Importance of Staffing

Why Staffing Matters

Every organisation needs people to do work. Staffing is the function that finds the right people for the right job — it fills the positions shown in the organisation structure. Human resources are the foundation of any business. The right people can take a business to the top; the wrong people can break it. That is why staffing is described as the most fundamental and critical driver of organisational performance.

Its importance has grown even more in recent times because of three factors: rapid advancement of technology, the increasing size of organisations, and the complicated behaviour of human beings. Human resources are the most important asset of an organisation. The ability of an organisation to achieve its goals depends directly on the quality of its human resources. No organisation can be successful unless it can fill — and keep filled — the various positions in its structure with the right kind of people.

Benefits of Proper Staffing

Proper staffing delivers five clear benefits to an organisation:

1. Discovery and acquisition of competent personnel — it helps find and obtain the right people for various jobs.
2. Higher performance — by putting the right person on the right job, productivity and quality improve.
3. Continuous survival and growth — through succession planning for managers, the enterprise ensures it has future leaders ready.
4. Optimum utilisation of 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 any shortages of personnel.
5. Improved job satisfaction and morale — objective assessment and fair reward for contributions keep employees motivated.

What Happens Without Proper Staffing

If the right kind of employees are not available, it leads to wastage of materials, time, effort and energy. This results in lower productivity and poor quality of products. The enterprise will not be able to sell its products profitably. Therefore, it is essential that the right kind of people are available in the right number at the right time. They must be given adequate training so that wastage is minimum. They must also be induced to show higher productivity and quality through proper incentives.

Staffing as Part of Human Resource Management

Staffing is a function that all managers need to perform. It is a separate and specialised function with many aspects of human relations to be considered. It is the job of managers to fill positions in their organisation and to make sure those positions remain occupied with qualified people.

Staffing is closely linked to organising. After the structure and positions have been decided, people are required to work in those 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 — every manager, regardless of department, performs it.

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 on how well this function is performed. The success of an organisation in achieving its goals is determined to a great extent by the competence, motivation and performance of its human resource.

The Manager's Role in Staffing

When a manager performs the staffing function, his role is slightly limited compared to a specialist. His responsibilities 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
• 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 the number of employees increases, a separate department called the Human Resource Department is formed. This department has specialists in managing people.

The Human Resource Department …