Introduction-

After planning and selection of the organisation structure, the next step in the management process is to fill the various posts provided in the organisation. This is termed as the management of staffing function. In the simplest terms, staffing is ‘putting people to jobs’.

The staffing function includes such activities as manpower or human resources planning, ' recruitment, selection, placement, training and development, remuneration,  performance appraisal, promotion, transfers and so on. In many organisations, most of the above activities are handled by the personnel management or human resources management department. The basic responsibility for staffing decisions and initiatives is that of line managers. However, the personnel management department provides the needed expert advisory services to line managers in order to enable them to do their function more effectively. Often, the personnel management department also handles the administrative aspects of staffing.

Staffing-

Staffing has been described as the managerial function of filling and keeping filled the positions in the organisation structure. This is achieved by, first of all, identifying requirement of work force, followed by recruitment, selection, placement, promotion, appraisal and development of personnel, to fill the roles designed into the organisation structure.

Importance of Staffing

Human resources are the foundation of any business. The right people can help you take your business to the top; the wrong people can break your business. Hence, staffing is the most fundamental and critical drive of organisational performance.

Proper staffing ensures the following benefits to the organisation:

 (i) Discovering competent personnel -

It helps in discovering and obtaining competent personnel for various jobs;

 (ii) Higher Performance -

It makes for higher performance, by putting right person on the right job;

 (iii) Succession Planning-

It ensures the continuous survival and growth of the enterprise through the succession planning for managers;

(iv) optimum utilisation of the human resources -

It helps to ensure optimum utilisation of the human resources. By avoiding over manning, it prevents under -utilisation of personnel and high labour costs. At the same time it avoids disruption of work by indicating in advance the shortages of personnel; and

(v) job satisfaction

It improves job satisfaction and morale of employees through objective assessment and fair reward for their contribution.

Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management includes many specialised activities and duties which the human resource personnel must perform. These duties are:

• Recruitment i.e., search for qualified people
• Analysing jobs, collecting information about jobs to prepare job descriptions.
• Developing compensation and incentive plans.
• Training and development of employees for efficient performance and career growth.
• Maintaining labour relations and union management relations.
• Handling grievances and complaints.
• Providing for social security and welfare of employees.
• Defending the company in law suits and avoiding legal complications

Staffing Process

What follows is a brief description of the above stages.

 (i) Estimating the Manpower Requirements:

Understanding manpower requirements is not merely a matter of knowing how many persons we need but also of what type.

Workload analysis would enable an assessment of the number and types of human resources necessary for the performance of various jobs and accomplishment of organisational objectives.

Workforce analysis would reveal the number and type available. In fact such an exercise would reveal whether we are understaffed, overstaffed or optimally staffed. It may be pointed out that neither over-staffing nor under-staffing is a desirable situation.

A situation of overstaffing somewhere would necessitate employee removal or transfer elsewhere.

A situation of understaffing would necessitate the starting of the recruitment process.

However, before that can be done, it is important to translate the manpower requirements into specific job description and the desirable profile of its occupant — the desired qualifications, experience, personality characteristics and so on. This information becomes the base for looking for potential employees.

(ii) Recruitment:

Recruitment may be defined as the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation. The information generated in the process of writing the job description and the candidate profile may be used for developing the ‘situations vacant’ advertisement. The advertisement may be displayed on the factory/ office gate or else it may be got published in print media or flashed in electronic media. This step involves locating the potential candidate or determining the sources of potential candidates.

(iii) Selection:

Selection is the process of choosing from among the pool of the prospective job candidates developed at the stage of recruitment.

(i) it ensures that the organisation gets the best among the available, and

(ii) it enhances the self-esteem and prestige of those selected and conveys to them the seriousness with which the things are done in the organization

(iv) Placement and Orientation:

Joining a job marks the beginning of socialisation of the employee at the workplace. The employee is given a brief presentation about the company and is introduced to his superiors, subordinates and the colleagues.

Orientation

Orientation is, thus, introducing the selected employee to other employees and familiarising him with the rules and policies of the organisation.

Placement refers to the employee occupying the position or post for which the person has been selected.

(v) Training and Development:

If employee motivation is high, their competencies are strengthened, they perform better and thus, contribute more to organisational effectiveness and efficiency. By offering the opportunities for career advancement to their members, organisations are not only able to attract but also retain its talented people.

