Lesson 1
BAGB 2123
Talent Acquisition
Management
Introduction to
Workforce
Nature of Workforce, Staffing
Models, and Strategy
Why This
Lesson
• Understanding the
Critical Role of Staffing
in Organizational
Success
Key Concept:
What is Staffing?
• Staffing encompasses recruitment,
placement, and workforce
maintenance.
• It is a fundamental organizational
function to ensure the right people
are in the right roles.
Importance of Staffing
• Labour Costs: Often the largest expense for organizations.
• Recruiting Impact: Poor hiring decisions are challenging to reverse.
• Key Insight: "The people make the place" – the quality of staffing directly
impacts organizational success.
“Mastering staffing practices ensures that organizations build
resilient, capable, and adaptable teams.”
The Definition of Staffing
• Staffing: The process of acquiring, deploying, and retaining a workforce.
Goal Impact
Drives organizational success
Ensure sufficient quantity and
through strategic workforce
quality of workers.
management.
Staffing: A Cornerstone of
Success
• Effective staffing is critical to achieving
overall organizational goals.
• This lesson emphasizes how proper
recruitment and workforce management
drive success.
Nature of Workforce
• Job nature can often be inferred from the job description, which outlines
tasks and specialties.Includes both core responsibilities and extra non-routine
assignments.
• Companies assess job requirements based on work setting (e.g., e-commerce,
field research, digital networking).
• Example: A Social Media Manager oversees the company’s presence across
platforms, often integrating with content marketing, communications, and
public relations teams.
Forms of Capital in
Organizations
Human Capital:
• Refers to an individual's knowledge, skills, abilities, personality, and
motivation.
• For organizations, human capital is known as workforce quality.
• The workforce is a pool of human capital, acquired, deployed, and
maintained to achieve goals such as profitability, market share, customer
satisfaction, and sustainability.
Forms of Capital in
Organizations
Staffing is the process used to build the workforce through:
• Recruitment
• Selection
• Employment
• Retention
Staffing strategies and human resource planning are key to success.
Valuing Employees as Human
Capital
• Shift in Perspective: Employees are now seen as contributors to competitive
advantage, rather than merely a cost.
• Companies that offer exceptional customer service gain a distinct advantage,
driven by knowledgeable personnel with advanced customer service skills.
• This competitive edge, when built on human capital, can provide long-term
benefits.
• The financial impact of investing in human capital is significant and can drive
sustained success.
Impact of Efficient Selection
Methods on Competitive Edge
• Indirect Benefits: Effective selection processes enhance employee well-being
and retention, contributing to a competitive edge.
• Selection Practices: Rigorous exams and structured interviews create a sense
of commitment among employees.
• Commitment Outcomes: Increased citizenship behaviors and helping
behaviors. Stronger intentions to stay with the organization.
• Engagement: Higher commitment is linked to greater employee engagement,
which in turn reinforces commitment, benefiting the organization’s bottom
line.
Technology’s Role in
Revolutionizing Staffing and
Competitive Advantage
• Advances in Technology: Have transformed how people are evaluated during staffing
processes.
• New Assessment Methods:
• Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) and mobile assessments.
• Simulation-based training and serious games to assess skills and abilities.
Improved Scoring and Reporting - Electronic scoring and automated reporting
systems.
These innovations enhance the effectiveness of staffing and contribute to gaining a
competitive edge.
Limitations of the New Staffing
Paradigm
“Despite financial and efficiency benefits, these shifts in staffing
come with limitations that need to be considered.”
• Reduced Face-to-Face Contact: May decrease the effectiveness of
assessments.
• Cognitive Demands: Electronic assessments could adversely affect certain
applicants.
Staffing Models
Overview
Introduction to Staffing Models
1. Staffing
Quantity: Levels
• Staffing Definition: Refers to the quantity or head count
of employees.
• Workforce Requirements: Organizations assess both
overall and departmental staffing needs and compare
them with predicted workforce availabilities.
• Staffing Levels:
Full Staff: When head-count needs match available positions.
Insufficient Staffing: When needs exceed available resources.
Excessive Staffing: When available resources exceed staffing
requirements.
Staffing Quantity: Levels
Source: Judge (2023), Staffing Organizations. McGraw Hill 10th edition
2. Staffing Quality:
Person/Job Match
• Objective: Align individual characteristics with task
requirements to achieve intended results.
• Key Considerations:
Job Characteristics: Prerequisites and benefits (e.g., commission
plans, autonomy).
