8 Important Functions of Staffing

September 21, 2021 | Staffing Blog

No matter what type of business you’re in, every leader manages the same thing: people.

The process of staffing a company (and keeping it staffed) is a never-ending cycle with many moving parts. In order to understand the task of managing people, you must first understand the functions of staffing and how each step affects your organization and the employees that comprise it.

Manpower Planning

It may seem obvious, but the first step in staffing a business is figuring out what positions are required and the type of person best suited to each role. Poorly defined company structures lead to poorly defined job descriptions. No one wants to deal with an endless list of tasks that are “no one’s job.”

It’s crucial to take the time to understand your company’s needs before you start looking for candidates. While this is especially true of new businesses, this process will be ongoing for the life of the company as it evolves and changes to meet the needs of customers in a changing world.

Recruitment

Once your company’s or department’s staffing needs are well defined, it’s time to start the search for as many viable candidates as possible. This is often done through online postings, job fairs, staffing agencies, or word of mouth.

A carefully crafted job description and a comprehensive understanding of the education, experience, and temperament required for each position will go a long way toward finding good applicants.

Selection

Now that you have a pool of applicants to choose from, the selection process begins. This process usually involves going through the written applications and resumés of the candidates to find the ones that qualify, at least on paper.

Interviews are the natural next step, either on the phone or in person, and are usually conducted by the supervisor who will be in charge of the eventual selection. Be careful not to waste time with too many rounds of interviews. If the supervisor knows the position well and is skilled at managing people, they should be able to make the right decision.

How can you ensure you’re making a good hire? Learn more here.

Workforce Orientation

Once a new recruit is brought onboard, it’s vital that they be brought up to speed on company policies, workflows, and culture. Skipping this step can lead to a loss in production for the business and a sense of disorientation for the new employee.

Never forget how daunting it is to start a new position and meet dozens of new people all in one day. A well-planned onboarding process can smooth out this transition, leading to a happier employee and a more seamless integration into the company.

Training and Development

A good manager knows that employees are not cogs in a machine. It doesn’t benefit the company or the worker to assign them a job with no plans for further development.

Each position should have one or more options for additional training and skill development. The importance of employee morale in this regard can’t be overstated. People work harder and stay happier if they know they’re on the path to something better, even if they’re satisfied with their current job.

Performance Appraisal

Managers should know from the outset what metrics they’ll be using to determine if an employee is doing a good job. These valuable metrics should also be communicated to the employee upon hiring.

Creating and maintaining a clear set of standards for performance are crucial not only for official employee evaluations but also for the employee to have the opportunity to measure their own performance constantly.

Compensation

Unless you want to be running a training program for your competitors, you need to compensate your employees fairly by doing market research. This, of course, will vary depending on your location. While the ideal employee genuinely enjoys their job, all workers need to feel like the company values them and takes care of them.

Just as an employee’s job description should evolve to use their growing skills, so should their pay increase to reflect their value to the company. This should be on every manager’s mind and not just a formality during a yearly review.

Promotion

It’s a rare employee that wants to stay in one position forever. As you implement training programs and develop their skills, you should always keep an eye on the future. What career path seems right for this worker?

With promotion always in mind, you can avoid the dreaded problem of an overqualified, unhappy worker whose job has evolved into something you’ll have a hard time replacing. It’s much better to have those next steps in mind rather than expanding an employee’s training and job description into “job bloat.”

A Never-Ending Process

The process of staffing a company is continuous. Employees will come and go. Some will be promoted. The company’s needs will change over time, requiring new positions to be created and others to be removed. By remembering the nature of this ongoing process and partnering with a staffing agency like Allegiance Staffing, you’ll be able to alleviate ongoing stress and keep your workforce happy and moving forward.

Contact us today to get started! We’ll help you navigate and accomplish all of the functions of staffing and more to ensure you have an energetic, dependable workforce for your business.