The foundation of any organization is its talented and hardworking people, who are its principal assets. As Narayana Murthy, former CEO of Infosys, stated, “Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to make sure that they come back the next morning.” Infosys, a knowledge-intensive firm, includes human resources on its balance sheet, recognizing their value in maintaining competitive advantage. The growth of an organization depends on a continual infusion of quality staff, making staffing essential for success.
Example: Infosys’s practice of valuing human resources as assets ensures they attract, retain, and develop talent to stay competitive in the IT industry.
Staffing is the managerial function of filling and keeping filled the positions in an organization’s structure. It involves identifying workforce requirements, followed by recruitment, selection, placement, promotion, appraisal, and development of personnel to fill roles designed in the organization structure. In simple terms, staffing is “putting people to jobs,” encompassing workforce planning, training, compensation, and performance appraisal.
Staffing is a continuous process, especially in existing enterprises where new jobs are created or employees leave. It includes diverse employees like daily wagers, consultants, and contract workers, recognizing every individual as the ultimate performer.
Example: A new startup, after planning and organizing, recruits software developers and trains them to meet project demands, ensuring the right people are in the right roles.
Staffing is critical as it ensures the right people are placed in the right jobs, driving organizational performance. With rapid technological advancements, increasing organization size, and complex human behavior, staffing has gained greater significance.
Benefits of Proper Staffing:
Example: Poor staffing at a factory led to untrained workers, causing wastage and low productivity. Proper staffing with trained personnel improved output quality.
Staffing is both a core management function (like planning and organizing) and a specialized function within Human Resource Management (HRM). All managers perform staffing by selecting and managing employees, but in larger organizations, a dedicated HR department with specialists handles these tasks.
HRM Duties Include:
Evolution of HRM: HRM evolved from labor welfare and personnel management, spurred by the industrial revolution and trade unions. The labor welfare officer role expanded to personnel manager, and with the human relations approach, it became HRM, emphasizing employee development.
Example: Infosys’s HR department uses technology-driven referral portals to streamline recruitment, reflecting modern HRM practices.
The staffing process ensures timely fulfillment of manpower needs, whether for new businesses, expansions, or replacements. The steps are:
Example: Lenovo India used employee referrals to recruit diverse talent, streamlining the staffing process with technology.
Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs. It aims to create a pool of suitable candidates.
Sources of Recruitment:
Merits: Motivates employees, simplifies selection, reduces training needs, shifts surplus staff, and is cost-effective.
Limitations: Reduces fresh talent, may cause lethargy, unsuitable for new firms, lowers competition, and frequent transfers may reduce productivity.
Merits: Attracts qualified personnel, offers wider choice, brings fresh talent, and fosters competitive spirit.
Limitations: Causes dissatisfaction among existing staff, is time-consuming, and costly.
Example: Infosys’s referral portal allows employees to submit candidate profiles, with over 40% of hires coming through referrals.
Selection is the process of choosing the best candidate from the recruitment pool, ensuring the organization gets the most suitable employee while enhancing the selected candidate’s self-esteem.
Selection Process:
Example: A BPO hires an English-speaking candidate but trains them in conversation etiquette after selection to ensure job fit.
Training improves current job performance through skill enhancement, while development focuses on overall employee growth. Rapid technological changes make training essential for adapting to complex jobs.
Benefits to Organization:
Benefits to Employees:
Training vs. Development:
| Aspect | Training | Development |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Increase job-specific skills | Overall employee growth |
| Focus | Job-oriented | Career-oriented |
| Scope | Short-term | Long-term |
Training Methods:
Example: Dabur India offers training programs to retain talent, reducing attrition by enhancing skills.
Question (Short Answer Type): What is meant by recruitment? How is it different from selection?
Answer: Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and encouraging them to apply for jobs, aiming to create a pool of candidates. Selection is the process of choosing the best candidate from this pool through tests and interviews. Recruitment precedes selection, focusing on attracting applicants, while selection focuses on evaluating and choosing the most suitable candidate.
Staffing is the managerial function of filling and keeping filled positions in an organization’s structure through workforce planning, recruitment, selection, placement, promotion, appraisal, and development. It is critical due to technological advancements, organizational growth, and complex human behavior, ensuring competent personnel, optimal resource use, and employee satisfaction. Staffing is part of HRM, which evolved from labor welfare to a specialized function handling recruitment, training, and labor relations. The staffing process includes estimating manpower needs, recruitment, selection, placement, training, appraisal, promotion, and compensation. Recruitment sources are internal (transfers, promotions) and external (advertisements, campus recruitment), each with merits and limitations. Selection involves screening, tests, interviews, and contracts. Training enhances job skills, while development fosters overall growth, using on-the-job and off-the-job methods.