Lesson 5.

1
Nature of Staf f i ng
Contents
Introduction 1
Learning Objectives 2
Let’s Connect 2
Discover 4
Job Analysis 5
Recruitment and Selection 5
Training and Development 7
Employee Training vs. Employee Development 7
The Need for Employee Training 7
Management Employee Development Approaches 8
Performance Evaluation/Appraisal 8
Methods of Employee Evaluation 9
Compensation/Wages 9
Bases of Compensation 10
Employee Benefits 10
Employee Relations 11
Types of Employees 11
Importance of Employee Relations 12
Barriers to Employee Relations 12
Overcoming Barriers 12
Employee Movement 13
Promotion 13
Employee Transfer 14
Demotion 14
Separation and Termination 14
Rewards Systems 16
Types of Rewards 16
Wrap-Up 18
Try This! 19
Challenge Yourself 20
Bibliography 23
 Introduction
As an organization carries out its plans, it goes from answering the question “What should we do?”
to “What needs to be done?”. Once the answers to those questions are established, managers then
have to answer the question, “Who’s going to do each job?”. This can be answered by one of the
functions of management called staffing. Staffing is the process of filling the job positions needed by
the organization in order to achieve its goals and objectives. But what makes staffing so important?

To grow, thrive, and succeed in today’s competitive environment, companies must deal with diverse
changes. Traditionally, the concept of value has been considered a function of finance, accounting,
and marketing. Nowadays, our definition of value includes not only profits but also employee growth,
development, and satisfaction. An organization is made up of people, and its main goal is to provide
goods and services. These people are vital to an effective organization, which is why the proper
selection, development, utilization, rewarding, and maintaining of capable people is important. This
can only be achieved through effective staffing.

Learning Objectives
DepEd Learning Competency
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to do At the end of this lesson, you should be able to discuss
the nature of staffing (ABM_AOM11-IIa-b20).
the following:
● Explain the nature of staffing.

● Understand the purpose of staffing.

● Discuss the phases of staffing.

Discover
Staffing is the filling of all organizational job positions through identifying job position vacancies
and workforce requirements.

It includes, but is not limited to, the following:

● checking the internal environment of an organization for the available human
resources
● recruiting, selecting, placing, promoting, and evaluating possible employees
● career path planning, employee development and training
● compensating and providing benefits to employees

5.1. Nature of Staffing 2

 How can an effective and e cient sta ng process
benefit a firm?

Fig. 1. Phases of Staffing

Job Analysis
Before we recruit and select potential employees that will add value to the organization, we must
carefully make a systematic plan. Reviewing human resource requirements and determining what the
company needs are both vital in determining the total manpower component needed to execute any
planned strategic activities.

In this phase, our responsibility is to determine the context of the jobs to be filled, their human
requirements (e.g., human qualifications, skills needed, and knowledge that the employee should
possess), what tasks need to be performed, and how they are carried out.

Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment involves activities related to the evaluation of a pool of applicants for jobs in the
organization. Selection is making the decision of whom to hire from the pool of qualified applicants.

How does management conduct the recruitment and selection process? The process map below will
show you how managers practice this in reality.

5.1. Nature of Staffing 3

 Fig. 2. Recruitment and selection process

Training and Development

The practice of training can be traced to the Stone Age when people started transferring knowledge
to others through signs and deeds. Afterward, vocational training started during the Industrial
Revolution. Now, training and development are increasingly recognized as the most important key to
gaining knowledge and skill in many areas. Training has to be continuously offered to enable
employees to stay skilled, effective, and efficient.

Employee Training vs. Employee Development

Training refers to the process where employees of the organization acquire knowledge and
capabilities, usually from senior employees or seminars, to use in aiding the achievement of the
organizational goals. It is an effort of the company to facilitate learning job-related competencies.
These competencies include not just the knowledge and skills but also the behavior that is critical for
successful job performance.

