Chapter Staffing (essential of management)

Staffing is the management function of recruiting, selecting, training, developing, assigning, evaluating, and retaining employees so that the organisation has the right people in the right jobs at the right time.

  Essential Of Management   Jul 3, 2026   0   139  Add to Reading List
Chapter Staffing (essential of management)

Staffing is the managerial function of recruitment, selection, training, developing, promotion and compensation of personel.

Staffing may be defined as the process f hiring and developing the required personnel to fill in the various position in the organisation. It involves estimating the number and type of personnel required, recruiting and developing them, maintaing and improving their competence and performance.

Definition

According to Koontz and Donnell

  • "The managerial function of staffing manuring the organisational structure through proper and effective selection , appraisal and development personnel to fill the roles designed into the structure."
  • Staffing is defined as, "filling and keeping filled, positions in the organisational structure. This is done by identifying work-force requirements, inventorying the people available, recruiting, selecting, placing, promotion, appraising, planning the careers, compensating , training, developing existing staff or new recruits, so that they can accomplish their tasks effectively and efficiently.

Importance

  1. Staffing helps in discovering and obtaining competent and personnel for various jobs.
  2. It helps to improve the quantity and quality of the output by putting the right person on the right job.
  3. It helps to improve job satisfaction of employees.
  4. It facilitates higher productive performance by appointing right man for right job.
  5. It reduces the cost of personnel by avoiding wasy=tage of human resources.
  6. It facilitates growth and diversification of business.

Recruitment and Selection

Recruiting involves attracting candidates to fill the position in the organisation structure. Before recruiting, the requirement of positions must cleared identified. It makes easier to recruit the candidates from the outside. Enterprise with a favourable public image find it easier to attract qualified candidater.

  • Definitions –
    1. Mc Fariand, “The term recruitment applies to the process of attracting potential
    employees of the company.”
    2. Flippo, “Recruitment is the process of searching prospective employees and
    stimulating them to apply for the jobs in the organization.”

Need of recruitment

The need of recruitment may arise due to following situations:

  1. Vacancies due to transfer, promotion, retirement, permanent disability or death of worker.
  2. Creation of vacancies due to expansion, diversification or growth.


Methods of Recruitment: How to Attract Them

While sources dictate where the candidates are, methods are the actual techniques used to connect with them.

  • Direct Methods: The company's HR representatives engage directly with candidates.

    • Examples: Attending college job fairs, hosting open-house hiring events, or sending HR personnel to professional conferences.

  • Indirect Methods: The company broadcasts its need to a wide audience and waits for applicants to respond.

    • Examples: Posting ads in newspapers, running targeted LinkedIn ad campaigns, or posting on the company’s career page.

  • Third-Party Methods: The company outsources the initial search and screening process to an external entity.

    • Examples: Hiring a retained executive search firm (headhunters) for a CEO position, or using a staffing agency to find temporary seasonal workers.


Sources of Recruitment: Where to Look

Recruitment sources are generally divided into two categories: Internal (inside the company) and External (outside the company).

Source Type Definition Common Examples Best Used For
Internal Sourcing candidates from your existing workforce. Promotions, lateral transfers, employee referrals, former employees. Leadership succession, boosting team morale, and reducing onboarding time.
External Sourcing candidates from the open labor market. Job portals, campus placements, social media, recruitment agencies. Injecting fresh perspectives, acquiring new technical skills, and scaling up quickly.

Key Internal Sources

  • Promotions: Upgrading an employee to a higher position, carrying higher status and pay.

  • Transfers: Moving an employee from one department or branch to another without significantly changing their role or pay grade.

  • Employee Referrals: Current employees recommend people from their professional networks for open positions.

Key External Sources

  • Digital Platforms: Job boards (Indeed, Glassdoor) and professional networks (LinkedIn).

  • Campus Placements: Partnering with universities to hire fresh graduates.

  • Employment Agencies: Using specialized firms to find temporary, contract, or full-time staff.

  • Walk-ins (Direct Recruitment): Placing a notice on the enterprise’s notice board or website for immediate, often entry-level hiring.


Management Example: Putting It All Together

To see how these concepts work in the real world, let’s look at a hypothetical management scenario.