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6STAFFINGManagement of Human Resources at INFOSYS“Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have tomake sure that they come back the next morning” (as statedby Narayana Murthy former, CEO of INFOSYS.)At a time when organisations are debating the strategicimportance of their human resources, Infosys, a consulting andsoftware services organisation, includes its human resourceson its balance sheet to affirm their asset value. The rationalefor this is as follows: “The long term success of a companyis usually examined on certain financial and non-financialparameters. Human resources are among these new nonfinancial parameters that challenge the usefulness of evaluatingcorporate success solely on traditional measures. Humanresources represent the collective expertise, innovation,leadership, entrepreneurial and managerial skills endowed inthe employees of an organisation.”As a knowledge intensive company, Infosys recognisesthe value of its human assets in maintaining its competitiveposition. It realises that these assets can easily walk away,as competitors in India and abroad covet its IT talent.Consequently, the challenge facing Infosys is how to attract,retain and develop its human assets in a highly competitiveand dynamic environment?Most of the current human resource practices at Infosysresult from the vision of the leaders and the culture that theyhave created. Narayana Murthy, known for his leadership andvision is the public image of Infosys. His leadership style ishumble and straight-forward, quite uncommon in the worldof Indian business. He believes in sharing wealth with hisemployees and in leading by example. In a knowledge-basedbusiness like Infosys, he sees the importance of consistency inrhetoric and action in empowering employees. He is creditedwith creating a culture of closeness and empowerment atInfosys. His management style, rare among Indian businessleaders, is based on western management.Source: Sumita Raghuram, Fordham GraduateSchool of BusinessCHAPTERL E A R N I N GOBJECTIVESAfter studying thischapter, you should beable to:ndefine staffing;nestablish itsrelationship withHuman ResourceManagement;nstate the need andimportance of staffing;ndescribe the steps inthe staffing process;nstate the meaningof recruitment andselection;nidentify importantsources ofrecruitment;ndescribe the steps inthe selection process;nappreciate theneed of training anddevelopment; andnexplain various on thejob and off the jobmethods of training.2021–22Ch 06.indd 14104-10-2019 2:07:28 PM
Business Studies142IntroductionThe foundation of any organisation isthe talented and hardworking people,who are the principal assets of anyfirm. It is an established fact that thegrowth of an organisation requiresthe continual infusion of qualitystaff. Thus, adequate staffing or theprovision for appropriate humanresources is an essential requirementfor any organisation’s success. It is,therefore, believed that an organisationcan achieve its objectives only whenit has the right persons in the rightpositions.MeaningAfter planning and selection of theorganisation structure, the next stepin the management process is to fillthe various posts provided in theorganisation. This is termed as themanagement of staffing function. Inthe simplest terms, staffing is ‘puttingpeople to jobs’. It begins with workforceplanning and includes different otherfunction like recruitment, selection,training, development, promotion,compensation and per for manceappraisal of work force. In otherwords, staffing is that part of theprocess of management which isconcerned with obtaining, utilisingand maintaining a satisfactory andsatisfied work force. Today, staffingmay involve any combination ofemployees including daily wagers,consultants and contract employees.Staffing recognises the importanceof every single person employedby an organisation as it is theindividual worker, who is the ultimateperformer.Staffing has been described asthe managerial function of fillingand keeping filled the positions inthe organisation structure. This isachieved by, first of all, identifyingrequirement of work force, followedby recruitment, selection, placement,promotion, appraisal and developmentof personnel, to fill the roles designedinto the organisation structure.In a new enterprise, the staffingfunction follows the planning andorganising functions. After decidingwhat is to be done, how it is to be doneand after creation of the organisationstructure, the management is in aposition to know the human resourcerequirements of the enterprise atdifferent levels. Once the number andtypes of personnel to be selected isdetermined, management starts withthe activities relating to recruiting,selecting and training people, to fulfillthe requirements of the enterprise.In an existing enterprise, staffing isa continuous process because newjobs may be created and some of theexisting employees may leave theorganisation.Importanceof StaffingIn any organisation, there is a needfor people to perform work. Thestaffing function of management2021–22Ch 06.indd 14204-10-2019 2:07:28 PM