Employee development refers to the formal education, relationships, job experiences, and
assessments of the employees’ personalities and abilities. Ideally, these are cultivated by potential
employees in order to prepare themselves for the future. Development goes beyond the requirements
of the current job. It helps the employees prepare for jobs beyond the ones they currently have and
enables them to be prepared for changes in their current jobs due to changes in technology, work
design, and customers, or even new products and types of markets.

The Need for Employee Training

5.1. Nature of Staffing 4
 The need for training is usually indicated in the following instances:
● When required skills are not possessed by anyone in the workforce
● When an employee’s performance is below standard but has the potential to improve
● When employee morale is low
● When the productivity of employees is low
● When there is high employee attrition or turnover rate
● When the rate of absenteeism, tardiness, or accident is high
● When supervision is lax
● When new technology is introduced

Management Employee Development Approaches

In-House (company site):
1. Management Coaching (Supervisor coaches the employees)
2. Committee Assignments (Assigning employees to important company
committees)
3. Job Rotation (Shifting employees from one job to another)
4. Assistant-to-the Position (Assigning an employee as an assistant to the
manager)
5. Job Enlargement (Adding challenges or new responsibilities to employees)
6. Mentoring (Making employees learn knowledge and skills from experienced
organization members, which are agreed upon by both parties)
Off-Site (outside development interventions):
1. Formal Education (Company sends employees to seminars, workshops, and training
programs)
2. Team Building (Employees are organized into teams and solve common problems
related to team relationships)
3. Case Studies (Classroom type of training technique wherein employees are tasked to
use management concepts to solve problems)
4. Role-playing (A developmental technique that will require a trainee to assume a role in
a given situation and act out the behavior associated with it)
5. Simulations (Involves business games developed by Human Resource Experts that
requires employees to analyze situations and decide on the best course of action based
on the available data)

Performance Evaluation/Appraisal
It is said by most experienced managers that performance appraisal or evaluation is one of the major
keys to effective management, as it is the basis for determining who should be promoted to a higher
position. It is a process of evaluating an employee in order to arrive at an objective managerial
decision.
5.1. Nature of Staffing 5
 The methods of evaluating workers have undergone developments in order to adapt to new legal
employment requirements and technical changes. Different performance appraisal methods are
used depending on the information an evaluator aims to discern.

Methods of Employee Evaluation

Some of these methods used by managers today in evaluating their subordinates are the following:
● The trait method is designed to find out if the employee possesses important work
characteristics, such as conscientiousness, creativity, emotional stability, and others.
● Graphic rating is accomplished by evaluating employee performance based on a scale of
measurement. This requires the evaluator to indicate a specific degree by which an employee
possesses/attains a particular characteristic/organization requirement.
● The forced-choice method requires the evaluator to choose from two statements
purposely designed to distinguish between positive or negative performances. For example,
“works seriously – works fast,” “shows leadership – has initiative.”
● Behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) includes 5 to 10 vertical scales, one for
each important strategy for doing the job and numbered according to importance.
● Behavior observation scale (BOS) measures the frequency of observed behavior.

Compensation/Wages
Compensation/wages and performance evaluation/appraisal are related to each other because an
employee’s performance, whether excellent or poor, determines the compensation given to him or
her. Compensation is given after considering other internal and external factors, such as the difficulty
level of the job, the compensation strategy of the organization, the conditions of the labor market, the
average cost of living, and area wage rates.

Compensation can be in the form of direct compensation, which includes worker’s salaries, incentive
pays, bonuses, and commissions. It can also be in the form of indirect compensation, which
includes benefits given by employers aside from financial remunerations. Some examples of
indirect compensation include travel, educational

programs, health benefits, and other fringe benefits. It also includes nonfinancial compensation, such
as recognition programs, being assigned to do rewarding jobs, or enjoying management support, an
ideal work environment, and convenient work hours.

Bases of Compensation
Employees may be compensated on the following bases:

5.1. Nature of Staffing 6

 Table 1. Bases of compensation and how it is computed

Compensation Bases How is it computed?

