Meaning and importance of staffing

The essentials

Staffing is the managerial function of filling and keeping filled the positions in the organisation structure. It involves finding the right person for the right job at the right time. Staffing is part of the broader field of human resource management (HRM), which deals with the acquisition, development, maintenance and use of people at work. Every manager performs staffing for his or her own team, while in large firms a separate HR department provides specialist help.

Key points

• Importance of staffing: helps in obtaining competent personnel, ensures higher performance by putting the right person on the right job, ensures continuous survival and growth through succession planning, helps in optimum use of human resources (avoiding overstaffing and understaffing), and improves job satisfaction and morale.
• Staffing is a pervasive function (all managers do it) and a continuous one (people retire, leave or are promoted).
• Staffing is both a line function (performed by every manager) and a staff function (supported by the HR department).
• HRM covers activities such as recruitment, job analysis, training, compensation, maintaining labour relations, handling grievances and providing social security and welfare.

Exam tips

• Succession planning means preparing people to take up higher posts in the future; it links to 'continuous survival and growth'.
• Overstaffing leads to underuse of people and higher costs; understaffing leads to disruption of work.

Common mistakes

• Thinking staffing is done only by the HR department. Every manager is responsible for staffing in his or her team.
• Treating staffing as a one-time activity done when a firm is started.