Staffing is an important function involved in building the human organisation. In staffing, the manager attempts to find the right person for each job.
Staffing fixes a manager’s responsibility to recruit and to make certain that there is enough manpower available to fill the various positions needed in the organisation. Staffing involves the selection and training of future managers and a suitable system of compensation.
In other words, Staffing is concerned with obtaining, utilizing and maintaining a satisfactory and satisfied workforce.
No organisation can be successful unless it can fill and keep filled the various positions with the right type of employees. Staffing provides manpower, which is the key input of an organisation.
Staffing function has the following sub-functions. They are manpower planning, recruitment, selection, training and development, placement, compensation, promotion, appraisal etc.
Staffing is a very important function of management.
Definition of Staffing
According to knootz and O’Donnell “The managerial function of staffing involves manning the organisational structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal and development of personnel to fill the roles designed into the structure.”
Benjamin defined that “The process involved in identifying, assessing, placing, evaluating, and directing individuals at work.”
Advantages of Staffing
There are many advantages of staffing in an organisation.
Point 1: It helps in discovering and obtaining competent personnel for various jobs.
Point 2: It makes for higher performance by placing right persons in the right jobs.
Point 3: It improves job satisfaction and morale of employees through objective assessment and fair compensation of their contributions.
Point 4: It facilitates optimum utilization of human resources and in minimizing costs of manpower.
Point 5: It ensures the continuity and growth of the organisation through the development of managers.
Point 6: It enables an organisation to cope with the shortage of executive talent.
Increasing size of organisation
In a large organisation, there are several positions. Systematic programmers for the selection, training and appraisal of employees are required for efficient functioning of the enterprise.
This has increased the significance of staffing.
Advancement of technology
Significant improvements have taken place in technology. In order to make use of the technology, the appointment of right type of persons is necessary.
Right personnel can be procured, developed and maintained for new jobs only if the management performs its staffing function effectively.
Long-range needs for manpower
In order to long-term plans, management must determines the manpower requirements well in advance.
The need for staffing has increased due to shortage of good managerial talent and high rate of labour turnover.
High wage bill
Personnel coast accounts for a major portions of operating costs today.
Efficient performance of the staffing function is essential to make the best use of personnel.
Trade unionism
Efficient system for staffing has become necessary to negotiate effectively with organisation of executives.
Separation of ownership form management requires a more professional approach towards the staffing function.
Human relations movement
Employees have come to recognize the dignity of labour-increasing awareness of the role of human factor in industry.
Managers can use the knowledge of behavioral sciences in molding the behavior of employees in the right direction, whereas the executive level is greater need for non-financial motivation.
By performing the staffing function well, management can show the significance it attaches to the human resources in the organisation.
Factors affecting staffing
Staffing is basically a dynamic process and is affected by a variety of factors both internal and external factors.
(A). External Factors
Factor 1: Political Factors
Political stability, political parties and their political gimmicks, formation of new political parties, splits in trade union etc. these changes in trade unions complicate the task of staffing.
Factor 2: Economic Factors
Number of economic factors affects staffing of an organisation by influencing system, national income, per capita income, distribution of income and wealth etc.
Factor 3: Social Factors
Social environment consists of social roles, social values, caste structure, occupational structure, social forward and backward sections, religions, culture etc. these factors are also effect the staffing.
Factor 4: Legal Factors
These are various provisions, which affect the staffing policy of an organisation. The act 1986, provide the restrictions of free recruitment of child labour.
These factors also affect the staffing process of the organisation.
Factor 5: Customers
Any organisation depends upon customers for their survival and growth. Organisation’s services are less qualitative in which customers may develop negative attitude towards the organisation.
(B). Internal Factors
Factor 1: Size of the Organisation
Staffing practices depends upon the size of the organisation. A small organisation cannot have the same staffing practices, which a large organisation may have.
Factor 2: Organisational Image
The image of an organisation in human resources market depends on its staffing practices like facilities for training and development, compensation and incentives, and work culture.
If all these factors are positive, an organisation may be in a better position to attract the candidates and customers.
Factor 3: Technological Factors
In technological changes technical personnel, skilled workers and machine operators are increasingly required while the demand for other employees has reduced.
The procurement of skilled employees and their increase in numbers to match the changing job requirements has become a complicated task.
Factor 4: Changes in employee roles
Nowadays the relationship in which employees and management are partners in the organisation the management improves the staffing process by:
- The provide various benefits to improve morale
- To introduce negotiating machinery to reduce grievances
- To encourage employee participation in decision-making.
Factor 5: Education
The well-educated employees always challenge and question the management’s decision and want to a voice in the company’s affairs affecting their interest.
Thus management of well-educated employee is a problem to the organisation though they make valuable contributions.
Conclusion
At last words, Staffing is most important function of management in any organisation because they provides manpower in organisation and its work right people for right job.
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