Piecework basis Pay is computed according to the number of units produced.

Hourly basis Pay is computed according to the number of work hours

rendered.

Daily basis Pay is computed according to the number of workdays rendered.

Weekly basis Pay is computed according to the number of workweeks

rendered.

Monthly basis Pay is computed according to the number of work months

rendered.

Employee Benefits
Some organizations provide employee benefits that are not covered by regular salaries and wages.
This refers to benefits that contribute to the improvement of the conditions of work, and that
motivates the employees to perform well. These benefits are additional compensations that the
employee regularly receives at a stipulated interval and as mandated in the company policies and
guidelines.

Table 2. Classification of benefits and examples

Classification of Description Examples

Benefits

Statutory Benefits These are benefits 13th-month pay, 5-day incentive leave,
mandated by law. birthday leave, maternity leave, paternity
leave, PAG-IBIG Fund, Medicare fund,
social security benefits, cost of living
allowance

Company Benefits These are benefits Vacation leave with pay, sick leave with
granted by the pay, bereavement leave, hospitalization
company, outside plan, insurance plan, Christmas and
those mandated by mid-year bonus, educational plan, legal
law. aid, car plan, company service and
transportation, emergency leave,
profit-sharing, recreational and physical
fitness facilities, housing equity assistance

5.1. Nature of Staffing 7

 Employee Relations
In an organization, efforts to manage relationships between employers and employees have to be
observed. It is important for organizations to have good employee relations programs that provide
fair and consistent treatment to all employees so they will be committed to their jobs, stay loyal to
the company, and be motivated to perform as best as they can.

Types of Employees
There are different types of employees in an organization, and they are as follows:
1. Engaged employees are motivated people who work with passion and are able to establish
a deep connection with their company. This level of engagement often results in innovation,
which reflects on the organizational performance of employees within a company.

2. Not engaged employees are those who accomplish tasks for the sake of compliance but are
unable or unmotivated to demonstrate energetic or passionate behavior at work.
3. Actively disengaged employees are those who are unhappy with their jobs and
subsequently undermine what their engaged co-workers accomplish.

Importance of Employee Relations

● Provides counsel and advice to supervisors and employees regarding
employment-related inquiries
● Provides confidential consultation
● Advises employees regarding their employment rights
● Facilitates dialogue on employee/employer issues

Barriers to Employee Relations

● Asocial/avoidant personality, refusal to share more about oneself to co-employees, and being
a loner
● Lack of trust in others
● Selfish attitude or having too many self-serving motives
● Lack of good self-esteem
● Not a team player
● Being conceited
● Cultural/subcultural differences
● Lack of cooperation
● Communication problems, such as the refusal to listen to what others seek to
communicate
● Lack of concern for others’ welfare

Overcoming Barriers
5.1. Nature of Staffing 8
 ● Develop a healthy personality to overcome negative attitudes and behavior.
● Find time to socialize with coworkers.
● Develop good communication skills and be open to others’ opinions.
● Minimize cultural/subcultural tension.

Employee Movement
Upon entering an organization, every employee has a goal and often ends up changing his or her
employment status. In most cases, in the initial stages of his or her employment, the employee starts
as a temporary employee or part-timer, then moves up to probationary employee upon meeting the
requirements of the position where he or she is assigned. If he or she performs well as a probationary
employee, he or she will move up the ladder and become a permanent employee with greater
benefits and the possibility of promotion or transfer, as he or she stays longer in the organization.

Promotion
Promotion is the movement of an employee from a lower level to a higher level in the organizational
hierarchy. A higher level job involves more duties and responsibilities. Usually, it carries with it
higher pay, higher status, better privileges, and better working conditions.

An employee can be promoted if:

● He or she performed well, and there is an opportunity for a higher position available
● He or she improved academically and professionally, making him or her prepared
for new challenges
● He or she is proficient in what they do
● He or she contributed a lot to the organization to the extent that the
employer decided to recognize his or her work.