(vi) Performance Appraisal

All organisations have some formal or informal means of appraising their employee’s performance. Performance appraisal means evaluating an employee’s current and/or past performance as against certain predetermined standards. The employee is expected to know what the standards are and the superior is to provide the employee feedback on his/her performance. The performance appraisal process, therefore, will include defining the job, appraising performance and providing feedback.

 (vii) Promotion and career planning

Promotions are an integral part of people’s career. They refer to being placed in positions of increased responsibility. They usually mean more pay, responsibility and job satisfaction.

 (viii) Compensation

Compensation, therefore, refers to all forms of pay or rewards going to employees. It may be in the form of direct financial payments like wages, salaries, incentives, commissions and bonuses and indirect payments like employer paid insurance and vacations.

 Direct financial payments are of two types :

Time based plan-

A time based plan means salary and wages are paid either daily, weekly or monthly or annually.

 Performance based plans

Performance based plans means salary/wages are paid according to piecework.

For example, a worker may be paid according to the number of units produced by him/her. There are many methods to calculate the compensation under various incentive plans to reward performance. Certain pay plans can be created which are a combination of time based pay plus incentives for higher performance.

Recruitment

It has been defined as ‘the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in an organisation.

’ Advertising is commonly part of the recruitment process, and can occur through several means, through newspapers, using newspaper dedicated to job advertisement, through professional publication, using advertisements placed in windows, through a job center, through campus interviews, etc.

Sources of Recruitment

The various activities involved with the process of recruitment includes

 (a) identification of the different sources of labour supply,

 (b) assessment of their validity,

 (c) choosing the most suitable source or sources, and

(d) inviting applications from the prospective candidates, for the vacancies.

The requisite positions may be filled up from within the organisation or from outside. Thus, there are two sources of recruitment – Internal and External.

Internal Sources

There are two important sources of internal recruitment, namely, transfers and promotions, which are discussed below:

 (i) 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. It may lead to changes in duties and responsibilities, working condition etc., but not necessarily salary. Transfer is a good source of filling the vacancies with employees from over-staffed departments. It is practically a horizontal movement of employees. Shortage of suitable personnel in one branch may be filled through transfer from other branch or department

(ii) Promotions:

 Business enterprises generally follow the practice of filling higher jobs by promoting employees from lower jobs. Promotion leads to shifting an employee to a higher position, carrying higher responsibilities, facilities, status and pay. Promotion is a vertical shifting of employees.

(iii) Demotions:

It’s a punishment for those employees who are unable to achieve their targets so the person will be demoted to a lower position.

Merits of Internal Sources

 Filling vacancies in higher jobs from within the organisation or through internal transfers has the following merits:

 (i) Employees are motivated to improve their performance.

A promotion at a higher level may lead to a chain of promotion at lower levels in the organisation. This motivates the employees to improve their performance through learning and practice. Employees work with commitment and loyalty and remain satisfied with their jobs. Also peace prevails in the enterprise because of promotional avenues;

 (ii) simplifies the process of selection and placement

 Internal recruitment also simplifies the process of selection and placement. The candidates that are already working in the enterprise can be evaluated more accurately and economically. This is a more reliable way of recruitment since the candidates are already known to the organisation;

 (iii) tool of training the employees

 Transfer is a tool of training the employees to prepare them for higher jobs. Also people recruited from within the organisation do not need induction training;

 (iv) benefit of shifting workforce

Transfer has the benefit of shifting workforce from the surplus departments to those where there is shortage of staff;

(v) cheaper

 Filling of jobs internally is cheaper as compared to getting candidates from external sources.

Limitations of Internal Sources

 The limitations of using internal sources of recruitment are as follows:

 (i) When vacancies are filled through internal promotions, the scope for induction of fresh talent is reduced. Hence, complete reliance on internal recruitment involves danger of ‘inbreeding’ by stopping ‘infusion of new blood’ into the organisation;

(ii) The employees may become lethargic if they are sure of timebound promotions;

(iii) A new enterprise cannot use internal sources of recruitment. No organisation can fill all its vacancies from internal sources;

 (iv) The spirit of competition among the employees may be hampered; and

(v) Frequent transfers of employees may often reduce the productivity of the organisation.

 External Sources

External recruitment provides wide choice and brings new blood in the organisation.

 The commonly used external sources of recruitment are discussed below:

 (i) Direct Recruitment:

Under the direct recruitment, a notice is placed on the notice-board of the enterprise specifying the details of the jobs available. Jobseekers assemble outside the premises of the organisation on the specified date and selection is done on the spot. This method is used in case of seasonal requirement –for badli or casual workers.

