The management process by which an organisation obtains, maintains and utilises satisfied and suitable pool of employees is called staffing. It can be seen as an activity of recognising, evaluating, deploying, appraising and building people at work. Every organisation needs services of their employees. Various important designations, created by the process of organising, an: occupied by these employees who make significant contributions in the development of the organisation. With staffing, an organisation can properly manage its employees. It is considered as one of the most vital aspects of the managerial activities. The success of an organisation largely depends upon its ability to fill its various designations with correct set of personnel.
Nature of Staffing
The nature of staffing is described as follows:
- Managerial Function
- Pervasive Activity
- Constant Activity
- Efficient Management of Employees
- Suitable Selection and Placement
- Universal Function
- Dynamic Function
Managerial Function: Along With planning, organising, directing and controlling, staffing is also one of the most important managerial functions. The workforce required for the operation of other four elementary functions of management is provided by the managerial function of staffing.
Pervasive Activity: The process of staffing is performed by all the managers, which depends upon the factors such as sin of organisation, nature of business, abilities of the managers, etc. Hence, it is considered as a pervasive activity. In small organisations, staffing is done by the top management. whereas, the personnel department is responsible for staffing in a medium or large-sized organisation.
Constant Activity: Due to the regular promotions, transfers, demotions and other related activities that take place in any organisation. staffing is an activity which is performed throughout the life span of a business organisation.
Effective Management of Employees: Effective management of workforce is the foundation of staffing. By incorporating an effective procedure of recruitment, selection, placement, training and development, the workforce of an organisation can be effectively managed.
Suitable Selection and Placement: By adopting an effective recruitment process and selecting the most suitable applicant, depending on the requirements of the job, a suitable selection and placement process can be obtained.
Universal Function: As staffing is the responsibility of every level of management, it is a universal function.
Dynamic Function: As there are continuous changes incorporated in the staffing policies, process, and practices, it is considered as dynamic in nature.
Functions of Staffing
The functions of staffing are as follows:
Employment: Selecting the best possible candidate, as per the requirements of the organisation, is the main function Of staffing. It also includes various Other functions such as manpower demand analysis, recruitment. selection, job analysis, etc. Human resource requirements, in terms Of number and quality, are estimated before selecting any individual for a post and then various mediums of procuring human resource are utilised. When the applications of various candidates are evaluated and screened, the selected candidates are required to undergo certain types of tests followed by the final
Training and Development: After the process of selection, the activities of training and development are performed. Training and development is an essential activity and every manager has the responsibility to train his subordinates. Appropriate personnel development process is essential for developing the skills of employed manpower. These development processes help new recruits to understand their role and functions in the organisation. Different types of training programmes are planned by the personnel department for achieving this goal, which include various on-the-job and off-the-job training modules. A proper combination of both these programmes is included in an ideal training program. One Of the important points to note here is that these training programmes are employed for both new as well as existing employees in Order to develop their skills and impart knowledge about latest technologies and production functions.
Compensation: Finding out the most reasonable and appropriate manpower compensation for their efforts towards the accomplishment of the organisational goals is another important activity performed under staffing. Both monetary and non-monetary compensation methods are used for compensating employees by simultaneously considering various factors such ms basic needs of employees, statutory provisions, minimum wages given by competitors, requirements of jobs, etc. Various methods such as job evaluation, performance evaluation. etc., can be employed by human resource department for determining the compensation levels of the employees.
Integration: Incorporation of employees’ interests with organisational goals can be achieved through staffing. As poor communication may lead to industrial disputes, thus, it is important for the managers to enable a two-way communication process while developing personnel policies and programmes. In order to address the grievances of trade unions and employees, and to establish an accord between the organisation and employees, it is very necessary for the personnel manager to maintain constant and friendly with the trade unions.
Working Conditions: The functions of staffing do not solely involve the selection and appointment of employees but also to provide good and healthy working conditions to them. The morale and motivation Of employees are greatly affected by their working environments. This function also considers safety and health related issues.
Employee Welfare Services: Various types of welfare services are provided by the human resource department of the organisation regarding social and physical well-being of employees. This function also includes several other facilities such as rest-rooms, group insurance, recreational services, education to employee’s children etc., which should be provided to employees.
Employee Records: Staffing functions also involve maintaining records of all the employees. The HR department Of the organisation maintains these records and also secures complete information about training, accomplishments, promotions, transfers, etc., Of every employee. Various other behavioural records Of employees such as labour turnover, absenteeism, personnel programme ete. are also kept and maintained.