Employee Transfer
Employee transfer is the movement of an employee in an organization from one job to another
of equivalent rank or position at the same pay class. This may cause some changes in the duties
and responsibilities of the employee being transferred. Sometimes it involves an increase in pay. The
transferring of employees is not limited from one department to another. It may also be assigning
employees from the mother company to a subsidiary or a sister organization.

There are different kinds of employee transfer:

1. Temporary Transfer means having an employee substitute for an absent employee
for a particular period of time. This can also refer to giving an employee a temporary position to
have them learn other duties and responsibilities in preparation for a promotion.
2. Permanent Transfer means to fill a vacant position in another unit or department
requiring the skills and capabilities of the employee being transferred.

5.1. Nature of Staffing 9

 Demotion
Demotion is the movement of an employee from a higher level to a lower level in the organizational
ladder/hierarchy. It is one of the most difficult decisions the management of an organization has to
make as it creates tension and anxiety.

Possible reasons for demoting an employee:

● A need to reduce the manpower budget
● The inability of the employee to meet the requirements of their current position
● The failure of the employee to meet technical changes in the job
● The employee’s commitment to an infraction of the company’s rules and
regulations, but not to the extent that termination is needed.

Separation and Termination

The termination of the relationship between the employee and employer is called separation.
Termination can be caused by the resignation of the employee or a unilateral action of the
management. Resignation is a voluntary separation of the employee from

the organization, while the unilateral action of the management to terminate the employment or
the relationship is called lay-off or discharge.

Common reasons for employee resignation:

● Better job opportunities in other companies or outside of the organization
● The desire for higher wages and better working conditions
● Misunderstandings between the employee and his or her superior or co-worker(s).
● Geographical reasons, such as travel distance from home or change of residence.
● Change in marital or parental status
● Changes in an employee’s schedule

Types of Lay-off:
1. Temporary Lay-off
The temporary removal of an employee from his or her position, with the possibility of rehire.
One possible reason for temporary lay-off may be a lack of materials or orders that would
require the services of the employee.
2. Permanent Lay-off
This refers to the total severance of the employment relationship.

Rewards Systems
5.1. Nature of Staffing 10
 Organizations offer competitive rewards systems to attract knowledgeable and skilled people and
to motivate/satisfy workers currently employed in their organization. Furthermore, fair rewards
promote personal growth and development and inhibit employee turnover.

Types of Rewards
Most managements offer different types of rewards, such as the following:
1. Monetary Rewards are most commonly given in the form of salary/pay increases, bonuses,
or increases in benefits such as pension or health care premiums. These rewards can be
divided into two categories: direct and indirect compensation. These contribute to the financial
betterment of the employees.
a. Direct compensation is the basic type of payment an employee receives. It
includes an employee’s base pay or salary and other government-mandated benefits.
b. Indirect compensation includes increases to benefits such as dental and eye
care plans. It can also include paid leaves in the form of vacation leaves or sick leaves
with pay. These include days off for training, sabbatical leaves, bereavement leaves, or
childcare and eldercare leaves. There are also some organizations that offer services as
part of an indirect compensation package. These include on-site childcare, an eldercare
program, an on-site cafeteria or free lunch canteen, a game and videoke room or
gym/wellness space, and counseling services for employees and their families. Note
that indirect compensation should be valuable to employees.

2. Non-monetary rewards are costs for the organization but do not directly improve the
financial position of the employees. Making sure that the employees have everything they
need to fully execute the tasks assigned to them. It may include a great office location, choice
of furnishings, interior layout, or special parking place can all be non-monetary rewards.
Employees may be in the dark regarding full details of pay and other financial benefits of their
coworkers, but non-monetary rewards are often visible and can create perceptions of inequity
in an organization. In
some cases, this may be the purpose of managers who want employees to strive more to
achieve the best rewards, but it often unintentionally encourages feelings of inequity.

5.1. Nature of Staffing 11