Staffing143fulfills this requirement and findsthe right people for the right job.Basically, staffing fills the positions asshown in the organisation structure.Human resources are the foundationof any business. The right peoplecan help you take your business tothe top; the wrong people can breakyour business. Hence, staffing is themost fundamental and critical driveof organisational performance. Thestaffing function has assumed greaterimportance these days because ofrapid advancement of technology,increasing size of orga nisation andcomplicated behaviour of humanbeings. Human resources are the mostimportant asset of an organisation.The ability of an organisation toachieve its goal depends upon thequality of its human resources.Therefore, staffing is a very importantmanagerial function. No organisationcan be successful unless it can filland keep filled the various positionsprovided for in the structure with theright kind of people.Properstaffingensures thefollowing benefits to the organisation:(i) helps in discovering and obtai ning competent personnel forvarious jobs;(ii) makes for higher performance,by putting right person on theright job;(iii) ensures the continuous survivaland growth of the enterprisethrough the succession planningfor managers;(iv) helps to ensure optimum utili sation of the human resources.By avoiding overmanning, itprevents under -utilisation ofpersonnel and high labourcosts. At the same time it avoidsdisruption of work by indicatingin advance the shortages ofpersonnel; and(v) improves job satisfaction andmorale of employees throughobjective assessment and fairreward for their contribution.Staffing function must be performedefficiently by all organisations. If rightkind of employees are not available,it will lead to wastage of materials,time, effort and energy, resulting inlower productivity and poor qualityof products. The enterprise will notbe able to sell its products profitably.It is, therefore, essential that rightkind of people must be available inright number at the right time. Theyshould be given adequate trainingso that wastage is minimum. Theymust also be induced to show higherproductivity and quality by offeringthem proper incentives.Staffing as part of HumanResource ManagementIt is a function which all managersneed to perform. It is a separate andspecialised function and there aremany aspects of human relationsto be considered. It is the job ofmanagers to fill positions in theirorganisation and to make sure that2021–22Ch 06.indd 14304-10-2019 2:07:28 PM
Business Studies144they remain occupied with qualifiedpeople. Staffing is closely linked toorganising since after the structureand positions have been decided,people are required to work in thesepositions. Subsequently, they needto be trained and motivated to workin harmony with the goals of theorganisation. Thus, staffing is seen asa generic function of management.The staffing function deals withthe human element of management.Managing the human component ofan organisation is the most importanttask because the performance ofan organisation depends upon howwell this function is performed.The success of an organisation inachieving its goals is determined toa great extent on the competence,motivation and performance of itshuman resource.It is the responsibility of all managersto directly deal with and select peopleto work for the organisation. Whenthe manager performs the staffingfunction his role is slightly limited.Some of these responsibilities willinclude placing the right personon the right job, introducing newemployees to the organisation,training employees and improvingtheir performance, developing theirabilities, maintaining their morale andprotecting their health and physicalconditions. In small organisations,managers may perform all dutiesrelated to employees salaries, welfareand working conditions.But as organisations grow andnumberofpersonsemployedincreases, a separate departmentcalled the human resource departmentis formed which has specialists inmanaging people. The managementof human resource is a specialisedarea which requires the expertise ofmany people. The number of humanresource specialists and size of thisdepartment gives an indication ofthe size of the business as well. Fora very large company, the HumanResources Department itself willcontain specialists for each functionof this department.Human Resource Managementincludes many specialised activitiesand duties which the human resourceperso nnel must perform. These dutiesare:nRecruitment, i.e., search forqualified peoplenAnalysing jobs, collecting inform ation about jobs to prepare jobdescriptions.nDeveloping compensation andincentive plans.nT raining and development ofemployees for efficient perfor mance and career growth.nMaintaining labour relations andunion management relations.nHandling grievances andcomplaints.nProviding for social security andwelfare of employees.nDefending the company in law suitsand avoiding legal complications.2021–22Ch 06.indd 14404-10-2019 2:07:28 PM
