UNIT:4

STAFFING
Meaning:
 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.
 The staffing process helps to select the right person with
appropriate skills, qualifications and experience to recruit
them to different positions and jobs in an organisation.
 Staffing means the process of filling and keeping various
roles in an organisation filled.
 In management, it means the process of recruiting the
right person at the right place to increase the efficiency of
the organisation. It includes taking up different people to
perform various functions in different departments. It is
an important process to run an organization or a business.
In the simplest terms, staffing is ‘putting people to jobs’.
In a new enterprise, the staffing function follows the planning
and organising functions. Once the number and types of
personnel to be selected is determined, management starts
with the activities relating to recruiting, selecting and training
people, to fulfil the requirements of the enterprise.
In an existing enterprise, staffing is a continuous process
because new jobs may be created and some of the existing
employees may leave the organisation.
Definition of Staffing:
According to Dalton E. McFarland, “The staffing function of
management consists of few interrelated activities such as
planning of human resource, recruitment, selection, placement,
training and development, remuneration, performance
appraisal, promotion and transfers. All these activities make up
the elements of the process of staffing”.
According to Koontz and O’Donnell, “The managerial function
of staffing involves managing the organisation structure through
proper and effective selection, appraisal and development of
personnel to fill the roles designed into the structure.”
According to Koontz and Weihrich, “Staffing can be defined as
filling and keeping filled positions in the organisation structure.”

Aspects or components of Staffing:

There are three aspects or components of staffing, namely,
recruitment, selection, and training. They are defined below:
Recruitment: It is the process of finding potential candidates
for a particular job in an organization. The process of
recruitment involves persuading people to apply for the
available positions in the organization.
Selection: It is the process of recognizing potential and hiring
the best people out of several possible candidates. This is done
by shortlisting and choosing the deserving and eliminating
those who are not suitable for the job.
Training: It is the process that involves providing the
employees with an idea of the type of work they are supposed
to do and how it is to be done. It is a way of keeping the
employees updated on the way of work in an organization and
the new and advanced technologies.

Features of Staffing:
The following are the features of staffing:
 Staffing is an integral part of management: Staffing is an
integral part of management because an organization
cannot exist without human resources.
 Pervasive: It is pervasive because staffing is performed by
all managers at all levels and in every department.
 Continuous Process: Staffing is a continuous process
because it continues throughout the life of the
organization. It is required to meet the growing needs of
an organization.
 Deals with a human being: Staffing deals with people
because it is concerned with the people at work and their
relationships.
 Wide scope: Staffing has a wide scope because it includes
a series of activities, like workforce planning, recruitment,
selection, and training.
 Multiple objective activity: It is a multiple objective
activity because it has to fulfill its responsibility towards
the organization, employees, and society.
Process of Staffing:
Staffing is a complicated process, and it involves various steps.
It starts with workforce planning, and ends with the proper
recruitment of the employees. It also checks the performance
of the employees effectively.
For successful staffing in an organisation, a manager has to
perform various steps of staffing that are as follows:
1) Estimating the Manpower Requirements: The very first
steps of staffing are to evaluate the manpower
requirement of an organisation to match the job and
positions available in the organisation. It also helps in
determining the skills and qualifications required for a
specific job in the organisation.
2) Recruitment of Employees: Once the requirement is
evaluated, the next step involves the searching of
prospective persons that are eligible for the job and
inviting applicants to apply for the positions. In this
process, the employer advertises about the openings in
the organisation through various media, which makes it
easy for the applicants to get to know about the job
vacancy and the required skills.
3) Selection of Employees: The selection process helps in
screening the employees and identifying the deserving
candidate who will be suitable for a specified job.
Therefore, it can be said that the main objective of
 selection is to identify the right employee for the right
job.
4) Orientation and Placement: Once the right candidates
are selected, the organization makes the employees
familiar with the working units and working
environments through various orientation programs.
Then, the placement is done by putting the right
candidate at the right place which helps in the proper
functioning of the organisation.
5) Training and Development of employees: Once the
placement is done, the next step involves the training and
development of employees. Training is an integral part of
the staffing process, and it helps the employees to
develop their skills and knowledge.
6) Performance Evaluation of employees: It is an
assessment done to evaluate the attitude, behaviour, and
performance of an employee. These steps of staffing also
help in determining the success of the whole recruitment
process. It gives the management a clear picture of the
success rate of the entire recruitment procedure. This
step includes elements like appraisal, promotion, and
transfer. The performance of the employee is assessed
comparatively to the other employees and also to his own
previous performance. Based on these criteria, the
employee gets a hike on his pay or a promotion.
Sometimes, employees are transferred to another
location of the same company and are generally attached
with a level up in his position or given certain benefits.
 7) Promotion and Career planning of Employees:
Promotion in simple words means the shifting of an
employee to a higher post demanding a more significant
responsibility. It not only makes the employee
responsible but also keeps him motivated to do his work
efficiently. With the promotion, the monetary benefits
that the employee receives are also increased, which
makes him more efficient to complete the work on time.
8) Remuneration to Employees/ Compensation: It is the
compensation given to the employees in monetary terms
in exchange for the work they do for the organization. It
is given according to work done by the employees. All
organisations need to establish wage and salary plans for
their employees. There are various ways to prepare
different pay plans depending on the worth of the job.
Basically, the price of the job needs to be determined.
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 vacation.

