers of voluntary turnover within the company. The study also establishes that organisations with documented HR plans experience significantly lower attrition rates than those without formal workforce forecasting mechanisms. The application of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs provides a useful analytical lens for understanding unmet employee needs as drivers of exit decisions. Recommendations include the formalisation of annual HR planning cycles, the introduction of structured career ladders, and the conduct of regular stay interviews to identify and address retention risks proactively. This study contributes empirical evidence from Nigeria's food manufacturing sector to the global discourse on strategic HR planning and turnover reduction. Keywords: Human Resource Planning, Employee Turnover, Retention, Succession Planning, Manufacturing.