1. Staffing: meaning, steps and importance
Staffing is the function of filling, and keeping filled, the positions in the organisation structure with suitable people. It deals with the human element and is a continuous function, because people retire, resign and are promoted.
Steps:
- Estimating manpower requirements — workload analysis (people needed) and workforce analysis (people available).
- Recruitment — getting suitable people to apply.
- Selection — choosing the most suitable.
- Placement and orientation — putting each person in a suitable job and introducing them to the firm.
- Training and development.
- Performance appraisal — judging work against standards.
- Promotion and career planning.
- Compensation — pay and other benefits.
Importance: obtains competent personnel; higher performance (right person, right job); continued survival and growth through succession planning; optimum use of human resources; job satisfaction and morale.
| Staffing means… | Imagined example: a scientific-instruments firm in Ambala |
|---|---|
| Finding how many people are needed | Ten lab technicians for a new line |
| Getting suitable people | Advertising, testing and interviewing |
| Placing and training them | Each technician trained on the firm's gauges |
| Keeping posts filled | Replacing those who retire or are promoted |
| Imagined action at a yarn mill in Bhilwara | Step of staffing |
|---|---|
| Works out how many spinners the new machines need | Estimating manpower needs |
| Advertises and invites spinners to apply | Recruitment |
| Tests and interviews applicants, then chooses | Selection |
| Shows newcomers the mill and the safety rules | Placement and orientation |
| Rates each spinner's output twice a year | Performance appraisal |
| Importance | In short |
|---|---|
| Obtains competent personnel | Finds capable people for each job |
| Higher performance | Right person in the right job |
| Survival and growth | Succession planning readies people for key posts |
| Optimum use of people | Avoids both shortages and idle staff |
| Job satisfaction and morale | Fair pay, training and promotion keep good people |
Key terms
- Staffing
Filling and keeping filled the posts with suitable people.
- Placement
Putting a selected person in the job for which he or she was chosen.
- Orientation
Introducing a new employee to the firm, the team and the rules.
2. Recruitment: internal and external sources
Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply. It is a positive process.
Internal sources: promotion (moving up to a higher post) and transfer (moving to another post or place at about the same level). Merits: quicker and cheaper; motivates staff; ability already known. Limits: no fresh talent; limited choice; not possible for a new firm; may cause jealousy.
External sources: direct recruitment; casual callers; advertisement; employment exchange; placement agencies and management consultants; campus recruitment; recommendations of employees; labour contractors; web publishing. Merits: fresh talent; wider choice; competitive spirit. Limits: costly and slow; may disappoint existing staff.
| Internal source | Meaning | Imagined example |
|---|---|---|
| Promotion | Moving up to a higher post, pay and status | A senior tester becomes quality supervisor |
| Transfer | Moving to another post or place at about the same level | A manager moves from one unit to another at the same pay |
| External source | Suits |
|---|---|
| Direct recruitment (notice at the gate) | Unskilled and casual jobs |
| Casual callers | Jobs filled from applications kept on file |
| Advertisement | Senior and skilled posts needing wide choice |
| Employment exchange | Clerical and skilled jobs |
| Placement agencies and consultants | Senior or rare specialists |
| Campus recruitment | Trainees for technical and managerial posts |
| Recommendations of employees | Posts where trust matters |
| Labour contractors | Unskilled workers, often short-term |
| Web publishing | Many kinds of jobs, through job portals |
| Basis | Internal sources | External sources |
|---|---|---|
| Speed and cost | Quicker and cheaper | Slower and costlier |
| Choice | Limited to existing staff | Wide choice |
| Fresh talent | None | Brings new ideas and skills |
| Effect on staff | Motivates through promotion | May disappoint those hoping for promotion |
| Post at an imagined port firm in Kakinada | Best source | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fifty loaders for one season | Labour contractors | Many unskilled workers, quickly |
| General manager for a new terminal | Advertisement or placement agency | Wide search for rare experience |
| Six trainee accountants | Campus recruitment | Trained graduates in one place |
| A supervisor who knows the firm | Promotion | Known ability; motivates staff |
Key terms
- Recruitment
Searching for prospective employees and encouraging them to apply.
- Promotion
Moving to a higher post with more pay and status.
- Transfer
Moving to another post or place at about the same level.
3. Selection: procedure; recruitment versus selection
Selection is choosing the most suitable candidates from among the applicants. It is a negative process, since most applicants are rejected.
Steps:
- Preliminary screening — weeding out clearly unsuitable applicants.
