Staffing

Staffing is the managerial function of filling and keeping filled the positions in the organisation structure with the right people, and it is often called the human resource function of management. In this chapter you will learn its importance in obtaining competent personnel, ensuring higher performance, continuous survival and growth, optimum utilisation of human resources and improving job satisfaction and morale. You will study staffing as a part of human resource management and the steps of the staffing process: estimating manpower requirements through workload analysis and workforce analysis, recruitment, selection, placement and orientation, training and development, performance appraisal, promotion and career planning, and compensation. The chapter then explains internal sources of recruitment (transfers and promotions) and external sources such as direct recruitment, casual callers, advertisement, employment exchanges, placement agencies, campus recruitment, recommendations, labour contractors and web publishing. You will follow the steps of the selection process, from preliminary screening and selection tests to the contract of employment, and distinguish training, development and education, along with on-the-job methods like apprenticeship and internship, and off-the-job methods like vestibule training.

Detailed Worksheet: Staffing Section A - Definitions (10 marks) 1. Define staffing. Why is it called a pervasive and continuous function? (2 marks) 2. Distinguish between workload analysis and workforce analysis. (2 marks) 3. Distinguish between recruitment and selection. Why is recruitment called a positive process and selection a negative process? (2 marks) 4. Distinguish between training and development. (2 marks) 5. What is vestibule training? When is it used? (2 marks) Section B - Calculations and Applications (15 marks) 6. A factory must produce 7,200 units a day. Workload analysis shows that one worker can produce 120 units a day. Calculate the number of workers required. If the factory has 52 workers and expects an absenteeism rate of 10% of the required number, calculate the number of additional workers to be recruited. (3 marks) 7. A company advertised 20 vacancies and received 1,600 applications. After preliminary screening, 25% were shortlisted for tests; 40% of those passed the tests and were interviewed; and 20 were finally selected. Calculate the number shortlisted, the number interviewed, and the selection ratio (selected divided by applications) as a percentage. (3 marks) 8. A company spent Rs 6 lakh on a training programme for 50 employees. After training, average output per employee rose from 40 units to 46 units a day, with a contribution of Rs 20 per unit. Calculate the increase in daily contribution for all trained employees, and the number of working days needed to recover the training cost. (3 marks) 9. Identify the source of recruitment in each case: (i) a manager is shifted from Delhi to Mumbai branch at the same level (ii) a supervisor is made production manager (iii) a firm hires final-year students from an engineering college (iv) a firm keeps applications submitted by job seekers at its gate (v) a firm advertises on its website and LinkedIn (vi) a contractor supplies unskilled workers for a construction site. (3 marks) 10. Identify the type of selection test in each case: (i) a test of the candidate's ability to learn new skills (ii) a test of emotions, maturity and value system (iii) a test of typing speed (iv) a test of level of intelligence and reasoning (v) a test of the candidate's pattern of interests (vi) state which test measures existing knowledge and proficiency. (3 marks) Section C - Diagrams (10 marks) 11. Draw a flowchart showing the steps of the staffing process, from estimating manpower requirements to compensation. (4 marks) 12. Draw a flowchart showing the steps of the selection process, from preliminary screening to the contract of employment. (3 marks) 13. Draw a chart classifying methods of training into on-the-job and off-the-job methods, with three examples of each. (3 marks) Section D - Analysis and Higher-order Thinking (15 marks) 14. Compare internal and external sources of recruitment, giving three merits and two limitations of each. Analyse which source a fast-growing technology start-up should prefer for senior technical positions and why. (5 marks) 15. Explain the benefits of training to the organisation and to the employees. Analyse why a bank introducing a new digital banking platform should train its existing staff rather than replace them. (5 marks) 16. A company selected a candidate without checking references and conducting a medical examination. The employee was later found to have misrepresented his experience. Evaluate the selection process followed, identify the steps skipped, and explain their importance. (5 marks) Instructions: Time allowed 2 hours. Attempt all sections. Quote relevant lines from cases while identifying concepts, and show calculations clearly.