Question

Create a staffing plan for your business. (750–1,500 words)

Give an example of what the business is, what it will do and how many staff will be required. Explain why you will need these numbers of staff and detail the positions to be held (roles) and the competencies these employees will need to demonstrate.

Will you employ permanent, casual or contract staff? Explain and give reasons for your choices, taking into consideration contingency plans in the case where you have (or could have) staffing problems.

Explain how you will:

• recruit and select staff
• comply with relevant legislation and awards
• induct new staff
• provide for initial and ongoing training
• monitor and evaluate performance
• conduct performance reviews
• reward or motivate staff
• undertake career planning with staff
• encourage feedback from staff

Answer 1

Staffing is the process of identifying, assessing, placing, evaluating and developing individuals at work. It involves the procurement, development, compensation, integration and maintenance of personnel in an organization. To chart out an example for staffing plan, let us take the example of a mobile network maintenance company. Imagine that XYZ company has signed a contract with a major mobile network operator in the state. The company is responsible for the Operations and maintenance activities of the infrastructural facilities being established to support the network and needs to ensure the network stability throughout the state. It has to rectify the ongoing issues related with the network and do all the necessary actions to make sure that there is no breakage in network. Imagine that the network operates through microwave where we require the infrastructural support of towers. Imagine that in the state we have a total number of 6000 towers being erected to support the network. If you plan one technician to maintain 50 towers, we require a total of 120 technicians in total. Since they are employees to be worked on network stability equipment and changing technology, they must be technically qualified for doing so. The technicians should be degree or diploma holders in engineering field and should be competent enough to detect the failure issues, conduct root cause analysis and decide with the repair and correction immediately. We require these many number of staffs since towers are spread across the state and it is essential to operate from the strategic locations from where the assigned towers can be accessed with ease. But these employees require strict supervision and there has to clear reporting system to ensure that rectifications are happening on time. Since they are all working on the field, they don't work in a stipulated office set which might weaken their co-ordination activities.

The employees needs to recruited from external sources and the newspaper advertisements and campus recruitment can be used as the best sources for recruitment. Form the recruited candidates, selection can be made using a simple process which may include interview and back ground checks. It is advisable to give preference to employees with experience in the same field so that the cumbersome and elaborate training procedures can be simplified. It is better to take them on contract since we can avoid lots of tedious paper works. We can either outsource them totally to another firm or can enter a contract with them individually. Outsourcing relieves the management from unwanted and cumbersome activities and can devote their entire time for more productive activities. The man management require a totally dedicated department for the same. Since we get into a contract on clear terms and conditions regarding employment and wages, there won't be any issues on it later as happens in the case of permanent employees. As time goes permanent employees needs to be give all the revisions as per the statue which makes it very difficult for the management to abide by, sometimes.

Let the employees be permanent, causal or on contract, they require a thorough and well planned training as the job demands. Since the job here requires high and updated technical competency, training is a must. Training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skill of an employee for doing a particular job. It makes the newly appointed workers fully productive in the minimum time.The training can be provided by industry experts as well as their immediate superiors to whom they report to. On the job raining should be the priority along with theoretical sessions to give them complete knowledge about the job as well as enhance their skill set. Once they are put on the job, there has to be an ongoing performance evaluation and review on a regular basis. When there is a positive evaluation and review, it is important to make sure that the employees are rewarded accordingly to sustain their performance. It's a tool of motivation for performers and non performers too since they can expect rewards when they perform good in the future. It is also to be taken care that good performers needs to be given career advancement options. It is the company's responsibility to support the employees in their career planning.

On the whole we can say that it is the organization's responsibility to take care of their employees right from they join the organization till they leave them. The success of the concern depends greatly on the selection and development of the suitable staff. No organization can be successful unless it can employ the right type of persons.