Staffing in management consists of:

1. Selecting the right person for the right post.

2. Training and development.
3. Giving proper remuneration and motivation.
4. Performance appraisal of employees.
5. Proper promotions, transfers, etc.

Nature of Staffing Function

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. The basis of staffing function is efficient management of personnel- Human resources can be
efficiently managed by a system or proper procedure, that is, recruitment, selection, placement,
training and development, providing remuneration, etc.
5. 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.
6. 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.
Factors Affecting Staffing

The internal factors affecting staffing:

Promotion policy: Staffing is affected by the promotion policy of the organisation. If the organisation
has a good promotion policy with prospects to career growth and development, only then efficient people
will be attracted to the organisation. Internal promotions are better for lower and middle-level jobs. This
is because it increases the morale and motivation of the staff. However, for top level jobs, the ‘RIGHT’
person must be selected. The right person may be from within the organisation, or he / she may be
selected from outside.

Future growth plans : Staffing is also affected by the future growth plans of the organisation. If the
organization wants to grow and expand then it will need many talented people. In order to grow and
expand, the organization must select experts and give them continuous training and development.

Technology used: Staffing is also affected by the technology used by the organisation. If the organization
uses modern technologies then it must have a continuous training program to update the technical
knowledge of their staff.

Support from top management: Staffing is also affected by the support from Top Management. If the
top management gives full support to it then the organization can have scientific selection procedures,
scientific promotion and transfer policies, continuous training programs, career development programs,
etc.

Image of organization: Staffing is also affected by the image of the organization in the job market. If it
has a good image then staffing will attract the best employees and managers. An organization earns a
good image only if it maintains good staffing policies and practices. This includes job security, training
and development, promotion, good working environment, work culture, etc.

The external factors affecting staffing:

Labor laws : Labor Laws of the government also affect the staffing policy of the organization. For e.g.
The organisation has to support ‘Social equality and upliftment’ policies of the government by giving job
reservations to candidates coming from depressed classes like scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes
(ST), other backward classes (OBC), etc., and even to those who are physically handicapped (PH). It is
mandatory for an organisation not to recruit children in their workforce and stop child labor. The
provisions of ‘Minimum Wages Act’ guide an organisation to fix minimum salaries of employees and
stop their economic exploitation.

Pressure from socio-political groups : Staffing is also affected by activities of socio-political groups and
parties. These groups and parties put pressure on the organisation to grant jobs only to local people. The
concept of ‘Sons of Soil’ is becoming popular in India.

Competition: In India, there is a huge demand for highly qualified and experienced staff. This has
resulted in competition between different organisations to attract and hire efficient staff. Organisations
often change their staffing policies, offer attractive salaries and other job benefits in order to add the best
minds in their workforce.

Educational standards: Staffing is also affected by the educational standards of an area. If the
educational standard of a place is very high then the organization will only select qualified and
experienced staff for all job positions. For e.g. Some I.T. companies in India, only prefer skilled
candidates with computer or I.T. Engineering degree for the post of Software Developer.

Other external factors: Staffing is also affected by other external factors such as trade unions, social
attitude towards work, etc.

Staffing Process - Steps involved in Staffing

1. 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.
2. Recruitment- Once the requirements are notified, the concern invites and solicits applications
according to the invitations made to the desirable candidates.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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 indepth knowledge of their functional areas. Development also includes
 giving them key and important jobs as a test or examination in order to analyze their
performances.
6. 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.
7. Performance Evaluation- In order to keep a track or record of the behavior, 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.
8. 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.