23 Staffing

Tejinder Sharma

Learning Outcome:

After completing this module the students will be able to:

• Know the meaning and importance of staffing.
• Know the nature of staffing
• Know the process of staffing

Introduction:

Staffing is the third function of management. Staffing includes recruitment, selection, training, developing, promotion and compensation of personnel. It  is  the  process  of  hiring  and  developing  the  required  personnel  to  fill  various  positions  in  the organization. It involves estimating the number and type of personnel required, recruiting and developing them, maintaining and improving their competence and performance.

Staffing may also be defined as the process of identifying, assessing, placing, developing and evaluating individuals at work.

Definitions of staffing as given by various management thinkers are as follows:

Koontz and O’Donnell defines staffing as “The managerial function of staffing involves manuring the organizational structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal and development of personnel to fill the roles designed into the structure.”

Theo Haimann defines staffing as “Staffing pertains to recruitment, selection, development and compensation of subordinate.

According to Mc Farland, “ Staffing is the function by which managers build an organization through the recruitment , selection, and development of individuals as capable employees”.

Human resources are the most important resource of any organization. They supply talent, skills, knowledge, and experience to achieve the organization’s objectives. Other resources of production remain useless without manpower. The result provided by other resources depend on the ability of humans to use them . So, human resource is very important. If an organization have enough manpower or right man on right job then achieving targets of organization becomes easy.

Nature of Staffing

Staffing is an integral part of human resource management. It helps in procuring and placement of right persons on the right jobs. The nature of staffing has been discussed below:

1. Staffing relates to people: Staffing is people centric i.e. it relates to people. Manpower is required in all types of organisations. It is concerned with all categories of personnel from top to bottom. Whether it is upper level or lower level human resource is necessary. Broadly an organisation requires blue collared employees i.e. those working on the machines , white collared workers i.e., clerical employees, Blue collar workers (i.e ) Managerial and non-managerial personnel and Professionals such as Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary, Lawyer, etc.

2. Staffing is a pervasive: Staffing is a basic function of management and is responsibility of every manager. Every manager is continuously engaged in performing the staffing function of recruiting, selecting, training and appraisal of his subordinates. These activities are performed by the chief executive, departmental managers and foremen in relation to their subordinates. Thus, staffing is a pervasive function of management and is performed by the managers at all levels. Staffing is such an important function that in many enterprises, Personnel Department is created to perform these activities. But still managers at different levels are not relieved of the responsibility concerned with staffing. The Personnel Department provides assistance to the managers in performing their staffing function. Thus, every manager has to share the responsibility of staffing.

3. Human Skills: Staffing relates to human resources. Every manager should use humanistic approach in providing guidance and training to the subordinates. Human relations skills are also required in performance appraisal, transfer and promotion of subordinates. If the staffing function is performed properly, the human relations in the organisation will always be cordial.

4. Continuous Function: Staffing is a continuous function. It is equally important in the established organisations and the new organisations. In a new organisation, managers are engaged in recruitment, selection and training etc. of personnel. In a running organisation, every manager guides and trains the workers, evaluating their performance, filling vacancies, promotions etc. on a continuous basis.

Importance of Staffing

Human resources are the most important resources of any organisation. It is imperative for organisation that right kind of people are employed at right positions. They should be given adequate training and motivated continuously so that productivity gets increased and wastage is minimum. Effective performance of the staffing function is necessary to realize the following benefits:

1. Efficient Performance of Managerial Functions:

Staffing is the key to the efficient performance of other functions of management. If people are not competent, functions such as planning, organisation, directing and controlling can’t be performed effectively.

2. Effective Use of Technology and Other Resources:

Men and material remain useless in absence of human resources. It is the human factor that make use of these resources. They are instrumental in the effective utilisation of latest technology, capital, material, etc.

3 Development of Human Capital:

The management is required to determine the manpower requirements well in advance. Once employed they also need to be imparted training for their development and career advancement and also to meet the requirements of the company in future.