Staffing145Evolution of HumanResource ManagementHuman resource management hasreplaced the traditional concept oflabour welfare and personnel manag ement. Human Resource Management(HRM) in its present form hasevolved from a number of significantinter-related developments, whichdate back to the era of industrialrevolution. Emergence of trade unionmovement led to the need of a personwho could act as an effective linkbetween the owners and workers.Thus, the concept of labour welfareofficer came into being. His role waslimited to the bare minimum welfareactivities of employees. In fact, he waslooked down by both the workers andthe owners.With the introduction of factorysystem, thousands of persons beganto be employed under one roof. The jobof hiring people for the organisationwas given to one man, who later onwas assigned the responsibility ofrecruitment, selection and placementof personnel. This led to theemergence of personnel officer in thefirst place and personnel manager,later on.Human relations approach recognises human factor as the mostimportant instrument of success inan organisation. Fast changing tech nological developments, however, nec essitated new skill development andtraining of employees. People came tobe recognised as a valuable resource,which can be further developed.Increase in scope of the work led toreplacement of personnel managerwith human resource manager.You may have observed that allthese aspects are concerned withthe human element in industry asdistinct from the mechanical sideof the enterprise. Thus, staffing isan inherent part of human resourcemanagement as it is the practice offinding, evaluating and establishinga working relationship with people,for a purpose.It is important to understandthat staffing is both a function ofmanagement just like planning,organising, directing, and controllingas well as a distinct functional areaof management just as marketingmanagementandfinancialmanagement. Staffing, is therefore,referred to as both a line as wellas a staff activity i.e., an essentialfunction of the manager as well as anadvisory role played by the HumanResource Department.Staffing ProcessAs you are now aware, the primeconcern of the staffing functioninthemanagementprocessis the timely fulfillment of themanpower requirements within anorganisation. These requirementsmay arise in case of starting a new2021–22Ch 06.indd 14504-10-2019 2:07:28 PM
Business Studies146business or expanding the existingone or they may arise as a matterof the need for replacing those whoquit, retire or are transferred orpromoted from or are fired from thejob. In any case, need for ‘the rightperson for the right job’ hardly needsan over emphasis. But just as thephrase ‘water water everywhere andnot a drop to drink’ amplifies the factthat despite 2/3rd of the earth beingwater, drinkable water is a scarcecommodity, so may also be saidof finding ‘the right person for theright job.’ As such, it is importantto appreciate staffing as a processthat starts from understanding themanpowerrequirementswithinthe organisation and identifyingthe potential sources from whereit can be met, either from withinthe organisation or from outside.And, given that ‘the right person’is scarce, there is need to ‘market’the job and the organisation to thepeople. Even in situations wherea single job vacancy might attracta few hundreds of the applicants,there is a challenge of selectingthe most appropriate one. Freshlyappointed persons might needorientation or training to familiarisethem with the way the things aredone in an organisation. And, incase they have been selected only onthe basis of academic qualificationsand aptitude for learning, they mightneed training in specific skills aswell. For example, if one is selectedby a Business Process Outsourcing(BPO) unit by virtue of beingextrovert and well-versed in Englishspeaking, one needs to be trainedin the relevant business processes,telephone conversation etiquettesas well as diction adaptation beforeactual placement. The employee’sexperiences during orientation andplacementformhis/her‘firstimpression’ of the organisation. Evenwhilst on the job, the employees needtraining for upgradation of knowledgeand skills and for preparing for higherresponsibilities. So staff training anddevelopment is another importantaspect of the staffing process.What follows is a brief descriptionof the above stages.(i) EstimatingtheManpowerRequirements: You are awarethat while designing the organis ational structure, we undertakean analysis of the decisionsand the decision-making levels,activities as well as relationshipamong them with a view toevolving the horizontal andvertical dimensions of thestructure. Thus, various jobpositions are created. Clearly,performanceofeachjobnecessi tates the appointmentof a person with a specific set ofeducational qualifications, skills,prior experience and so on.2021–22Ch 06.indd 14604-10-2019 2:07:28 PM
