Page 1
STAFFING
CHAPTER
“Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to
make sure that they come back the next morning” (as stated
by Narayana Murthy former, CEO of INFOSYS.)
At a time when organisations are debating the strategic
importance of their human resources, Infosys, a consulting and
software services organisation, includes its human resources
on its balance sheet to affirm their asset value. The rationale
for this is as follows: “The long term success of a company
is usually examined on certain financial and non-financial
parameters. Human resources are among these new non-
financial parameters that challenge the usefulness of evaluating
corporate success solely on traditional measures. Human
resources represent the collective expertise, innovation,
leadership, entrepreneurial and managerial skills endowed in
the employees of an organisation.”
As a knowledge intensive company, Infosys recognises
the value of its human assets in maintaining its competitive
position. It realises that these assets can easily walk away,
as competitors in India and abroad covet its IT talent.
Consequently, the challenge facing Infosys is how to attract,
retain and develop its human assets in a highly competitive
and dynamic environment?
Most of the current human resource practices at Infosys
result from the vision of the leaders and the culture that they
have created. Narayana Murthy, known for his leadership and
vision is the public image of Infosys. His leadership style is
humble and straight-forward, quite uncommon in the world
of Indian business. He believes in sharing wealth with his
employees and in leading by example. In a knowledge-based
business like Infosys, he sees the importance of consistency in
rhetoric and action in empowering employees. He is credited
with creating a culture of closeness and empowerment at
Infosys. His management style, rare among Indian business
leaders, is based on western management.
6
After studying this
chapter, you should be
able to:
n define staffing;
n establish its
relationship with
Human Resource
Management;
n state the need and
importance of staffing;
n describe the steps in
the staffing process;
n state the meaning
of recruitment and
selection;
n identify important
sources of
recruitment;
n describe the steps in
the selection process;
n appreciate the
need of training and
development; and
n explain various on the
job and off the job
methods of training.
Source: Sumita Raghuram, Fordham Graduate
School of Business
LEARNIN G
OBJECTIVES
Management of Human Resources at INFOSYS
Ch_06.indd 139 08-08-2022 10:06:10
Reprint 2024-25
Page 2
STAFFING
CHAPTER
“Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to
make sure that they come back the next morning” (as stated
by Narayana Murthy former, CEO of INFOSYS.)
At a time when organisations are debating the strategic
importance of their human resources, Infosys, a consulting and
software services organisation, includes its human resources
on its balance sheet to affirm their asset value. The rationale
for this is as follows: “The long term success of a company
is usually examined on certain financial and non-financial
parameters. Human resources are among these new non-
financial parameters that challenge the usefulness of evaluating
corporate success solely on traditional measures. Human
resources represent the collective expertise, innovation,
leadership, entrepreneurial and managerial skills endowed in
the employees of an organisation.”
As a knowledge intensive company, Infosys recognises
the value of its human assets in maintaining its competitive
position. It realises that these assets can easily walk away,
as competitors in India and abroad covet its IT talent.
Consequently, the challenge facing Infosys is how to attract,
retain and develop its human assets in a highly competitive
and dynamic environment?
Most of the current human resource practices at Infosys
result from the vision of the leaders and the culture that they
have created. Narayana Murthy, known for his leadership and
vision is the public image of Infosys. His leadership style is
humble and straight-forward, quite uncommon in the world
of Indian business. He believes in sharing wealth with his
employees and in leading by example. In a knowledge-based
business like Infosys, he sees the importance of consistency in
rhetoric and action in empowering employees. He is credited
with creating a culture of closeness and empowerment at
Infosys. His management style, rare among Indian business
leaders, is based on western management.
6
After studying this
chapter, you should be
able to:
n define staffing;
n establish its
relationship with
Human Resource
Management;
n state the need and
importance of staffing;
n describe the steps in
the staffing process;
n state the meaning
of recruitment and
selection;
n identify important
sources of
recruitment;
n describe the steps in
the selection process;
n appreciate the
need of training and
development; and
n explain various on the
job and off the job
methods of training.