(ii) Casual Callers:

Many reputed business organisations keep a database of unsolicited applicants in their offices. Such job-seekers can be a valuable source of manpower. A list of such job-seekers can be prepared and can be screened to fill the vacancies as they arise. The major merit of this source of recruitment is that it reduces the cost of recruiting workforce in comparison to other sources.

 (iii) Advertisement:

 Advertisement can be through print media or digital media Advertisement gives the management a wider range of candidates from which to choose. Advertisements may be placed in leading newspapers. Its disadvantage is that it may bring in a flood of response, and many times, from quite unsuitable candidates.

(iv) Employment Exchange:

 Employment exchanges run by the Government are regarded as a good source of recruitment for unskilled and skilled operative jobs. Some government official positions are filled through employment exchanges compulsorily.

 (v) Placement Agencies and Management Consultants:

 Placement agencies provide a nationwide service in matching personnel demand and supply. These agencies compile bio-data of a large number of candidates and recommend suitable names to their clients. Such agencies charge fee for their services and they are useful where extensive screening is required.

(vi) Campus Recruitment:

 Recruitment from educational institutions is a well-established practice of businesses. This is referred to as campus recruitment.

 (vii) Recommendations of Employees:

 Applicants introduced by present employees, or their friends and relatives may prove to be a good source of recruitment. Such applicants are likely to be good employees because their background is sufficiently known. A type of preliminary screening takes place because the present employees know both the company and the candidates and they would try to satisfy both.

 (viii) Labour Contractors:

Unskilled Workers are recruited through labour contractors who are themselves employees of the organisation. The disadvantages of this system are that if the contractor himself decides to leave the organisation, all the workers employed through him will follow suit.

 (ix) Advertising on Television:

 The practice of telecasting of vacant posts over Television is gaining importance these days. The detailed requirements of the job and the qualities required to do it are publicised alongwith the profile of the organisation where vacancy exists.

 (x) Web Publishing:

 Internet is becoming a common source of recruitment these days.Websites are very commonly visited both by the prospective employees and the organisations searching for suitable people.

Merits of External Sources

 The advantages of using external sources of recruitment are as follows:

 (i) Inculcation of more Qualified Personnel in the organization

 (ii) Getting Wider Choice due to variety of people applying for the job

 (iii) Infusion of Fresh Talent as new recruitment would mean new qualified personnel would come up

(iv) It increases Competitive Spirit among the employees thus the quality of work improves

Limitations of External Sources

1. Dissatisfaction among existing staff as it would lead to insecurity

2. It is time consuming & Lengthy process

3. Costly process

Selection

 Selection is the process of identifying and choosing the best person out of a number of prospective candidates for a job. Towards this purpose, the candidates are required to take a series of employment tests and interviews. At every stage many are eliminated and a few move on to the next stage until the right type is found. The effectiveness of the selection process would ultimately be tested in terms of on-the-job of the chosen person.

 Process of Selection

 The important steps in the process of selection are as follows:

 (i) Preliminary Screening:

Preliminary interviews help reject misfits for reasons, which did not appear in the application forms.

 (ii) 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. Important Tests Used for Selection of Employees:

(a) Intelligence Tests:

This is one of the important psychological tests used to measure the level of intelligence quotient of an individual. It is an indicator of a person’s learning ability or the ability to make decisions and judgments.

(b) Aptitude Test:

It is a measure of individuals potential for learning new skills. It indicates the person’s capacity to develop. Such tests are good indices of a person’s future success score.

(c) Personality Tests:

 Personality tests provide clues to a person’s emotions, her reactions, maturity and value system etc. These tests probe the overall personality. Hence, these are difficult to design and implement.

(d) Trade Test:

These tests measure the existing skills of the individual. They measure 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:

 Every individual has fascination for some job than the other. Interest tests are used to know the pattern of interests or involvement of a person.

 (iii) Employment Interview:

 Interview is a formal, in-depth conversation conducted to evaluate the applicant’s suitability for the job.  Though, in present times, the interviewee also seeks information from interviewer.

(iv) Reference and Background Checks:

Previous employers, known persons, teachers and university professors can act as references.

 (v) Selection Decision:

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.

(vi) Medical Examination:

The job offer is given to the candidate being declared fit after the medical examination.

(vii) Job Offer:

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.

(viii)Contract of Employment:

 Attestation form ( containing the vital details of candidate) will be a valid record for future reference. There is also a need for preparing a contract of employment.

 Basic information that should be included in a written contract of employment will vary according to the level of the job, but the following checklists sets out the typical headings: 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.

