Staffing and human resource management

An organisation is only as good as its people. Staffing is the function of filling, and keeping filled, the positions in the organisation structure. It is a continuous process, because new jobs are created, and people leave, retire or are promoted.

Why staffing matters:

• it finds competent people for every job;
• it raises performance, by putting the right person in the right job;
• it ensures continuity of the firm, by preparing successors;
• it makes the best use of people, avoiding both overmanning (which wastes money) and shortages (which hold up work);
• it improves job satisfaction and morale, through fair pay and recognition.

Staffing is both a line function of every manager (each manager deals with his own team) and a staff role of the specialist human resource department. In small firms, managers do it themselves.

Human resource management (HRM) covers recruitment, job analysis, pay and incentives, training, labour relations, grievances, welfare, and legal matters. It grew in stages: first the labour welfare officer, then the personnel manager, and now the human resource manager.