Introduction

Most employers truly believe the fact that their staff is their greatest asset, and the right recruitment and induction processes are vital in ensuring that the new employee is groomed within the shortest time possible. The success of an organisation depends on having the right number of staff, with the right skills and abilities. Organizations may have a dedicated human resource function overseeing this process, or they may rest these responsibilities to line managers and supervisors. Many people may be involved, and all should be aware of the principles of good practice. Even in large organisations with a specialist personnel department, it is essential to involve others in the task of recruitment and induction.

Staffing is a very crucial function of management. For efficient functioning of the organisation, competent incumbents are needed and staffing is the function which provides human resource to the organisation. In the small organisation, this function is normally performed by the top executives, but in the complex organisations this function is entrusted to a separate department and staffing is considered as a distinct managerial function. While the ultimate decisions relating to staffing are taken by the top line executives, the personnel department functions are the advisory and in supporting capacity. Keeping in view the increasing importance of appointments and complex employee problems, it is in the interest of the organisations to establish a separate department of efficient performance of this function.

Meaning

Management is the art of getting things done through people. The process of recruitment, selection, development, training, identifying, assessing, placing, evaluating and developing people can be called STAFFING. Haimann states that "staffing relates to the recruitment, selection, development, training, compensation of subordinate managers." In other words, staffing may be defined as the process of hiring and developing the required personnel to fill in various positions in the organisation. It involves estimating the number and type of personnel required, recruiting and developing them, and maintaining and improving their competence and performance.

According to Harold Koontz and O'Donnell, “the managerial function of staffing involves manning the organizational structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal and development of personnel to fill the roles designed into the structure." It involves determining the need for people at various organizational posts, appointing and retaining them at those posts by training and developing their abilities and skills.

Features / Nature Of Staffing

The above description reveals the following features of staffing:

1. Management Function

Staffing is an important management function that appoints people at different posts to run the organisation. Staffing is a universal function. It is the responsibility of every manager. In large organisations, there exists generally a personnel department. But this department only advises and helps the line managers in performing the staffing function.

2. Pervasive Function

People are the most important asset that convert inputs into outputs. People are appointed at all levels - top, middle and low and in all functional areas - production, finance etc. Staffing ensures that right persons are appointed at the right job so that organisation can efficiently achieve its objectives. In large organisations, there is generally a separate human resources department. The manager of human resources is responsible for the recruitment, selection, training and appraisal of his subordinates.

3. Continuous Functions

Staffing is a continuous managerial function. People keep leaving and joining the organisations. Departments and organisations grow and, therefore, need for people keeps arising. Hiring, training and compensating people (staffing) are, therefore, continuously performed by managers.

4. Concerned with human element

Functions of staffing, recruitment, selection, training and appraisal of subordinates of all departments are performed by managers at all levels as all departments need people to function. In performing these functions, managers seek assistance of the personnel department.

5. It deals with Active Resources

Staffing deals with the most important resource (people) that converts inactive resources, that is raw materials, into productive outputs. It deals with the live resource, that is, people without whom organization's resources would remain as resources only. That means resources will not be converted into outputs.

Importance Of Staffing 

Staffing function is important for the following reasons:

1. Human force is the most important and productive asset of the organisation which carries out the functions and productive activities of various departments.

2. Managerial staffing ensures that all positions in the organisations are occupied by right individuals who are competent and willing to discharge their responsibilities. 

3. If staffing function is properly carried out, managers provide leadership facilities so that individuals can satisfy their personal goals alongwith organisational goals.

4. It helps in discovering and obtaining talented and competent personnel for various jobs. 

5. It provides the continuous survival and growth of the business through the development of efficient and effective executives.

6. It helps to ensure optimum utilization of the human resources by avoiding over manning. It prevents under utilization of human resources and high labor costs.

7. Managerial training programmes assures availability of qualified and trained personnel. Managerial appraisal assures more specific management results. It helps a lot in solving the problems of salary, promotion, etc.

8. Well trained staff works according to plans and deviations in actual performance will be reduced. This helps managers in controlling various organizational functions.

9. Since staffing helps to place the right person, with the right knowledge, at the right place and the right time to perform the organizational activities, efficiency of the organisation increases.

10. In the modern era of globalization, every enterprise faces touch competition from national and international competitors. A well-staffed organisation provides management sound policies and procedures for adapting to the environment and face competition.

11. In order to make use of the latest 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 effectively.

12. Efficient performance of the staffing function is essential to make the best use of personnel. For instance, if right type of people are selected and trained, management can obtain optimum results from the expenses incurred on recruitment, selection and training.

Need For Staffing

Staffing is an important function that provides man-power to the organisation. The increase in size of organisations, rapid advancements in technology and growing complexity of human behaviour has led to the increase in the significance of staffing. Efficient staffing provides the following benefits:

1. It helps in discovering talented and competent workers and developing them to move up the corporate ladder.

2. It helps to improve the quantity and quality of the output by putting the right man on the right job.

3. It helps to avoid a sudden disruption of an enterprise's production run by indicating shortages of personnel, if any, in advance.

4. It reduced the costs of personnel by avoiding wastage of human resources. 

5. It facilitates the growth and diversification of business with the help of talented employees.

6. It provides information to management for the internal succession of managerial personnel in the event of an unanticipated turnover.

7. To increase loyalty and commitment of workers towards individual and organisational goals.

8. To make optimum use of human resource to achieve organisational objectives. 

9. To make people to realise their potential at work and develop them for promotion to higher managerial posts.

10. To make record of achievement of people so that managers can make policies with respect to their transfers, promotions and demotions.

11. To define equitable and adequate remuneration for people by providing them monetary and non-monetary incentives. This promotes active contribution to organisational objectives. 

12. To develop people's abilities to assume jobs of higher skill, competence and responsibility.

Staffing Process

The object of staffing is to obtaining the best available people for the organisation and to develop the skills and abilities of those people. Human Resource Management (HRM) is a staff function. The staffing process consists of several interrelated activities such as human resource planning, recruitment, training, etc. The elements of staffing or staffing process consists of the following basic activities:

1. Man Power Planning

2. Recruitment

3. Selection

4. Placement

5. Orientation (Socialization)

6. Training and Development

7. Remuneration

8. Performance Evaluation

9. Promotion, Transfer, etc.

10. Separation.