Benefits/Importance of Staffing Process:

Every organization needs to have efficient and competent
employees to achieve its goals and objectives. The staffing
function helps in acquiring such employees for an
organization. It not only acquires the employees but also helps
in their training and development.
1)Timely Recruitment: The most important feature of
methods of staffing in management is that it allows the timely
recruitment of the right person in the right place for the
efficient working of the organization.
2)Knowing Organizational Requirement: It helps in knowing
the organizational requirements and achieving them by
recruiting the exact person to do the job.
3)Improves Productivity: It helps in recruiting the correct
ones, so it helps in improving the quality of human resources,
when these people are trained properly, they can function
more efficiently. On a whole, it improves the productivity of
the organization.
4)Achieving Job Satisfaction: When the employees are trained
according to the job requirement, they can work efficiently,
this will improve their morale and give them job satisfaction.
5)Maintaining Harmony: Training the staff about how to
behave with superiors, subordinates, and colleagues helps in
building a harmonious working environment at the workplace.

Manpower Planning:
Manpower planning involves reviewing current manpower
resources, forecasting future requirements and availability,
and taking steps to ensure that the supply of people and skills
meets demand.
Manpower planning is the quantitative and qualitative
measurement of the manpower that is required in an
organisation. It involves evaluation and creation of the
manpower inventory and also to develop the necessary talents
among the employees that are selected for obtaining
promotion.
Manpower Planning is the process of systematically
forecasting the future demand and supply for employees and
the deployment of their skills within the strategic objectives of
the organization. It is the process by which Management
determines how the management should move from its
current manpower to its desired manpower utilization.
Recruitment:
In human resource management, “recruitment” is the process
of finding and hiring the best and most qualified candidate for
a job opening, in a timely and cost-effective manner. It can also
be defined as the “process of searching for prospective
employees and stimulating and encouraging them to apply for
jobs in an organization”.
The main reason why the recruitment process is implemented
is to find the persons who are best qualified for the positions
within the company, and who will help them towards attaining
organizational goals. But there are other reasons why a
recruitment process is important.
Sources of Recruitment:
Sources of recruitment refers to various modes of connecting
with the job seeker for completing the task of finding potential
employees. In simple words, sources of recruitment is the
medium through which communication regarding the vacant
positions is made aware to the prospective candidates.
There are generally recognised two sources of recruitment,
which are internal and external sources.
1)Internal Sources:
Internal sources of recruitment refers to the recruitment of
employees who are already a part of the existing payroll of the
organisation. The vacancy for the position can be informed to
the employee through internal communication.
There are different types of internal hiring in the organisation
and they are as follows:
1. Promotion: Promotion is referred to as the change of
designation of the employee. It involves shifting of the existing
employee to a higher position within the organisation and
providing that employee with more responsibility and a raise
in pay.
Promotion helps in motivating the other employees of the
organisation to work hard so that they also become eligible for
promotion.
2. Transfer: Transfer refers to the shifting of an existing
employee from one department to another department in an
organisation.
3. Employee Referrals: It can happen that the organisation in
an effort to cut down costs on hiring is looking for employee
referral. The employees are well aware of the job roles in the
organisation for which manpower is required. These
employees will refer potential candidates by screening them
based on their suitability to the position.
4. Former employees: Some organisations have the provision
of hiring retired employees willing to work part time/full time
for the organisation.
Advantages of Internal Sources:
Following are the advantages of the internal sources:
1. The organisation saves money on hiring programmes which
translates to higher revenue for business.
2. It makes selection and transfer of employees very easy.
3. Internal source of recruitment serves as a morale booster
for the existing employees.
4. It provides a sense of loyalty towards the business which
results in improved productivity.
5. As existing employees will be aware of the working pattern
of the organisation, therefore it will take much less time for the
re-hires to get adapted to working conditions.
Disadvantages of Internal Sources:
Following are some of the disadvantages of the internal
sources:
1. Internal recruitment causes reduction in the morale of those
employees who are not selected or considered for appraisal.
2. It discourages capable persons from outside to join to work
in the company.
3. It can lead to conflict if one employee is selected for
promotion, while the others are not considered.
External Sources:
External sources of recruitment seek to employ candidates
that have not been recruited any time before in the
organisation.
Introduction of fresh talent among the workforce leads to
growth and development of the business.
Following are the some of the external sources of recruitment:
1. Advertisement: Advertisements serve as a great source of
information regarding any job opportunities. This type of
source is used for recruitment of middle level employees, or
high-level employees.
2. Employment Exchanges: Employment exchanges serve as a
source of recruitment for the people as it is run by the
government.
4.Campus Recruitment: Educational institutions also serve as
a good source of recruitment as many students or say
resources will be available at once under one roof.
5.Recommendation: This can also be a good source of
recruitment as an existing employee will be able to provide
better recommendation for other candidates.
6.Labour Contractors: Labour contractors maintain close
contacts with labourers and they can provide the required
number of unskilled workers at short notice. Workers are
recruited through labour contractors who are themselves
employees of the organisation.
7. Web Publishing: Internet is becoming a common source of
recruitment these days. There are certain websites specifically
designed and dedicated for the purpose of providing
information about both job seekers and job opening. In fact,
websites are very commonly visited both by the prospective
employees and the organisations searching for suitable
people.
8. 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.
Advantages of External Source:
Following are some of the advantages of external sources.
1. It helps in availability of proper skilled labour.
2. There will be availability of new ideas from employees hired
using external sources.
3. The employees join as knowledgeable persons which
reduces the training time required for new hires.
Disadvantages of External Source:
1. It can lead to unhappy employees as the existing employees
may feel that they deserved an opportunity for growth.
2. It can lead to lack of cooperation between the new hires and
the existing employees.
3. It is a lengthy process where the employee needs to appear
for many rounds.