Staffing147Thus, understanding manpowerrequirements is not merely amatter of knowing how manypersons we need but also ofwhat type. Given that we need toencourage women, persons frombackward communities andpersons with special abilities(such as physically challenged,visually and hearing impaired)to assume responsible positionsin our organisations, there is aneed to understand, and if theneed be, to redefine manpowerrequirements accordingly. Canyou think why should weencourage such a diversity inthe workforce?Operationally, understanding themanpower requirements would nece ssitate workload analysis on theone hand and workforce analysis onthe other. Workload analysis wouldenable an assessment of the numberand types of human resourcesnecessary for the performance ofvarious jobs and accomplishment oforganisational objectives. Workforceanalysis would reveal the numberand type available. In fact such anexercise would reveal whether weare understaffed, overstaffed oroptimally staffed. It may be pointedoutthatneitherover-staffingnor under-staffing is a desirablesituation. Can you think why? In factthis exercise would form the basisof the subsequent staffing actions.A situation of overstaffing somewherewould necessitate employee removalor transfer elsewhere. A situation ofunderstaffing would necessitate thestarting of the recruitment process.However, before that can be done,it is important to translate themanpower requirements into specificjob description and the desirableprofile of its occupant — thedesired qualifications, experience,personality characteristics and so on.This information becomes the basefor looking for potential employees.(ii) Recruitment: Recruitment may bedefined as the process of searchingfor prospective employees andstimulating them to apply for jobs inthe organisation. The informationgenerated in the process of writingthe job description andthecandidate profile may be used fordeveloping the ‘situations vacant’advertisement. The advertisementmay be displayed on the factory/office gate or else it may be gotpublished in print media orflashed in electronic media. Thisstep involves locating the potentialcandidate or determining thesources of potential candidates.In fact, there are a large numberof recruitment avenues availableto a firm which would be discussedlatter when we talk about thevarious sources of recruitment.The essential objective is tocreate a pool of the prospective2021–22Ch 06.indd 14704-10-2019 2:07:28 PM
Business Studies148job candidates. Both internal andexternal sources of recruitmentmay be explored. Internal sourcesmay be used to a limited extent.For fresh talent and wider choiceexternal sources are used.(iii) Selection: Selection is the pro cess of choosing from amongthe pool of the prospective jobcandidates developed at the stageof recruitment. Even in case ofhighly specialised jobs wherethe choice space is very narrow,the rigour of the selection processserves two important purposes:(i) it ensures that the organisationgets the best among the available,and (ii) it enhances the self-esteemand prestige of those selected andconveys to them the seriousnesswith which the things are done in theorganisation. The rigour involvesa host of tests and interviews,described later. Those who areable to successfully negotiate thetest and the interviews are offeredan employment contract, a writtendocument containing the offerof employment, the terms andconditions and the date of joining.(iv) Placement and Orientation:Joining a job marks the beginningof socialisation of the employee atthe workplace. The employee isgiven a brief presentation aboutthe company and is introducedto his superiors, subordinatesand the colleagues. He is takenaround the workplace and giventhe charge of the job for which hehas been selected. This processof familiarisation is very crucialand may have a lasting impacton his decision to stay and onhis job performance. Orientationis, thus, introducing the selectedemployee to other employees andfamiliarising him with the rulesand policies of the organisation.Placement refers to the employeeOver-staffing:More play, less work2021–22Ch 06.indd 14804-10-2019 2:07:40 PM
Staffing149occupying the position or postfor which the person has beenselected.(v) Training and Development:What people seek is not simplya job but a career. Every onemust have the opportunity torise to the top. The best way toprovide such an opportunity isto facilitate employee learning.Organisations have either inhouse training centers or haveforged alliances with training andeducational institutes to ensurecontinuing learning of theiremployees. The organisationstoo benefit in turn. If employeemotivationishigh,theircompetencies are strengthened,they perform better and thus,contribute more to organisationaleffectiveness and efficiency. Byoffering the opportunities forcareer advancement to theirmembers, organisations arenot only able to attract but alsoretain its talented people.As discussed earlier, in mostorganisations there is a separateHuman Resource Department, whichtakes care of the staffing function.But in small organisations the linemanager is required to performall the functions of managementviz, planning, organising, staffing,directingandcontrolling.Theprocess of staffing will then includethree more stages.