Staffing – Class 12 Business Studies Chapter 6 Notes & NCERT PDF

Introduction: Human Resources at Infosys

"Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to make sure that they come back the next morning." (Narayana Murthy, former CEO, Infosys)

Infosys even includes its human resources on its balance sheet to affirm their asset value. As a knowledge-intensive company, its challenge is to attract, retain and develop talent that competitors covet. The chapter's message: an organisation achieves its objectives only when it has the right persons in the right positions.

Meaning of Staffing

In the simplest terms, staffing is 'putting people to jobs'. It is the managerial function of filling and keeping filled the positions in the organisation structure. It begins with workforce planning and includes recruitment, selection, training, development, promotion, compensation and performance appraisal. In a new enterprise staffing follows planning and organising; in an existing enterprise it is continuous, because new jobs are created and people leave.

Importance of Staffing

Proper staffing:

Its importance has grown because of rapid advancement of technology, increasing size of organisations and complicated human behaviour.

Staffing as Part of Human Resource Management

Staffing is a generic function that every manager performs. In small firms the manager handles everything; as firms grow a separate Human Resource Department of specialists is formed. HRM duties include recruitment, job analysis and job descriptions, compensation and incentive plans, training and development, labour and union relations, handling grievances, social security and welfare, and defending the company in lawsuits.

Evolution of HRM: the trade union movement created the labour welfare officer; the factory system led to the personnel officer and later the personnel manager; the human relations approach and fast technological change led to the human resource manager. Staffing is therefore both a line activity (every manager's function) and a staff activity (advisory role of the HR department).

The Staffing Process

Steps 6-8 are added where the line manager performs all functions in small organisations.

Recruitment and Its Sources

Internal sources:

Merits of internal sources: motivates employees; simplifies selection since candidates are known; transfer trains employees for higher jobs and needs no induction; shifts surplus workforce; cheaper. Limitations: no fresh talent ('inbreeding'); employees may become lethargic with time-bound promotions; a new enterprise cannot use them; competition hampered; frequent transfers reduce productivity.

External sources: direct recruitment (notice board, on-the-spot selection of casual or 'badli' workers); casual callers; advertisement; employment exchange; placement agencies and management consultants; campus recruitment; recommendations of employees; labour contractors; advertising on television; web publishing.

Merits: qualified personnel, wider choice, fresh talent, competitive spirit. Limitations: dissatisfaction among existing staff, lengthy process, costly process.

Case: Employee referrals

Lenovo India rewarded employees who referred more women candidates. A LinkedIn study (India Recruiting Trends 2016) found nearly 55% of talent leaders see referral programmes as the top source of quality hires; Infosys built a portal where employees submit and track referrals.

Selection Process

Wrong decisions are costly: reject errors (rejecting someone who would have succeeded) and accept errors (hiring someone who performs poorly).

Training and Development

"If you wish to plan for a year, sow seeds; if you wish to plan for 10 years, plant trees; if you wish to plan for a lifetime, develop people."

Benefits to the organisation: systematic learning avoids trial-and-error waste; higher productivity and profits; equips future managers; raises morale, reduces absenteeism and turnover; helps respond to a fast-changing environment. Benefits to employees: better career, higher earnings, fewer accidents, more satisfaction.

On-the-job methods (learning while doing): apprenticeship, coaching, internship training, job rotation.

Off-the-job methods (learning before doing): classroom lectures/conferences, films, case study, computer modelling, vestibule training (actual work environment recreated away from the floor), programmed instruction.

Key-Facts Sheet

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Key Terms (Hindi)

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