SH1710

Staffing

I. Definition and Nature of Staffing

Staffing refers to filling in all organizational job positions and keeping these filled; it is done
by identifying job position vacancies, job requirements, workforce requirements, checking
the internal environment of the organization for the human resources available, recruiting,
selecting placing, promoting, evaluating, career planning, development and training, and
compensating, among others.

II. Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment involves activities related to the development of a pool of applicants for jobs in
the organization. Selection, on the other hand, is related to decisions on who hire from the
pool created by recruitment tasks.

III. Compensation/Wages and Performance Evaluation/Appraisal

Compensation/wages and performance evaluation/appraisal are related to each other because

the employees’ excellent or poor performance also determines the compensation given to
them, after considering other internal and external factors like the actual worth of the job,
compensation strategy of the organization, conditions of the labor market, cost of living, and
area wage rates, among others.

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Compensation can come in different forms. It may be direct compensation which includes
worker’s salaries, incentive pays, bonuses, and commissions; indirect compensation which
includes benefits given by employers other than financial remunerations like travel,
educational, and health benefits, and others; and nonfinancial compensation which includes
recognition programs, being assigned to do rewarding jobs, or enjoying management support,
ideal work environment, and convenient work hours.

Also, employees may be compensated on the following bases:

• Piecework basis – when pay is computed according to the number of units produced
• Hourly basis – when pay is computed according to the number of work hours rendered
• Daily basis – when pay is computed according to the number of work days rendered
• Weekly basis – when pay is computed according to the number of work weeks rendered
• Monthly basis – when pay is computed according to the number of work months rendered

Methods of evaluating workers have undergone development in order to adapt new legal
employment requirements and technical changes. Different performance appraisal methods
are used depending on the information an evaluator aims to find out. Some of these methods
that are in use today are the following:

• Trait method designed to find out if the employee possesses important work
characteristics such as conscientiousness, creativity, emotional stability, and others.
• Graphic rating scales where each characteristic is to be evaluated is represented by a scale
of which the evaluator indicates the degree to which an employee possesses that
characteristic.
• Forced choice method that requires the evaluator to choose from two (2) statements
purposely designed to distinguish between positive or negative performance; for
example, works seriously – works fast, shows leadership – has initiative.
• Behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) that includes five (5) to 10 vertical scales,
one (1) for each important strategy for doing the job and numbered according to its
importance.
• Behavior observation scale (BOS) that measures the frequency of observed behavior.

IV. Employee Relations and Movements

There are three (3) types of employees i.e. engaged employees who work with passion and
feel a deep connection with their company and drive innovation and move the organization
forward, not engaged employees who are essentially check out for their put time, but not
energy or passion into their work, and actively disengaged employees who are not only
unhappy at work but also act out their unhappiness and undermine what their engaged co-
workers accomplish.

What does employee relations do to help supervisors and employees?

• Provides counsel and advice to supervisors and employees regarding employment-related
inquiries
• Assists in the interpretation of University policies and procedures

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• Provides confidential consultation

• Advises employees regarding their employment rights
• Facilitates dialogue on employee/employer issues

What are some of the barriers to good employee relations?

• Anti-social personality; refusal top share more about oneself to co-employees; being a
loner
• Lack of trust in others
• Selfish attitude; too many self-serving motives
• Lack of good self-esteem
• Not a team player
• Being conceited
• Cultural/subcultural differences
• Lack of cooperation
• Communication problems; refusal to listen what others seek to communicate
• Lack of concern for others’ welfare

How can we overcome barriers to good employee relations?

• Develop a healthy personality to overcome negative attitudes and behavior.
• Find time to socialize with co-workers.
• Develop good communication skills and be open to others’ opinions.
• Minimize cultural/subcultural tension.

V. Rewards Systems

Organizations offer competitive rewards systems to attract knowledgeable and skilled people
and to keep them motivated satisfied once they are employed in their firm. Further, rewards
promote personal growth and development and present fast employee turnover. Management
offers different types of rewards such as:

• Monetary rewards are most commonly given in the form of pay increases, bonuses, or
increases in benefits such as pension or health care premiums. Such rewards can be
divided into two (2) categories: direct and indirect compensation. Both contribute to the
financial betterment of an employee. Direct compensation is relatively straightforward
and consists of increases in hourly pay, increases in hours (for non-salaried employees),
increases in salary, merit pay based on performance, seniority pay based on time with an
organization, and bonuses based on the achievement of individual, group, or
organizational objectives. Indirect monetary compensation includes increases to benefits
or the addition of benefits such as a dental plan. It can also include paid leave in the form
of vacation days, days off for training, or longer time off such as a sabbatical, as well as
paid leave for illness, caring for a child, or caring for an elderly parent. Additionally,
some organizations may offer services as part of an indirect compensation package, such
as on-site child care, an elder care program, an on-site cafeteria, a games room or gym,
and confidential counseling services for employees and their families. Again, indirect
compensation should be valuable to employees and ideally should offer choices from a
range of services.

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• Non-monetary rewards cost the organization but do not directly improve the employee’s
financial position. Supplying employees with the best tools possible to do their job is an
example, such as providing a new high-end laptop or having an excellent training facility
for coaches at a university. A good office location, choice of furnishings, or special
parking place can all be nonmonetary rewards. Employees may not know the full details
of pay and other monetary benefits of coworkers, but nonmonetary rewards are often
visible and can create perceptions of inequity in an organization. In some cases, this may
be the intent of managers who want employees to strive to achieve the stereotypical
corner office, but often it may also unintentionally encourage feelings of inequity. That
inequity may have positive implications for an organization if employees strive to
increase performance, or it can result in a turnover and reduced performance. As with any
reward, nonmonetary rewards need to be carefully thought out before being implemented.

References:
Hurd, A., Barcelona, R. & Meldrum, J. (n.d.). Recreation managers can use rewards to improve employee
motivation, retention. In Human Kinetics. Retrieved from
http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/recreation-managers-can-use-rewards-to-improve-
employee-motivation-retention
Society for Human Research Management. (n.d.). Grievance procedures: what are the steps typically found in a
grievance procedure? Retrieved from
https://www.shrm.org/templatestools/hrqa/pages/aresolutionformanagementandemployees.aspx#sthash.PR
wE18hX.dpuf//www.shrm.org/templatestools/hrqa/pages/aresolutionformanagementandemployees.aspx#st
hash.PRwE18hX.dpuf
Union United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America. (n.d.). The five basic steps to organizing a union.
Retrieved from http://www.ueunion.org/org_steps.html
University of Pittsburgh. (n.d.). Employee relations. Retrieved from http://www.hr.pitt.edu/employee-relations
Utah State University Human Resources. (n.d.). Employee relations. Retrieved from
https://hr.usu.edu/employment/current-employees/employee_relations

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