(vi) Performance AppraisalAftertheemployeeshaveundergone a period of trainingand they have been on the jobfor some time, there is a needto evaluate their performance.All organisations have someformal or informal means ceappraisal means evaluating anemployee’s current and/or pastperformance as against certainpredetermined standards. Theemployee is expected to knowwhat the standards are andthe superior is to provide theemployee feedback on his/herperformance. The performanceappraisal process, therefore,will include defining the job,appraising performance andproviding feedback.(vii) Promotion and career planningIt becomes necessary for allorganisations to address careerrelated issues and promotionalavenues for their employees.Managersneedtodesignactivities to serve employees’long-term interests also. Theymustencourageemployeesto grow and realise their fullpotential.Promotionsarean integral part of people’scareer. They refer to beingplaced in positions of increasedresponsibility.Theyusually2021–22Ch 06.indd 14904-10-2019 2:07:40 PM
Business Studies150mean more pay, responsibilityand job satisfaction.(viii) CompensationAllorganisationsneedtoestablish wage and salary plansfor their employees. There arevarious ways to prepare differentpay plans depending on the worthof the job. Basically the price ofthe job needs to be determined.Compensation, therefore, refersto all forms of pay or rewardsgoing to employees. It may bein the form of direct financialpayments like wages, salaries,incentives, commissions andbonuses and indirect paymentslike employer paid insuranceand vacations.Directfinancialpaymentsare of two types : time based orperformance based. A time basedplan means salary and wages arepaid either daily, weekly or monthlyor annually. Performance basedplans means salary/wages are paidaccording to piecework. For example,a worker may be paid according tothe number of units produced byhim/her. There are many methodsto calculate the compensation undervarious incentive plans to rewardperformance. Certain pay plans canbe created which are a combinationof time based pay plus incentivesfor higher performance. Variousplans may be formulated for payingemployees time based wage orsalary as well as performance basedfinancial incentives and bonuses,and employee benefits.Besides there are some otherfactors also which influence thedesign of any pay plan, like legal(labour laws), union, company policyand equity.Thus, we see that as a process,staffing includes acquisition, rete ntion,development, performance appraisal,promotion and compensation ofthe most important resource of anorganisation, that is, its humancapital.It needs to be kept in mind thatseveral factors such as supply anddemand of specific skills in thelabour market, unemployment rate,labour market conditions, legal andpolitical considerations, company’simage, policy, human resourceplanningcost,technologicaldevelopments and general economicenvironment etc., will influencethe way recruitment, selection andtraining will be actually carried out.Aspectsof staffingThere are three aspects of staffing:recruitment, selection and training.These are now discussed in detail.RecruitmentRecruitment refers to the process offinding possible candidates for a jobor a function. It has been defined as2021–22Ch 06.indd 15004-10-2019 2:07:40 PM
Staffing‘the process of searchingfor prospective employeesand stimulating themto apply for jobs in anorganisation.’Advertising is commonlypart of the recruitmentprocess, and can occurthrough several means,through newspapers, usingnewspaper dedicated to jobadvertisement,throughprofessional publication,usingadvertisementsplaced in windows, througha job center, throughcampus interviews, nt(identification and attraction)Selection(assessment, evaluation andfinal match)Training(Acquainting and skilldevelopment)Aspects of StaffingSources of RecruitmentThe object of recruitment is toattract potential employees headequate number for the jobsavailable. It locates available peoplefor the job and invites them to applyfor the job in the organisation. Theprocess of recruitment precedesthe process of selection of a rightcandidate for the given positionsin the organisation. Recruitmentseeks to attract suitable applicantsto apply for available jobs. Thevarious activities involved with theprocess of recruitment includes (a)identification of the different sourcesof labour supply, (b) assessmentof their validity, (c) choosing themost suitable source or sources,and (d) inviting applications fromthe prospective candidates, for thevacancies.The requisite positions may befilled up from within the organisationor from outside. Thus, there are twosources of recruitment – Internaland External.Internal SourcesThere are two important sourcesof internal recruitment, namely,transfers and promotions, which arediscussed below:(i) Transfers: It involves shiftingof an employee from one jobto another, one departmentto another or from one shift toanother, without a substantivechange in the responsibilitiesand status of the employee. Itmay lead to changes in duties2021–22Ch 06.indd 15104-10-2019 2:07:40 PM
