Meaning of Staffing

Staffing is to fill the various posts provided in the organization.

Features of Staffing:

  • It includes workforce planning, recruitment, selection, training, development, promotion, and compensation and performance appraisal of work force.
  • Staffing is a part of process of management.
  • It is concerned with obtaining, utilizing and maintaining a satisfactory and satisfied work force.
  • Staffing is the managerial function of filling and keeping filled the positions in the organization structure.
  • It follows planning and organizing functions and is a continuous process as new jobs are created, and some positions become vacant due to many reasons.

Need for and Importance of Staffing:

  1. It finds the right people for the right job.
  2. Staffing provides the human element with different attitude, aptitude, commitment, loyalty required by the organization.
  3. It is a specialized area.
  4. Research on various aspects of staffing i.e., recruitment, selection, compensation and incentives, training and development, can be utilized for better results.
  5. The right people can help you take your business to the top; the wrong people can break your business.
  6. The staffing function is important because of rapid advancement of technology, increasing size of organization and complicated behavior of human beings.
  7. If right kind of employees is not available, it will lead to wastage of materials, time, effort and energy, resulting in lower productivity and poor quality of products.

Benefits of Staffing to the Organization:

  1. Helps in discovering and obtaining competent personnel for various jobs.
  2. Makes for higher performance, by putting right person on the right job.
  3. Ensures the continuous survival and growth of the enterprise through the succession planning for managers.
  4. Helps to ensure optimum utilization of the human resources by avoiding over manning.
  5. Improves job satisfaction and morale of employees through objective assessment and fair rewarding of their contribution.

Duties of Human Resource Management:

  1. Recruitment i.e., searches for qualified people.
  2. Analyzing jobs, collecting information about jobs to prepare job descriptions.
  3. Developing compensation and incentive plans.
  4. Training and development of employees for efficient performance and career growth.
  5. Maintaining labour relations and union management relations.
  6. Handling grievances and complaints.
  7. Providing for social security and welfare of employees.
  8. Defending the company in lawsuits and avoiding legal complications.

Staffing Process:

Staffing process involves the following steps:

  1. Estimating Manpower
  2. Recruitment
  3. Selection
  4. Placement and orientation
  5. Training and Development
  6. Performance Appraisal
  7. Compensation
  8. Promotion and Transfer

1. Estimating the Manpower Requirements:

  1. Workload analysis, an assessment of the number and types of human resources necessary for the performance of various jobs.
  2. Workforce analysis reveals the number and type of human resources available.

2. Recruitment:

It is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization. Employees can be recruited using external of internal sources.

3. Selection:

It is the process of choosing the best possible candidate. It has two purposes:

a) It ensures that the organization gets the best among the available.

b) It enhances the self-esteem and prestige of those selected.

4. Placement and Orientation:

Placement refers to the employee occupying the position for which the person has been selected. Orientation is, introducing the selected employee to other employees and familiarizing him with the rules and policies of the organization.

5. Training and Development:

Organizations have either in-house training centers or have forged alliances with training and educational institutes to ensure continuing learning of their employees.

6. Performance appraisal:

Performance appraisal means judging the performance of employees at work in a systematic manner, that enables managers to identify employees who are performing the assigned work satisfactorily, and those who are not able to do so, and why.

Generally, it is the responsibility of supervisors to carry out performance appraisal of their subordinates and report it to their own superiors.

7.Compensation:

The term ‘compensation’ includes financial and non-financial rewards to the employees for services rendered to the organization. It includes wages, salaries, allowances and other benefits which an employer pays to his employees in consideration for their services.

Employees must be paid fair compensation i.e. according to the work done by them.

8.Promotion and transfer:

Promotion refers to the advancement of an employee to a higher level or position. The basis of promotion may be seniority or merit.

When the performance of an employee is not satisfactory and it cannot be improved, he may be assigned a job of lower rank carrying lower status and pay. This is known as ‘demotion’.

Transfer refers to a type of job change where any employee is assigned a different job of the same rank and pay, or when an employee is assigned a similar job in another unit of the firm.

Aspects of Staffing

1. Recruitment:

Recruitment is a positive step which aims at attracting number of candidates to apply for the given job.

2. Selection:

It is a negative process in which the most suitable person is selected, and the others are rejected.

