ORGANIZATION STAFFING: CONCEPT,

NATURE AND IMPORTANCE

A number of factors contribute towards the success of an enterprise. These factors
include capital, equipment, and manpower. While these factors are important, the
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human factor is the most significant one, since it is the people who have to use all
other resources. Without the productive efforts of its workers, the materials and
resources would be of no use. Also if the people who are in charge of these
resources are not sufficiently qualified, then the utilization of these resources would
not be optimum. Accordingly, the staffing function of management is a very significant
one, especially in light of continuous and dynamic developments in the field of
technology, increase in the size of organizations due to expansion, acquisitions,
and mergers and due to changes in the social structure which makes the group
behaviour of the workers more complicated.
Staffing is the traditional management function of attraction and selection of
the best people and putting them on jobs where their talents and skills can be best
utilized, and retention of these people through incentives, job training and job
enrichment programmes, in order to achieve both individual and organizational
objectives. This emphasizes managing human and not material or financial
resources. This function is becoming extremely specialized due to the unique
importance and complexity of human nature and its ever-changing psychology,
behaviour and attitudes. Briefly staffing is important because of the following points:
 Maximum and efficient utilization of resources
 Reduces cost of production
 For job satisfaction
 For meeting present and future needs of employee
 For maintaining co-ordination among the employees
The staffing function is generally handled by the personnel department where
the personnel management is concerned with ‘planning, organizing, directing, and
controlling of the procurement, development, compensation and integration of
people into the system for the purpose of contributing to organizational, individual
and social goals.’
Characteristics of a sound personnel policy programme
1. The policy statement should be clear and easily understood so that what
it proposes to achieve is evident.
2. It should be formulated after careful consideration, discussion and review
and preserved in writing in order to provide a definitive meaning to policies
and procedures.
3. It should be reasonably stable, continuously monitored and periodically
reviewed and revised so as to adjust to the changing social, legal and
technical environment and the changing constitution of the work force.
4. It must be consistent with the missions and general goals of the
organization without violating the individual goals and objectives so that
due regard is given to all concerned parties—the employers, the
employees, the government and the community.
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5. The policies should have the full support of all employees and be
preferably evolved after full consultations with the trade unions so that
the interests of the union members are inherently protected.
6. It should provide for a two-way communication so that the employees
are informed of any developments in the organization and the
management gets the necessary feedback.
7. It must make a measurable impact on the process of recruitment,
retention and retirement which can be evaluated and qualified.