Source: Sumita Raghuram, Fordham Graduate
School of Business
LEARNIN G
OBJECTIVES
Management of Human Resources at INFOSYS
Ch_06.indd 139 08-08-2022 10:06:10
Reprint 2024-25
140 Business Studies
Introduct Ion The foundation of any organisation is
the talented and hardworking people,
who are the principal assets of any
firm. It is an established fact that the
growth of an organisation requires
the continual infusion of quality
staff. Thus, adequate staffing or the
provision for appropriate human
resources is an essential requirement
for any organisation’s success. It is,
therefore, believed that an organisation
can achieve its objectives only when
it has the right persons in the right
positions.
Mean Ing 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. In
the simplest terms, staffing is ‘putting
people to jobs’. It begins with workforce
planning and includes different other
function like recruitment, selection,
training, development, promotion,
compensation and performance
appraisal of work force. In other
words, staffing is that part of the
process of management which is
concerned with obtaining, utilising
and maintaining a satisfactory and
satisfied work force. Today, staffing
may involve any combination of
employees including daily wagers,
consultants and contract employees.
Staffing recognises the importance
of every single person employed
by an organisation as it is the
individual worker, who is the ultimate
performer.
Staffing has been described as
the managerial function of filling
and keeping filled the positions in
the organisation structure. This is
achieved by, first of all, identifying
requirement of work force, followed
by recruitment, selection, placement,
promotion, appraisal and development
of personnel, to fill the roles designed
into the organisation structure.
In a new enterprise, the staffing
function follows the planning and
organising functions. After deciding
what is to be done, how it is to be done
and after creation of the organisation
structure, the management is in a
position to know the human resource
requirements of the enterprise at
different levels. 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 fulfill
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.
IMportance of Staff Ing In any organisation, there is a need
for people to perform work. The
staffing function of management
Ch_06.indd 140 08-08-2022 10:06:10
Reprint 2024-25
Page 3
STAFFING
CHAPTER
“Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to
make sure that they come back the next morning” (as stated
by Narayana Murthy former, CEO of INFOSYS.)
At a time when organisations are debating the strategic
importance of their human resources, Infosys, a consulting and
software services organisation, includes its human resources
on its balance sheet to affirm their asset value. The rationale
for this is as follows: “The long term success of a company
is usually examined on certain financial and non-financial
parameters. Human resources are among these new non-
financial parameters that challenge the usefulness of evaluating
corporate success solely on traditional measures. Human
resources represent the collective expertise, innovation,
leadership, entrepreneurial and managerial skills endowed in
the employees of an organisation.”
As a knowledge intensive company, Infosys recognises
the value of its human assets in maintaining its competitive
position. It realises that these assets can easily walk away,
as competitors in India and abroad covet its IT talent.
Consequently, the challenge facing Infosys is how to attract,
retain and develop its human assets in a highly competitive
and dynamic environment?
Most of the current human resource practices at Infosys
result from the vision of the leaders and the culture that they
have created. Narayana Murthy, known for his leadership and
vision is the public image of Infosys. His leadership style is
humble and straight-forward, quite uncommon in the world
of Indian business. He believes in sharing wealth with his
employees and in leading by example. In a knowledge-based
business like Infosys, he sees the importance of consistency in
rhetoric and action in empowering employees. He is credited
with creating a culture of closeness and empowerment at
Infosys. His management style, rare among Indian business
leaders, is based on western management.
6
After studying this
chapter, you should be
able to:
n define staffing;
n establish its
relationship with
Human Resource
Management;
n state the need and
importance of staffing;
n describe the steps in
the staffing process;
n state the meaning
of recruitment and
selection;
n identify important
sources of
recruitment;
n describe the steps in
the selection process;
n appreciate the
need of training and
development; and
n explain various on the
job and off the job
methods of training.
Source: Sumita Raghuram, Fordham Graduate
School of Business
LEARNIN G
OBJECTIVES
Management of Human Resources at INFOSYS
Ch_06.indd 139 08-08-2022 10:06:10
Reprint 2024-25
140 Business Studies
Introduct Ion The foundation of any organisation is
the talented and hardworking people,
who are the principal assets of any
firm. It is an established fact that the
growth of an organisation requires
the continual infusion of quality
staff. Thus, adequate staffing or the
provision for appropriate human
resources is an essential requirement
for any organisation’s success. It is,
therefore, believed that an organisation
can achieve its objectives only when
it has the right persons in the right
positions.