3. Training:

It is concerned with up gradation of the knowledge and skills of the employees so that their ability to perform can be enhanced.

Factors affecting the effectiveness of recruitment, selection and training:

1) Supply and demand of specific skills in the labour market.

2) Unemployment rate.

3) Labour market conditions.

4) Legal and political considerations.

5) Company’s image and policy.

6) Human resource planning cost.

7)Technological developments and general economic environment

Recruitment

Meaning:

It is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in an organization.

Activities involved:

(a)identification of the different sources of labor supply.

(b) assessment of their validity.

(c)choosing the most suitable source or sources.

Sources of recruitment – Internal and External.

Internal Sources of Recruitment:

It is from within the enterprise i.e. transfers and promotions.

1. Transfers:

It involves shifting of an employee from one job to another, one department to another or from one shift to another, without a substantive change in the responsibilities and status of the employee.

2. Promotions:

Promotion leads to shifting an employee to a higher position, carrying higher responsibilities, facilities, status and pay. Promotion is a vertical shifting of employees.

Merits of Internal Sources

  1. Employee motivation.
  2. Tool of training.
  3. Benefit of shifting.
  4. Cheaper source.

Demerits of Internal Sources

  1. Danger of inbreeding.
  2. Employees become lethargic.
  3. Not for new enterprise.
  4. Hampers the spirit of competition.
  5. Reduces productivity.

External Sources:

These are from outside the enterprise i.e. Direct Recruitment, Casual Callers, Advertisements, Employment Exchange, Placement Agencies and Management Consultants, Campus Recruitment, Recommendations of Employees, Labour Contractors, Advertising on Television and Web Publishing.

Different Types of External Sources of Recruitment:

1. Direct Recruitment:

Under the direct recruitment, a notice is placed on the noticeboard of the enterprise specifying the details of the jobs available.

2. Casual Callers:

Organizations keep a database of unsolicited applicants in their offices. Such jobseekers can be a valuable source of manpower.

3. Advertisement:

Advertisement in newspapers or trade and professional journals is generally used when a wider choice is required for most of the senior positions.

4. Employment Exchange:

These are run by the Government to match personnel demand and supply by serving as link between jobseekers and employers.

5. Placement Agencies and Management Consultants:

These play an important role in technical, professional and managerial areas for matching personnel demand and supply. They specialize in middle level and top-level executive placements.

6. Campus Recruitment:

Colleges, institutes, university departments of management and technology have become a popular source of recruitment for technical, professional and managerial jobs.

7. Recommendations of Employees:

Applicants introduced by present employees, or their friends and relatives may prove to be a good source of recruitment.

8. Labour Contractors:

Unskilled workers are recruited through labor contractors who are themselves employees of the organization.

9. Advertising on Television:

The practice of telecasting of vacant posts over TV is gaining importance these days. The detailed requirements of the job and the qualities required to do it are published along with the profile of the organization where vacancy exists.

10. Web Publishing/ Internet:

There are certain websites specifically designed and dedicated for the purpose of providing information about both job seekers and job opening. In fact, websites such as www.naukri.com, www.jobstreet.com etc. are becoming popular these days.

Merits of External Sources

1. Qualified Personnel:

2. Wider Choice:

3. Fresh Talent:

4. Competitive spirit:

Limitations of External Sources

1. Dissatisfaction among existing staff.

2. Costly process.

3. Lengthy process.

Selection:

It is the process of identifying and choosing the best person out of a number of prospective candidates for a job.

Selection Process

These are the main steps in the process of making the choice of best possible candidate for placement on the job.

1. Preliminary Screening:

Preliminary screening helps the manager eliminate unqualified or unfit job seekers based on the information supplied in the application forms.

2. Selection Tests:

An employment test is a mechanism (either a paper and pencil test or an exercise) that attempts to measure certain characteristics of individuals.

a) Intelligence Tests:

This is a psychological test used to measure the level of intelligence quotient as an indicator of a person’s learning ability or the ability to make decisions and judgments.

(b) Aptitude Test:

It is a measure of an individual’s potential for learning new skills and his capacity to develop. It indicates person’s future success score.

(c) Personality Tests:

It provides an idea to a person’s emotions, reactions, maturity and value system etc. These tests probe the overall personality. These are difficult to design and implement.