- Selection tests — intelligence, aptitude, personality, trade and interest tests.
- Employment interview — face-to-face assessment.
- Reference and background checks.
- Selection decision.
- Medical examination.
- Job offer.
- Contract of employment — terms signed by both sides.
Recruitment vs selection: recruitment attracts applicants and is positive and first; selection chooses among them, is negative and comes after; recruitment is simple, selection is longer and more complex.
| Test | What it measures | Imagined example |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence test | Reasoning, memory, number skill | Written reasoning test for trainees |
| Aptitude test | Potential to learn new skills | How fast school-leavers pick up machining |
| Personality test | Emotions, maturity, values | Questions on handling pressure |
| Trade test | Skill already possessed | Join two steel plates |
| Interest test | Likes and preferences for kinds of work | Machines, people or numbers? |
| Imagined action: a school in Shimla hires a bus driver | Step of selection |
|---|---|
| Rejects applicants without a heavy-vehicle licence | Preliminary screening |
| Asks shortlisted drivers to drive a set route | Selection test (trade test) |
| Principal and transport head meet each driver | Employment interview |
| Checks the best driver's record with past employers | Reference and background check |
| Checks his eyesight before appointing him | Medical examination |
| Basis | Recruitment | Selection |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Attract many suitable applicants | Choose the most suitable |
| Nature | Positive: widens the pool | Negative: rejects many |
| Order | Comes first | Comes after recruitment |
| Process | Simple: notices, portals, visits | Longer: tests, interviews, checks |
Key terms
- Selection
Choosing the most suitable candidates from the applicants.
- Aptitude test
Measures potential to learn new skills.
- Trade test
Measures skill already possessed.
4. Training and development
Training increases the knowledge and skills of employees for a specific job. Development aims at the overall growth of a person for future roles. Training is job-oriented and mainly for operative staff; development is career-oriented and mainly for managers.
Types of training: induction training; job instruction training; apprenticeship programmes; internship training.
On-the-job methods: apprenticeship, coaching, internship, job rotation. Off-the-job methods: classroom lectures, films, case studies, computer modelling, vestibule training, programmed instruction.
Benefits to the organisation: less waste, higher output, fewer accidents, lower turnover. Benefits to employees: better skills, higher earnings, career growth, more confidence and safety.
| Basis | Training | Development |
|---|---|---|
| Aim | Skills for a specific job | Overall growth of the person |
| Focus | Present job | Future roles |
| Who | Mainly operative staff | Mainly managers |
| Nature | Job-oriented | Career-oriented |
| Type of training | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Induction training | Introducing a new employee to the firm, people and rules |
| Job instruction training | Step-by-step teaching of how to do a job |
| Apprenticeship programme | Learning a trade for years under a master worker |
| Internship training | Joint programme with an institute: study plus practical work |
| On-the-job method | How it works |
|---|---|
| Apprenticeship | Learning under a master over a long period, with a stipend |
| Coaching | A superior guides a trainee daily, with goals and feedback |
| Internship | Students work at the firm as part of their course |
| Job rotation | Moving through different jobs to learn many tasks |
| Off-the-job method | How it works |
|---|---|
| Classroom lectures | Talks and presentations away from the workplace |
| Films | Showing how a task should be done |
| Case study | Analysing real situations and suggesting solutions |
| Computer modelling | Simulating the work on a computer |
| Vestibule training | Practice on copies of real equipment in a separate place |
| Programmed instruction | Learning in small steps, with immediate feedback |
| Training need at an imagined diesel-engine maker in Rajkot | Suitable method |
|---|---|
| New assemblers on costly testing rigs | Vestibule training |
| A junior engineer needing daily guidance | Coaching |
| Diploma students spending six months at the plant | Internship |
| Supervisors learning quality ideas from past failures | Case study |
Key terms
- Training
Building skills for a specific job.
- Development
Overall growth of a person for future roles.
- Vestibule training
Practice on copies of real equipment away from the workplace.
Exam tips
Common mistakes
- Listing advertisement or campus recruitment as internal sources (only promotion and transfer are internal).
- Mixing up aptitude (potential) and trade (existing skill) tests.
- Calling coaching or apprenticeship off-the-job methods.
- Writing the selection steps out of order, for example the interview before tests.
How marks are usually awarded
- 1 mark: the correct step, source, test or method.
- 2–3 marks: each point named, explained and linked to the case.
- 5 marks: steps in order with examples; sources or methods recommended with reasons.
- Case questions: quote the line, name the idea, explain the link.