Introduction: Staffing involves finding the right people, with the right skills, abilities, and fit, who

may be hired or already working for the company (organization) or may be working for competing companies. Staffing deals with a comprehensive term for all operative functions namely recruiting, placing, appraisal, rewarding, assessing, developing performed in HR management. "Staffing" can also refer to the industry and/or type of company that provides the functions described in the previous definition for a price. A staffing company may offer a variety of services, including temporary help, permanent placement, temporary-topermanent placement, long-term and contract help, managed services (often called outsourcing), training, human resources consulting, and PEO arrangements (Professional Employer Organization), in which a staffing firm assumes responsibility for payroll, benefits, and other human resource functions.

All Aspects of Staffing

The following aspects are listed roughly in the order of use. Workforce planning - - - Succession Planning Specifying Jobs and Roles - - - Job and Task Analysis - - - Job Descriptions - - - Specifying Competencies (desired capabilities -- also includes lists for various roles) Recruiting - - - Sourcing (identifying sources for job candidates) - - - Advertising for job openings - - - Online Recruiting Outsourcing (having services and functions performed by non-employees) - - - Consultants (Getting and Using) - - - - - Sample "Request for Proposal" (issued by organization seeking consultant) - - - - - Sample "Contract for Services" (agreement between organization and consultant) - - - Volunteer Programs - - - Temporary / Contingent Workers Screening Applicants - - - Interviewing Candidates - - - Background Checks - - - Testing Job Candidates Selecting (Hiring) New Employees - - - Job Offers New Employee Orientation Retaining Employees

Employee Staffing: Specifying Jobs, Roles and Competencies

Employee Task and Job Analysis
First, let's look at some terms. A job is a collection of tasks and responsibilities that an employee is responsible to conduct. Jobs have titles. A task is a typically defined as a unit of work, that is, a set of activities needed to produce some result, e.g., vacuuming a carpet, writing a memo, sorting the mail, etc. Complex positions in the organization may include a large number of tasks, which are sometimes referred to as functions. Job descriptions are lists of the general tasks, or functions, and responsibilities of a position. Typically, they also include to whom the position reports, specifications such as the qualifications needed by the person in the job, salary range for the position, etc. Job descriptions are usually developed by conducting a job analysis, which includes examining the tasks and sequences of tasks necessary to perform the job. The analysis looks at the areas of knowledge and skills needed by the job. Note that a role is the set of responsibilities or expected results associated with a job. A job usually includes several roles.

Employee Job Descriptions

Typically, job descriptions are used especially for advertising to fill an open position, determining compensation and as a basis for performance reviews. Not everyone believes that job descriptions are highly useful. Read Dr. John Sullivan's article listed at the end of the following links. He points out numerous concerns about job descriptions that many other people have as well, including, e.g., that too often job descriptions are not worded in a manner such that the employee's performance can be measured, they end up serving as the basis for evaulation rather than performance, etc. Read the following links to buid your own impression.

Specifying Job and Role Competencies

Typically, competencies are general descriptions of the abilities needed to perform a role in the organization. Competencies are described in terms such that they can be measured. It's useful to compare competencies to job descriptions. Job descriptions typically list the tasks or functions and responsibilities for a role, whereas competencies list the abilities needed to conduct those tasks or functions. Consequently, competencies are often used as a basis for training by converting competencies to learning objectives. See examples of competencies below. Compare them to job descriptions. As with job descriptions, there are those who have strong cautions about the use of competencies. See the last article, "Competency-Based Education and Training".

Recruiting: Finding Sources and Advertising to Find Suitable Job Candidates Advertising for Job Candidates
(just elaborate these points) Advertising Tips Monthly Tips for Recruiting Employees How to Use CareerWeb to Hire Great Employees Care When Advertising for Employees Advertising for Migrant Employees

Online Recruiting
The Internet has recently coined the phrase Internet speed to characterize the speed by which change takes place on the Internet. This change can be evidenced in Internet websites - whether it be in existing websites that are continuously updated daily, some even hourly or more or in the countless new websites that are launched every day. Websites are refreshed and modernized on an ongoing basis to maintain viewer interest. New Internet technology and software are launched so fast that companies find it difficult to find employees to fill positions requiring experience with this technology. These are the type of employees that companies must work extra hard in being able to find quickly. The Internet has increased the speed by which job ads can be posted for job seekers. It is now possible to post a job ad which can be displayed to thousands of job seekers within minutes. Looking through ads is facilitated by key word searches that enable job seekers to find the job ads that are of interest to them, rather than having to wade through pages of job ads in the newspaper. Traditional methods have required for a job ad to be carefully prepared and formated, keeping in mind that it should be short and to the point because of cost considerations. This has required for companies to prepare job descriptions that are described in brief. The result of short job descriptions can be catastrophic for HR Managers, because such ads often attract the wrong type of candidates. An inappropriate job ad can result either in a flood of resumes from unqualified candidates or in a complete lack of CVs. Either outcome requires additional work from the HR Manager.

Outsourcing Services to Non-Employees

Consultants -- Getting Consultants, Doing Consulting
Understanding Consultants and Consulting Doing Consulting (professionalism, field of Organization Development) Hiring Consultants Requests for Proposals, Proposals and Contracts Additional Information for Nonprofits General Resources

Developing and Managing Volunteer Programs

"Managing Volunteer Programs" for the organization and its volunteers to benefit the most from each other, volunteers should be managed as part of an overall, systematic program, somewhat similar to the systematic approach that should be used to managing employees. Certainly there are differences between how employees and volunteers are managed, but the differences are probably much less than most people realize. Considerations in Establishing or Modifying Volunteer Management Systems Online Tutorial About Volunteer Management Programs Role of Volunteer Managers Staffing Analysis (Deciding Whether Volunteers Are Needed) Legal and Risk Considerations Policies and Procedures Volunteer Job/Task Descriptions Volunteer Recruitment Screening Volunteers Selecting ("Hiring") Volunteers Orienting and Training Volunteers Supervising (delegating, evaluating, addressing issues, rewarding, etc.) Volunteer and Staff Relations Assessing Your Volunteer Management Practices

Temporary / Contingent Workers

Contingent Workers - Human Resources - 02/04/98 Court TV's Legal Cafe: Freelancers and Temps (Background) Selecting a temporary service Temp Workers As Use of Temp Workers Increased, So Do Challenges for Employers

Screening Job Applicants

Interviewing Job Candidates

Interview Network - Interview Question Bank The Interviewing Process - Human Resources - 07/28/97 Basics of Interviewing Job Candidates Guide to Effective Interviewing

Conducting Background Checks Testing Job Candidates

Selecting from Among Job Applicants (Hiring)

Various Perspectives Hiring Without the Guesswork (gives broad overview of staffing) Personnel Selection: Overview The New Science of Selecting Employees (part one) - classic article from The Chally Group This Is a Test Gately Consulting Guide To Salary / Compensation And Human Resource / Personnel Sites Hire Great People Fast Hire for Attitude, Train for Skill Zero Defect Hiring Giving Job Offers Testing Job Candidates Extensive range of online articles from HR-guide Testing Job Candidates: Handle With Care Putting Job Candidates to the Test When It Comes to Job Candidates, It's Quantity, Not Quality, That Counts Does "Behavioral Interviewing" of Job Candidates Really Work?

Orienting New Employees

A Quick Guide To Employee Orientation

Retaining Employees
Creative Ideas for Retaining Employees Motivating and Retaining Employees Retaining Employees in a Competitive Work