Business Studies152and responsibilities, workingcondition etc., but not necessarilysalary. Transfer is a good sourceof filling the vacancies withemployees from over-staffeddepartments. It is practicallya horizontal movement ofemployees. Shortage of suitablepersonnel in one branch maybe filled through transfer fromother branch or department.Job transfers are also helpfulin avoiding termination and inremoving individual problemsand grievances. At the time oftransfer, it should be ensured thatthe employee to be transferredto another job is capable ofperforming it. Transfers can alsobe used for training of employeesfor learning different jobs.(ii) Promotions: Business enterprisesgenerally follow the practice offilling higher jobs by promotingemployees from lower jobs.Promotion leads to shifting anemployee to a higher position,carrying higher responsibilities,facilities,statusandpay.Promo tion is a vertical shiftingof em ployees. This practicehelps to improve the motivation,loyalty and satisfaction levelof employees. It has a greatlogical impact over thepsycho employees because a promotionat the higher level may lead toa chain of promotions at lowerlevels in the organisation.Merits of Internal SourcesFilling vacancies in higher jobs fromwithin the organisation or throughinternal transfers has the followingmerits:(i) Employees are motivated toimprove their performance. Apromotion at a higher level maylead to a chain of promotion atlower levels in the organisation.This motivates the employeesto improve their performancethrough learning and practice.Employees work with commitmentand loyalty and remain satisfiedwith their jobs. Also peaceprevails in the enterprise becauseof promotional avenues;(ii) Internal recruitment also simpli fies the process of selection andplacement. The candidates that arealready working in the enterprisecan be evaluated more accuratelyand economically. This is a morereliable way of recruitment sincethe candidates are already knownto the organisation;(iii) Transfer is a tool of training theemployees to prepare them forhigher jobs. Also people recruitedfrom within the organisation donot need induction training;(iv) Transfer has the benefit ofshifting workforce from thesurplus departments to thosewhere there is shortage of staff;2021–22Ch 06.indd 15204-10-2019 2:07:41 PM
Staffing153(v) Filling of jobs internally is cheaperas compared to getting candidatesfrom external sources.Limitations of InternalSourcesThe limitations of using internalsources of recruitment are as follows:(i) When vacancies are filledthrough internal promotions, thescope for induction of fresh talentis reduced. Hence, completereliance on internal recruitmentinvolves danger of ‘inbreeding’ bystopping ‘infusion of new blood’into the organisation;(ii) The employees may becomelethargic if they are sure of timebound promotions;(iii) A new enterprise cannot useinternal sources of recruitment.No organisation can fill all itsvacancies from internal sources;(iv) Thespiritofcompetitionamong the employees may behampered; and(v) Frequent transfers of employeesmay often reduce the productivityof the organisation.External SourcesAn enterprise has to tap externalsourcesforvariouspositionsbecause all the vacancies cannot befilled through internal recruitment.The existing staff may be insufficientor they may not fulfill the eligibilitycriteria of the jobs to be filled.External recruitment provides widechoice and brings new blood in theorganisation. The commonly usedexternal sources of recruitment arediscussed below:(i) Direct Recruitment: Underthe direct recruitment, a noticeis placed on the notice-boardof the enterprise specifying thedetails of the jobs available. Jobseekers assemble outside thepremises of the organisation onthe specified date and selectionis done on the spot. The practiceof direct recruitment is followedusually for casual vacancies ofunskilled or semi-skilled jobs.Such workers are known ascasual or ‘badli’ workers and theyare paid remuneration on dailywage basis. This method ofrecruitment is very inexpensiveas it does not involve any costof advertising the vacancies.It is suitable for filling casualvacancies when there is a rush ofwork or when some permanentworkers are absent.(ii) Casual Callers: Many reputedbusiness organisations keepadatabaseofunsolicitedappli
called the human resource department is formed which has specialists in managing people. The management of human resource is a specialised area which requires the expertise of many people. The number of human resource specialists and size of this department gives an indication of the size of the business as w