Training and Development

Training and Development is an attempt to improve the current or future employee performance by increasing an employee’s ability to perform through learning, usually by changing the employee’s attitude or increasing his or her skills and knowledge.

 Importance of Training and Development

The present jobs have become more demanding ad require the person to do new things and needs to keep evolving increasing the  pressures for organisations to readapt the products and services produced, the manner in which products and services are produced and offered, the types of jobs required and the types of skills necessary to complete these jobs. Thus, as jobs have become more complex the importance of employee training has increased.

 Training and development help both the organisation and the individual.

Training, Development and Education

Training-

 The term training is used to indicate the process by which attitudes, skills and abilities of employees to perform specific jobs are increased.

a) Training is short term process but development is an on going process.

b) Training is any process by which the aptitudes, skills and abilities of employees to perform specific jobs are increased.

c) It is a process of learning new skills and application of knowledge.

 d) It attempts to improve their performance on the current job or prepare them for any intended job.

Education

a)Education is the process of increasing the knowledge and understanding of employees

b) It is the understanding and interpretation of knowledge.

c)  It does not provide definite answers, but rather develops a logical and rational mind that can determine relationships among pertinent variables and thereby understand a phenomenon.

Education is broader in scope than training.

Training-

Training is tied to the goals of organisations more than to the goals of the individual.

Development-

Development refers to the learning opportunities designed to help employees grow.

 The field of training and development concerned with improving deals with the design and delivery of learning to improve performance within organisations.

In some organisations the term Learning and Development is used instead of Training and Development in order to emphasise the importance of learning for the individual and the organisation. In other organisations, the term Human Resource Development is used.

Training Methods

 There are various methods of training.

 These are broadly categorised into two groups: On-the-Job and Off-the Job 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.

(i) Apprenticeship Programmes:

Apprenticeship programmes put the trainee under the guidance of a master worker. These are designed to acquire a higher level of skill. People seeking to enter skilled jobs, to become, for example, plumbers, electricians or iron-workers, are often required to undergo apprenticeship training. A uniform period of training is offered to trainees, in which both fast and slow learn here, are placed together. Slow learners may require additional training.

(ii) Coaching:

In this method, the superior guides and instructs the trainee as a coach. The coach or counselor sets mutually agreed upon goals, suggests how to achieve these goals, periodically reviews the trainees progress and suggests changes required in behavior and performance.

Classically the trainee is being groomed to replace the senior manager and relieve him from some of his duties. This gives a chance for the trainee to learn the job also.

(iii) Internship Training:

 It is a joint programme of training in which educational institutions and business firms cooperate. Selected candidates carry on regular studies for the prescribed period. They also work in some factory or office to acquire practical knowledge and skills.

 (iv) Job Rotation:

 This kind of training involves shifting the trainee from one department to another or from one job to another. Job rotation allows trainees to interact with other employees facilitating future cooperation among departments. When employees are trained by this method, the organisation finds it easier at the time of promotions, replacements or transfers.

(v) Induction or orientation training:

The main objective of an induction programme is to enable the new and current staff members to gain a comprehensive understanding of the school and their role and responsibilities therein. An effective induction programme could be organized in two parts - an introductory core session followed by streamed workshop sessions tailored for specific topic and content areas, and covers a range of areas including policy, processes and practice at the school.

 Off the Job Methods

 (i) Class Room Lectures/ Conferences:

The lecture or conference approach is well adapted to conveying specific information-rules, procedures or methods. The use of audiovisuals or demonstrations can often make a formal classroom presentation more interesting while increasing retention and offering a vehicle for clarifying more difficult points.

 (ii) Films:

They can provide information and explicitly demonstrate skills that are not easily represented by the other techniques. Used in conjunction with conference discussions, it is a very effective method in certain cases.

(iii) Case Study:

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

(iv) Computer Modelling:

It simulates the work environment by programming a computer to imitate some of the realities of the job and allows learning to take place without the risk or high costs that would be incurred if a mistake were made in real life situation.

 (v) Vestibule Training:

Actual work environments are created in a class room and employees use the same materials, files and equipment. This is usually done when employees are required to handle sophisticated machinery and equipment.

(vi) Programmed Instruction:

 This method incorporates a prearranged and proposed acquisition of some specific skills or general knowledge. Information is broken into meaningful units and these units are arranged in a proper way to form a logical and sequential learning package i.e. from simple to complex. The trainee goes through these units by answering questions or filling the blanks.