(d)Trade Test:

These tests measure the existing skills i.e. the level of knowledge and proficiency in the area of professions or technical training.

The difference between aptitude test and trade test is that the former measures the potential to acquire skills and the later the actual skills possessed.

(e) Interest Tests:

Interest tests are used to know the fascination of a person for some job than the other.

3. Interview:

Interview is a formal, in-depth conversation conducted to evaluate the applicant’s suitability for the job. The role of the interviewer is to seek information and that of the interviewee is to provide the same. Though, in present times, the interviewee also seeks information from interviewer.

4. Reference and Background Checks:

Many employers request names, addresses, and telephone numbers of references for the purpose of verifying information and, gaining additional information on an applicant. Previous employers, known persons, teachers and university professors can act as references.

5. Selection Decision:

The final decision has to be made from among the candidates who pass the tests, interviews and reference checks. The views of the concerned manager will be generally considered in the final selection because it is he/she who is responsible for the performance of the new employee.

6. Medical Examination:

After the selection decision and before the job offer is made, the candidate is required to undergo a medical fitness test. The job offer is given to the candidate being declared fit after the medical examination.

7. Job Offer:

Now, Job offer is made through a letter of appointment/confirm his acceptance. Such a letter generally contains a date by which the appointee must report on duty. The appointee must be given reasonable time for reporting.

8.Contract of Employment:

After the job offer written contract of employment will be made according to the level of the job including-Job Title, Duties, Responsibilities, Date when continuous employment starts and the basis for calculating service, rates of pay, allowances, hours of work, leave rules, sickness, grievance procedure, disciplinary procedure, work rules, termination of employment.

 

Selection Process of Employees

Training and Development

Benefits of Training and Development to the organization

  1. Training is a systematic learning, so it leads to wastage of efforts and money.
  2. It enhances employee productivity both in terms of quantity and quality.
  3. Training equips the future manager who can take over in case of emergency.
  4. Training increases employee morale and reduces absenteeism and employee turnover.
  5. It helps in obtaining effective response to fast changing environment – technological and economic.

Benefits to the Employee

  1. Improved skills and knowledge due to training lead to better career of the individual
  2. Increased performance by the individual help him to earn more.
  3. Training makes the employee more efficient to handle machines, so there are fewer chances of accidents.
  4. Training increases the satisfaction and morale of employees.

Difference between Training and Development

Training: It is a process of increasing knowledge and skills.

Development: It is a process of learning and growth.

Training: It is to enable the employee to do the job better.

Development: It is to enable the overall growth of the employee.

Training: It is a job-oriented process.

Development: It is a career-oriented process.

Training, Development and Education

Training is a process to increase the aptitudes, skills and abilities of employees to perform specific jobs. It is a process of learning new skills and application of knowledge. It attempts to improve their performance on the current job or prepare them for any intended job.

Education is the process of increasing the knowledge and understanding of employees. Education is broader in scope than training.

Development refers to the learning opportunities designed to help employees grow. It covers activities which improve present job performance as well as those which bring about growth of the personality, help individuals in the progress towards maturity and actualization of their potential capacities so that they become not only good employees but better men and women.

Training Methods

On the Job Methods:

On-the-Job methods refer to the methods that are applied to the workplace, while the employee is actually working means learning while doing.

Apprenticeship Programs:

Apprenticeship programmes put the trainee under the guidance of a master worker.

Coaching:

In this method, the superior guides and instructs the trainee as a coach.

Internship Training:

It is a joint programme of training in which educational institutions and business firms cooperate.

Job Rotation:

This kind of training involves shifting the trainee from one department to another or from one job to another.

Off the Job Training Methods:

These are used away from the workplace means learning before doing.

Classroom Lectures/Conferences

Films

Case Study:

Trainees study the cases to determine problems, analyze causes, develop alternative solutions, select what they believe to be the best solution, and implement it.

Computer Modelling:

It simulates the work environment by programming a computer to imitate some of the realities of the job.

Vestibule Training:

Employees learn their jobs on the equipment they will be using, but the training is conducted away from the actual work floor.

Programmed Instruction:

This method incorporates a prearranged and proposed acquisition of some specific skills or general knowledge.

Arrange the steps of Selection Process:

 

Crossword Puzzle for Staffing related Concepts:

 

Staffing MCQs