4. Motivation of Human Resources:

The behaviour of individuals is shaped by many factors such as education level, needs, socio-cultural factors, etc. that is why, the human aspect of organisation has become very important. The workers can be motivated through financial and non-financial incentives.

5. Building Higher Morale:

Right type of climate should be created for the workers to contribute to the achievement of the organisational objectives. By performing the staffing function effectively, management can show the significance it attaches to the personnel working in the enterprise. This will increase the morale of the employees.

Process of staffing:

We, briefly, discuss below these steps in process of staffing.

Figure 1:Process of staffing

1. Manpower Planning:

Manpower planning is finding out the number and quality of people required to fill various positions in the enterprise. It also involves evaluating the manpower already in the organization and to develop the requisite talents among those selected for promotion advancement.

2. Recruitment:

Recruitment is a positive process. It aims at attracting prospective employees to apply for various job positions in the organization. When more people apply for a position, organization gets a wider choice from which an appropriate candidate could be selected. Recruitment brings together the job providers and the job seekers.

Characteristics of Recruitment: – Recruitment has the following characteristics-

• Recruitment is the first step of staffing
• It involves attracting and motivating job seekers to apply for the job positions in an organization.
• It is a continuous process.
• It is a positive process.
• It fulfills  both present and future needs.
• It helps organization maintain the database of job applicants who can be approached later when required.

Sources of Recruitment: – The sources of recruitment can be divided into two categories: –

_{Figure 2: Sources of Recruitment}

3. Selection

The next step in staffing is selection. According to Dale Yoder, “Selection is the process in which candidates by employment are divided into two classes those who are to be offered employment and those who are not.” Selection means selecting the candidates by various acts from the application forms invited through recruitment.

Selection Procedure :

Selection of workers is regarded as a policy matter. Every enterprise has its own policy for selection The following procedure is adopted generally:

a) Receiving and screening the applications: After receiving applications, they are screened. Those applicants who fulfill the minimum criteria are shortlisted. Other applications of are rejected.

b) Preliminary Interview: After this, applicants are called for a preliminary interview. By this interview the appearance, attitudes, behavior of the candidate can be known easily and the interviewer can decide whether the applicant is fit for job or not on a preliminary basis. Preliminary interviews are often called a courtesy interview as well.

c) Selection Tests: Candidates who qualify the preliminary interviews are called for tests. Tests are conducted for testing the knowledge, personal behavior, efficiency of work and interest. There are various types of tests conducted depending upon the jobs and the company. Generally, following types of tests are conducted.

i. Aptitude test

ii. Interest Test

iii. Intelligence Test

iv. Graphology test

v. Psychometric Tests

vi. Personality Tests

vii. Ability Tests etc.

d) Employment Interview: Those who qualify the selection tests are called for employment interview. This interview is formal and in-depth interview. It provides quiet deep knowledge about the candidate’s suitability and helps in finding out the physical appearance and mental alertness of the candidate. They are considered to be an excellent selection device. Interviews may be of various kinds these are:

1) One-to-One Interview

2) Panel Interview

3) Sequential Interviews

4) Structured Interview

5) Unstructured interviews

6) Stress interview

7) Behavioural Interviews etc.

e) Checking References on Investigation of Previous History: Applicants are generally asked to give names of at least two persons to whom the firm may make a reference to verify the information provided by the candidates. Reference checks can be made through formal letters or telephonic conversations.

f) Selection Decision: After obtaining all the information, the most critical step is the selection decision. The final decision has to be made out of applicants who have passed preliminary interviews, tests, final interviews and reference checks. The views of line managers are considered generally because it is the line manager who is responsible for the performance of the new employee.

g) Physical Examination: After the selection decision is made, the candidate is required to undergo a physical fitness test. A job offer depends upon the candidate passing the physical examination test.

h) Job Offer: Job offer is made to those applicants who have crossed all the previous hurdles. The offer is made by sending the appointment letter which specifies the post, salary and terms of employment.

i) Placement : This the final selection process. The candidate who accepts the job offer is placed on the job.