Selection:
Selection is the process of identifying and choosing the best
person out of a number of prospective candidates for a job.
The Selection is the process of choosing the most suitable
candidate for the vacant position in the organization. In other
words, selection means weeding out unsuitable applicants and
selecting those individuals with prerequisite qualifications and
capabilities to fill the jobs in the organization.
Selection Process:
The selection process can be defined as shortlisting the right
candidates with the required qualifications to fill the vacancies
in an organization. The process varies from company to
company hence need to be understood what type of process
suits accordingly. A well organised selection process of
personnel involves the following steps:
(i) Preliminary screening: It helps the manager to eliminate
unqualified or unfit job seekers, based on the information
supplied in the application forms.
(ii) Selection tests: An employment test is a mechanism (either
a paper and pencil test or exercise) that attempts to measure
certain characteristics of individuals. These characteristics
range from aptitudes, such as manual dexterity, to intelligence,
to personality, etc.
(iii) Employment interview: Interview is a formal, in-depth
conversation, conducted to evaluate the applicant's suitability
for the job. Through an interview, an interviewer seeks to
obtain maximum information about the interviewee and the
interviewee seeks information about the job and the company.
(iv) Reference and background checks: Many employers
request names, addresses and telephone numbers of
references for the purpose of verifying information and gaining
additional information of an applicant.
(v) Selection decision: The final decision has to be made from
among the candidates, who pass the tests, interviews and
reference checks.
(vi) Medical examination: After the selection decision and
before the job offer, the candidate is required to undergo a
medical fitness test. The job offer is given to the candidate,
who is physically and mentally fit for the job.
(vii) Job offer: The next step in the selection process is issuing
job offer to those applicants, who have passed all the previous
hurdles. It is made through a letter of appointment to confirm
his acceptance, and communicating to him the reporting date
and time.
(viii) Contract of employment: When a candidate accepts the
job offer, the contract of employment is made, which is in a
written form and includes 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, etc.
Recruitment vs. Selection:
Recruitment and selection are both famous terms related to
the hiring process. Recruitment is a process which entails
searching for candidates, and selection is a process of picking
the candidates from the shortlisted ones.
Difference between Recruitment and Selection:
Sr. Recruitment Selection
No.
1. A process of actively A process of choosing
searching and hiring suitable applicants from
applicants for a job role is the shortlisted
known as recruitment. candidates is known as
selection.
2. It is an activity to It is an activity to reduce
boost the candidate pool. the candidate pool until
we find the ideal
candidate.
3. It allows the This process allows the
candidates to apply for a HR to proceed further
vacant place. with suitable applicants,
and reject the remaining
4. In recruitment, we Selection is the process
advertise the job role and in which we finally
encourage the appoint the candidate for
candidates to apply. the particular job role.
5. It is the first step towards It is the second step
the hiring process. towards the hiring
process.
 6. This process is The process is
economical. comparatively expensive.
7. There is no contractual Selection involves a
relation in the contractual relation
recruitment process. between the organisation
and employee.

Performance Appraisal:
The term “performance appraisal” refers to the regular review
of an employee’s job performance and overall contribution to
a company. Also known as an annual review, employee
appraisal, performance review or evaluation, a performance
appraisal evaluates an employee’s skills, achievements, and
growth, or lack thereof.
The basic purpose of performance appraisal is to identify
employees worth and contribution to the company. Important
factors include – attendance, efficiency, attitude, quality of
work, amount of work are just a few important factors.
It helps the managers place the right employees for the right
jobs, depending on their skills. Often, employees are often
curious to know about their performance details and compare
it with their fellow colleagues and how they can improve upon
it. So, every company needs a good performance appraisal
system.