Industrial Relations: The responsibility of maintaining good industrial relations is carried-out by the HR department of the film. It includes the issues related to settlement of disputes, collective bargaining, joint consultations, etc., which are handled by HR managers. For effectively handling such issues, these managers should have complete knowledge about different labour acts and must have access to the comprehensive information about firm’s manpower. As different committees regarding the welfare, safety, grievance, discipline, etc., are formulated by the HR managers, thus, they have a very important role in promoting and maintaining harmony in the organisation.
Factors Influencing Staffing
Being dynamic in nature, staffing is affected by both internal and external factors. On one hand, staffing is influenced by various Inanagerial processes, and on the Other, it possesses the capabilities to influence Other managerial activities. Various factors which influence staffing can be categorised into two groups:
External Factors
These factors are uncontrollable factors that cannot be controlled by an organisation. They significantly affect the staffing policies of an organisation. These factors are described as below:
Legal Factors: These factors include various acts and legal provisions, made by the government and other agencies, which impact the staffing policies Of the organisations.
Socio-Cultural Factors: The ability of an organisation to select a certain individual for a certain job is controlled significantly by various socio-cultural factors. For example, the employment of women in some jobs is restricted due to a socio-culture setup that an operation and production work requires hard physical work.
External Influences: The employing organisations are largely influenced by various environmental forces or pressures. These pressures can either be in the form of political pressure, employment demand of domicile citizens, or can be in the form of the community, religion or class With which a promoter of an organisation is associated.
Level of Competition for Human Resources: is a very high level of rivalry among various organisations to acquire skilled human resource. Most of the organisations are selecting their employees from various sources such as campus selections and a very high annual package is being offered to candidates. This is done in order to attract and maintain skilled human resource.
Internal Factors
Staffing policies of an organisation are also influenced by the internal factors apart from various external factors. These internal factors are described as below:
Business Plan: Business plan has direct impact on the staffing policies, as it determines the number and nature of employees required by the organisation. Various organisations can be divided into following three categories, depending on their business plans:
Growing Organisations: These types of organisations take various new projects related to both similar and different lines of business. These organisations focus on the fact that apart from existing employee base, there is a need of recruiting new employees for meeting future demands.
Stagnating Organisation: These organisations follow stability strategy in which additional investments do not yield any growth; rather appropriate utilisation of existing investments fosters the growth of the organisation. In such organisations, existing employees are maintained by offering higher salaries and incentives.
a) Declining Organisation: These organisations try to scale down their business operations by dissociating those business units, which do not coincide With the core competency of the organisation. Under such organisations, the employees are asked to take voluntary retirement and/or offered lower financial incentives.
ii) Size of the Organisation: The extent of attractiveness of the potential candidates towards the job offer depends significantly upon the size of the organisation. There will be a huge difference between staffing practices of a small and a large organisation.
Organisational Image: The other factor which plays a significant role in the extent of attractiveness of potential candidates towards a certain organisation is its image. Various staffing practices such as compensation, incentives, work culture, facilities for training and development, etc., determine the organisational image in the manpower market.
Importance of Staffing
For an organisation, stamng has the following importance:
Key to Other Managerial Activities: Various managerial activities Of the organisation are related with its staffing policies. Also, proper organisational control and direction is greatly determined by the staffing policies. Moreover, the efficiency of staffing functions determines the efficiency of other business operations.
Creating Healthy Employee Relationships: Organisations can establish healthy business environment for employee with the help of staffing. Better communication and coordination among various management practices can be accomplished through healthy human relations within an organisation.
Human Resource Development: The assets of an organisation consist of its skilled and experienced manpower. Such assets can be significantly improved by regulating proper staffing functions. With the help of staffing, a proper corporate culture can be nurtured among the employees, which facilitates smooth performance of all managerial activities.
Long-Term Impact: Staffing decisions create a long-term impact on the efficiency of an organisation. Efficient, motivated and qualified workforce is the real asset of an organisation. As higher level of emcieney is required to maintain the competitiveness in the current globalisation scenario, staffing becomes more critical for the organisations.
Prospective Involvement: While selecting an employee for a certain position, complete analysis of candidate’s abilities, to meet the future demands of the organisation, must be conducted Thus, during staff selection processes, the ability of staff to contribute towards predicted future roles must be taken into account.