4. Orientation

Orientation means to introduce the employee to the co-workers and the work environment. He is given information such as working hours, place of work, names of the immediate and other officers etc. so that the new employee become familiar to the working environment. The employee and manager also discuss and reinforce the performance expectations that were initially discussed during the interview process. Generally the information given during the orientation programme include-

• Organizational & Departmental goals
• Organizational structure
• Organizational and Employee’s layout
• General rules and regulations etc.

The main aim of conducting Orientation is to build up confidence, morale and trust of the employee in the new organization.

5. Training and development

Training is an instrument of developing the employees. Technical and managerial skills are needed by the employees for performing the jobs assigned and training improves these skills. Training is required to be given to new employees as well as existing employees. Training methods and the duration for which training is to be given is decided by the management according to the objectives of the training, the number of persons to be trained, budget available and level of trainees in organizational hierarchy. Training leads to overall personal development. The major outcome of training is learning. According to Flippo: “Training is an act of increasing the knowledge and skill of an employee for doing a particular job.”

Importance of training and development:

1. Reduction in learning time

2. Better performance

3. Reduced supervision

4. Increases Morale of the employees

5. Facilitates organizational stability and flexibility

6. Develops employees’ skills, talent & competency

7. Decreased working accidents

8. Better use of organizational resources by reducing wastages

9. Increase in production and productivity

Techniques of training can be categorized as:

On-the-job training: It is a technique of teaching skills while the person performs the job. Training is imparted  in the real work environment . It is less expensive method of training and production is not hindered under on the job training. It is suitable when the trainees are limited in number. On the job training is usually imparted by experienced workers and first line supervisors at the workplace.

Off-the-job training: Off the job training involves imparting training outside the real work. These training methods are quite expensive as they need a totally different set-up and also do not add anything to production during training. Any numbers of employees can be trained at a time under this method Training here is imparted in an artificial set-up and outside experts are hired for the purpose.

Figure 3: Training methods

Regardless of the type, training should be realistic. Training should be designed with the trainee in mind and should allow one-on-one contacts between trainee and trainer.

Development

Development is opportunities created to help employees grow. It is futuristic in nature as it aims at imparting skills for taking higher responsibilities in the future. Development is not related to imparting primary skills but it provides the knowledge and attitudes, which will be helpful to employees in fulfilling their future obligations. Development of an employee depends a lot on his willingness and motivation since no one can be forced to learn anything.

Training and development are components of the same system. The major difference between training and development is that while training focuses on the current employee needs but development is concerned with preparing employees for future responsibilities. Generally off the job methods are used for development of employees. Development is a planned systematic process of learning and is designed to induce behavioral change in individuals by enhancing their mental abilities and qualities inherent in them.

Performance appraisal

Performance appraisal means judging an employee’s performance in a job. It is also called as merit rating. Performance appraisal is one of the oldest and most accepted universal principles of management. It refers to all the procedures used to evaluate the personalities, contributions and potential of employees. It also serves as a guide by formulating a suitable training and development program to improve the quality of performance. The immediate superior appraises the performance of the individuals with respect to his job performance and his potential for development.

Objectives of performance appraisal:

1. To help a manager to decide the increase in pay on ground of merits.

2. To find out the training needs.

3. To nominate employees for training programs.

4. To motivate the employees to do better in his or her present job.

5. To contribute to the growth and development of an employee.

6. To identify employees for deputation to other organizations

7. To help in creating a desirable work culture in the organization.

Appraisal Methods : Performance appraisal systems may be subjective or objective:

In a subjective performance appraisal system, there is no specific criteria defined for appraisal and the appraiser appraises the employee on the basis of his or her observations only. Under objective performance appraisal system, both the criteria for evaluation and the method of measurement are specific.

Broadly all methods of appraisals can be divided into two categories.