Mean Ing 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. In
the simplest terms, staffing is ‘putting
people to jobs’. It begins with workforce
planning and includes different other
function like recruitment, selection,
training, development, promotion,
compensation and performance
appraisal of work force. In other
words, staffing is that part of the
process of management which is
concerned with obtaining, utilising
and maintaining a satisfactory and
satisfied work force. Today, staffing
may involve any combination of
employees including daily wagers,
consultants and contract employees.
Staffing recognises the importance
of every single person employed
by an organisation as it is the
individual worker, who is the ultimate
performer.
Staffing has been described as
the managerial function of filling
and keeping filled the positions in
the organisation structure. This is
achieved by, first of all, identifying
requirement of work force, followed
by recruitment, selection, placement,
promotion, appraisal and development
of personnel, to fill the roles designed
into the organisation structure.
In a new enterprise, the staffing
function follows the planning and
organising functions. After deciding
what is to be done, how it is to be done
and after creation of the organisation
structure, the management is in a
position to know the human resource
requirements of the enterprise at
different levels. 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 fulfill
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.
IMportance of Staff Ing In any organisation, there is a need
for people to perform work. The
staffing function of management
Ch_06.indd 140 08-08-2022 10:06:10
Reprint 2024-25
Staffing 141
fulfills this requirement and finds
the right people for the right job.
Basically, staffing fills the positions as
shown in the organisation structure.
Human resources are the foundation
of any business. The right people
can help you take your business to
the top; the wrong people can break
your business. Hence, staffing is the
most fundamental and critical drive
of organisational performance. The
staffing function has assumed greater
importance these days because of
rapid advancement of technology,
increasing size of orga nisation and
complicated behaviour of human
beings. Human resources are the most
important asset of an organisation.
The ability of an organisation to
achieve its goal depends upon the
quality of its human resources.
Therefore, staffing is a very important
managerial function. No organisation
can be successful unless it can fill
and keep filled the various positions
provided for in the structure with the
right kind of people.
Proper staffing ensures the
following benefits to the organisation:
(i) helps in discovering and obtai
ning competent personnel for
various jobs;
(ii) makes for higher performance,
by putting right person on the
right job;
(iii) ensures the continuous survival
and growth of the enterprise
through the succession planning
for managers;
(iv) helps to ensure optimum utili
sation of the human resources.
By avoiding overmanning, it
prevents under utilisation of
personnel and high labour
costs. At the same time it avoids
disruption of work by indicating
in advance the shortages of
personnel; and
(v) improves job satisfaction and
morale of employees through
objective assessment and fair
reward for their contribution.
Staffing function must be performed
efficiently by all organisations. If right
kind of employees are not available,
it will lead to wastage of materials,
time, effort and energy, resulting in
lower productivity and poor quality
of products. The enterprise will not
be able to sell its products profitably.
It is, therefore, essential that right
kind of people must be available in
right number at the right time. They
should be given adequate training
so that wastage is minimum. They
must also be induced to show higher
productivity and quality by offering
them proper incentives.
Staffing as part of Human
Resource Management
It is a function which all managers
need to perform. It is a separate and
specialised function and there are
many aspects of human relations
to be considered. It is the job of
managers to fill positions in their
organisation and to make sure that
Ch_06.indd 141 08-08-2022 10:06:10
Reprint 2024-25
Page 4
STAFFING
CHAPTER
“Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to
make sure that they come back the next morning” (as stated
by Narayana Murthy former, CEO of INFOSYS.)
At a time when organisations are debating the strategic
importance of their human resources, Infosys, a consulting and
software services organisation, includes its human resources
on its balance sheet to affirm their asset value. The rationale
for this is as follows: “The long term success of a company
is usually examined on certain financial and non-financial
parameters. Human resources are among these new non-
financial parameters that challenge the usefulness of evaluating
corporate success solely on traditional measures. Human
resources represent the collective expertise, innovation,
leadership, entrepreneurial and managerial skills endowed in
the employees of an organisation.”