Individual Characteristics: Qualifications (e.g., skills, experience) and
motivation (e.g., performance-based income, desire for challenge).
Match Compatibility: Degree of alignment between job demands
and individual traits.
Repercussions: Consequences of the match (or mismatch) affect
both job performance and employee satisfaction.
Staffing Quality: Person/Job
Match
Source: Judge (2023), Staffing Organizations. McGraw Hill 10th edition
3. Staffing Quality:
Person/Organization
Match
• Dual Evaluation:
Organization’s Perspective: Assess how well the individual fits with the
organization, beyond the job.
Applicant’s Perspective: Evaluate how well they fit the organization, along
with the position.
Concerns: Both parties may worry about the person’s ability to align with the
organization’s culture and values.
Key Matching Considerations:
Organizational Values
New Work Duties
Multiple Occupations
Future Positions
Staffing Quality:
Person/Organizat
ion Match
SOURCE: JUDGE (2023),
S TA F F I N G O R G A N I Z AT I O N S .
M C G R AW H I L L 1 0 T H E D I T I O N
4. Staffing System
Components
• Definition: Staffing involves managing the
movement of individuals into, through, and out of
an organization, as well as their retention.
• Core Staffing Process:
• Entry: Recruitment and selection.
• Integration: Onboarding and internal movement.
• Exit: Offboarding or retirement.
The process is structured in phases that guide the flow of
personnel through the organization.
Staffing System Components
Source: Judge (2023), Staffing Organizations. McGraw Hill 10th edition
5. Staffing Organizations
• Purpose and Strategy:
• Organizational Purpose: Drives organizational, HR, and staffing strategies.
• Interconnected Strategies: Organizational and HR strategies influence staffing policies and programs.
• Staffing Framework:
• Core Staffing Activities: Recruitment, selection, employment, retention.
• Support Activities: Planning, job analysis, legal compliance.
• Cross-cutting concerns: Management of the staffing system and employee retention.
• Focus Areas:
• Staffing Levels: Adequacy of workforce size.
• Employee Quality: Ensuring highly qualified and competent staff.
Staffing
Organizati
ons
SOURCE: JUDGE (2023),
S TA F F I N G O R G A N I Z AT I O N S .
M C G R AW H I L L 1 0 T H E D I T I O N
Staffing
Strategy:
Decisions on acquisition, deployment, retention,
levels, and quality.
A few decisions are
primarily concerned
with workforce
levels, while others
are primarily
concerned with
staffing quality.
Staffing Levels: Key Decisions
Acquire or Develop Talent: External or Internal Hiring:
• Acquisition: Hire skilled workers • Internal: Emphasize internal promotion
needing minimal training. for long-term career development.
• Development: Recruit individuals • External: Hire from outside when
ready to learn job-specific skills. necessary.
Hire Yourself or Outsource: Core or Flexible Workforce:
• Outsource recruitment for • Core: Regular employees integral to
expertise or when talent is operations.
scarce. • Flexible: Temporary, as-needed
workers.
Staffing Levels: Key Decisions
Hire or Retain: Overstaff or Understaff:
• Hire: Focus on recruitment, disregarding • Overstaff: Have more staff than needed for
turnover. reserves.
• Retain: Reduce turnover to minimize • Understaff: Operate with fewer workers due
recruitment. to shortages.
National or Global: Outsource staffing tasks Short- or Long-Term Focus:
nationally or globally. • Short-term: Address immediate staffing
needs.
Attract or Relocate: • Long-term: Plan for future workforce
• Attract: Bring in workers. demands.
• Relocate: Move the company closer to talent.
Staffing Quality: Key Decisions
Person/Job vs. Person/Organization Match Key Decision: Should hiring focus on job-specific fit
or broader organizational compatibility?
Recruitment Considerations
Specific or General KSAOs:
• Specific: Emphasize job-specific skills (e.g., technical expertise).
• General: Focus on transferable skills (e.g., adaptability, communication).
Exceptional or Acceptable Workforce Quality:
• Exceptional: Recruit top-tier talent ("best and brightest").
• Acceptable: Hire competent, reliable employees for consistent results.
Active or Passive Diversity:
• Active: Promote diversity proactively to reflect market and customer needs.
• Passive: Allow workforce diversity to develop naturally over time.
Conclusion
“Staffing is a strategic process of
acquiring, deploying, and retaining
a quality workforce to drive
organizational effectiveness,
growth, and success.”
