Staffing Process - Steps involved in Staffing

Manpower requirements- The very first step in staffing is to plan the manpower inventory required by a concern in order to match them with the job requirements and demands. Therefore, it involves forecasting and determining the future manpower needs of the concern

Recruitment- Once the requirements are notified, the concern invites and solicits applications according to the invitations made to the desirable candidates.

Selection- This is the screening step of staffing in which the solicited applications are screened out and suitable candidates are appointed as per the requirements.

Orientation and Placement- Once screening takes place, the appointed candidates are made familiar to the work units and work environment through the orientation programmes. Placement takes place by putting right man on the right job.

Training and Development- Training is a part of incentives given to the workers in order to develop and grow them within the concern. Training is generally given according to the nature of activities and scope of expansion in it. Along with it, the workers are developed by providing them extra benefits of in depth knowledge of their functional areas. Development also includes giving them key and important jobs as a test or examination in order to analyse their performances.

Remuneration- It is a kind of compensation provided monetarily to the employees for their work performances. This is given according to the nature of job- skilled or unskilled, physical or mental, etc. Remuneration forms an important monetary incentive for the employees.

Performance Evaluation- In order to keep a track or record of the behaviour, attitudes as well as opinions of the workers towards their jobs. For this regular assessment is done to evaluate and supervise different work units in a concern. It is basically concerning to know the development cycle and growth patterns of the employees in a concern.

Promotion and transfer- Promotion is said to be a non- monetary incentive in which the worker is shifted from a higher job demanding bigger responsibilities as well as shifting the workers and transferring them to different work units and branches of the same organization.

Nature of Staffing Function

Staffing is an important managerial function- Staffing function is the most important managerial act along with planning, organizing, directing

and controlling. The operations of these four functions depend upon the manpower which is available through staffing function.

Staffing is a pervasive activity- As staffing function is carried out by all mangers and in all types of concerns where business activities are carried out.

Staffing is a continuous activity- This is because staffing function continues throughout the life of an organization due to the transfers and promotions that take place.

The basis of staffing function is efficient management of personnel’s- Human resources can be efficiently managed by a system or proper procedure, that is, recruitment, selection, placement, training and development, providing remuneration, etc.

Staffing helps in placing right men at the right job. It can be done effectively through proper recruitment procedures and then finally selecting the most suitable candidate as per the job requirements.

Staffing is performed by all managers depending upon the nature of business, size of the company, qualifications and skills of managers, etc. In small companies, the top management generally performs this function. In medium and small scale enterprise, it is performed especially by the personnel department of that concern.

CHARACTERISTICS OF STAFFING

•Staffing is a universal function. It is the responsibility of every management. •Staffing is a dynamic function •Staffing cannot be entrusted fully to personnel department or any other service department. •Staffing helps in the accomplishment of organizational goals through team spirit and optimum contribution from every employee. •Staffing is concerned with the management of managers •Staffing is a difficult function with extraordinary problems of social, philosophical and psychological in nature.

Orientation Programs: Once employees are selected, they must be prepared to do their jobs, which is when orientation and training come in. Orientation means providing new employees with basic information about the employer. Training programs are used to ensure that the new employee has the basic knowledge required to perform the job satisfactorily.

Employee Orientation Programmes :- Employee orientation programmes are given to new employees at a place of business or work.

It helps employees to speed up and learn the “ground rules” of the company. This often reduces start-up time, training, and other indirect costs associated with having new employees who are unfamiliar with the company culture. Orientation programmes are aimed at reducing the “new employee stress” factor. The employee orientation programme offers the business its best chance in shaping an employee's skills / work practices and imbibing its corporate philosophy onto the mind of the new employee, because a new hire comes with an open mind to learn and create a good impression. The programmes can last from several hours to several days. The process of new employee orientation strengthens the new employee’s relationship with the organisation. It fuels their enthusiasm and guides their steps into a long term positive relationship with the organisation. Effective orientation programmes – where new employees are introduced to the company's mission, vision and goals begin to feel they are a vital part of the team – are key to sparking early productivity and improving employee retention. "In today's labour market, new employees know they can quit and start somewhere else tomorrow," says Mel Kleiman, author of Hire Tough, Manage Easy – How to Find and Hire the Best Hourly Employees. Done poorly, the new employee orientation will leave the new employees wondering why on earth they walked through your door. "Orientation should be geared toward reinforcing new employees' 'buying decisions’. The focus must be on convincing them that they made the right choice when they signed on." Good employee orientation programmes:

Make a good first impression.

Make new employees feel welcome and valued as key players on the team.

Explain the mission/ purpose of the company and the job so that employees can see the big picture.

Assure them they will be carefully and patiently trained – not thrown in to "sink or swim”.

Familiarise employees with rules, policies and procedures.

Help employees adapt to their new surroundings, as well as learn who all the players are and how they work together.

Establish friendly relationships among co-workers and managers.

Ensure new employees have all the information and tools they need to do their jobs.

Motivate employees to succeed as an integral part of the team.

Develop the long-term commitment you want from every member of your workforce.

Tell them what's in it for them – in sum, reinforce their "buying decision”.

Reduces the stress factor and helps in establishing a positive, can-do attitude at the beginning of a new employment situation. Without a well-planned orientation programme, new employees will end up confused. The employer's lack of direction and disorganised approach rapidly diminishes the employee's commitment to the company. Many new hires question their decision to change companies by the end of their first day. Their anxieties are fuelled by mistakes that companies often make during that first day when new employees attend the orientation programme.

The common mistakes include:

Overwhelming the new hire with facts, figures, names and faces packed into one eight-hour day;

Showing boring orientation videos;

Providing lengthy front-of-the-room lectures; and

Failing to prepare for the new hire; providing no phone, no e-mail, no computer, and no work. Before you completely revamp your present new employee orientation process, ask yourself the following question: "What do we want to achieve during new employee orientation? What first impression do we want to make in front of the employees?" There is no doubt that a company’s positive first impressions can cement the relationship for a newly recruited employee.