As a knowledge intensive company, Infosys recognises
the value of its human assets in maintaining its competitive
position. It realises that these assets can easily walk away,
as competitors in India and abroad covet its IT talent.
Consequently, the challenge facing Infosys is how to attract,
retain and develop its human assets in a highly competitive
and dynamic environment?
Most of the current human resource practices at Infosys
result from the vision of the leaders and the culture that they
have created. Narayana Murthy, known for his leadership and
vision is the public image of Infosys. His leadership style is
humble and straight-forward, quite uncommon in the world
of Indian business. He believes in sharing wealth with his
employees and in leading by example. In a knowledge-based
business like Infosys, he sees the importance of consistency in
rhetoric and action in empowering employees. He is credited
with creating a culture of closeness and empowerment at
Infosys. His management style, rare among Indian business
leaders, is based on western management.
6
After studying this
chapter, you should be
able to:
n define staffing;
n establish its
relationship with
Human Resource
Management;
n state the need and
importance of staffing;
n describe the steps in
the staffing process;
n state the meaning
of recruitment and
selection;
n identify important
sources of
recruitment;
n describe the steps in
the selection process;
n appreciate the
need of training and
development; and
n explain various on the
job and off the job
methods of training.
Source: Sumita Raghuram, Fordham Graduate
School of Business
LEARNIN G
OBJECTIVES
Management of Human Resources at INFOSYS
Ch_06.indd 139 08-08-2022 10:06:10
Reprint 2024-25
140 Business Studies
Introduct Ion The foundation of any organisation is
the talented and hardworking people,
who are the principal assets of any
firm. It is an established fact that the
growth of an organisation requires
the continual infusion of quality
staff. Thus, adequate staffing or the
provision for appropriate human
resources is an essential requirement
for any organisation’s success. It is,
therefore, believed that an organisation
can achieve its objectives only when
it has the right persons in the right
positions.
Mean Ing 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. In
the simplest terms, staffing is ‘putting
people to jobs’. It begins with workforce
planning and includes different other
function like recruitment, selection,
training, development, promotion,
compensation and performance
appraisal of work force. In other
words, staffing is that part of the
process of management which is
concerned with obtaining, utilising
and maintaining a satisfactory and
satisfied work force. Today, staffing
may involve any combination of
employees including daily wagers,
consultants and contract employees.
Staffing recognises the importance
of every single person employed
by an organisation as it is the
individual worker, who is the ultimate
performer.
Staffing has been described as
the managerial function of filling
and keeping filled the positions in
the organisation structure. This is
achieved by, first of all, identifying
requirement of work force, followed
by recruitment, selection, placement,
promotion, appraisal and development
of personnel, to fill the roles designed
into the organisation structure.
In a new enterprise, the staffing
function follows the planning and
organising functions. After deciding
what is to be done, how it is to be done
and after creation of the organisation
structure, the management is in a
position to know the human resource
requirements of the enterprise at
different levels. 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 fulfill
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.
IMportance of Staff Ing In any organisation, there is a need
for people to perform work. The
staffing function of management
Ch_06.indd 140 08-08-2022 10:06:10
Reprint 2024-25
Staffing 141
fulfills this requirement and finds
the right people for the right job.
Basically, staffing fills the positions as
shown in the organisation structure.
Human resources are the foundation
of any business. The right people
can help you take your business to
the top; the wrong people can break
your business. Hence, staffing is the
most fundamental and critical drive
of organisational performance. The
staffing function has assumed greater
importance these days because of
rapid advancement of technology,
increasing size of orga nisation and
complicated behaviour of human
beings. Human resources are the most
important asset of an organisation.
The ability of an organisation to
achieve its goal depends upon the
quality of its human resources.
Therefore, staffing is a very important
managerial function. No organisation
can be successful unless it can fill
and keep filled the various positions
provided for in the structure with the
right kind of people.
Proper staffing ensures the
following benefits to the organisation:
(i) helps in discovering and obtai
ning competent personnel for
various jobs;
(ii) makes for higher performance,
by putting right person on the
right job;
(iii) ensures the continuous survival
and growth of the enterprise
through the succession planning
for managers;
(iv) helps to ensure optimum utili
sation of the human resources.