• Past Oriented Methods
• Future Oriented Methods

Past Oriented Methods

1. Rating Scales: Under this method scales are developed ranging from excellent to poor for job related performance criterions such as dependability, initiative, output, attendance, attitude etc. The total numerical scores of each employee is computed and conclusions are derived.

2. Checklist: Under this method, checklist of questions on traits of employee is prepared. The answer has to be given in yes or no only. Based on responses of these statements, evaluation is done.

3. Forced Choice Method: Under this method, the rater is forced to make a choice out of the set of two or three statements. There are many such set of questions. He indicates which statement is true or false. Assessment is done by HR department

4. Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales: Here, several statements of effective and ineffective behaviours are established.. They are said to be behaviourally anchored. The rater tells, which behaviour describes the employee performance. And thus employees get evaluated on the basis of points scored.

5. Field Review Method: under this, appraisal is done by someone from a department different from that of the employees own department usually from HR department. However, under this method, the major drawback is that outsider is generally not familiar with employees work environment and thus, Observation of actual behavior is not possible.

Other methods are :

• Forced Distribution Method
• Critical Incidents Method
• Performance Tests & Observations
• Essay Method
• Comparative Evaluation Method (Ranking & Paired Comparisons Ranking)

Future Oriented Methods

1. Management By Objectives: Under this method, the performance is rated against the achievement of objectives stated by the management. Process of MBO is as follows:

• Establish desired outcomes for each subordinate
• Setting the standard of performance
• Comparison of actual goals with those attained by the employee
• Establish new goals and new strategies for goals not achieved  previously.

2. Psychological Appraisals: These appraisals assess employees potential for future performance rather than the past one. It is based on characteristics affecting his performance such as emotions, intellect, and motivation. An employee may be evaluated by in-depth interviews, psychological tests, and discussion with supervisors and by reviewing other evaluations. However quality of this appraisal method depend upon the skills of appraiser.

3. Assessment Centres: Assessment centre is a central location where managers may come together and participate in job related exercises which are evaluated by trained appraisers. It is more focused on observation of behaviors. Assesses are required to participate in activities which require same traits as those required for successful performance of actual job such as work groups, computer simulations, role playing etc. The characteristics assessed in assessment centre can be assertiveness, persuasive ability, communicating ability, planning and organizational ability, self confidence, resistance to stress, energy level, decision making, sensitivity, administrative ability, creativity and alertness etc.

4. 360-Degree Feedback: Under this technique, appraisal is done on the basis of performance data taken from almost all stakeholders like immediate supervisors, team members, customers, peers and self. It provides feedback of employee from multiple sources. 360-degree appraisals are useful to measure inter-personal skills, customer satisfaction and team building skills. However when feedback is taken from multiple sources , it can be frightening for an employee . It may make them do what others want not what he is supposed to do. Multiple raters also may not provide balanced and objective feedback.

Summary

Staffing may be defined as the process of hiring and developing the required personnel to fill in the various positions in the organization. It involves estimating the number and type of personnel required, recruiting, selecting, training and developing them, and appraising their performance. Recruiting involves attracting candidate to fill the positions in the organization structure. Before recruiting, the requirement of positions must be cleared identified.

Selection is the process of choosing the most suitable person for the job positions in the organization. The selected employee is placed on the job and made familiar with the work environment. After that employees need to be trained and developed to enhance their skills and for taking higher responsibilities in the future. Training is required to be given to new employees as well as existing employees. After that, the performance of the employees is evaluated. Performance appraisal is the judgment of an employee’s performance on a job. It is also called as merit rating. subordinates performance is evaluated by his immediate superior. Staffing provides human resources to the organization which are the most important resources of any organisation. Men and material remain useless in absence of human resources. It is imperative that organisation that right kind of people are employed at right positions .If people are not competent, functions such as planning, organisation, directing and controlling cant be performed effectively and an organisation will not be able to achieve its goals.

References

• Principles & Practices of Management : L. M. Prasad
• Principles of Management : P. C. Tripathy & P.N. Readdy
• Principles of Management : Koontz & O’Donnell