By avoiding overmanning, it
prevents under utilisation of
personnel and high labour
costs. At the same time it avoids
disruption of work by indicating
in advance the shortages of
personnel; and
(v) improves job satisfaction and
morale of employees through
objective assessment and fair
reward for their contribution.
Staffing function must be performed
efficiently by all organisations. If right
kind of employees are not available,
it will lead to wastage of materials,
time, effort and energy, resulting in
lower productivity and poor quality
of products. The enterprise will not
be able to sell its products profitably.
It is, therefore, essential that right
kind of people must be available in
right number at the right time. They
should be given adequate training
so that wastage is minimum. They
must also be induced to show higher
productivity and quality by offering
them proper incentives.
Staffing as part of Human
Resource Management
It is a function which all managers
need to perform. It is a separate and
specialised function and there are
many aspects of human relations
to be considered. It is the job of
managers to fill positions in their
organisation and to make sure that
Ch_06.indd 141 08-08-2022 10:06:10
Reprint 2024-25
142 Business Studies
they remain occupied with qualified
people. Staffing is closely linked to
organising since after the structure
and positions have been decided,
people are required to work in these
positions. Subsequently, they need
to be trained and motivated to work
in harmony with the goals of the
organisation. Thus, staffing is seen as
a generic function of management.
The staffing function deals with
the human element of management.
Managing the human component of
an organisation is the most important
task because the performance of
an organisation depends upon how
well this function is performed.
The success of an organisation in
achieving its goals is determined to
a great extent on the competence,
motivation and performance of its
human resource.
It is the responsibility of all managers
to directly deal with and select people
to work for the organisation. When
the manager performs the staffing
function his role is slightly limited.
Some of these responsibilities will
include placing the right person
on the right job, introducing new
employees to the organisation,
training employees and improving
their performance, developing their
abilities, maintaining their morale and
protecting their health and physical
conditions. In small organisations,
managers may perform all duties
related to employees salaries, welfare
and working conditions.
But as organisations grow and
number of persons employed
increases, a separate department
called the human resource department
is formed which has specialists in
managing people. The management
of human resource is a specialised
area which requires the expertise of
many people. The number of human
resource specialists and size of this
department gives an indication of
the size of the business as well. For
a very large company, the Human
Resources Department itself will
contain specialists for each function
of this department.
Human Resource Management
includes many specialised activities
and duties which the human resource
perso nnel must perform. These duties
are:
n Recruitment, i.e., search for
qualified people
n Analysing jobs, collecting inform
ation about jobs to prepare job
descriptions.
n Developing compensation and
incentive plans.
n Training and development of
employees for efficient perfor mance and career growth.
n Maintaining labour relations and
union management relations.
n Handling grievances and
complaints.
n Providing for social security and
welfare of employees.
n Defending the company in law suits
and avoiding legal complications.
Ch_06.indd 142 08-08-2022 10:06:10
Reprint 2024-25
Page 5
STAFFING
CHAPTER
“Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to
make sure that they come back the next morning” (as stated
by Narayana Murthy former, CEO of INFOSYS.)
At a time when organisations are debating the strategic
importance of their human resources, Infosys, a consulting and
software services organisation, includes its human resources
on its balance sheet to affirm their asset value. The rationale
for this is as follows: “The long term success of a company
is usually examined on certain financial and non-financial
parameters. Human resources are among these new non-
financial parameters that challenge the usefulness of evaluating
corporate success solely on traditional measures. Human
resources represent the collective expertise, innovation,
leadership, entrepreneurial and managerial skills endowed in
the employees of an organisation.”
As a knowledge intensive company, Infosys recognises
the value of its human assets in maintaining its competitive
position. It realises that these assets can easily walk away,
as competitors in India and abroad covet its IT talent.
Consequently, the challenge facing Infosys is how to attract,
retain and develop its human assets in a highly competitive
and dynamic environment?
Most of the current human resource practices at Infosys
result from the vision of the leaders and the culture that they
have created. Narayana Murthy, known for his leadership and
vision is the public image of Infosys. His leadership style is
humble and straight-forward, quite uncommon in the world
of Indian business. He believes in sharing wealth with his
employees and in leading by example. In a knowledge-based
business like Infosys, he sees the importance of consistency in
rhetoric and action in empowering employees. He is credited
with creating a culture of closeness and empowerment at
Infosys. His management style, rare among Indian business
leaders, is based on western management.
6
After studying this
chapter, you should be
able to:
n define staffing;
n establish its
relationship with
Human Resource
Management;
n state the need and
importance of staffing;
n describe the steps in
the staffing process;
n state the meaning
of recruitment and
selection;
n identify important
sources of
recruitment;
n describe the steps in
the selection process;
n appreciate the
need of training and
development; and
n explain various on the
job and off the job
methods of training.
Source: Sumita Raghuram, Fordham Graduate
School of Business
LEARNIN G
OBJECTIVES
Management of Human Resources at INFOSYS
Ch_06.indd 139 08-08-2022 10:06:10
Reprint 2024-25
140 Business Studies
Introduct Ion The foundation of any organisation is
the talented and hardworking people,
who are the principal assets of any
firm. It is an established fact that the
growth of an organisation requires
the continual infusion of quality
staff. Thus, adequate staffing or the
provision for appropriate human
resources is an essential requirement
for any organisation’s success. It is,
therefore, believed that an organisation
can achieve its objectives only when
it has the right persons in the right
positions.
Mean Ing 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. In
the simplest terms, staffing is ‘putting
people to jobs’. It begins with workforce
planning and includes different other
function like recruitment, selection,
training, development, promotion,
compensation and performance
appraisal of work force. In other
words, staffing is that part of the
process of management which is
concerned with obtaining, utilising
and maintaining a satisfactory and
satisfied work force. Today, staffing
may involve any combination of
employees including daily wagers,
consultants and contract employees.
Staffing recognises the importance
of every single person employed
by an organisation as it is the
individual worker, who is the ultimate
performer.
Staffing has been described as
the managerial function of filling
and keeping filled the positions in
the organisation structure. This is
achieved by, first of all, identifying
requirement of work force, followed
by recruitment, selection, placement,
promotion, appraisal and development
of personnel, to fill the roles designed
into the organisation structure.
In a new enterprise, the staffing
function follows the planning and
organising functions. After deciding
what is to be done, how it is to be done
and after creation of the organisation
structure, the management is in a
position to know the human resource
requirements of the enterprise at
different levels. 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 fulfill
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.
IMportance of Staff Ing In any organisation, there is a need
for people to perform work. The
staffing function of management
Ch_06.indd 140 08-08-2022 10:06:10
Reprint 2024-25
Staffing 141
fulfills this requirement and finds
the right people for the right job.
Basically, staffing fills the positions as
shown in the organisation structure.
Human resources are the foundation
of any business. The right people
can help you take your business to
the top; the wrong people can break
your business. Hence, staffing is the
most fundamental and critical drive
of organisational performance. The
staffing function has assumed greater
importance these days because of
rapid advancement of technology,
increasing size of orga nisation and
complicated behaviour of human
beings. Human resources are the most
important asset of an organisation.
The ability of an organisation to
achieve its goal depends upon the
quality of its human resources.
Therefore, staffing is a very important
managerial function. No organisation
can be successful unless it can fill
and keep filled the various positions
provided for in the structure with the
right kind of people.
Proper staffing ensures the
following benefits to the organisation:
(i) helps in discovering and obtai
ning competent personnel for
various jobs;
(ii) makes for higher performance,
by putting right person on the
right job;
(iii) ensures the continuous survival
and growth of the enterprise
through the succession planning
for managers;
(iv) helps to ensure optimum utili
sation of the human resources.
By avoiding overmanning, it
prevents under utilisation of
personnel and high labour
costs. At the same time it avoids
disruption of work by indicating
in advance the shortages of
personnel; and
(v) improves job satisfaction and
morale of employees through
objective assessment and fair
reward for their contribution.
Staffing function must be performed
efficiently by all organisations. If right
kind of employees are not available,
it will lead to wastage of materials,
time, effort and energy, resulting in
lower productivity and poor quality
of products. The enterprise will not
be able to sell its products profitably.
It is, therefore, essential that right
kind of people must be available in
right number at the right time. They
should be given adequate training
so that wastage is minimum. They
must also be induced to show higher
productivity and quality by offering
them proper incentives.
Staffing as part of Human
Resource Management
It is a function which all managers
need to perform. It is a separate and
specialised function and there are
many aspects of human relations
to be considered. It is the job of
managers to fill positions in their
organisation and to make sure that
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142 Business Studies
they remain occupied with qualified
people. Staffing is closely linked to
organising since after the structure
and positions have been decided,
people are required to work in these
positions. Subsequently, they need
to be trained and motivated to work
in harmony with the goals of the
organisation. Thus, staffing is seen as
a generic function of management.
The staffing function deals with
the human element of management.
Managing the human component of
an organisation is the most important
task because the performance of
an organisation depends upon how
well this function is performed.
The success of an organisation in
achieving its goals is determined to
a great extent on the competence,
motivation and performance of its
human resource.
It is the responsibility of all managers
to directly deal with and select people
to work for the organisation. When
the manager performs the staffing
function his role is slightly limited.
Some of these responsibilities will
include placing the right person
on the right job, introducing new
employees to the organisation,
training employees and improving
their performance, developing their
abilities, maintaining their morale and
protecting their health and physical
conditions. In small organisations,
managers may perform all duties
related to employees salaries, welfare
and working conditions.
But as organisations grow and
number of persons employed
increases, a separate department
called the human resource department
is formed which has specialists in
managing people. The management
of human resource is a specialised
area which requires the expertise of
many people. The number of human
resource specialists and size of this
department gives an indication of
the size of the business as well. For
a very large company, the Human
Resources Department itself will
contain specialists for each function
of this department.
Human Resource Management
includes many specialised activities
and duties which the human resource
perso nnel must perform. These duties
are:
n Recruitment, i.e., search for
qualified people
n Analysing jobs, collecting inform
ation about jobs to prepare job
descriptions.
n Developing compensation and
incentive plans.
n Training and development of
employees for efficient perfor mance and career growth.
n Maintaining labour relations and
union management relations.
n Handling grievances and
complaints.
n Providing for social security and
welfare of employees.
n Defending the company in law suits
and avoiding legal complications.
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Staffing 143
e volut Ion of Hu Man
r e Source Manage Ment
Human resource management has
replaced the traditional concept of
labour welfare and personnel manag
ement. Human Resource Management
(HRM) in its present form has
evolved from a number of significant
interrelated developments, which
date back to the era of industrial
revolution. Emergence of trade union
movement led to the need of a person
who could act as an effective link
between the owners and workers.
Thus, the concept of labour welfare
officer came into being. His role was
limited to the bare minimum welfare
activities of employees. In fact, he was
looked down by both the workers and
the owners.
With the introduction of factory
system, thousands of persons began
to be employed under one roof. The job
of hiring people for the organisation
was given to one man, who later on
was assigned the responsibility of
recruitment, selection and placement
of personnel. This led to the
emergence of personnel officer in the
first place and personnel manager,
later on.
Human relations approach recog nises human factor as the most
important instrument of success in
an organisation. Fast changing tech
nological developments, however, nec essitated new skill development and
training of employees. People came to
be recognised as a valuable resource,
which can be further developed.
Increase in scope of the work led to
replacement of personnel manager
with human resource manager.
You may have observed that all
these aspects are concerned with
the human element in industry as
distinct from the mechanical side
of the enterprise. Thus, staffing is
an inherent part of human resource
management as it is the practice of
finding, evaluating and establishing
a working relationship with people,
for a purpose.
It is important to understand
that staffing is both a function of
management just like planning,
organising, directing, and controlling
as well as a distinct functional area
of management just as marketing
management and financial
management. Staffing, is therefore,
referred to as both a line as well
as a staff activity i.e., an essential
function of the manager as well as an
advisory role played by the Human
Resource Department.
Staff Ing p roce SS
As you are now aware, the prime
concern of the staffing function
in the management process
is the timely fulfillment of the
manpower requirements within an
organisation. These requirements
may arise in case of starting a new
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